Materiais a base de oxidos com estrutura do tipo perovskite e compositos como anodos de PCES: Propriedades Funcionais e Comportamento Eletroquimico em Celulas com Eletrolitos Solidos a Base de Galatos e Silicatos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolotygin, Vladislav

This work was focused on the analysis of transport, thermomechanical and electrochemical properties of a series of perovskite-like oxide materials and composites for potential applications as anodes of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with lanthanum gallate and silicate solid electrolytes. The primary attention was centered on A(Mn,Nb)O3-delta (A = Sr, Ca) and (La,Sr)(Mn,Ti)O3-based systems, lanthanum chromite substituted with acceptor-type and variable-valence cations, and various Ni-containing cermets. Emphasis was given to phase stability of the materials, their crystal structure, microstructure of porous electrode layers and dense ceramics, electronic conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, oxygen permeability, thermal and chemical induced expansion, and anodic overpotentials of the electrodes deposited onto (La,Sr)(Ga,Mg)O3- and La10(Si,Al)6O27-based electrolyte membranes. In selected cases, roles of oxygen diffusivity, states of the transition metal cations relevant for the electronic transport, catalytically active additives and doped ceria protective interlayers introduced in the model electrochemical cells were assessed. The correlations between transport properties of the electrode materials and electrochemical behavior of porous electrodes showed that the principal factors governing anode performance include, in particular, electronic conduction of the anode compositions and cation interdiffusion between the electrodes and solid electrolytes. The latter is critically important for the silicatebased electrolyte membranes, leading to substantially worse anode properties compared to the electrochemical cells with lanthanum gallate solid electrolyte. The results made it possible to select several anode compositions exhibiting lower area-specific electrode resistivity compared to known analogues, such as (La,Sr)(Cr,Mn)O3-delta.

Fundamental aspects of the freezing of cells, with emphasis on mammalian ova and embryos. (Aspectos fundamentales de la congelacion de celulas, especialmente ovulos y embriones de mamiferos

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

Mazur, P.

1980-01-01

For most cells there exists an optimum cooling rate. Both supraoptimal rates and suboptimal rates can be very damaging. The optimal rate varies enormously from less than or equal to 1/sup 0/C/min for mammalian preimplantation embryos to greater than or equal to 800/sup 0/C/min for the human red cell. Death at supraoptimal rates is the result of the formation of intracellular ice and its recrystallization during warming. Intracellular ice occurs when cells are cooled too rapidly to allow them to equilibrate by the osmotic withdrawal of intracellular water. The definition of too rapid depends chiefly on the size of themore » cell and its permeability to water. Death at suboptimal rates is a consequence of the major alterations in aqueous solutions produced by ice formation. The chief effects are a major reduction in the fraction of the solution remaining unfrozen at a given temperature and a major increase in the solute concentration of that fraction. Presumably, slow freezing injury is a consequence of one or both of these solution effects. The introduction of molar concentrations of protective solutes (additives) greatly reduces both the fraction frozen and the concentration of electrolytes in the unfrozen channels and in the cell interior. Usually, freezing either kills cells outright or it yields survivors that retain full capacity to function. Although there is the possibility that in some cases survivors may in fact be impaired genetically, all evidence indicates that genetic damage does not occur. But there are clear examples in which freezing does induce nonlethal physiological damage. Particularly striking examples are found in certain mammalian sperm.« less

RETOS EN LA INTERVENCIÓN CON ADOLESCENTES PUERTORRIQUEÑOS/AS QUE MANIFIESTAN COMPORTAMIENTO SUICIDA*

PubMed Central

Vélez, Yovanska Duarté; Dávila, Paloma Torres; Hernández, Samariz Laboy

2015-01-01

Presentamos un estudio de caso de una adolescente puertorriqueña con comportamiento suicida. Esta comenzó una Terapia Socio Cognitivo-Conductual para el Comportamiento Suicida (TSCC-CS) de tipo ambulatorio luego de una hospitalización por intento suicida. La TSCC-CS incorpora una perspectiva ecológica y de desarrollo a la terapia cognitivo-conductual. Inicialmente mostró baja autoestima y severos síntomas depresivos y de ansiedad. Al finalizar el tratamiento, manifestó un cambio significativo en su sintomatología clínica y evidenció una mejoría en sus destrezas de manejo. No presentó ideas suicidas durante meses previos, ni durante el seguimiento. El análisis de este caso permitió realizar cambios en el protocolo de tratamiento, particularmente en las sesiones de familia y de comunicación con el fin de aumentar la viabilidad del tratamiento. PMID:26702337

Consentimiento informado: una praxis dialogica para la investigacion

PubMed Central

Mondragon-Barrios, Liliana

2009-01-01

El consentimiento informado es un proceso, en el que una persona acepta participar en una investigation, conociendo los riesgos, beneficios, consecuencias o problemas que se puedan presenter durante el desarrollo de la misma. El objetivo de este trabajo es reunir las caracteristicas del proceso de consentimiento informado (PCI) pare que su discernimiento y cumplimiento posibilite el ejercicio etc° dialogico, reflexivo y responsable del investigador. Se presentan los resultados de una extensa revision de les elementos del PCI, desde sus cornponentes hasta su fundamento etico y legal, incluyendo los mites y realidades que existen sobre el formato de consentimiento informado come recurso legal de protection. El consentimiento informado no es un formato establecido que los investigadores repliquen, se trata de que la praxis del PCI sea una tarea cotidiana dentro de la investigation con seres humanos, como comunicaciOn deliberative y critica, responsable y comprometida entre dos agentes morales, investigador-investigado. PMID:19507477

Postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans

PubMed

2018-06-01

La bronquiolitis obliterante es una enfermedad pulmonar crónica infrecuente y grave producto de una lesión del tracto respiratorio inferior. En nuestro país, es más frecuente observarla secundaria a una lesión viral grave, en especial, por adenovirus. La bronquiolitis obliterante se caracteriza por la oclusión parcial o total del lumen de los bronquiolos respiratorios y terminales por tejido inflamatorio y fibrosis, que produce la obstrucción crónica de la vía aérea. Este consenso discute el estado actual del conocimiento en las diferentes áreas de la bronquiolitis obliterante secundaria a una lesión infecciosa.

Una visita en Sud America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-09-01

Oisfrute de una estadfa en el Hotel La Silla, el mejor hotel de Sud America con su tan unica atmosfera extraterrestre! Los espera su calificado personal de experimentados hoteleros, jefes de cocina, etc., ansiosos todos de satisfacer sus deseos hasta el mas mfnimo detalle. Naturalmente nuestro espacioso restaurant de tres estrellas ofrece un completo surtido de exquisitas comidas y deliciosos tragos (conocedores usualmente eligen "Oelicia Orion" 0 "Centauro Especial"). EI servicio cempleto durante 24 horas incluye nuestra ya mundialmente famosa "Cena de medianoche para los miradores de estrellas", por eso - no olvide: No pierda la oportunidad de una estadfa en EL HOTEL LA SILLA - una experiencia maravillosa!

Una búsqueda de la identidad regional em Astrometria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abad, C.

2003-11-01

La idea sobre una reunión latino-americana que congregara a las personas que desarrollan su trabajo en el área de la astrometría, se gestó a partir de una de las reuniones que el proyecto QUEST realizaba anualmente en Mérida (Venezuela). El proyecto QUEST (Quasars Equatorial Survey Team) celebraba su IV Reunión Anual, en la cual se hacía una revisón de la marcha del proyecto durante el último año. Además, se exponían los logros científicos y técnicos alcanzados hasta el momento y se planificaba el futuro del mismo para el período anual siguiente.

Improved thrombin binding aptamer by incorporation of a single unlocked nucleic acid monomer

PubMed Central

Pasternak, Anna; Hernandez, Frank J.; Rasmussen, Lars M.; Vester, Birte; Wengel, Jesper

2011-01-01

A 15-mer DNA aptamer (named TBA) adopts a G-quadruplex structure that strongly inhibits fibrin-clot formation by binding to thrombin. We have performed thermodynamic analysis, binding affinity and biological activity studies of TBA variants modified by unlocked nucleic acid (UNA) monomers. UNA-U placed in position U3, U7 or U12 increases the thermodynamic stability of TBA by 0.15–0.50 kcal/mol. In contrast, modification of any position within the two G-quartet structural elements is unfavorable for quadruplex formation. The intramolecular folding of the quadruplexes is confirmed by Tm versus ln c analysis. Moreover, circular dichroism and thermal difference spectra of the modified TBAs displaying high thermodynamic stability show bands that are characteristic for antiparallel quadruplex formation. Surface plasmon resonance studies of the binding of the UNA-modified TBAs to thrombin show that a UNA monomer is allowed in many positions of the aptamer without significantly changing the thrombin-binding properties. The biological effect of a selection of the modified aptamers was tested by a thrombin time assay and showed that most of the UNA-modified TBAs possess anticoagulant properties, and that the construct with a UNA-U monomer in position 7 is a highly potent inhibitor of fibrin-clot formation. PMID:20870750

Adaptación al español y validación de criterio de una escala para la tamización de problemas emocionales y del comportamiento en la primera infancia.

PubMed

Cano, Luz Helena; Acosta, María Natalia; Pulido, Adriana

2018-05-01

Introducción. La detección temprana del riesgo de problemas emocionales y del comportamiento en niños puede contribuir al desarrollo de estrategias que promuevan la salud mental desde la primera infancia. En Colombia no existe una herramienta validada para dicha detección.Objetivos. Seleccionar, adaptar y establecer la validez de criterio de una escala de tamización de problemas emocionales y del comportamiento en niños menores de seis años.Materiales y métodos. A partir de una revisión de la literatura y un consenso de expertos, se seleccionó la herramienta Early Childhood Screening Assessment (ECSA). Posteriormente, se llevó a cabo su adaptación lingüística y se determinó la validez de criterio mediante una curva de características de recibidor-operador (Receiver Operating Characteristic, ROC), y se la comparó con el cuestionario Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1,5-5). En el estudio participaron 206 cuidadores de niños entre el año y medio y los seis años de edad de la ciudad de Tunja y el municipio de Sopó.Resultados. La puntuación del ECSA presentó una buena correlación con la puntuación t total del CBCL 1,5-5 (ro de Spearman=0,75; p<0,01). La escala ECSA tuvo una sensibilidad de 86 % y una especificidad de 82 % al establecer un punto de corte de 24 para la población estudiada.Conclusión. En este primer estudio de adaptación y validación de la versión en español de la escala ECSA, se detectaron buenos valores de sensibilidad y especificidad para la tamización de problemas emocionales y del comportamiento en la primera infancia.

Gender-specific association between urinary sodium excretion and body composition: Analysis of the 2008-2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

PubMed

Huh, Ji Hye; Lim, Jung Soo; Lee, Mi Young; Chung, Choon Hee; Shin, Jang Yel

2015-07-01

Few studies have reported the relationship between sarcopenia and the estimated amount of sodium excreted in 24 h, as measured by the spot urine test (E24UNA), in a community-dwelling cohort. We investigated the gender specific association between E24UNA values and body composition indices. Data from a total of 7162 participants (3545 men and 3617 postmenopausal women) aged 45 years or older were obtained from multiple Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2008-2010) and analyzed. The total amount of sodium excreted in the urine in a 24-h period was estimated with spot urine specimens. Sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by body weight (ASM/Wt) that was less than 1 standard deviation below the sex-specific mean for young adults. E24UNA values were positively correlated with body mass index, waist circumference, total fat mass, and blood pressure; in contrast, E24UNA values were negatively correlated with ASM/Wt in both sexes. Compared with those in the lowest E24UNA tertile, participants in the highest E24UNA tertile were at higher risk for sarcopenia (men: odds ratio (OR)=1.3 [95% confidence interval (CI)=1.07-1.59]; women: OR=1.41 [95% CI=1.16-1.73]). Further classification of subjects with sarcopenia into sarcopenic obese and sarcopenic nonobese groups revealed that the highest E24UNA values were found in the sarcopenic obese group; this difference was statistically significant. The next highest levels were found in the sarcopenic nonobese group, followed by the nonsarcopenic group. This trend was observed in both sexes. High E24UNA values were independently associated with both sarcopenia and obesity in Korean individuals older than 45 years. These results suggest that high salt intake may have a deleterious effect on body composition. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Urine sodium excretion increased slightly among U.S. adults between 1988 and 2010.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, Christine M; Hughes, Jeffery P; Cogswell, Mary E; Burt, Vicki L; Lacher, David A; Lavoie, Donna J; Rabinowitz, Daniel J; Johnson, Clifford L; Pirkle, James L

2014-05-01

Little information is available on temporal trends in sodium intake in the U.S. population using urine sodium excretion as a biomarker. Our aim was to assess 1988-2010 trends in estimated 24-h urine sodium (24hUNa) excretion among U.S. adults (age 20-59 y) participating in the cross-sectional NHANES. We used subsamples from a 1988-1994 convenience sample, a 2003-2006 one-third random sample, and a 2010 one-third random sample to comply with resource constraints. We estimated 24hUNa excretion from measured sodium concentrations in spot urine samples by use of calibration equations (for men and women) derived from the International Cooperative Study on Salt, Other Factors, and Blood Pressure study. Estimated 24hUNa excretion increased over the 20-y period [1988-1994, 2003-2006, and 2010; means ± SEMs (n): 3160 ± 38.4 mg/d (1249), 3290 ± 29.4 mg/d (1235), and 3290 ± 44.4 mg/d (525), respectively; P-trend = 0.022]. We observed significantly higher mean estimated 24hUNa excretion in each survey period (P < 0.001) for men compared with women (31-33%) and for persons with a higher body mass index (BMI; 32-35% for obese vs. normal weight) or blood pressure (17-26% for hypertensive vs. normal blood pressure). After adjusting for age, sex, and race-ethnicity, temporal trends in mean estimated 24hUNa excretion remained significant (P-trend = 0.004). We observed no temporal trends in mean estimated 24hUNa excretion among BMI subgroups, nor after adjusting for BMI. Although several limitations apply to this analysis (the use of a convenience sample in 1988-1994 and using estimated 24hUNa excretion as a biomarker of sodium intake), these first NHANES data suggest that mean estimated 24hUNa excretion increased slightly in U.S. adults over the past 2 decades, and this increase may be explained by a shift in the distribution of BMI.

Salt intake and the validity of a salt intake assessment system based on a 24-h dietary recall method in pregnant Japanese women.

PubMed

Satoh, Michihiro; Tanno, Yumi; Hosaka, Miki; Metoki, Hirohito; Obara, Taku; Asayama, Kei; Hoshi, Kazuhiko; Suzuki, Masakuni; Mano, Nariyasu; Imai, Yutaka

2015-01-01

Information regarding salt intake in pregnant women in Japan is limited. An electronic system for the assessment of salt intake using a 24-h dietary recall method has been developed in Japan. The objectives of the present study were to investigate salt intake in pregnant women and to compare the salt intake estimated by the electronic salt intake assessment system with that measured by 24-h urinary salt excretion (24-hUNaCl). Data were collected on 24-hUNaCl and salt intake estimated by the salt intake assessment system for 35 pregnant Japanese women at approximately 20 weeks of gestation. The adjusted 24-hUNaCl (24-hUNaCl/[the number of urinations during the examination day--the number of missing urine collections] × the number of urinations during the examination day, g/day) was used as a standard. The mean adjusted 24-hUNaCl was 7.7 ± 2.5 g/day, and mean systolic/diastolic blood pressure values were 106.1 ± 8.6/62.8 ± 6.5 mmHg. The adjusted 24-hUNaCl was significantly correlated with the salt intake estimated by the salt intake assessment system (r = 0.47, p = 0.004). Bland-Altman analysis showed no significant mean difference (adjusted 24-hUNaCl--salt intake estimated by the assessment system = -0.36 g/day, p = 0.4) and no significant proportional bias (p = 0.1). These results suggest that pregnant women in Japan restrict their salt intake, at least when they are being examined for salt intake. They also suggest that repeated use of the described system may be useful in estimating salt intake in pregnant women.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Molina Villaverde, Raquel

2016-06-03

El cáncer es un problema sanitario de primera magnitud a escala mundial. Su tratamiento es uno de los mayores campos de innovación y desarrollo en medicina. La visión del cáncer como una enfermedad sistémica, heterogénea y de una elevada complejidad hace que los enfermos deban recibir una atención oncológica de calidad, proporcionada por equipos multidisciplinares altamente cualificados. Además de la gran incidencia de malnutrición en estos pacientes, la intervención nutricional precoz puede mejorar su pronóstico, aumentar la calidad de vida y disminuir la tasa de complicaciones de la enfermedad. Por ello, es necesaria una estrecha colaboración entre el oncólogo y el experto en nutrición.

Staff Movements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, M. C. E.

1986-09-01

Los astronomos de ESO dedican una considerable parte de su tiempo a la preparacion de solicitudes para tiempo de observacion en La Silla. Sin embargo, debido a la gran demanda par los telescopios, se debe hacer una seleccion, aveces drastica, de los programas de observacion presentados. EI Comite de Programas de Observacion (OPC) tiene como tarea evaluar el merito cientifico de las solicitudes presentadas. Basada en las recomendaciones dei OPC, ESO prepara una Lista de Tiempos de Observacion en la cual distribuye el tiempo disponible en los telescopios a los programas mejor evaluados.

Contenedores: Aspectos tecnicos, biologicos y economicos

Treesearch

Tara Luna; Thomas D. Landis; R. Kasten Dumroese

2012-01-01

La elección del contenedor es una de las consideraciones más importantes al establecer un nuevo vivero o empezar a producir una especie nueva. El tipo y tamaño de contenedor no sólo determina la cantidad de agua y nutrientes minerales que están disponibles para el crecimiento de una planta, sino que también afecta otros aspectos operativos del vivero, como el tamaño de...

Turning Potential Flexibility Into Flexible Performance: Moderating Effect of Self-Efficacy and Use of Flexible Cognition

PubMed Central

Liu, Ru-De; Wang, Jia; Star, Jon R.; Zhen, Rui; Jiang, Rong-Huan; Fu, Xin-Chen

2018-01-01

This study examined the relationship between two types of mathematical flexibility – potential flexibility, which indicates individuals’ knowledge of multiple strategies and strategy efficiency, and practical flexibility, which refers to individuals’ flexible performances when solving math problems. Both types of flexibility were assessed in the domain of linear equation solving. Furthermore, two types of beliefs – self-efficacy and use of flexible cognition (UFC) – were investigated as potential moderators between potential and practical flexibility. 121 8th grade students from China took part in this study. Results indicate that potential flexibility positively predicted practical flexibility. Additionally, self-efficacy and UFC might moderate the relationship between these two types of flexibility, suggesting that potential flexibility may lead to different degrees of practical flexibility depending on different levels of beliefs. Implications of these findings for research on mathematical flexibility and for educational practice are discussed. PMID:29780344

Correlation between increased urinary sodium excretion and decreased left ventricular diastolic function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Kagiyama, Shuntaro; Koga, Tokushi; Kaseda, Shigeru; Ishihara, Shiro; Kawazoe, Nobuyuki; Sadoshima, Seizo; Matsumura, Kiyoshi; Takata, Yutaka; Tsuchihashi, Takuya; Iida, Mitsuo

2009-10-01

Increased salt intake may induce hypertension, lead to cardiac hypertrophy, and exacerbate heart failure. When elderly patients develop heart failure, diastolic dysfunction is often observed, although the ejection fraction has decreased. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an established risk factor for heart failure. However, little is known about the relationship between cardiac function and urinary sodium excretion (U-Na) in patients with DM. We measured 24-hour U-Na; cardiac function was evaluated directly during coronary catheterization in type 2 DM (n = 46) or non-DM (n = 55) patients with preserved cardiac systolic function (ejection fraction > or = 60%). Cardiac diastolic and systolic function was evaluated as - dp/dt and + dp/dt, respectively. The average of U-Na was 166.6 +/- 61.2 mEq/24 hour (mean +/- SD). In all patients, stepwise multivariate regression analysis revealed that - dp/dt had a negative correlation with serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; beta = - 0.23, P = .021) and U-Na (beta = - 0.24, P = .013). On the other hand, + dp/dt negatively correlated with BNP (beta = - 0.30, P < .001), but did not relate to U-Na. In the DM-patients, stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that - dp/dt still had a negative correlation with U-Na (beta = - 0.33, P = .025). The results indicated that increased urinary sodium excretion is associated with an impairment of cardiac diastolic function, especially in patients with DM, suggesting that a reduction of salt intake may improve cardiac diastolic function.

ENVEJECIMIENTO, SALUD Y ECONOMÍA: La Encuesta Nacional sobre Salud y Envejecimiento en México*

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

RESUMEN México vive una transición demográfica en la cual el porcentaje de la población mayor de 50 años de edad crece aceleradamente como resultado de un aumento considerable en la esperanza de vida. Dicha población tiene necesidades particulares que deben ser tomadas en cuenta en la formulación de políticas, sobre todo en materia de acceso a servicios de salud y seguridad social. En este artículo presentamos una descripción general de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Envejecimiento (Enasem), un estudio de panel que comenzó en 2001 y que ofrece una oportunidad única para abordar temas demográficos y económicos complejos por medio de la exploración de las características personales, transferencias socioeconómicas e indicadores de salud para una muestra de 15 186 adultos de edad media y avanzada. También presentamos los resultados más relevantes de diferentes estudios que han utilizado la Enasem hasta la fecha. Nuestra revisión indica que México enfrenta desafíos considerables para satisfacer la demanda de servicios médicos para una población que es amenazada por una creciente presencia de enfermedades crónicas, sobre todo para la población de edad avanzada que no cuenta con cobertura de seguro médico. PMID:29375164

Adaptive comanagement of a marine protected area network in Fiji.

PubMed

Weeks, Rebecca; Jupiter, Stacy D

2013-12-01

Adaptive management of natural resources is an iterative process of decision making whereby management strategies are progressively changed or adjusted in response to new information. Despite an increasing focus on the need for adaptive conservation strategies, there remain few applied examples. We describe the 9-year process of adaptive comanagement of a marine protected area network in Kubulau District, Fiji. In 2011, a review of protected area boundaries and management rules was motivated by the need to enhance management effectiveness and the desire to improve resilience to climate change. Through a series of consultations, with the Wildlife Conservation Society providing scientific input to community decision making, the network of marine protected areas was reconfigured so as to maximize resilience and compliance. Factors identified as contributing to this outcome include well-defined resource-access rights; community respect for a flexible system of customary governance; long-term commitment and presence of comanagement partners; supportive policy environment for comanagement; synthesis of traditional management approaches with systematic monitoring; and district-wide coordination, which provided a broader spatial context for adaptive-management decision making. Co-Manejo Adaptativo de una Red de Áreas Marinas Protegidas en Fiyi. © 2013 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Comunicación y empoderamiento ciudadano en salud: un caso de investigación-acción en la Venezuela polarizada

PubMed Central

NAHÓN SERFATY, Isaac; EID, Mahmoud

2016-01-01

En el marco de un proyecto de investigación-acción que se implementó en Venezuela de 2009 a 2013 se buscó empoderar (empower) a activistas sociales y pacientes en la lucha contra el cáncer de mama (CM). Este proyecto se puso en marcha en un contexto de alta polarización política y social en el marco de la llamada «Revolución bolivariana». A partir de una perspectiva ecológica de la comunicación y el activismo en salud, que integra los niveles interpersonal, grupal y social, se celebraron una serie de actividades orientadas a desarrollar las habilidades de vocería de ciudadanos, especialmente de mujeres, y ampliar las redes de cooperación entre diversos sectores, al mismo tiempo que se perfiló una visión consensuada entre actores sociales e institucionales sobre una respuesta nacional contra el CM. Una comunicación horizontal y participativa permitió que se escuchara la voz de actores usualmente marginalizados en las políticas sanitarias. PMID:27867911

[Medical movement in Mexico. To 50 years. Open file].

PubMed

Sandoval-Gutiérrez, José Luis

2017-01-01

Gutiérrez-Samperio hace una excelente narrativa del movimiento denominado «blanco» hace medio siglo, encabezado por médicos y otros trabajadores de salud, principalmente enfermeras. Es importante revisar los logros y limitaciones que dicho fenómeno alcanzó. Por ejemplo, actualmente el residente que cursa una especialidad cuenta con un reconocimiento institucional, universitario y de profesiones al término de su formación, además de tener una beca económica (probablemente insuficiente) y días de vacaciones programados.

Diurnal pattern of sodium excretion in dogs with and without chronically reduced renal perfusion pressure.

PubMed

Corea, M; Seeliger, E; Boemke, W; Reinhardt, H W

1996-01-01

In 5 conscious dogs the diurnal patterns of urinary sodium excretion (UNaV) were investigated, initially during 1 control day and, thereafter, during 4 days of servo-controlled reduction of renal perfusion pressure (rRPP). The individual dog's mean arterial blood pressure was reduced to 80% of the blood pressure on the control day. This value was always found to be below the threshold for the pressure-dependent renin release. During the entire study period urine was collected in 4-hour intervals and blood samples were taken every 4 h. The dogs were kept on a standardized high sodium and high water intake and were fed once daily at 8.30 h. On the control day, UNaV, urinary flow rate (UV), fractional lithium excretion (FELi) and fractional sodium excretion (FENa) had similar diurnal patterns. They peaked 4-8 h after food intake and decreased to low values during the night. On day 1 of rRPP, UNaV and FENa were maintained at very low levels in all collection periods, whereas the patterns of UV and FELi were unaltered compared with the patterns on the control day. On days 2-4 of rRPP, a clear-cut maximum in the patterns of UNaV and FENa recurred, comparable with the patterns on the control day. However, compared with the control day this maximum was shifted by 4 h towards the night. In contrast, the patterns of UV and FELi remained unchanged compared with the control day. The results indicate that UNaV has a typical time course in conscious, sodium- and water-replete dogs fed once daily. Endogenous stimulation of sodium reabsorption by means of rRPP results in a characteristic 4-hour shift of UNaV and FENa towards the night during rRPP days 2-4. This delay in UNaV seems to be evoked by processes in the distal tubule.

Una propuesta para el desarrollo de un arreglo de síntesis de apertura

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnal, E. M.

Los estudios llevados a cabo en la transición del hidrógeno neutro a λ~21-cm han contribuído a incrementar nuestro conocimiento acerca de las propiedades globales del medio interestelar, sea este galáctico o extragaláctico. Avances en este campo han sido provocados, a menudo, por la puesta en servicio de radiotelescopios que poseen una mayor resolución angular. Aquí se presenta una propuesta para desarrollar un nuevo instrumento, un interferómetro, que permitirá abrir nuevas líneas de investigación. Este instrumento combinará la técnica de síntesis de apertura con la de espectroscopía de correlación digital, para alcanzar una resolución angular de 1' y un campo de visión de ~1o.7.

Heat Pipe with Axial Wick

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambrose, Jay H. (Inventor); Holmes, Rolland (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A heat pipe has an evaporator portion, a condenser portion, and at least one flexible portion that is sealingly coupled between the evaporator portion and the condenser portion. The flexible portion has a flexible tube and a flexible separator plate held in place within the flexible tube so as to divide the flexible tube into a gas-phase passage and a liquid-phase artery. The separator plate and flexible tube are configured such that the flexible portion is flexible in a plane that is perpendicular to the separator plate.

Astronomía para ciegos y amblíopes. Proyecto de construcción de un planetario especial en la ciudad de Mar del Plata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musso, S.

?`Qué es la Astronomía para Ciegos?. El trabajo es una adaptación en base a la escala de magnitudes de Hipparco que cambia el concepto de luz por una adaptación sonora, donde las estrellas de magnitud 6 se escuchan en 10 dB, más o menos lo que consideramos el umbral de la audición humana. Quienes no escuchan muy bien no pueden escuchar las magnitudes 6, de la misma manera que muchos de nosotros, que no poseemos una visión perfecta, no podemos observar esas mismas estrellas en el cielo (más allá de la polución). A los astros de magnitud 5 vamos a relacionarlos a un sonido en 20 dB. Y así sucesivamente. También los colores estarán representados en una convención de graves a agudos y lo mismo algunas características del cielo. Por ejemplo, la Vía Láctea se mostrará como un ``ruido", como bien nos lo hicieron ver nuestros futuros destinatarios. En Mar del Plata nos encontramos ya trabajando en un proyecto que tiene como objetivo final la construcción del Primer Planetario Acústico del Mundo, una herramienta para la enseñanza de la astronomía, un espacio para la lucha contra la discriminación del discapacitado y una posibilidad de ``ver el cielo de un modo diferente".

A review of flexible lithium-sulfur and analogous alkali metal-chalcogen rechargeable batteries.

PubMed

Peng, Hong-Jie; Huang, Jia-Qi; Zhang, Qiang

2017-08-29

Flexible energy storage systems are imperative for emerging flexible devices that are revolutionizing our life. Lithium-ion batteries, the current main power sources, are gradually approaching their theoretical limitation in terms of energy density. Therefore, alternative battery chemistries are urgently required for next-generation flexible power sources with high energy densities, low cost, and inherent safety. Flexible lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries and analogous flexible alkali metal-chalcogen batteries are of paramount interest owing to their high energy densities endowed by multielectron chemistry. In this review, we summarized the recent progress of flexible Li-S and analogous batteries. A brief introduction to flexible energy storage systems and general Li-S batteries has been provided first. Progress in flexible materials for flexible Li-S batteries are reviewed subsequently, with a detailed classification of flexible sulfur cathodes as those based on carbonaceous (e.g., carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbonized polymers) and composite (polymers and inorganics) materials and an overview of flexible lithium anodes and flexible solid-state electrolytes. Advancements in other flexible alkali metal-chalcogen batteries are then introduced. In the next part, we emphasize the importance of cell packaging and flexibility evaluation, and two special flexible battery prototypes of foldable and cable-type Li-S batteries are highlighted. In the end, existing challenges and future development of flexible Li-S and analogous alkali metal-chalcogen batteries are summarized and prospected.

Implementing Flexible Learning. Aspects of Educational and Training Technology XXIX. Proceedings of Annual Conference (29th, Plymouth, England, 1995).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Chris, Ed.; Bowden, Mandy, Ed.; Trott, Andrew, Ed.

Thirty-four papers explore flexible learning and its applications in higher education in the United Kingdom. The papers are: "Flexible Learning: Your Flexible Friend! Keynote Address" (Ellington); "Flexible Learning or Learning to be Flexible?" (Chalkley); "Virtually There: Flexible Learning in the New Millennium"…

Waterproof stretchable optoelectronics

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

Rogers, John A.; Kim, Rak-Hwan; Kim, Dae-Hyeong

Described herein are flexible and stretchable LED arrays and methods utilizing flexible and stretchable LED arrays. Assembly of flexible LED arrays alongside flexible plasmonic crystals is useful for construction of fluid monitors, permitting sensitive detection of fluid refractive index and composition. Co-integration of flexible LED arrays with flexible photodetector arrays is useful for construction of flexible proximity sensors. Application of stretchable LED arrays onto flexible threads as light emitting sutures provides novel means for performing radiation therapy on wounds.

Note: Design and capability verification of fillet triangle flexible support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Tao; San, Xiao-Gang; Gao, Shi-Jie; Wang, Jing; Ni, Ying-Xue; Sang, Zhi-Xin

2017-12-01

By increasing the section thickness of a triangular flexible hinge, this study focuses on optimal selection of parameters of fillet triangle flexible hinges and flexible support. Based on Castigliano's second theorem, the flexibility expression of the fillet triangle flexible hinge was derived. Then, the case design is performed, and the comparison of three types of flexible hinges with this type of flexible hinge was carried out. The finite element models of fillet triangle flexible hinges and flexible support were built, and then the simulation results of performance parameters were calculated. Finally, the experiment platform was established to validate analysis results. The maximum error is less than 8%, which verifies the accuracy of the simulation process and equations derived; also the fundamental frequency fits the requirements of the system. The fillet triangle flexible hinge is proved to have the advantages of high precision and low flexibility.

Note: Design and capability verification of fillet triangle flexible support.

PubMed

Wang, Tao; San, Xiao-Gang; Gao, Shi-Jie; Wang, Jing; Ni, Ying-Xue; Sang, Zhi-Xin

2017-12-01

By increasing the section thickness of a triangular flexible hinge, this study focuses on optimal selection of parameters of fillet triangle flexible hinges and flexible support. Based on Castigliano's second theorem, the flexibility expression of the fillet triangle flexible hinge was derived. Then, the case design is performed, and the comparison of three types of flexible hinges with this type of flexible hinge was carried out. The finite element models of fillet triangle flexible hinges and flexible support were built, and then the simulation results of performance parameters were calculated. Finally, the experiment platform was established to validate analysis results. The maximum error is less than 8%, which verifies the accuracy of the simulation process and equations derived; also the fundamental frequency fits the requirements of the system. The fillet triangle flexible hinge is proved to have the advantages of high precision and low flexibility.

Telescopio Solar en Hα (HASTA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández Borda, R.; Francile, C.; Bagala, G.; Bauer, O.; Haerendel, G.; Rieger, E.; Rovira, M.

El Telescopio Solar en Hα (Hα Solar Telescope for Argentina (-HASTA-) fue recientemente instalado en la Estación Astronómica de Altura Carlos Ulrrico Cesco (OAFA) en El Leoncito. Este instrumento estudiará la evolución de las fulguraciones solares desde tierra con alta resolución temporal y espacial. HASTA es un telescopio refractor de 110 mm con una distancia focal de 165 cm, un filtro Lyot sintonizable (±1Å) con un ancho de banda de 0.3 Å y una cámara CCD de alta resolución (1280×1024 pixels). Todo el conjunto es controlado en forma remota por una PC, la cual además adquiere datos del Sistema de Posicionamiento Global (GPS) y de la estación meteorológica. Diseñado para detectar fulguraciones, el instrumento trabaja en dos modos (patrullaje y fulguración) con una resolución espacial de 1.5 arcseg por pixel y una resolución temporal de 2 seg. HASTA comenzó a operar en Mayo de 1998 y, junto con otros tres instrumentos solares, que se están instalando o se instalaron, harán de El Leoncito un polo de observación solar importante en el Hemisferio Sur.

Clinical decision support tools in A&E nursing: a preliminary study.

PubMed

New, T D

This article describes how a large trust in the north east of England is in the process of developing a unique service for non-emergency patients in one of its main A&E departments. The Urgent Need Assessment Service (UNAS), co-located within the main A&E department, features the use of NHS Direct computerised algorithms to enable nurses to recommend the best treatment or course of action accurately and safely, for all patients attending the department who are categorised as blue or green status in accordance with the Manchester triage model of A&E assessment. The UNAS facility incorporates discretely staffed minor injuries and minor ailments services. UNAS assessment nurses are specially trained to use their A&E experience, together with the computer model, and to make an assessment in partnership with the patient, sharing information displayed on the computer screen and working together to reach a jointly agreed treatment plan or outcome. The UNAS pilot and evaluation commenced in September 1999 and results and outcomes are presented for the period from September 3 to December 31 2000. Approximately 75 per cent of all A&E attenders are given blue or green status. UNAS has led to faster treatment and reduced waiting times for these people, increasing patient satisfaction while enabling the A&E department to concentrate its resources on treating more serious cases. This pilot study has proved to be highly satisfactory to the majority of people who have been treated at UNAS. Those previously regarded as 'inappropriate attenders' might be better suited to treatment in a different department, separate from the traditional A&E department, with reduced waiting times, and under the care of specially trained nurses.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Martínez-Baena, Alejandro; Mayorga-Vega, Daniel; Viciana, Jesús

2016-07-19

Introducción: el aumento de la motivación hacia la Educación Física podría resultar un elemento esencial para propiciar un incremento en la condición física saludable de los escolares. La ausencia de estudios en población española hace necesario el desarrollo de esta línea de investigación.Objetivos: el objetivo del presente estudio fue examinar la asociación entre la motivación hacia la Educación Física y los niveles de condición física saludable en adolescentes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria.Métodos: un total de 294 escolares (167 varones y 127 mujeres), de 13 a 16 años de edad cumplimentaron la versión española de la Escala de Locus Percibido de Causalidad en Educación Física y realizaron las pruebas de condición física saludable de la Batería ALPHA-Fitness de Alta Prioridad.Resultados: los resultados del estudio mostraron una asociación positiva entre tener una alta motivación hacia la Educación Física y presentar una mayor capacidad cardiorrespiratoria, tanto en niños como en niñas (p < 0,05). En cambio, no se encontró una asociación entre la motivación hacia la Educación Física y el sobrepeso o fuerza muscular.Conclusiones: existe una asociación positiva entre la motivación hacia la Educación Física y la capacidad cardiorrespiratoria. Por tanto, con el objetivo de que los alumnos presenten una capacidad cardiorespiratoria saludable, los profesores de Educación Física deberían promover la motivación hacia la Educación Física.

La formación de la Nube de Oort y el entorno galáctico primitivo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández, J. A.

Se analizan las condiciones de formación de la nube de Oort en el medio galáctico primitivo, bajo la suposición de que los objetos que alcanzaron la nube fueron planetesimales residuales eyectados por los planetas gigantes durante las etapas finales de su acreción. Los objetos que adquieren órbitas cuasiparabólicas están sujetos a las perturbaciones de estrellas vecinas y al potencial del disco galáctico, las que desacoplan sus perihelios de la región planetaria, dando a los objetos una larga estabilidad dinámica. Se demuestra que un entorno galáctico como el presente pudo, sin embargo, no ser suficiente para formar un reservorio cometario con una vida dinámica comparable a la vida del sistema solar. La existencia de la nube de Oort después de 4600 millones de años es, pues, una fuerte indicación de que el sistema solar se formó en un entorno galáctico mucho mas denso que el presente, tal vez en una nube molecular y/o un cúmulo abierto, que es el modo de producción de la mayoría de las estrellas. Se encuentra que un campo perturbador externo mas intenso, producto de un entorno galáctico mas denso, sería capaz de formar una nube de Oort mas compacta, con un radio del orden de 103- 104 UA. El campo externo mas intenso cesó de actuar una vez que la nube molecular y/o el cúmulo abierto se disiparon, previniendo entonces que ese mismo campo externo disolviera el reservorio cometario.

21 CFR 874.4760 - Nasopharyngoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... made of materials such as stainless steel and flexible plastic. This generic type of device includes..., salpingoscope, flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biospy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier...

21 CFR 874.4760 - Nasopharyngoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... made of materials such as stainless steel and flexible plastic. This generic type of device includes..., salpingoscope, flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biospy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier...

Measures of Potential Flexibility and Practical Flexibility in Equation Solving.

PubMed

Xu, Le; Liu, Ru-De; Star, Jon R; Wang, Jia; Liu, Ying; Zhen, Rui

2017-01-01

Researchers interested in mathematical proficiency have recently begun to explore the development of strategic flexibility, where flexibility is defined as knowledge of multiple strategies for solving a problem and the ability to implement an innovative strategy for a given problem solving circumstance. However, anecdotal findings from this literature indicate that students do not consistently use an innovative strategy for solving a given problem, even when these same students demonstrate knowledge of innovative strategies. This distinction, sometimes framed in the psychological literature as competence vs. performance-has not been previously studied for flexibility. In order to explore the competence/performance distinction in flexibility, this study developed and validated measures for potential flexibility (e.g., competence, or knowledge of multiple strategies) and practical flexibility (e.g., performance, use of innovative strategies) for solving equations. The measures were administrated to a sample of 158 Chinese middle school students through a Tri-Phase Flexibility Assessment, in which the students were asked to solve each equation, generate additional strategies, and evaluate own multiple strategies. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model of potential and practical flexibility. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for the measures. Additional validity evidence included the significant association with flexibility measured with the previous method. Potential flexibility and practical flexibility were found to be distinct but related. The theoretical and practical implications of the concepts and their measures of potential flexibility and practical flexibility are discussed.

Measures of Potential Flexibility and Practical Flexibility in Equation Solving

PubMed Central

Xu, Le; Liu, Ru-De; Star, Jon R.; Wang, Jia; Liu, Ying; Zhen, Rui

2017-01-01

Researchers interested in mathematical proficiency have recently begun to explore the development of strategic flexibility, where flexibility is defined as knowledge of multiple strategies for solving a problem and the ability to implement an innovative strategy for a given problem solving circumstance. However, anecdotal findings from this literature indicate that students do not consistently use an innovative strategy for solving a given problem, even when these same students demonstrate knowledge of innovative strategies. This distinction, sometimes framed in the psychological literature as competence vs. performance—has not been previously studied for flexibility. In order to explore the competence/performance distinction in flexibility, this study developed and validated measures for potential flexibility (e.g., competence, or knowledge of multiple strategies) and practical flexibility (e.g., performance, use of innovative strategies) for solving equations. The measures were administrated to a sample of 158 Chinese middle school students through a Tri-Phase Flexibility Assessment, in which the students were asked to solve each equation, generate additional strategies, and evaluate own multiple strategies. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model of potential and practical flexibility. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for the measures. Additional validity evidence included the significant association with flexibility measured with the previous method. Potential flexibility and practical flexibility were found to be distinct but related. The theoretical and practical implications of the concepts and their measures of potential flexibility and practical flexibility are discussed. PMID:28848481

Manténgase saludable al elegir pescado y mariscos de manera inteligente

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Los pescados y mariscos son una parte importante de una dieta saludable. Algunos pescados y mariscos pueden contener sustancias químicas que presenten un riesgo para la salud. Información sobre el consumo seguro de pescado y mariscos.

órbitas: caos en familia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpintero, D. D.

Durante los últimos años, ha ido adquiriendo importancia la descripción dinámica de un sistema estelar a través de su estructura orbital, complementando el tradicional uso de la función de distribución en el espacio fase. El desarrollo de esta nueva concepción condujo, con el tiempo, a la conclusión de que las órbitas caóticas juegan un importante papel dinámico en modelos realistas de galaxias. Sin embargo, la determinación de la caoticidad de una órbita, o de la familia regular a la cual pertenece, siguió siendo una tarea artesanal. Nuevos métodos de clasificación fueron surgiendo con el tiempo; hoy en día, se cuenta con métodos que permiten determinar automáticamente el contenido orbital de cualquier potencial arbitrario que se desee para modelar una galaxia, o incluso determinar la familia de una órbita sin siquiera conocer el potencial en el que está sumergida.

Capital social de los padres de escolares de una zona vulnerable.

PubMed

Cornejo, Susana; Herrera, Ariel; Hilas, Elena; Gigena, Y Pablo

2018-01-01

El capital social supone importantes inversiones materiales, simbólicas y de esfuerzos. Conocer el capital social de una comunidad puede facilitar la comprensión del beneficio de las relaciones comunitarias para la promoción de salud. Con el objetivo de reconocer los componentes del capital social de padres de escolares atendiendo una escuela en una zona vulnerable de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina, indagamos a través de grupos focales acerca de elementos esenciales del capital social. La asintonía socio-cultural entre los pobladores originarios y los reubicados, la estigmatización policial y el clientelismo político han generado desconfianza del uno hacia el otro en diferentes aspectos convivenciales, siendo la familia la única red de apoyo. La escuela se reconoce como espacio adonde la gente espontáneamente se organiza para invertir en redes sociales, presentándose así con potencialidad para la promoción de conductas saludables, por el lugar simbólico que ocupa para los padres.

Pneumatocele selar a tensión: Reporte de un caso y revisión de la literatura

PubMed Central

Campero, Álvaro; Ajler, Pablo; Goldschmidt, Ezequiel; Bendersky, Damián; Campero, Abraham

2012-01-01

Introducción: El neumoencéfalo a tensión luego de la cirugía transesfenoidal es poco común. En la literatura existen pocos casos reportados en los cuales el aire se encuentra localizado exclusivamente en las regiones selar y supraselar, constituyendo un pneumatocele selar. En este artículo se describe un caso inusual de pneumatocele selar a tensión de presentación tardía. Descripción del caso: Una mujer de 57 años consultó por hemianopsia bitemporal. Previamente, ya se le había realizado una cirugía transnasal por un adenoma hipofisario y se le había colocado una derivación lumbo-peritoneal por la presencia de una fístula de líquido cefalorraquídeo. Además, se le había realizado una resección transcraneal de un componente intracavernoso del tumor y radiocirugía debido a la agresividad del mismo. Se llevó a cabo una resonancia magnética que demostró un pneumatocele selar y supraselar. Intervención: Se realizó un abordaje transciliar. La región selar estaba encapsulada por tejido cicatrizal debido a los procedimientos previos. Se abrió la cicatriz y el aire fue evacuado. Posteriormente, el piso selar fue cerrado con grasa y cola de fibrina. Despuós del procedimiento, su campo visual retornó a la normalidad. Un año después de su última cirugía, continua asintomática. Conclusión: El pneumatocele selar y supraselar a tensión es un hallazgo extremadamente raro luego de una cirugía transesfenoidal. Su manifestaciónw clínica sería la alteración visual debida a la compresión inferior de la vía óptica. El pneumatocele selar a tensión debe ser evacuado en un corto plazo. PMID:23596554

Síndrome de Grisel en el adulto e inestabilidad cráneo cervical. Odontoidectomía endoscópica transnasal y fijación occípito-cervical. Reporte de caso y revisión de literatura

PubMed Central

Herrera, Roberto; Rojas, Héctor; Estramian, Ariel; Gómez, Julieta; Ledesma, José Luis; Pablo, José; Pastore, Julián

2018-01-01

Resumen Introducción: La patología de la unión cráneo-cervical es poco frecuente en la práctica neuroquirúrgica diaria. En general la mayor parte de estas lesiones son de origen traumático o reumatológico. La inestabilidad atlanto-axial de origen inflamatorio (Síndrome de Grisel) es una rara entidad de la que solo se han reportado 16 casos adultos en la literatura. Esta patología se caracteriza por el desarrollo de una lesión osteolítica a nivel de la articulación atlanto-axoidea posterior a un evento infeccioso, generalmente de las vías aéreas superiores. Descripción del caso: Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 76 años quien concurre en consulta por un cuadro clínico de inestabilidad cráneo espinal secundaria a una lesión osteolítica, con compromiso de C1 y C2. La sintomatología comenzó posteriormente a un proceso infeccioso respiratorio. Se realizó una fijación occípito-cervical posterior y una Odontoidectomía con descompresión anterior por vía endoscópica transnasal. La paciente evolucionó con resolución completa de los síntomas. Los cultivos fueron negativos y el estudio de anatomía patológica concluyó cambios inflamatorios inespecíficos. Conclusión: Hasta hace algunos pocos años la única opción para abordar esta patología era la vía transoral con técnica microquirúrgica. Hoy en día la endoscopía nos brinda muchas ventajas técnicas por lo que constituye una opción a tener en cuenta en la planificación de los abordajes a la unión cráneo-cervical. PMID:29430326

Progresos recientes en Astronomía de Rayos Gamma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, G. E.

Tras la exitosa misión del Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory durante los años 1990, la astronomía de rayos gamma ha entrado en una etapa de madurez, convirtiéndose en una de las principales herramientas para el estudio de procesos relativistas en el universo. En este reporte, presentaré una revisión de los principales tópicos abordados a través de estudios con rayos gamma en los últimos años, con particular énfasis en los intentos más recientes por establecer la naturaleza de las fuentes de rayos gamma no identificadas, detectadas por el instrumento EGRET.

Blade loss transient dynamics analysis with flexible bladed disk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallardo, V. C.; Black, G.; Bach, L.; Cline, S.; Storace, A.

1983-01-01

The transient dynamic response of a flexible bladed disk on a flexible rotor in a two rotor system is formulated by modal synthesis and a Lagrangian approach. Only the nonequilibrated one diameter flexible mode is considered for the flexible bladed disk, while the two flexible rotors are represented by their normal modes. The flexible bladed disk motion is modeled as a combination of two one diameter standing waves, and is coupled inertially and gyroscopically to the flexible rotors. Application to a two rotor model shows that a flexible bladed disk on one rotor can be driven into resonance by an unbalance in the other rotor, and at a frequency equal to the difference in the rotor speeds.

An Evaluation of Explicit Receptor Flexibility in Molecular Docking Using Molecular Dynamics and Torsion Angle Molecular Dynamics.

PubMed

Armen, Roger S; Chen, Jianhan; Brooks, Charles L

2009-10-13

Incorporating receptor flexibility into molecular docking should improve results for flexible proteins. However, the incorporation of explicit all-atom flexibility with molecular dynamics for the entire protein chain may also introduce significant error and "noise" that could decrease docking accuracy and deteriorate the ability of a scoring function to rank native-like poses. We address this apparent paradox by comparing the success of several flexible receptor models in cross-docking and multiple receptor ensemble docking for p38α mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. Explicit all-atom receptor flexibility has been incorporated into a CHARMM-based molecular docking method (CDOCKER) using both molecular dynamics (MD) and torsion angle molecular dynamics (TAMD) for the refinement of predicted protein-ligand binding geometries. These flexible receptor models have been evaluated, and the accuracy and efficiency of TAMD sampling is directly compared to MD sampling. Several flexible receptor models are compared, encompassing flexible side chains, flexible loops, multiple flexible backbone segments, and treatment of the entire chain as flexible. We find that although including side chain and some backbone flexibility is required for improved docking accuracy as expected, docking accuracy also diminishes as additional and unnecessary receptor flexibility is included into the conformational search space. Ensemble docking results demonstrate that including protein flexibility leads to to improved agreement with binding data for 227 active compounds. This comparison also demonstrates that a flexible receptor model enriches high affinity compound identification without significantly increasing the number of false positives from low affinity compounds.

An Evaluation of Explicit Receptor Flexibility in Molecular Docking Using Molecular Dynamics and Torsion Angle Molecular Dynamics

PubMed Central

Armen, Roger S.; Chen, Jianhan; Brooks, Charles L.

2009-01-01

Incorporating receptor flexibility into molecular docking should improve results for flexible proteins. However, the incorporation of explicit all-atom flexibility with molecular dynamics for the entire protein chain may also introduce significant error and “noise” that could decrease docking accuracy and deteriorate the ability of a scoring function to rank native-like poses. We address this apparent paradox by comparing the success of several flexible receptor models in cross-docking and multiple receptor ensemble docking for p38α mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. Explicit all-atom receptor flexibility has been incorporated into a CHARMM-based molecular docking method (CDOCKER) using both molecular dynamics (MD) and torsion angle molecular dynamics (TAMD) for the refinement of predicted protein-ligand binding geometries. These flexible receptor models have been evaluated, and the accuracy and efficiency of TAMD sampling is directly compared to MD sampling. Several flexible receptor models are compared, encompassing flexible side chains, flexible loops, multiple flexible backbone segments, and treatment of the entire chain as flexible. We find that although including side chain and some backbone flexibility is required for improved docking accuracy as expected, docking accuracy also diminishes as additional and unnecessary receptor flexibility is included into the conformational search space. Ensemble docking results demonstrate that including protein flexibility leads to to improved agreement with binding data for 227 active compounds. This comparison also demonstrates that a flexible receptor model enriches high affinity compound identification without significantly increasing the number of false positives from low affinity compounds. PMID:20160879

21 CFR 874.4710 - Esophagoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... generic type of device includes the flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the...

21 CFR 874.4710 - Esophagoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... generic type of device includes the flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the...

21 CFR 874.4760 - Nasopharyngoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

..., salpingoscope, flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biospy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier...

21 CFR 874.4760 - Nasopharyngoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

..., salpingoscope, flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biospy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier...

21 CFR 874.4760 - Nasopharyngoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., salpingoscope, flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biospy brush, rigid biopsy forceps and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier...

Flexible energy-storage devices: design consideration and recent progress.

PubMed

Wang, Xianfu; Lu, Xihong; Liu, Bin; Chen, Di; Tong, Yexiang; Shen, Guozhen

2014-07-23

Flexible energy-storage devices are attracting increasing attention as they show unique promising advantages, such as flexibility, shape diversity, light weight, and so on; these properties enable applications in portable, flexible, and even wearable electronic devices, including soft electronic products, roll-up displays, and wearable devices. Consequently, considerable effort has been made in recent years to fulfill the requirements of future flexible energy-storage devices, and much progress has been witnessed. This review describes the most recent advances in flexible energy-storage devices, including flexible lithium-ion batteries and flexible supercapacitors. The latest successful examples in flexible lithium-ion batteries and their technological innovations and challenges are reviewed first. This is followed by a detailed overview of the recent progress in flexible supercapacitors based on carbon materials and a number of composites and flexible micro-supercapacitors. Some of the latest achievements regarding interesting integrated energy-storage systems are also reviewed. Further research direction is also proposed to surpass existing technological bottle-necks and realize idealized flexible energy-storage devices. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphene-based materials for flexible supercapacitors.

PubMed

Shao, Yuanlong; El-Kady, Maher F; Wang, Lisa J; Zhang, Qinghong; Li, Yaogang; Wang, Hongzhi; Mousavi, Mir F; Kaner, Richard B

2015-06-07

The demand for flexible/wearable electronic devices that have aesthetic appeal and multi-functionality has stimulated the rapid development of flexible supercapacitors with enhanced electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility. After a brief introduction to flexible supercapacitors, we summarize current progress made with graphene-based electrodes. Two recently proposed prototypes for flexible supercapacitors, known as micro-supercapacitors and fiber-type supercapacitors, are then discussed. We also present our perspective on the development of graphene-based electrodes for flexible supercapacitors.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Navarro-González, Inmaculada; Ros, Gaspar; Martínez-García, Brígida; Rodríguez-Tadeo, Alejandra; Periago, M Jesús

2016-07-19

Introducción y objetivos: la evolución que ha experimentado en los últimos años la sociedad española ha originado una serie de cambios sociológicos y/o culturales que afectan claramente a los hábitos y preferencias alimentarias. El objetivo del presente trabajo ha sido evaluar la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea (DM) de la población universitaria en la ciudad de Murcia y la calidad de su desayuno, estableciendo la relación existente entre estas dos variables entre sí, y otras variables sociológicas analizadas.Métodos: se evaluó la adherencia a la DM en una muestra de 312 estudiantes mediante el test KIDMED, cuestionario de 16 preguntas. La calidad del desayuno fue determinada en función de la ingesta de los distintos grupos de alimentos (lácteos, cereales y frutas), de forma que se establecieron las siguientes categorías de calidad: pésima, mala, regular y buena. De cada encuestado se registraron los datos personales, lugar de origen, zona geográfica y tipo de residencia, sexo, edad, titulación universitaria, curso y las variables antropométricas (peso, altura, perímetro de cintura y cadera).Resultados: la muestra estuvo formada por 238 mujeres y 74 hombres todos ellos estudiantes universitarios de distintos títulos de grado. El 7,85% de los universitarios mostró una baja adherencia a la DM, el 48,4% media y el 43,8% alta. Los estudiantes de grado en Educación Primaria mostraron una mayor adherencia media a la DM; los estudiantes de grado en Enfermería tomaron más de una ración de verdura al día; y los de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos consumían una pieza de fruta al día. Teniendo en cuenta el sexo de los participantes, el 37,8% de las mujeres tomaban más de una verdura diaria y el 91,5% desayunaba bollería industrial; mientras que el 54,1% de los hombres tomaban frutos secos (al menos 2 o 3 veces por semana) y el 74,5% desayunaba todos los días. El 1,15% de los estudiantes mostró una calidad del desayuno pésima, el 17,65% mala, el 60,65% regular y el 20,45% buena, coincidiendo la buena calidad con el consumo de fruta en esta comida. Además, se observó una asociación significativa entre el tiempo y la calidad del desayuno, ya que aquellos estudiantes que dedicaban más de diez minutos a desayunar tomaban un desayuno de buena calidad.Conclusión: en este estudio se ha visto que la calidad del desayuno está estrechamente relacionada con el grado de adherencia al patrón dietético mediterráneo.

Chronobiology of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in dogs: relation to blood pressure and renal physiology.

PubMed

Mochel, Jonathan P; Fink, Martin; Peyrou, Mathieu; Desevaux, Cyril; Deurinck, Mark; Giraudel, Jérôme M; Danhof, Meindert

2013-11-01

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of blood pressure and volume homeostasis. Its contribution to the development of cardiovascular diseases has long been recognized. Extensive literature has shown that peptides of the RAAS oscillate with a circadian periodicity in humans, under strong influence of posture, sleep, and age. Although observations of time-variant changes in the renin cascade are available in dogs, no detailed chronobiological investigation has been conducted so far. The present studies were designed to explore the circadian variations of plasma renin activity (RA) and urinary aldosterone-to-creatinine ratio (UA:C) in relation to blood pressure (BP), sodium (UNa, UNa,fe), and potassium (UK, UK,fe) renal handling. Data derived from intensive blood and urine sampling, as well as continuous BP monitoring, were collected throughout a 24-h time period, and analyzed by means of nonlinear mixed-effects models. Differences between the geometric means of day and night observations were compared by parametric statistics. Our results show that variables of the renin cascade, BP, and urinary electrolytes oscillate with significant day-night differences in dogs. An approximately 2-fold (1.6-3.2-fold) change between the average day and night measurements was found for RA (p < 0.001), UA:C (p = 0.01), UK,fe (p = 0.01), and UNa (p = 0.007). Circadian variations in BP, albeit small (less than 10 mm Hg), were statistically significant (p < 0.01) and supported by the model-based analysis. For all variables but UNa and UNa,fe, the levels were higher at night than during the day. The data also indicate that blood pressure oscillates in parallel to the RAAS, such that, as opposed to healthy humans, BP does not drop at night in dogs. The postprandial decrease in RA is assumed to be related to body fluid volume expansion secondary to water and sodium intake, whereas the reduction of UA:C reflects aldosterone-stimulated secretion by the renin-angiotensin II pathway. UNa and UNa,fe peaked in the afternoon, about 7-8 h after food intake, which is consistent with the "impulse-response pattern" of sodium excretion described in previous publications. Finally, UK and UK,fe mirrored aldosterone-mediated potassium secretion in the kidney tubules. To describe the circadian variations of the various variables, two different mathematical representations were applied. A cosine model with a fixed 24-h period was found to fit the periodic variations of RA, UA:C, UK, UK,fe, and BP well, whereas changes in UNa and UNa,fe were best characterized by a surge model. The use of nonlinear mixed effects allowed estimation of population characteristics that can influence the periodicity of the RAAS. Specifically, sodium intake was found to interact with the tonic and the phasic secretion of renin, suggesting that varying feeding time could also impact the chronobiology of the renin cascade.

Balance and flexibility.

PubMed

2003-12-01

The 'work-life balance' and flexible working are currently key buzz terms in the NHS. Those looking for more information on these topics should visit Flexibility at www.flexibility.co.uk for a host of resources designed to support new ways of working, including information on flexible workers and flexible rostering, the legal balancing act for work-life balance and home working.

Limited access: gender, occupational composition, and flexible work scheduling.

PubMed

Glauber, Rebecca

2011-01-01

The current study draws on national data to explore differences in access to flexible work scheduling by the gender composition of women's and men's occupations. Results show that those who work in integrated occupations are more likely to have access to flexible scheduling. Women and men do not take jobs with lower pay in return for greater access to flexibility. Instead, jobs with higher pay offer greater flexibility. Integrated occupations tend to offer the greatest access to flexible scheduling because of their structural locations. Part-time work is negatively associated with men's access to flexible scheduling but positively associated with women's access. Women have greater flexibility when they work for large establishments, whereas men have greater flexibility when they work for small establishments.

Evolving Regional Security in the Andean Region

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-03-19

November 2003. 5 Joseph R. Nuñez, “Luchando en Contra de la Trinidad Hobbesiana en Colombia: Una Estrategia Para la Paz” Aerospace Power Journal . Tercer...December 2002. Nuñez, Joseph R. Luchando en Contra de la Trinidad Obesiana en Colombia: Una Estrategia Para la Paz. Aerospace Power Journal. Tercer

Flexible devices: from materials, architectures to applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Mingzhi; Ma, Yue; Yuan, Xin; Hu, Yi; Liu, Jie; Jin, Zhong

2018-01-01

Flexible devices, such as flexible electronic devices and flexible energy storage devices, have attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years for their potential applications in modern human lives. The development of flexible devices is moving forward rapidly, as the innovation of methods and manufacturing processes has greatly encouraged the research of flexible devices. This review focuses on advanced materials, architecture designs and abundant applications of flexible devices, and discusses the problems and challenges in current situations of flexible devices. We summarize the discovery of novel materials and the design of new architectures for improving the performance of flexible devices. Finally, we introduce the applications of flexible devices as key components in real life. Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Nos. 2017YFA0208200, 2016YFB0700600, 2015CB659300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21403105, 21573108), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 020514380107).

Advances in Flexible Hybrid Electronics Reliability

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

Advances in Flexible Hybrid Electronics Reliability Douglas R. Hackler, Richard L. Chaney, Brian N. Meek, Darrell E. Leber, Seth D. Leija, Kelly J...www.americansemi.com Abstract: Flexible Hybrid Electronics combine the best characteristics of printed electronics and silicon ICs to create high performance...presented for flexible hybrid electronics systems. Keywords: FleX; flexible; flexible hybrid electronics ; FHE; Silicon-on-Polymer Introduction

Experimental validation of flexible robot arm modeling and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ulsoy, A. Galip

1989-01-01

Flexibility is important for high speed, high precision operation of lightweight manipulators. Accurate dynamic modeling of flexible robot arms is needed. Previous work has mostly been based on linear elasticity with prescribed rigid body motions (i.e., no effect of flexible motion on rigid body motion). Little or no experimental validation of dynamic models for flexible arms is available. Experimental results are also limited for flexible arm control. Researchers include the effects of prismatic as well as revolute joints. They investigate the effect of full coupling between the rigid and flexible motions, and of axial shortening, and consider the control of flexible arms using only additional sensors.

Recent advances of flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Dong Hee; Heo, Jin Hyuck; Im, Sang Hyuk

2017-11-01

Recently, hybrid perovskite solar cells have attracted great interest because they can be fabricated to low cost, flexible, and highly efficient solar cells. Here, we introduced recent advances of flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells. We introduced research background of flexible perovskite solar cells in introduction part. Then we composed the main body to i) structure and properties of hybrid perovskite solar cells, ii) why flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells are important?, iii) transparent conducting oxide (TCO) based flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells, and iv) TCO-free transparent conducting electrode (TCE) based flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells. Finally, we summarized research outlook of flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells.

Highly Flexible Self-Powered Organolead Trihalide Perovskite Photodetectors with Gold Nanowire Networks as Transparent Electrodes.

PubMed

Bao, Chunxiong; Zhu, Weidong; Yang, Jie; Li, Faming; Gu, Shuai; Wang, Yangrunqian; Yu, Tao; Zhu, Jia; Zhou, Yong; Zou, Zhigang

2016-09-14

Organolead trihalide perovskites (OTPs) such as CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) have attracted much attention as the absorbing layer in solar cells and photodetectors (PDs). Flexible OTP devices have also been developed. Transparent electrodes (TEs) with higher conductivity, stability, and flexibility are necessary to improve the performance and flexibility of flexible OTP devices. In this work, patterned Au nanowire (AuNW) networks with high conductivity and stability are prepared and used as TEs in self-powered flexible MAPbI3 PDs. These flexible PDs show peak external quantum efficiency and responsivity of 60% and 321 mA/W, which are comparable to those of MAPbI3 PDs based on ITO TEs. The linear dynamic range and response time of the AuNW-based flexible PDs reach ∼84 dB and ∼4 μs, respectively. Moreover, they show higher flexibility than ITO-based devices, around 90%, and 60% of the initial photocurrent can be retained for the AuNW-based flexible PDs when bent to radii of 2.5 and 1.5 mm. This work suggests a high-performance, highly flexible, and stable TE for OTP flexible devices.

Oxide-based thin film transistors for flexible electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yongli; Wang, Xiangyu; Gao, Ya; Hou, Yahui; Wan, Qing

2018-01-01

The continuous progress in thin film materials and devices has greatly promoted the development in the field of flexible electronics. As one of the most common thin film devices, thin film transistors (TFTs) are significant building blocks for flexible platforms. Flexible oxide-based TFTs are well compatible with flexible electronic systems due to low process temperature, high carrier mobility, and good uniformity. The present article is a review of the recent progress and major trends in the field of flexible oxide-based thin film transistors. First, an introduction of flexible electronics and flexible oxide-based thin film transistors is given. Next, we introduce oxide semiconductor materials and various flexible oxide-based TFTs classified by substrate materials including polymer plastics, paper sheets, metal foils, and flexible thin glass. Afterwards, applications of flexible oxide-based TFTs including bendable sensors, memories, circuits, and displays are presented. Finally, we give conclusions and a prospect for possible development trends. Project supported in part by the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 61425020), in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11674162).

Distribución del continuo ultravioleta e infrarrojo en estrellas Be

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruzado, A.; Ringuelet, A.; di Rocco, H.

Estamos interesados en interpretar los excesos de flujo infrarrojo y/o ultravioleta observados en estrellas Be con respecto al de estrellas B normales, así como su posible correlación. Una envoltura rodeando la estrella distingue una estrella Be de una B normal; para explicar las observaciones es necesario entonces tener en cuenta todos los posibles procesos físicos que en ella tienen lugar. Adoptando un modelo atmosférico específico, hemos estudiado el proceso de recombinación dielectrónica de metales como MgII y FeII, teniendo en cuenta la posible influencia de la opacidad del medio en el flujo emitido.

Flexible Bronchoscopy.

PubMed

Miller, Russell J; Casal, Roberto F; Lazarus, Donald R; Ost, David E; Eapen, George A

2018-03-01

Flexible bronchoscopy has changed the course of pulmonary medicine. As technology advances, the role of the flexible bronchoscope for both diagnostic and therapeutic indications is continually expanding. This article reviews the historical development of the flexible bronchoscopy, fundamental uses of the flexible bronchoscope as a tool to examine the central airways and obtain diagnostic tissue, and the indications, complications, and contraindications to flexible bronchoscopy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Skill Flexibility among Schoolteachers: Operationalization and Organizational Implications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenblatt, Zehava; Inbal, Batia

1999-01-01

Investigates effects of skill flexibility on Israeli secondary teachers' work attitudes and job performance. Both role and functional flexibility were associated with improved teachers' work performance; role flexibility is linked to high organizational commitment and low powerlessness. Principals appreciate skill flexibility, but organizational…

Department of Defense Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... Register is mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U... the Agency's regulatory flexibility agenda, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because... Flexibility Act. Printing of these entries is limited to fields that contain information required by the...

21 CFR 874.4680 - Bronchoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... such as stainless steel or flexible plastic. This generic type of device includes the rigid ventilating... foreign body claw, bronchoscope tubing, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, flexible biopsy curette, and rigid bronchoscope aspirating tube, but...

Fabrication of Flexible Microneedle Array Electrodes for Wearable Bio-Signal Recording.

PubMed

Ren, Lei; Xu, Shujia; Gao, Jie; Lin, Zi; Chen, Zhipeng; Liu, Bin; Liang, Liang; Jiang, Lelun

2018-04-13

Laser-direct writing (LDW) and magneto-rheological drawing lithography (MRDL) have been proposed for the fabrication of a flexible microneedle array electrode (MAE) for wearable bio-signal monitoring. Conductive patterns were directly written onto the flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate by LDW. The microneedle array was rapidly drawn and formed from the droplets of curable magnetorheological fluid with the assistance of an external magnetic field by MRDL. A flexible MAE can maintain a stable contact interface with curved human skin due to the flexibility of the PET substrate. Compared with Ag/AgCl electrodes and flexible dry electrodes (FDE), the electrode-skin interface impedance of flexible MAE was the minimum even after a 50-cycle bending test. Flexible MAE can record electromyography (EMG), electroencephalography (EEG) and static electrocardiography (ECG) signals with good fidelity. The main features of the dynamic ECG signal recorded by flexible MAE are the most distinguishable with the least moving artifacts. Flexible MAE is an attractive candidate electrode for wearable bio-signal monitoring.

Fabrication of Flexible Microneedle Array Electrodes for Wearable Bio-Signal Recording

PubMed Central

Ren, Lei; Xu, Shujia; Gao, Jie; Lin, Zi; Chen, Zhipeng; Liu, Bin; Liang, Liang; Jiang, Lelun

2018-01-01

Laser-direct writing (LDW) and magneto-rheological drawing lithography (MRDL) have been proposed for the fabrication of a flexible microneedle array electrode (MAE) for wearable bio-signal monitoring. Conductive patterns were directly written onto the flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate by LDW. The microneedle array was rapidly drawn and formed from the droplets of curable magnetorheological fluid with the assistance of an external magnetic field by MRDL. A flexible MAE can maintain a stable contact interface with curved human skin due to the flexibility of the PET substrate. Compared with Ag/AgCl electrodes and flexible dry electrodes (FDE), the electrode–skin interface impedance of flexible MAE was the minimum even after a 50-cycle bending test. Flexible MAE can record electromyography (EMG), electroencephalography (EEG) and static electrocardiography (ECG) signals with good fidelity. The main features of the dynamic ECG signal recorded by flexible MAE are the most distinguishable with the least moving artifacts. Flexible MAE is an attractive candidate electrode for wearable bio-signal monitoring. PMID:29652835

Perspectives on Official English. The Campaign for English as the Official Language of the USA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Karen L., Ed.; Brink, Daniel T., Ed.

Essays on the campaign to establish English as the United States' official language include: "Official Languages and Language Planning" (Richard Ruiz); "Una lingua, una patria?: Is Monolingualism Beneficial or Harmful to a Nation's Unity?" (David F. Marshall and Roseann D. Gonzalez); "Canadian Perspectives on Official…

Russia’s Energy Policies and Ukraine’s NATO Candidacy

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

Government of Ukraine, “WTO protocol approved una voce nearly,” Web Portal of Ukrainian Government, April 10, 2008, http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control...with Eni into Libya fuels EU security fears.” Financial Times, April 3, 2008, 25. Government of Ukraine. “WTO protocol approved una voce nearly

PubMed

Benavente-Villegas, Felipe; Díaz-Corpas, Tania; García-Briz, María; Moneva-Léniz, Lya; Sánchez-Motilla, José; Prats-Máñez, Amelia; Fuertes-Prosper, Amparo; Soriano-Sarrió, Pilar

2018-01-15

La práctica de tatuajes tienen más de 8000 años de antigüedad, existiendo un incremento continuo en la sociedad occidental en las últimos 3 décadas La introducción de una sustancia exógena en la pielpuede provocar una respuesta inmunológica en su contra, estando descritas reacciones cutáneas por hipersensibilidad a una variedad de pigmentos, las que se limitan al área de un determinado color,atribuyéndose a los materiales inyectados. El color más reportado en la literatura es el rojo, que tradicionalmente se confeccionaban a base dederivados del mercurio (cinabrio). Diversos patrones histológicos de reacción están descritos, siendo el más frecuente el liquenoide. Presentamos una serie de 10 pacientes con reacción de hipersensibilidad a tatuaje rojo, con patrón histológico predominante dereacción granulomatosa y con moderada respuesta a tratamiento. Es importante cuando se está ante un patrón granulomatoso de reacción descartar sarcoidosis sistémica e infecciones por micobacterias.

[La diagnosi del disturbo da uso di alcol dal punto di vista psicologico].

PubMed

Coriale, Giovanna; Fiorentino, Daniela; Porrari, Raffaella; Battagliese, Gemma; Capriglione, Ida; Cereatti, Federica; Iannuzzi, Silvia; Mauri, Benilde; Galli, Domenica; Fiore, Marco; Attilia, Maria Luisa; Ceccanti, Mauro

2018-01-01

RIASSUNTO. Il disturbo da uso di alcol (DUA) è uno dei disturbi psichiatrici più comuni nella popolazione generale. Il DUA è caratterizzato da un pattern di bere eccessivo, che si mantiene nonostante gli effetti negativi che l'alcol ha sul funzionamento lavorativo, sulla salute, sulle problematiche legali, sull'educazione e sulla vita sociale. Attualmente, il modello bio-psico-sociale è quello che spiega meglio il DUA. Infatti, molte ricerche hanno fornito evidenze su come il DUA sia una patologia multidimensionale. Variabili biologiche, psicologiche e socio-culturali entrano in gioco nell'eziologia, nella natura, nel mantenimento e nel cambiamento nel tempo del disturbo. La fase diagnostica è un momento importante del processo di cura, perché il successo del trattamento dipende in larga misura dall'esattezza e dall'adeguatezza della diagnosi. La diagnosi clinica si basa su una valutazione globale del funzionamento del paziente e utilizza il colloquio e gli strumenti psicometrici come mezzo di raccolta di informazioni. Questo articolo fornirà una panoramica delle dimensioni psicologiche più importanti da valutare e sui migliori strumenti psicometrici da usare per una diagnosi adeguata.

Salud mental en desastres naturales: estrategias interventivas con adultos mayores en sectores rurales de Chile.

PubMed

Osorio-Parraguez, Paulina; Espinoza, Adriana

2016-06-01

En el presente artículo se da a conocer una estrategia de intervención llevada a cabo con adultos mayores en la comuna de Paredones, sexta región de Chile, con posterioridad al terremoto y tsunami del 27 de febrero 2010 en Chile, en el contexto de una investigación sobre fortalezas y vulnerabilidades desplegadas por este grupo etario, con posterioridad a un desastre natural. Se presenta una descripción del desarrollo metodológico de la intervención y de los sustentos teóricos y conceptuales en los que se basa. Como resultado de este proceso, se propone una estrategia que trabaje a través de la identificación de las propias experiencias y fortalezas de los sujetos. De tal forma se minimizan los efectos negativos de los determinantes sociales de la salud (como la edad y el lugar de residencia) en contexto de crisis; permitiendo a los adultos mayores fortalecer sus recursos individuales y colectivos, en pro de su bienestar psicosocial. © The Author(s) 2015.

Fotometría UBVI en NGC 6231

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baume, G. L.; Vázquez, R. A.; Feinstein, A.

Se ha realizado fotometría CCD UBVI en la zona del cúmulo abierto NGC 6231, habiéndose observado 1062 estrellas hasta una magnitud V≈ 19. Esto posibilita tener una imagen clara de la parte inferior de la secuencia principal del cúmulo. Combinando nuestros datos con tipos espectrales tomados de la literatura pudimos re-derivar la ley de absorción en dirección a este cúmulo y encontrar que los valores de R muestran variaciones de estrella a estrella. La secuencia principal inferior muestra también algunos rasgos intrigantes: hay un codo notorio en V≈ 13.5 seguido por un gran ``spread'' de magnitudes a color constante entre las estrellas débiles y una inusualmente alta densidad de estrellas a lo largo de una banda que se extiende 1.5 mag encima de la ZAMS. Los cálculos indican que el número esperado de estrellas de campo en dirección al cúmulo debería ser menor que el observado. Una re-evaluación de las funciones de luminosidad y masa dentro de los límites -7.5 < MV < 1.5 mag y 2 Msolar < M arroja pendientes planas para ambas funciones, lo que parece ser típico de cúmulos muy jóvenes. Todos estos rasgos son congruentes con un escenario joven donde las estrellas en fase de contracción están arribando a la secuencia principal.

Efectos combinados de la ampliación de la atención primaria de salud y de las transferencias condicionadas de dinero en efectivo sobre la mortalidad infantil en Brasil, 1998–2010*

PubMed Central

Guanais, Frederico C.

2015-01-01

Objetivos. Examiné los efectos combinados del acceso a la atención primaria mediante el Programa de Salud Familiar (PSF) y las transferencias condicionadas de dinero en efectivo del Programa Bolsa Familia (PBF) sobre la mortalidad infantil posneonatal (MIPN) en Brasil. Métodos. Empleé un análisis ecológico longitudinal usando datos en panel de 4 583 municipios brasileños de 1998 al 2010, con 54 253 observaciones en total. Estimé modelos de regresión de efectos fijos por mínimos cuadrados ordinarios, con la tasa de MIPN como la variable dependiente y el PSF, el PBF y sus interacciones como las principales variables independientes de interés. Resultados. La asociación de una mayor cobertura del PSF con una menor tasa de MIPN se volvió más fuerte conforme aumentaba la cobertura del PBF. En los promedios de todas las demás variables, cuando la cobertura de PBF era 25%, la MIPN predicha fue 5,24 (intervalo de confianza [IC] de 95% = 4,95, 5,53) para una cobertura del PSF de 0%, y de 3,54 (IC de 95% = 2,77, 4,31) para una cobertura del PSF de 100%. Cuando la cobertura del PBF era de 60%, la MIPN predicha fue 4,65 (IC de 95% = 4,36, 4,94) para una cobertura del PSF de 0%, y de 1,38 (IC de 95% = 0,88, 1,89) para una cobertura del PSF de 100%. Conclusiones. El efecto del PSF depende de la ampliación del PBF. Para las poblaciones empobrecidas y subatendidas, la combinación de intervenciones tanto del lado de la oferta como del lado de la demanda podría ser necesaria para mejorar los resultados en salud.

Flexible Learning in Teacher Education: Myths, Muddles and Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bigum, Chris; Rowan, Leonie

2004-01-01

While there has been widespread take-up of the concept 'flexible learning' within various educational environments--and equally frequent references to the flexible 'natures' of the computer and communication technologies that often underpin flexible learning initiatives--the relationship between technologies and flexibility is not a simple one. In…

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol Flexible Fuel Vehicle Conversions

Science.gov Websites

Ethanol Flexible Fuel Vehicle Conversions to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center : Ethanol Flexible Fuel Vehicle Conversions on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol Flexible Fuel Vehicle Conversions on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol Flexible Fuel

75 FR 21773 - Improving Government Regulations; Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-26

... Register is mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U... the Agency's regulatory flexibility agenda, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because... Flexibility Act. Printing of these entries is limited to fields that contain information required by the...

Flexible inorganic light emitting diodes based on semiconductor nanowires

PubMed Central

Guan, Nan; Dai, Xing; Babichev, Andrey V.; Julien, François H.

2017-01-01

The fabrication technologies and the performance of flexible nanowire light emitting diodes (LEDs) are reviewed. We first introduce the existing approaches for flexible LED fabrication, which are dominated by organic technologies, and we briefly discuss the increasing research effort on flexible inorganic LEDs achieved by micro-structuring and transfer of conventional thin films. Then, flexible nanowire-based LEDs are presented and two main fabrication technologies are discussed: direct growth on a flexible substrate and nanowire membrane formation and transfer. The performance of blue, green, white and bi-color flexible LEDs fabricated following the transfer approach is discussed in more detail. PMID:29568439

Flexible Photodetectors Based on 1D Inorganic Nanostructures

PubMed Central

Lou, Zheng

2015-01-01

Flexible photodetectors with excellent flexibility, high mechanical stability and good detectivity, have attracted great research interest in recent years. 1D inorganic nanostructures provide a number of opportunities and capabilities for use in flexible photodetectors as they have unique geometry, good transparency, outstanding mechanical flexibility, and excellent electronic/optoelectronic properties. This article offers a comprehensive review of several types of flexible photodetectors based on 1D nanostructures from the past ten years, including flexible ultraviolet, visible, and infrared photodetectors. High‐performance organic‐inorganic hybrid photodetectors, as well as devices with 1D nanowire (NW) arrays, are also reviewed. Finally, new concepts of flexible photodetectors including piezophototronic, stretchable and self‐powered photodetectors are examined to showcase the future research in this exciting field. PMID:27774404

Fabrication, characterization and applications of flexible vertical InGaN micro-light emitting diode arrays.

PubMed

Tian, Pengfei; McKendry, Jonathan J D; Gu, Erdan; Chen, Zhizhong; Sun, Yongjian; Zhang, Guoyi; Dawson, Martin D; Liu, Ran

2016-01-11

Flexible vertical InGaN micro-light emitting diode (micro-LED) arrays have been fabricated and characterized for potential applications in flexible micro-displays and visible light communication. The LED epitaxial layers were transferred from initial sapphire substrates to flexible AuSn substrates by metal bonding and laser lift off techniques. The current versus voltage characteristics of flexible micro-LEDs degraded after bending the devices, but the electroluminescence spectra show little shift even under a very small bending radius 3 mm. The high thermal conductivity of flexible metal substrates enables high thermal saturation current density and high light output power of the flexible micro-LEDs, benefiting the potential applications in flexible high-brightness micro-displays and high-speed visible light communication. We have achieved ~40 MHz modulation bandwidth and 120 Mbit/s data transmission speed for a typical flexible micro-LED.

Behavioral flexibility and problem solving in an invasive bird.

PubMed

Logan, Corina J

2016-01-01

Behavioral flexibility is considered an important trait for adapting to environmental change, but it is unclear what it is, how it works, and whether it is a problem solving ability. I investigated behavioral flexibility and problem solving experimentally in great-tailed grackles, an invasive bird species and thus a likely candidate for possessing behavioral flexibility. Grackles demonstrated behavioral flexibility in two contexts, the Aesop's Fable paradigm and a color association test. Contrary to predictions, behavioral flexibility did not correlate across contexts. Four out of 6 grackles exhibited efficient problem solving abilities, but problem solving efficiency did not appear to be directly linked with behavioral flexibility. Problem solving speed also did not significantly correlate with reversal learning scores, indicating that faster learners were not the most flexible. These results reveal how little we know about behavioral flexibility, and provide an immense opportunity for future research to explore how individuals and species can use behavior to react to changing environments.

Effect of Link Flexibility on tip position of a single link robotic arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madhusudan Raju, E.; Siva Rama Krishna, L.; Mouli, Y. Sharath Chandra; Nageswara Rao, V.

2015-12-01

The flexible robots are widely used in space applications due to their quick response, lower energy consumption, lower overall mass and operation at high speed compared to conventional industrial rigid link robots. These robots are inherently flexible, so that the kinematics of flexible robots can't be solved with rigid body assumptions. The flexibility in links and joints affects end-point positioning accuracy of the robot. It is important to model the link kinematics with precision which in turn simplifies modelling of dynamics of flexible robots. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of link flexibility on a tip position of a single link robotic arm for a given motion. The joint is assumed to be rigid and only link flexibility is considered. The kinematics of flexible link problem is evaluated by Assumed Modes Method (AMM) using MAT LAB Programming. To evaluate the effect of link flexibility (with and without payload) of robotic arm, the normalized tip deviation is found for flexible link with respect to a rigid link. Finally, the limiting inertia for payload mass is found if the allowable tip deviation is 5%.

Wholesale Electricity Market Design with Increasing Levels of Renewable Generation: Incentivizing Flexibility in System Operations

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

Ela, Erik; Milligan, Michael; Bloom, Aaron

This paper discusses the importance and challenges of incentivizing flexibility during short-term operations of the bulk power system due to the increasing variability and uncertainty from growing penetrations of variable generation (VG). Operational flexibility can refer to many aspects of a resource's capability to support the power system, such as the speed, range, and duration of power output, as well as the ability to autonomously respond to frequency or voltage changes. Inefficient utilization of existing flexibility, or unwillingness of resources to provide flexibility, can compromise system reliability by not meeting the changing net load, and it can also lead tomore » higher costs when an inefficient use of flexibility resources occurs. There are many existing characteristics of market design that incentivize flexibility in some manner. How they incentivize the provision of flexibility as well as the level of flexibility is still debated. We explore some of these existing market designs, as well as new market mechanisms, such as pay-for-performance regulating reserve and flexible ramping products, that aim to explicitly incentivize the provision of more flexibility to the system, particularly as a result of increasing VG penetration levels.« less

Mental health professional experiences of the flexible assertive community treatment model: a grounded theory study.

PubMed

Lexén, Annika; Svensson, Bengt

2016-08-01

Despite the lack of evidence for effectiveness of the Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (Flexible ACT), the model is considered feasible and is well received by mental health professionals. No current studies have adequately examined mental health professional experiences of working with Flexible ACT. The aim of this study was to explore mental health professional experiences of working with the Flexible ACT model compared with standard care. The study was guided by grounded theory and based on the interviews with 19 theoretically chosen mental health professionals in Swedish urban areas primarily working with consumers with psychosis, who had worked with the Flexible ACT model for at least 6 months. The analysis resulted in the core category: "Flexible ACT and the shared caseload create a common action space" and three main categories: (1) "Flexible ACT fills the need for a systematic approach to crisis intervention"; (2) "Flexible ACT has advantages in the psychosocial working environment"; and (3) "Flexible ACT increases the quality of care". Mental health professionals may benefit from working with the Flexible ACT model through decreased job-strain and stress, increased feeling of being in control over their work situation, and experiences of providing higher quality of care.

Tunnel flexibility effect on the ground surface acceleration response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baziar, Mohammad Hassan; Moghadam, Masoud Rabeti; Choo, Yun Wook; Kim, Dong-Soo

2016-09-01

Flexibility of underground structures relative to the surrounding medium, referred to as the flexibility ratio, is an important factor that influences their dynamic interaction. This study investigates the flexibility effect of a box-shaped subway tunnel, resting directly on bedrock, on the ground surface acceleration response using a numerical model verified against dynamic centrifuge test results. A comparison of the ground surface acceleration response for tunnel models with different flexibility ratios revealed that the tunnels with different flexibility ratios influence the acceleration response at the ground surface in different ways. Tunnels with lower flexibility ratios have higher acceleration responses at short periods, whereas tunnels with higher flexibility ratios have higher acceleration responses at longer periods. The effect of the flexibility ratio on ground surface acceleration is more prominent in the high range of frequencies. Furthermore, as the flexibility ratio of the tunnel system increases, the acceleration response moves away from the free field response and shifts towards the longer periods. Therefore, the flexibility ratio of the underground tunnels influences the peak ground acceleration (PGA) at the ground surface, and may need to be considered in the seismic zonation of urban areas.

Conditions of Flexibility: Securing a More Responsive Higher Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Ronald

2014-01-01

This report is the culmination of the "Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future" series of reports which have considered flexible learning from a range of perspectives. The report proposes fifteen conditions of flexibility to inject new thinking and new practices into an emerging new age. Flexible provision has the potential to…

Hydrodynamics of a flexible plate between pitching rigid plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Junyoung; Kim, Daegyoum

2017-11-01

The dynamics of a flexible plate have been studied as a model problem in swimming and flying of animals and fluid-structure interaction of plants and flags. Motivated by fish schooling and an array of sea grasses, we investigate the dynamics of a flexible plate closely placed between two pitching rigid plates. In most studies on passive deformation of the flexible plate, the plate is immersed in a uniform flow or a wavy flow. However, in this study, the flexible plate experiences periodic deformation by the oscillatory flow generated by the prescribed pitching motion of the rigid plates. In our model, the pitching axes of the rigid plates and the clamping position of the flexible plate are aligned on the same line. The flexible plate shows various responses depending on length and pitching frequency of rigid plates, thickness of a flexible plate, and free-stream velocity. To find the effect of each variable on the response of the flexible plate, amplitude of a trailing edge and modal contribution of a flapping motion are compared, and flow structure around the flexible plate is examined.

Cultivating "Una Persona Educada: A Sentipensante" (Sensing/Thinking) Vision of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rendon, Laura I.

2011-01-01

This essay focuses on the need to educate the new "persona educada", a dignified, honorable person with a good measure of social and personal responsibility who also possesses the habits of the mind and heart. To cultivate "una persona educada" requires a newly formed vision of education and pedagogy. Examples of three entrenched agreements that…

The Universidad Nacional Abierta of Venezuela. A Case Study in Distance Learning Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedman, H. Z.

A brief description of the country of Venezuela (geography, population, economy, internal communications, and politics) and its educational system introduce a description of the Universidad Nacional Abierta (UNA). The UNA was opened in July 1978 to expand the national system of higher education by the use of distance learning techniques. These…

Redescripcion de la hembra y descripcion del macho de Pseudomethoca argyrocephala (Hymenoptera Mutillidae)

Treesearch

J.A. Genaro; J.A. Torres

1999-01-01

La especie Pseudomethoca argyrocephala fue descrita muy brevemente a partir de una hembra colectada en St. John, Islas Vfrgenes (Gerstaecker, 1874). Su presencia, inadvertida por la ausencia de ejemplares en las principales colecciones y la deposicion del holotipo en algun museo de Alemania, posiblemente motivo la omision en una clave para las especies antillanas (...

Combustión turbulenta de materia nuclear en materia extraña

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vucetich, H.

La simulación numérica de supernovas tipo II muestra que los mecanismos físicos convencionales no son suficientes como para producir la explosión. La detonación de materia nuclear en materia extraña es un mecanismo físico capaz de proveer la energía faltante en las simulaciones. En esta comunicación se muestra que la turbulencia en el corazón compacto de una supernova, después del primer choque, es capaz de transformar una combustión lenta en una detonación. Se concluye que, si la materia extraña existe, todas las ``estrellas de neutrones'' son, en realidad, ``estrellas extrañas''.

21 CFR 874.4720 - Mediastinoscope and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier. (b...

21 CFR 874.4680 - Bronchoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... foreign body claw, bronchoscope tubing, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, flexible biopsy curette, and rigid bronchoscope aspirating tube, but...

21 CFR 874.4680 - Bronchoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... foreign body claw, bronchoscope tubing, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, flexible biopsy curette, and rigid bronchoscope aspirating tube, but...

21 CFR 874.4720 - Mediastinoscope and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier. (b...

21 CFR 874.4680 - Bronchoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... foreign body claw, bronchoscope tubing, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, flexible biopsy curette, and rigid bronchoscope aspirating tube, but...

21 CFR 874.4720 - Mediastinoscope and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier. (b...

Nanoscale electromechanical parametric amplifier

DOEpatents

Aleman, Benjamin Jose; Zettl, Alexander

2016-09-20

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to a parametric amplifier. In one aspect, a device includes an electron source electrode, a counter electrode, and a pumping electrode. The electron source electrode may include a conductive base and a flexible conductor. The flexible conductor may have a first end and a second end, with the second end of the flexible conductor being coupled to the conductive base. A cross-sectional dimension of the flexible conductor may be less than about 100 nanometers. The counter electrode may be disposed proximate the first end of the flexible conductor and spaced a first distance from the first end of the flexible conductor. The pumping electrode may be disposed proximate a length of the flexible conductor and spaced a second distance from the flexible conductor.

Assessment of the Relationship Between Flexibility and Adaptive Capacity in Flood Management Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiFrancesco, K.; Tullos, D. D.

2013-12-01

Discussions around adapting water management systems to future changes often state the need to increase system flexibility. Intuitively, a flexible, easily modifiable system seems desirable when faced with a wide range of uncertain, but plausible future conditions. Yet, despite the frequent use of the terms flexibility, very little work has examined what exactly it means to have a flexible water management system, what makes one system more flexible than another, or the extent to which flexibility increases adaptive capacity. This study applies a methodology for assessing the inherent flexibility of the structural and non-structural components of flood management systems using original flexibility metrics in the categories of: slack, intensity, connectivity, adjustability, and coordination. We use these metrics to assess the flexibility of three sub-systems within the Sacramento Valley flood management system in California, USA under current system conditions as well as with proposed management actions in place. We then assess the range of hydrologic conditions under which each sub-system can meet flood risk targets in order to determine whether more flexible systems are also more robust and able to perform over a wider range of hydrologic conditions. In doing so, we identify flexible characteristics of flood management systems that enhance the ability of the system to preform over a wide range of conditions making them better suited to adapt to an uncertain hydrologic future. We find that the flexibility characteristics that increase the range of conditions under which the system can meet performance goals varies depending on whether the region is considered urban, rural, or a small community. In some cases, a decrease in certain flexibility characteristics is associated with an increase in robustness, indicating that more flexibility is not always desirable. Future work will assess the transferability of these results to other regions and systems.

The Influence of Intrinsic Framework Flexibility on Adsorption in Nanoporous Materials

DOE PAGES

Witman, Matthew; Ling, Sanliang; Jawahery, Sudi; ...

2017-03-30

For applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) such as gas storage and separation, flexibility is often seen as a parameter that can tune material performance. In this work we aim to determine the optimal flexibility for the shape selective separation of similarly sized molecules (e.g., Xe/Kr mixtures). To obtain systematic insight into how the flexibility impacts this type of separation, we develop a simple analytical model that predicts a material’s Henry regime adsorption and selectivity as a function of flexibility. We elucidate the complex dependence of selectivity on a framework’s intrinsic flexibility whereby performance is either improved or reduced with increasingmore » flexibility, depending on the material’s pore size characteristics. However, the selectivity of a material with the pore size and chemistry that already maximizes selectivity in the rigid approximation is continuously diminished with increasing flexibility, demonstrating that the globally optimal separation exists within an entirely rigid pore. Molecular simulations show that our simple model predicts performance trends that are observed when screening the adsorption behavior of flexible MOFs. These flexible simulations provide better agreement with experimental adsorption data in a high-performance material that is not captured when modeling this framework as rigid, an approximation typically made in high-throughput screening studies. We conclude that, for shape selective adsorption applications, the globally optimal material will have the optimal pore size/chemistry and minimal intrinsic flexibility even though other nonoptimal materials’ selectivity can actually be improved by flexibility. In conclusion, equally important, we find that flexible simulations can be critical for correctly modeling adsorption in these types of systems.« less

Inter-Vertebral Flexibility of the Ostrich Neck: Implications for Estimating Sauropod Neck Flexibility

PubMed Central

Cobley, Matthew J.; Rayfield, Emily J.; Barrett, Paul M.

2013-01-01

The flexibility and posture of the neck in sauropod dinosaurs has long been contentious. Improved constraints on sauropod neck function will have major implications for what we know of their foraging strategies, ecology and overall biology. Several hypotheses have been proposed, based primarily on osteological data, suggesting different degrees of neck flexibility. This study attempts to assess the effects of reconstructed soft tissues on sauropod neck flexibility through systematic removal of muscle groups and measures of flexibility of the neck in a living analogue, the ostrich (Struthio camelus). The possible effect of cartilage on flexibility is also examined, as this was previously overlooked in osteological estimates of sauropod neck function. These comparisons show that soft tissues are likely to have limited the flexibility of the neck beyond the limits suggested by osteology alone. In addition, the inferred presence of cartilage, and varying the inter-vertebral spacing within the synovial capsule, also affect neck flexibility. One hypothesis proposed that flexibility is constrained by requiring a minimum overlap between successive zygapophyses equivalent to 50% of zygapophyseal articular surface length (ONP50). This assumption is tested by comparing the maximum flexibility of the articulated cervical column in ONP50 and the flexibility of the complete neck with all tissues intact. It is found that this model does not adequately convey the pattern of flexibility in the ostrich neck, suggesting that the ONP50 model may not be useful in determining neck function if considered in isolation from myological and other soft tissue data. PMID:23967284

Identification of critical factors affecting flexibility in hospital construction projects.

PubMed

Olsson, Nils E O; Hansen, Geir K

2010-01-01

This paper analyzes the dynamics relating to flexibility in a hospital project context. Three research questions are addressed: (1) When is flexibility used in the life cycle of a project? (2) What are the stakeholders' perspectives on project flexibility? And (3) What is the nature of the interaction between flexibility in the process of a project and flexibility in terms of the characteristics of a building? Flexibility is discussed from both a project management point of view and from a hospital architecture perspective. Flexibility in project life cycle and from a stakeholder perspective is examined, and the interaction between flexibility in scope lock-in and building flexibility is investigated. The results are based on case studies of four Norwegian hospital projects. Information relating to the projects has been obtained from evaluation reports, other relevant documents, and interviews. Observations were codified and analyzed based on selected parameters that represent different aspects of flexibility. One of the cases illustrates how late changes can have a significant negative impact on the project itself, contributing to delays and cost overruns. Another case illustrates that late scope lock-in on a limited part of the project, in this case related to medical equipment, can be done in a controlled manner. Project owners and users appear to have given flexibility high priority. Project management teams are less likely to embrace changes and late scope lock-in. Architects and consultants are important for translating program requirements into physical design. A highly flexible building did not stop some stakeholders from pushing for significant changes and extensions during construction.

Flexible and Lightweight Fuel Cell with High Specific Power Density.

PubMed

Ning, Fandi; He, Xudong; Shen, Yangbin; Jin, Hehua; Li, Qingwen; Li, Da; Li, Shuping; Zhan, Yulu; Du, Ying; Jiang, Jingjing; Yang, Hui; Zhou, Xiaochun

2017-06-27

Flexible devices have been attracting great attention recently due to their numerous advantages. But the energy densities of current energy sources are still not high enough to support flexible devices for a satisfactory length of time. Although proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) do have a high-energy density, traditional PEMFCs are usually too heavy, rigid, and bulky to be used in flexible devices. In this research, we successfully invented a light and flexible air-breathing PEMFC by using a new design of PEMFC and a flexible composite electrode. The flexible air-breathing PEMFC with 1 × 1 cm 2 working area can be as light as 0.065 g and as thin as 0.22 mm. This new PEMFC exhibits an amazing specific volume power density as high as 5190 W L -1 , which is much higher than traditional (air-breathing) PEMFCs. Also outstanding is that the flexible PEMFC retains 89.1% of its original performance after being bent 600 times, and it retains its original performance after being dropped five times from a height of 30 m. Moreover, the research has demonstrated that when stacked, the flexible PEMFCs are also useful in mobile applications such as mobile phones. Therefore, our research shows that PEMFCs can be made light, flexible, and suitable for applications in flexible devices. These innovative flexible PEMFCs may also notably advance the progress in the PEMFC field, because flexible PEMFCs can achieve high specific power density with small size, small volume, low weight, and much lower cost; they are also much easier to mass produce.

The Influence of Intrinsic Framework Flexibility on Adsorption in Nanoporous Materials

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

Witman, Matthew; Ling, Sanliang; Jawahery, Sudi

For applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) such as gas storage and separation, flexibility is often seen as a parameter that can tune material performance. In this work we aim to determine the optimal flexibility for the shape selective separation of similarly sized molecules (e.g., Xe/Kr mixtures). To obtain systematic insight into how the flexibility impacts this type of separation, we develop a simple analytical model that predicts a material’s Henry regime adsorption and selectivity as a function of flexibility. We elucidate the complex dependence of selectivity on a framework’s intrinsic flexibility whereby performance is either improved or reduced with increasingmore » flexibility, depending on the material’s pore size characteristics. However, the selectivity of a material with the pore size and chemistry that already maximizes selectivity in the rigid approximation is continuously diminished with increasing flexibility, demonstrating that the globally optimal separation exists within an entirely rigid pore. Molecular simulations show that our simple model predicts performance trends that are observed when screening the adsorption behavior of flexible MOFs. These flexible simulations provide better agreement with experimental adsorption data in a high-performance material that is not captured when modeling this framework as rigid, an approximation typically made in high-throughput screening studies. We conclude that, for shape selective adsorption applications, the globally optimal material will have the optimal pore size/chemistry and minimal intrinsic flexibility even though other nonoptimal materials’ selectivity can actually be improved by flexibility. In conclusion, equally important, we find that flexible simulations can be critical for correctly modeling adsorption in these types of systems.« less

Lumbopelvic flexibility modulates neuromuscular responses during trunk flexion-extension.

PubMed

Sánchez-Zuriaga, Daniel; Artacho-Pérez, Carla; Biviá-Roig, Gemma

2016-06-01

Various stimuli such as the flexibility of lumbopelvic structures influence the neuromuscular responses of the trunk musculature, leading to different load sharing strategies and reflex muscle responses from the afferents of lumbopelvic mechanoreceptors. This link between flexibility and neuromuscular response has been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between lumbopelvic flexibility and neuromuscular responses of the erector spinae, hamstring and abdominal muscles during trunk flexion-extension. Lumbopelvic movement patterns were measured in 29 healthy women, who were separated into two groups according to their flexibility during trunk flexion-extension. The electromyographic responses of erector spinae, rectus abdominis and biceps femoris were also recorded. Subjects with greater lumbar flexibility had significantly less pelvic flexibility and vice versa. Subjects with greater pelvic flexibility had a higher rate of relaxation and lower levels of hamstring activation during maximal trunk flexion. The neuromuscular response patterns of the hamstrings seem partially modulated by pelvic flexibility. Not so with the lumbar erector spinae and lumbar flexibility, despite the assertions of some previous studies. The results of this study improve our knowledge of the relationships between trunk joint flexibility and neuromuscular responses, a relationship which may play a role in low back pain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Buried and accessible surface area control intrinsic protein flexibility.

PubMed

Marsh, Joseph A

2013-09-09

Proteins experience a wide variety of conformational dynamics that can be crucial for facilitating their diverse functions. How is the intrinsic flexibility required for these motions encoded in their three-dimensional structures? Here, the overall flexibility of a protein is demonstrated to be tightly coupled to the total amount of surface area buried within its fold. A simple proxy for this, the relative solvent-accessible surface area (Arel), therefore shows excellent agreement with independent measures of global protein flexibility derived from various experimental and computational methods. Application of Arel on a large scale demonstrates its utility by revealing unique sequence and structural properties associated with intrinsic flexibility. In particular, flexibility as measured by Arel shows little correspondence with intrinsic disorder, but instead tends to be associated with multiple domains and increased α-helical structure. Furthermore, the apparent flexibility of monomeric proteins is found to be useful for identifying quaternary-structure errors in published crystal structures. There is also a strong tendency for the crystal structures of more flexible proteins to be solved to lower resolutions. Finally, local solvent accessibility is shown to be a primary determinant of local residue flexibility. Overall, this work provides both fundamental mechanistic insight into the origin of protein flexibility and a simple, practical method for predicting flexibility from protein structures. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inflexible parents, inflexible kids: a 6-year longitudinal study of parenting style and the development of psychological flexibility in adolescents.

PubMed

Williams, Kathryn E; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Heaven, Patrick C L

2012-08-01

Parenting behaviors have been linked to children's self regulation, but it is less clear how they relate to adolescent psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility is a broad construct that describes an individual's ability to respond appropriately to environmental demands and internal experiences in the service of their goals. We examined the longitudinal relationships between perceived parenting style and psychological flexibility among students at five Australian schools (N= 749) over 6 years, beginning in Grade 7 (50.3% female, mean age 12.39 years). Parenting style was measured in Grades 7 and 12, and psychological flexibility from Grade 9 through 12. Psychological flexibility decreased, on average, with age. Multi-level modelling indicated that authoritarian parenting (low warmth, high control) in Grade 7 predicted later (low) psychological flexibility. Moreover, increases in authoritarian parenting and decreases in authoritative parenting (high warmth and control) were associated with adolescent psychological flexibility across the high school years. Change in parenting predicted future psychological flexibility but did not predict change over time. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that adolescent psychological flexibility in Grade 9 predicted later decreases in authoritarian and increases in authoritative parenting. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding how parenting changes and the consequences of such change for the development of psychological flexibility.

Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries with High Areal Capacity Enabled by Smart Conductive Textiles.

PubMed

Ha, Sung Hoon; Shin, Kyu Hang; Park, Hae Won; Lee, Yun Jung

2018-02-05

Increasing demand for flexible devices in various applications, such as smart watches, healthcare, and military applications, requires the development of flexible energy-storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high flexibility and capacity. However, it is difficult to ensure high capacity and high flexibility simultaneously through conventional electrode preparation processes. Herein, smart conductive textiles are employed as current collectors for flexible LIBs owing to their inherent flexibility, fibrous network, rough surface for better adhesion, and electrical conductivity. Conductivity and flexibility are further enhanced by nanosizing lithium titanate oxide (LTO) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) active materials, and hybridizing them with a flexible 2D graphene template. The resulting LTO/LFP full cells demonstrate high areal capacity and flexibility with tolerance to mechanical fatigue. The battery achieves a capacity of 1.2 mA h cm -2 while showing excellent flexibility. The cells demonstrate stable open circuit voltage retention under repeated flexing for 1000 times at a bending radius of 10 mm. The discharge capacity of the unflexed battery is retained in cells subjected to bending for 100 times at bending radii of 30, 20, and 10 mm, respectively, confirming that the suggested electrode configuration successfully prevents structural damage (delamination or cracking) upon repeated deformation. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Flexibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humphrey, L. Dennis

1981-01-01

Flexibility is an important aspect of all sports and recreational activities. Flexibility can be developed and maintained by stretching exercises. Exercises designed to develop flexibility in ankle joints, knees, hips, and the lower back are presented. (JN)

46 CFR 111.60-13 - Flexible electric cord and cables.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Flexible electric cord and cables. 111.60-13 Section 111... cables. (a) Construction and testing. Each flexible cord and cable must meet the requirements in section.... Each flexible cord must be No. 18 AWG (0.82 mm2) or larger. (e) Splices. Each flexible cord and cable...

Biologically-Inspired Anisotropic Flexible Wing for Optimal Flapping Flight

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-01

AFRL-OSR-VA-TR-2013-0400 Biologically-Inspired, Anisotropic Flexible Wing for Optimal Flapping Flight Luis Bernal, Wei Shyy...Final Report Contract Number: FA9550-07-1-0547 Biologically-Inspired, Anisotropic Flexible Wing for Optimal Flapping Flight University of...minimize power consumption; 2. The interactions of unsteady aerodynamic loading with flexible structures; 3. Flexible , light-weight, multifunctional

Scheduling the future NASA Space Network: Experiences with a flexible scheduling prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Happell, Nadine; Moe, Karen L.; Minnix, Jay

1993-01-01

NASA's Space Network (SN) provides telecommunications and tracking services to low earth orbiting spacecraft. One proposal for improving resource allocation and automating conflict resolution for the SN is the concept of flexible scheduling. In this concept, each Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) will possess a Space Network User POCC Interface (SNUPI) to support the development and management of flexible requests. Flexible requests express the flexibility, constraints, and repetitious nature of the user's communications requirements. Flexible scheduling is expected to improve SN resource utilization and user satisfaction, as well as reduce the effort to produce and maintain a schedule. A prototype testbed has been developed to better understand flexible scheduling as it applies to the SN. This testbed consists of a SNUPI workstation, an SN scheduler, and a flexible request language that conveys information between the two systems. All three are being evaluated by operations personnel. Benchmark testing is being conducted on the scheduler to quantify the productivity improvements achieved with flexible requests.

Behavioral flexibility and problem solving in an invasive bird

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Behavioral flexibility is considered an important trait for adapting to environmental change, but it is unclear what it is, how it works, and whether it is a problem solving ability. I investigated behavioral flexibility and problem solving experimentally in great-tailed grackles, an invasive bird species and thus a likely candidate for possessing behavioral flexibility. Grackles demonstrated behavioral flexibility in two contexts, the Aesop’s Fable paradigm and a color association test. Contrary to predictions, behavioral flexibility did not correlate across contexts. Four out of 6 grackles exhibited efficient problem solving abilities, but problem solving efficiency did not appear to be directly linked with behavioral flexibility. Problem solving speed also did not significantly correlate with reversal learning scores, indicating that faster learners were not the most flexible. These results reveal how little we know about behavioral flexibility, and provide an immense opportunity for future research to explore how individuals and species can use behavior to react to changing environments. PMID:27168984

The development of consistency and flexibility in manual pointing during middle childhood.

PubMed

Golenia, Laura; Schoemaker, Marina M; Otten, Egbert; Tuitert, Inge; Bongers, Raoul M

2018-05-21

Goal-directed actions become truly functional and skilled when they are consistent yet flexible. In manual pointing, end-effector consistency is characterized by the end position of the index fingertip, whereas flexibility in movement execution is captured by the use of abundant arm-joint configurations not affecting the index finger end position. Because adults have been shown to exploit their system's flexibility in challenging conditions, we wondered whether during middle childhood children are already able to exploit motor flexibility when demanded by the situation. We had children aged 5-10 years and adults perform pointing movements in a nonchallenging and challenging condition. Results showed that end-effector errors and flexibility in movement execution decreased with age. Importantly, only the 9-10-year-olds and adults showed increased flexibility in the challenging condition. Thus, while consistency increases and flexibility decreases during mid-childhood development, from the age of nine children appear able to employ more flexibility with increasing task demands. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Flexible Light Emission Diode Arrays Made of Transferred Si Microwires-ZnO Nanofilm with Piezo-Phototronic Effect Enhanced Lighting.

PubMed

Li, Xiaoyi; Liang, Renrong; Tao, Juan; Peng, Zhengchun; Xu, Qiming; Han, Xun; Wang, Xiandi; Wang, Chunfeng; Zhu, Jing; Pan, Caofeng; Wang, Zhong Lin

2017-04-25

Due to the fragility and the poor optoelectronic performances of Si, it is challenging and exciting to fabricate the Si-based flexible light-emitting diode (LED) array devices. Here, a flexible LED array device made of Si microwires-ZnO nanofilm, with the advantages of flexibility, stability, lightweight, and energy savings, is fabricated and can be used as a strain sensor to demonstrate the two-dimensional pressure distribution. Based on piezo-phototronic effect, the intensity of the flexible LED array can be increased more than 3 times (under 60 MPa compressive strains). Additionally, the device is stable and energy saving. The flexible device can still work well after 1000 bending cycles or 6 months placed in the atmosphere, and the power supplied to the flexible LED array is only 8% of the power of the surface-contact LED. The promising Si-based flexible device has wide range application and may revolutionize the technologies of flexible screens, touchpad technology, and smart skin.

Child Temperamental Flexibility Moderates the Relation between Positive Parenting and Adolescent Adjustment

PubMed Central

Rabinowitz, Jill A.; Drabick, Deborah A.G.; Reynolds, Maureen D.; Clark, Duncan B.; Olino, Thomas M.

2016-01-01

Temperamental flexibility and lower positive parenting are associated with internalizing and externalizing problems; however, youth varying in flexibility may be differentially affected by positive parenting in the prediction of symptoms. We examined whether children's flexibility moderated prospective relations between maternal and paternal positive parenting and youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms during adolescence. Participants (N =775, 71% male) and their caregivers completed measures when youth were 10-12 and 12-14 years old. Father positive parenting interacted with child flexibility to predict father-reported internalizing and externalizing problems. Consistent with the diathesis-stress model, children lower in flexibility experienced greater symptoms than children higher in flexibility in lower positive parenting contexts. Among children lower in flexibility, lower paternal positive parenting was associated with greater internalizing and externalizing symptoms compared to higher paternal positive parenting. However, among youth higher in flexibility, symptom levels were similar regardless of whether youth experienced lower or higher paternal positive parenting. PMID:26834305

Development and initial evaluation of an enhanced measure of boundary flexibility for the work and family domains.

PubMed

Matthews, Russell A; Barnes-Farrell, Janet L

2010-07-01

This manuscript reports the development of a measure of work and family domain boundary flexibility. Building on previous research, we propose an expanded definition of boundary flexibility that includes two components-flexibility-ability and flexibility-willingness-and we develop a measure designed to capture this more comprehensive definition of boundary flexibility. Flexibility-ability is conceptualized as an individual's perception of personal and situational constraints that affect boundary management, and flexibility-willingness is conceptualized as an individual difference variable that captures the motivation to engage in boundary flexing. An additional feature of domain boundaries, permeability, is also examined. Data are presented from two studies. Study 1 (N = 244) describes the development of a multiscale measure that extends current conceptual definitions of boundary flexibility. Study 2 (N = 225) describes the refinement and evaluation of this measure. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability evidence, interscale correlations, and correlations with important work-family constructs (e.g., domain centrality, work-family conflict) provide initial construct validity evidence for the measure.

Flexible thermochromic window based on hybridized VO2/graphene.

PubMed

Kim, Hyeongkeun; Kim, Yena; Kim, Keun Soo; Jeong, Hu Young; Jang, A-Rang; Han, Seung Ho; Yoon, Dae Ho; Suh, Kwang S; Shin, Hyeon Suk; Kim, TaeYoung; Yang, Woo Seok

2013-07-23

Large-scale integration of vanadium dioxide (VO2) on mechanically flexible substrates is critical to the realization of flexible smart window films that can respond to environmental temperatures to modulate light transmittance. Until now, the formation of highly crystalline and stoichiometric VO2 on flexible substrate has not been demonstrated due to the high-temperature condition for VO2 growth. Here, we demonstrate a VO2-based thermochromic film with unprecedented mechanical flexibility by employing graphene as a versatile platform for VO2. The graphene effectively functions as an atomically thin, flexible, yet robust support which enables the formation of stoichiometric VO2 crystals with temperature-driven phase transition characteristics. The graphene-supported VO2 was capable of being transferred to a plastic substrate, forming a new type of flexible thermochromic film. The flexible VO2 films were then integrated into the mock-up house, exhibiting its efficient operation to reduce the in-house temperature under infrared irradiation. These results provide important progress for the fabrication of flexible thermochromic films for energy-saving windows.

Chemically modified graphene based supercapacitors for flexible and miniature devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Debasis; Kim, Sang Ouk

2015-09-01

Rapid progress in the portable and flexible electronic devises has stimulated supercapacitor research towards the design and fabrication of high performance flexible devices. Recent research efforts for flexible supercapacitor electrode materials are highly focusing on graphene and chemically modified graphene owing to the unique properties, including large surface area, high electrical and thermal conductivity, excellent mechanical flexibility, and outstanding chemical stability. This invited review article highlights current status of the flexible electrode material research based on chemically modified graphene for supercapacitor application. A variety of electrode architectures prepared from chemically modified graphene are summarized in terms of their structural dimensions. Novel prototypes for the supercapacitor aiming at flexible miniature devices, i.e. microsupercapacitor with high energy and power density are highlighted. Future challenges relevant to graphene-based flexible supercapacitors are also suggested. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

1-dimension nano-material-based flexible device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xing; Zhou, Zhaoying; Zheng, Fuzhong

2009-11-01

1D nano-material-based flexible devices has attracted considerable attention owing to the growing need of the high-sensitivity flexible sensor, portable consumer electronics etc.. In this paper, the 1D nano-materials-based flexible device on polyimide substrate was proposed. The bottom-up and top-down combined process were used for constructing the ZnO nanowire and the CNT-based flexible devices. Their electrical characteristics were also investigated. The measurement results demonstrate that the flexible device covered with a layer of Al2O3 has good ohm electrical contact behavior between the nano-material and micro-electrodes. The proposed 1D nano-material-based flexible device shows the application potential in the sensing fields.

AM OLED using a-Si TFT backplane on flexible plastic substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarma, Kalluri R.; Schmidt, John; Roush, Jerry; Chanley, Charles; Dodd, Sonia R.

2004-09-01

Amorphous silicon TFT technology continues to show promise for fabricating large area high resolution flexible AM OLED displays. This paper describes the recent progress in the flexible AM OLED development efforts at Honeywell since our publication in this conference's proceedings in 2003, describing the feasibility of fabricating a 64x64 pixel AM OLED on a flexible plastic substrate. In this paper we describe the design, and fabrication of a 160x160(x3) pixel AM OLED on a flexible plastic substrate with an equivalent 80cgpi resolution. Flexibility characteristics of the fabricated displays are discussed. Further advances and improvements required for extending the size and resolution of flexible AM OLED displays are discussed.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Latorre-Román, Pedro Ángel; Martínez-López, Emilio José; Ruiz-Ariza, Alberto; Izquierdo-Rus, Tomás; Salas-Sánchez, Jesús; García-Pinillos, Felipe

2016-06-30

Objetivo: el objetivo de este estudio es evaluar las propiedades psicométricas del cuestionario de disfrute por el ejercicio físico (PACES) en adolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad.Métodos: participaron 139 adolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad: 91 niñas (edad = 13,85 ± 1,92 años; índice de masa corporal [IMC] = 26,83 ± 3,16 kg/m2) y 48 niños (edad = 14,29 ± 1,62 años; IMC = 28,31 ± 3,74 kg/m2). Para analizar el disfrute por la actividad física se empleó el cuestionario Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES).Resultados: los resultados del análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio han mostrado una estructura de dos factores; a su vez el PACES presenta una consistencia interna muy alta (alfa de Cronbach = 0,908). La fiabilidad test-retest indica una buena concordancia temporal (Spearman rho = 0,815, p < 0,001). Por último, el PACES en adolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad manifiesta una validez convergente adecuada con la intencionalidad de ser activo (MIFA), la atracción por la actividad física (CAPA), la resistencia cardiorrespiratoria y los pliegues suprailiacoy subescapular.Conclusión: los resultados confirman que el PACES es una medida válida y fiable del disfrute por la actividad física en adolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad. El disfrute por la actividad física puede ser relevante en la participación de los adolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad en estas actividades.

Población de galaxias de baja luminosidad en cúmulos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valotto, C. A.; Muriel, H.; Moore, B.; García Lambas, D.

En este trabajo se discute sobre la presencia de un exceso de galaxias de baja luminosidad en medios de alta densidad de galaxias y la posibilidad de que los halos de galaxias cD puedan ser formados a partir de galaxias en cúmulos ricos, los cuales muestran una función de luminosidad (FL) con el extremo débil plano. Se analizaron muestras de cúmulos cercanos obtenidas a partir de los catálogos de Abell y X-ray Sample of Bright Clusters. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los cúmulos de galaxias que tienen emisión en rayos X detectada poseen una FL plana (α ≈ -1.2), consistente con los valores encontrados para las galaxias de campo. En cambio, los cúmulos de galaxias identificados a partir de distribuciones bidimensionales de galaxias que no tienen su contraparte en rayos X, muestran una FL con una pendiente pronunciada en el extremo débil (α ≈ -1.6). Se examinaron además, los posibles efectos debido a la presencia de una galaxia central dominante sobre el extremo débil de la FL. Se analizaron muestras de acuerdo a la clasificación Bautz-Morgan dividiendo en las submuestras I,I-II y II, II- III, III. Las FL resultantes para ambas muestras son indistinguibles. Nuestros resultados son consistentes con la hipótesis de que los efectos de proyección en cúmulos identificados en dos dimensiones pueden producir un exceso artificial de galaxias de baja luminosidad.

Active vibration control techniques for flexible space structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parlos, Alexander G.; Jayasuriya, Suhada

1990-01-01

Two proposed control system design techniques for active vibration control in flexible space structures are detailed. Control issues relevant only to flexible-body dynamics are addressed, whereas no attempt was made to integrate the flexible and rigid-body spacecraft dynamics. Both of the proposed approaches revealed encouraging results; however, further investigation of the interaction of the flexible and rigid-body dynamics is warranted.

Flexible Al-doped ZnO films grown on PET substrates using linear facing target sputtering for flexible OLEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Jin-A.; Shin, Hyun-Su; Choi, Kwang-Hyuk; Kim, Han-Ki

2010-11-01

We report the characteristics of flexible Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films prepared by a plasma damage-free linear facing target sputtering (LFTS) system on PET substrates for use as a flexible transparent conducting electrode in flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The electrical, optical and structural properties of LFTS-grown flexible AZO electrodes were investigated as a function of dc power. We obtained a flexible AZO film with a sheet resistance of 39 Ω/squ and an average transmittance of 84.86% in the visible range although it was sputtered at room temperature without activation of the Al dopant. Due to the effective confinement of the high-density plasma between the facing AZO targets, the AZO film was deposited on the PET substrate without plasma damage and substrate heating caused by bombardment of energy particles. Moreover, the flexible OLED fabricated on the AZO/PET substrate showed performance similar to the OLED fabricated on a ITO/PET substrate in spite of a lower work function. This indicates that LFTS is a promising plasma damage-free and low-temperature sputtering technique for deposition of flexible and indium-free AZO electrodes for use in cost-efficient flexible OLEDs.

Flexible Transparent Supercapacitors Based on Hierarchical Nanocomposite Films.

PubMed

Chen, Fanhong; Wan, Pengbo; Xu, Haijun; Sun, Xiaoming

2017-05-31

Flexible transparent electronic devices have recently gained immense popularity in smart wearable electronics and touch screen devices, which accelerates the development of the portable power sources with reliable flexibility, robust transparency and integration to couple these electronic devices. For potentially coupled as energy storage modules in various flexible, transparent and portable electronics, the flexible transparent supercapacitors are developed and assembled from hierarchical nanocomposite films of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and aligned polyaniline (PANI) nanoarrays upon their synergistic advantages. The nanocomposite films are fabricated from in situ PANI nanoarrays preparation in a blended solution of aniline monomers and rGO onto the flexible, transparent, and stably conducting film (FTCF) substrate, which is obtained by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) layer with Meyer rod and then coating of rGO layer on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Optimization of the transparency, the specific capacitance, and the flexibility resulted in the obtained all-solid state nanocomposite supercapacitors exhibiting enhanced capacitance performance, good cycling stability, excellent flexibility, and superior transparency. It provides promising application prospects for exploiting flexible, low-cost, transparent, and high-performance energy storage devices to be coupled into various flexible, transparent, and wearable electronic devices.

Office flexible cystoscopy.

PubMed

Kavoussi, L R; Clayman, R V

1988-11-01

Since the development of the first purpose-built flexible cystoscope in 1984, flexible cystoscopy has become an accepted diagnostic and therapeutic modality. Indeed, it is estimated that more than 10 per cent of practicing urologists are already familiar with this technology. The flexible cystoscope has markedly extended the urologist's ability to examine the bladder, and it has become a valuable adjunct to the rigid cystoscope. Although the operation of this instrument is vastly different from that of its rigid counterpart, with practice, the technique can be learned. After experience is obtained with diagnostic flexible cystoscopy, the urologist will likely prefer this new instrument for bladder inspection, as it provides for a more thorough yet less morbid and less expensive examination. In the future, the development of improved and smaller instrumentation will further extend the therapeutic indications for flexible cystoscopy. Indeed, advances in laser technology are already providing the urologist with 300- to 600-micron (0.9 to 1.8F) flexible probes capable of incision (KTP laser), fulguration (Nd:YAG laser), and stone disintegration (tunable dye laser). Lastly, the skills obtained in using the flexible cystoscope are all readily applicable to the development of dexterity with the already available flexible nephroscope and the more recently developed flexible ureteroscope.

Universal Network Access System

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-11-01

128 Figure 37 The detail of the SCM TX , (LO; local oscillator, LPF; Low-pass filter, AMP; Amplifier, BPF ...with UNAS, ( BPF : band-pass filter, BM Rx; Burst Mode receiver, AWGR; Arrayed waveguide grating router, FBG; Fiber Bragg Grating, TL; Tunable Laser...protocols. Standard specifications and RFCs will be used as guidelines for implementation. Table 1 UNAS Serial I/O Formats Protocol Implement1

Guía del Operador del Molino Preliminar -- 2009

Treesearch

Jan Wiedenbeck; Philip H. Mitchell; Bobby Ammerman; Daniel Saloni

2009-01-01

Los fabricantes de productos de madera requieren de una recuperación eficiente de los productos de la madera para que el negocio se mantenga lucrativo. La habilidad de una compañía para obtener el mayor rendimiento en las operaciones de corte de madera (e.g. Molino preliminar) puede variar de acuerdo a la material prima, productos, equipo de...

[Not Available].

PubMed

Torres Díaz, Cristina V; Martín Peña, Gonzalo; Ezquiaga, Elena; Navas García, Marta; García de Sola, Rafael

2016-07-19

Gracias a los avances técnicos en técnicas neuroquirúrgicas, y debido a que el diagnóstico y la clasificación de las enfermedades psiquiátricas han evolucionado significativamente a lo largo de las últimas décadas, se están desarrollando tratamientos a nivel experimental para aquellos pacientes resistentes al manejo conservador.La anorexia nerviosa es una enfermedad de prevalencia creciente, con la tasa de mortalidad más elevada dentro de los trastornos psiquiátricos, y con aproximadamente un 20% de pacientes que presentan una evolución tórpida. Para estos pacientes que no responden a manejo conservador, la estimulación cerebral profunda ha surgido como una alternativa terapéutica, si bien la literatura especializada al respecto es escasa.A continuación presentamos una revisión de la fisiopatología de la anorexia nerviosa, así como de los distintos tratamientos neuroquirúrgicos realizados a lo largo de la historia. Se detalla la perspectiva de tratamiento quirúrgico actual, así como los aspectos éticos que se han de considerar en relación con el surgimiento de estas nuevas terapias.

"You are free to set your own hours": governing worker productivity and health through flexibility and resilience.

PubMed

MacEachen, Ellen; Polzer, Jessica; Clarke, Judy

2008-03-01

Flexible work is now endemic in modern economies. A growing literature both praises work flexibility for accommodating employees' needs and criticizes it for fueling contingency and job insecurity. Although studies have identified varied effects of flexible work, questions remain about the workplace dimensions of flexibility and how occupational workplace health is managed in these workplaces. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of how managers in the computer software industry situate workplace flexibility and approach worker health. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers (and some workers) at 30 firms in Ontario, Canada. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, we examine managers' optimistic descriptions of flexibility which emphasize how flexible work contributes to workers' life balance. We then contrast this with managers' depictions of flexibility work practices as intense and inescapable. We suggest that the discourse of flexibility, and the work practices they foster, make possible and reinforce an increased intensity of work that is driven by the demands of technological pace and change that characterize the global information technology and computer software industries. Finally, we propose that flexible knowledge work has led to a re-framing of occupational health management involving a focus on what we call "strategies of resilience" that aim to buttress workers' capacities to withstand intensive and uncertain working conditions.

Cognitive flexibility in young children: General or task-specific capacity?

PubMed

Deák, Gedeon O; Wiseheart, Melody

2015-10-01

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing tasks or problems. To test whether cognitive flexibility is a coherent cognitive capacity in young children, we tested 3- to 5-year-olds' performance on two forms of task switching, rule-based (Three Dimension Changes Card Sorting, 3DCCS) and inductive (Flexible Induction of Meaning-Animates and Objects, FIM-Ob and FIM-An), as well as tests of response speed, verbal working memory, inhibition, and reasoning. Results suggest that cognitive flexibility is not a globally coherent trait; only the two inductive word-meaning (FIM) tests showed high inter-test coherence. Task- and knowledge-specific factors also determine children's flexibility in a given test. Response speed, vocabulary size, and causal reasoning skills further predicted individual and age differences in flexibility, although they did not have the same predictive relation with all three flexibility tests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Behavioral flexibility in an invasive bird is independent of other behaviors

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Behavioral flexibility is considered important for a species to adapt to environmental change. However, it is unclear how behavioral flexibility works: it relates to problem solving ability and speed in unpredictable ways, which leaves an open question of whether behavioral flexibility varies with differences in other behaviors. If present, such correlations would mask which behavior causes individuals to vary. I investigated whether behavioral flexibility (reversal learning) performances were linked with other behaviors in great-tailed grackles, an invasive bird. I found that behavioral flexibility did not significantly correlate with neophobia, exploration, risk aversion, persistence, or motor diversity. This suggests that great-tailed grackle performance in behavioral flexibility tasks reflects a distinct source of individual variation. Maintaining multiple distinct sources of individual variation, and particularly variation in behavioral flexibility, may be a mechanism for coping with the diversity of novel elements in their environments and facilitate this species’ invasion success. PMID:27478705

The Flexibility Scale: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Cognitive Flexibility Measure in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strang, John F.; Anthony, Laura G.; Yerys, Benjamin E.; Hardy, Kristina K.; Wallace, Gregory L.; Armour, Anna C.; Dudley, Katerina; Kenworthy, Lauren

2017-01-01

Flexibility is a key component of executive function, and is related to everyday functioning and adult outcomes. However, existing informant reports do not densely sample cognitive aspects of flexibility; the Flexibility Scale (FS) was developed to address this gap. This study investigates the validity of the FS in 221 youth with ASD and 57…

Modeling, design, and control of flexible manipulator arms: Status and trends

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Book, Wayne J.

1989-01-01

The desire for higher performance manipulators has lead to dynamic behavior in which the flexibility is an essential aspect. The mathematical representations commonly used in modeling flexible arms and arms with flexible drives are examined first. Then design considerations directly arising from the flexible nature of the arm are discussed. Finally, controls of joints for general and tip motion are discussed.

Dynamics modeling and adaptive control of flexible manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sasiadek, J. Z.

1991-01-01

An application of Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) to the position and force control of flexible manipulators and robots is presented. A single-link flexible manipulator is analyzed. The problem was to develop a mathematical model of a flexible robot that is accurate. The objective is to show that the adaptive control works better than 'conventional' systems and is suitable for flexible structure control.

Tiempo para un cambio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woltjer, L.

1987-06-01

En la reunion celebrada en diciembre dei ano pasado informe al Consejo de mi deseo de terminar mi contrato como Director General de la ESO una vez que fuera aprobado el proyecto dei VLT, que se espera sucedera hacia fines de este aAo. Cuando fue renovada mi designacion hace tres aAos, el Consejo conocia mi intencion de no completar los cinco aAos dei contrato debido a mi deseo de disponer de mas tiempo para otras actividades. Ahora, una vez terminada la fase preparatoria para el VLT, Y habiendose presentado el proyecto formalmente al Consejo el dia 31 de marzo, y esperando su muy probable aprobacion antes dei termino de este ano, me parece que el 10 de enero de 1988 presenta una excelente fecha para que se produzca un cambio en la administracion de la ESO.

Reliability and validity of two self-report measures of cognitive flexibility.

PubMed

Johnco, Carly; Wuthrich, Viviana M; Rapee, Ronald M

2014-12-01

Neuropsychological testing currently represents the gold standard in assessing cognitive flexibility. However, this format presents some challenges in terms of time and skills required for administration, scoring, and interpretation. Two self-report measures of cognitive flexibility have been developed to measure aspects of cognitive flexibility in everyday settings, although neither has been validated in an older sample. In this study, we investigated the psychometric properties of 2 self-report measures of cognitive flexibility, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI; Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010) and the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS; Martin & Rubin, 1995), against neuropsychological measures of cognitive flexibility in a clinical sample of 47 older adults with comorbid anxiety and depression and a nonclinical sample of 53 community-dwelling older adults. Internal consistency was good for the CFS and CFI in all samples. The clinical sample reported poorer cognitive flexibility than did the nonclinical sample on self-report measures and performed more poorly on some neuropsychological measures. There was evidence of convergent validity between the 2 self-report measures but little relationship between the self-report and neuropsychological measures of cognitive flexibility, suggesting that self-report measures assess a different aspect of cognitive flexibility than does neuropsychological testing. Divergent validity was weak from measures of anxiety and depression in the combined and nonclinical samples but acceptable in the clinical sample. Results suggest that these measures are suitable for use with an older adult sample but do not assess the same aspects of cognitive flexibility as are assessed by neuropsychological assessment. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Reduced graphene oxide nanoshells for flexible and stretchable conductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Wen-Shuai; Liu, Zhi-Bo; Xin, Wei; Chen, Xu-Dong; Tian, Jian-Guo

2016-03-01

Graphene has been extensively investigated for its use in flexible electronics, especially graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). To enhance the flexibility of CVD graphene, wrinkles are often introduced. However, reports on the flexibility of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) films are few, because of their weak conductivity and, in particular, poor flexibility. To improve the flexibility of RGO, reduced graphene oxide nanoshells are fabricated, which combine self-assembled polystyrene nanosphere arrays and high-temperature thermal annealing processes. The resulting RGO films with nanoshells present a better resistance stabilization after stretching and bending the devices than RGO without nanoshells. The sustainability and performance advances demonstrated here are promising for the adoption of flexible electronics in a wide variety of future applications.

Demystifying cognitive flexibility: Implications for clinical and developmental neuroscience

PubMed Central

Dajani, Dina R.; Uddin, Lucina Q.

2015-01-01

Cognitive flexibility, the readiness with which one can selectively switch between mental processes to generate appropriate behavioral responses, develops in a protracted manner and is compromised in several prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders. It is unclear whether cognitive flexibility arises from neural substrates distinct from the executive control network, or from the interplay of nodes within this and other networks. Here we review neuroimaging studies of cognitive flexibility, focusing on set shifting and task switching. We propose that more consistent operationalization and study of cognitive flexibility is required in clinical and developmental neuroscience. We suggest that an important avenue for future research is the characterization of the relationship between neural flexibility and cognitive flexibility in typical and atypical development. PMID:26343956

The paradox of cognitive flexibility in autism

PubMed Central

Geurts, Hilde M.; Corbett, Blythe; Solomon, Marjorie

2017-01-01

We present an overview of current literature addressing cognitive flexibility in autism spectrum disorders. Based on recent studies at multiple sites, using diverse methods and participants of different autism subtypes, ages and cognitive levels, no consistent evidence for cognitive flexibility deficits was found. Researchers and clinicians assume that inflexible everyday behaviors in autism are directly related to cognitive flexibility deficits as assessed by clinical and experimental measures. However, there is a large gap between the day-to-day behavioral flexibility and that measured with these cognitive flexibility tasks. To advance the field, experimental measures must evolve to reflect mechanistic models of flexibility deficits. Moreover, ecologically valid measures are required to be able to resolve the paradox between cognitive and behavioral inflexibility. PMID:19138551

Flexibility: Insights from successful ranchers [abstract

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Successful ranching families maintain flexibility in their operations over decades to multi-generational time spans. Interviews and focus groups with ranchers in the Western Great Plains help rangeland scientists understand flexibility, and barriers to flexibility, from a “ranchers’ perspective”. I ...

Flexible and mechanical strain resistant large area SERS active substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, J. P.; Chu, Hsiaoyun; Abell, Justin; Tripp, Ralph A.; Zhao, Yiping

2012-05-01

We report a cost effective and facile way to synthesize flexible, uniform, and large area surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates using an oblique angle deposition (OAD) technique. The flexible SERS substrates consist of 1 μm long, tilted silver nanocolumnar films deposited on flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets using OAD. The SERS enhancement activity of these flexible substrates was determined using 10-5 M trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl) ethylene (BPE) Raman probe molecules. The in situ SERS measurements on these flexible substrates under mechanical (tensile/bending) strain conditions were performed. Our results show that flexible SERS substrates can withstand a tensile strain (ε) value as high as 30% without losing SERS performance, whereas the similar bending strain decreases the SERS performance by about 13%. A cyclic tensile loading test on flexible PDMS SERS substrates at a pre-specified tensile strain (ε) value of 10% shows that the SERS intensity remains almost constant for more than 100 cycles. These disposable and flexible SERS substrates can be integrated with biological substances and offer a novel and practical method to facilitate biosensing applications.

Highly Efficient Flexible Quantum Dot Solar Cells with Improved Electron Extraction Using MgZnO Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaoliang; Santra, Pralay Kanti; Tian, Lei; Johansson, Malin B; Rensmo, Håkan; Johansson, Erik M J

2017-08-22

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells have high potential for realizing an efficient and lightweight energy supply for flexible or wearable electronic devices. To achieve highly efficient and flexible CQD solar cells, the electron transport layer (ETL), extracting electrons from the CQD solid layer, needs to be processed at a low-temperature and should also suppress interfacial recombination. Herein, a highly stable MgZnO nanocrystal (MZO-NC) layer is reported for efficient flexible PbS CQD solar cells. Solar cells fabricated with MZO-NC ETL give a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.4% and 9.4%, on glass and flexible plastic substrates, respectively. The reported flexible CQD solar cell has the record efficiency to date of flexible CQD solar cells. Detailed theoretical simulations and extensive characterizations reveal that the MZO-NCs significantly enhance charge extraction from CQD solids and diminish the charge accumulation at the ETL/CQD interface, suppressing charge interfacial recombination. These important results suggest that the low-temperature processed MZO-NCs are very promising for use in efficient flexible solar cells or other flexible optoelectronic devices.

Flexible-Device Injector with a Microflap Array for Subcutaneously Implanting Flexible Medical Electronics.

PubMed

Song, Kwangsun; Kim, Juho; Cho, Sungbum; Kim, Namyun; Jung, Dongwuk; Choo, Hyuck; Lee, Jongho

2018-06-25

Implantable electronics in soft and flexible forms can reduce undesired outcomes such as irritations and chronic damages to surrounding biological tissues due to the improved mechanical compatibility with soft tissues. However, the same mechanical flexibility also makes it difficult to insert such implants through the skin because of reduced stiffness. In this paper, a flexible-device injector that enables the subcutaneous implantation of flexible medical electronics is reported. The injector consists of a customized blade at the tip and a microflap array which holds the flexible implant while the injector penetrates through soft tissues. The microflap array eliminates the need of additional materials such as adhesives that require an extended period to release a flexible medical electronic implant from an injector inside the skin. The mechanical properties of the injection system during the insertion process are experimentally characterized, and the injection of a flexible optical pulse sensor and electrocardiogram sensor is successfully demonstrated in vivo in live pig animal models to establish the practical feasibility of the concept. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Protein Flexibility Facilitates Quaternary Structure Assembly and Evolution

PubMed Central

Marsh, Joseph A.; Teichmann, Sarah A.

2014-01-01

The intrinsic flexibility of proteins allows them to undergo large conformational fluctuations in solution or upon interaction with other molecules. Proteins also commonly assemble into complexes with diverse quaternary structure arrangements. Here we investigate how the flexibility of individual protein chains influences the assembly and evolution of protein complexes. We find that flexibility appears to be particularly conducive to the formation of heterologous (i.e., asymmetric) intersubunit interfaces. This leads to a strong association between subunit flexibility and homomeric complexes with cyclic and asymmetric quaternary structure topologies. Similarly, we also observe that the more nonhomologous subunits that assemble together within a complex, the more flexible those subunits tend to be. Importantly, these findings suggest that subunit flexibility should be closely related to the evolutionary history of a complex. We confirm this by showing that evolutionarily more recent subunits are generally more flexible than evolutionarily older subunits. Finally, we investigate the very different explorations of quaternary structure space that have occurred in different evolutionary lineages. In particular, the increased flexibility of eukaryotic proteins appears to enable the assembly of heteromeric complexes with more unique components. PMID:24866000

Extremely flexible nanoscale ultrathin body silicon integrated circuits on plastic.

PubMed

Shahrjerdi, Davood; Bedell, Stephen W

2013-01-09

In recent years, flexible devices based on nanoscale materials and structures have begun to emerge, exploiting semiconductor nanowires, graphene, and carbon nanotubes. This is primarily to circumvent the existing shortcomings of the conventional flexible electronics based on organic and amorphous semiconductors. The aim of this new class of flexible nanoelectronics is to attain high-performance devices with increased packing density. However, highly integrated flexible circuits with nanoscale transistors have not yet been demonstrated. Here, we show nanoscale flexible circuits on 60 Å thick silicon, including functional ring oscillators and memory cells. The 100-stage ring oscillators exhibit the stage delay of ~16 ps at a power supply voltage of 0.9 V, the best reported for any flexible circuits to date. The mechanical flexibility is achieved by employing the controlled spalling technology, enabling the large-area transfer of the ultrathin body silicon devices to a plastic substrate at room temperature. These results provide a simple and cost-effective pathway to enable ultralight flexible nanoelectronics with unprecedented level of system complexity based on mainstream silicon technology.

Static aeroelastic deformation of flexible skin for continuous variable trailing-edge camber wing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Libo; Yin, Weilong; Dai, Fuhong; Liu, Yanju; Leng, Jinsong

2011-03-01

The method for analyzing the static aeroelastic deformation of flexible skin under the air loads was developed. The effect of static aeroelastic deformation of flexible skin on the aerodynamic characteristics of aerofoil and the design parameters of skin was discussed. Numerical results show that the flexible skin on the upper surface of trailing-edge will bubble under the air loads and the bubble has a powerful effect on the aerodynamic pressure near the surface of local deformation. The static aeroelastic deformation of flexible skin significantly affects the aerodynamic characteristics of aerofoil. At small angle of attack, the drag coefficient increases and the lift coefficient decreases. With the increasing angle of attack, the effect of flexible skin on the aerodynamic characteristics of aerofoil is smaller and smaller. The deformation of flexible skin becomes larger and larger with the free-stream velocity increasing. When the free-stream velocity is greater than a value, both of the deformation of flexible skin and the drag coefficient of aerofoil increase rapidly. The maximum tensile strain of flexible skin is increased with consideration of the static aeroelastic deformation.

PubMed

Defagó, Victor

2017-10-10

Introducción: La incorporación de la Clínica y la Imagenología permiten una mejor comprensión de la Anatomía. El objetivo de este trabajo es desarrollar un prototipo rápido en material sintético que replique detalles anatómicos para ser utilizado en la docencia y el entrenamiento quirúrgico en Pediatría.Material y Método: Presentación de caso: Paciente de un año de edad con síndrome de dificultad respiratoria. En el examen endoscópico se halló una compresión traqueal distal. La angiotomografía confirmó la presencia de una malformación vascular. Con la finalidad de analizar una conducta adecuada, se solicitó la confección de un prototipo rápido a escala 1:1 que simulara una condición idéntica a la topografía torácica del paciente, utilizando imágenes virtuales 3D almacenadas en formato DICOM.Técnica de generación de prototipo rápido: Se obtuvo una malla digital tridimensional y se generó el código "g" que se utilizó para controlar el hardware de producción. Se efectuó simulación digital y producción en material plástico (ABS) con técnica de deposición y fusión (MDF). Se validó el prototipo comparándolo con las mediciones testigos del modelo virtual en 3 D.Resultados y Discusión: El modelo replicó exactamente los defectos hallados en la tomografía y endoscopía, confirmando la presencia de la malformación vascular y su repercusión sobre el aparato respiratorio. El prototipo rápido muestra las estructuras internas y externas del cuerpo humano con máxima precisión permitiendo una visión topográfica de situaciones "normales o patológicas" que facilitaría la docencia y el entrenamiento del equipo quirúrgico para proponer un plan de tratamiento adecuado. Hay numerosas áreas de la medicina que se beneficiarían con este modelo que podría ser construído con diversos tipos de materiales de diferente flexibilidad y consistencia. Conclusiones: El prototipo rápido le da estado físico a las imágenes virtuales 3D, permitiendo la docencia y entrenamiento del equipo quirúrgico.

Mass Ejection from Old and Young Stars and the Sun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jatenco-Pereira, V.; Opher, R.

1990-11-01

RESUMEN. Para poder explicar: 1) la enorme cantidad de perdida de masa y la baja velocidad asint5tica de las estrellas gigantes de o, y 2) los flujos de masa observados en protoestrellas, se sugiere un modelo para Ia perdida de masa, en donde se usa un flujo de ondas de Alfvencomo un mecanismo de aceleraci6n para los vientos de estrellas de tipo y vientos en protoestrellas. Se estudian los mecanismos de disipaci5n de las ondas de Alfven: los amortiguamientos no lineal, de superficie reso- nante y turbulento. En nuestro modelo se usa una divergente A(r) = A(R0) (r/r0)5 (donde A(r) es el area a una distancia radial r, y (A(r)/r2)max/(A(ro)/r02 - 10). Tambien se sugiere un modelo para una de hoyo coronal en el Sol. Se muestra que para satisfacer los datos observacionales en el Sol, tomando en cuenta la deposici6n del momento de las ondas de Alfven sobre el viento, se necesita: (a) una divergencia lenta en un hoyo coronal hasta una altura de 0.01 - 0.1 R seguido de (b) una divergencia rap ida de hasta una altura aproximada de 1 R . ABSTRACT: In order to explain (1) a large mass-loss rate and a small asymptotic flow speed of late-type giant stars and (2) the observed protostellar mass outflows, we suggest a model for mass loss, where we use a flux of Alfven waves as a mechanism of acceleration for late-type giant star winds and protostellar winds. We study the Alfven wave dissipation mechanisms: nonlinear damping, resonant surface damping, and turbulent damping. In our model we use a diverging geometry A(r) = A(r0) (r I r )S (where A(r) is the cross sectional area of the geometry at a radial distance r, and(A(r) I r2)max/(A(r0)/r02) = 10). We also suggest a model for a coronal hole geometry in the sun. We show that in order to satisfy the observational data of the sun, taking into account Alfven wave momentum deposition in the wind, we need: (a) a slow divergence in a coronal hole up t6 a height of 0.01 - 0.1 followed by (b) a rapid divergence up to a height of approximately 1 Re Key : '? #TICS - STARS-LATE TYPE - STARS- LOSS

Flexible Multi-Shock Shield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christiansen, Eric L. (Inventor); Crews, Jeanne L. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

Flexible multi-shock shield system and method are disclosed for defending against hypervelocity particles. The flexible multi-shock shield system and method may include a number of flexible bumpers or shield layers spaced apart by one or more resilient support layers, all of which may be encapsulated in a protective cover. Fasteners associated with the protective cover allow the flexible multi-shock shield to be secured to the surface of a structure to be protected.

Vacuum-actuated percutaneous insertion/implantation tool for flexible neural probes and interfaces

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

Sheth, Heeral; Bennett, William J.; Pannu, Satinderpall S.

A flexible device insertion tool including an elongated stiffener with one or more suction ports, and a vacuum connector for interfacing the stiffener to a vacuum source, for attaching the flexible device such as a flexible neural probe to the stiffener during insertion by a suction force exerted through the suction ports to, and to release the flexible device by removing the suction force.

Direct Fabrication of a-Si:H Thin Film Transistor Arrays on Plastic and Metal Foils for Flexible Displays

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

TFTs ) arrays for high information content active matrix flexible displays for Army applications. For all flexible substrates a manufacturable...impermeable flexible substrate systems “display-ready” materials and handling protocols, (ii) high performance TFT devices and circuits fabricated...processes for integration with the flexible TFT arrays. Approaches and solution to address each of these major challenges are described in the

Flexible organic TFT bio-signal amplifier using reliable chip component assembly process with conductive adhesive.

PubMed

Yoshimoto, Shusuke; Uemura, Takafumi; Akiyama, Mihoko; Ihara, Yoshihiro; Otake, Satoshi; Fujii, Tomoharu; Araki, Teppei; Sekitani, Tsuyoshi

2017-07-01

This paper presents a flexible organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) amplifier for bio-signal monitoring and presents the chip component assembly process. Using a conductive adhesive and a chip mounter, the chip components are mounted on a flexible film substrate, which has OTFT circuits. This study first investigates the assembly technique reliability for chip components on the flexible substrate. This study also specifically examines heart pulse wave monitoring conducted using the proposed flexible amplifier circuit and a flexible piezoelectric film. We connected the amplifier to a bluetooth device for a wearable device demonstration.

Endosymbiotic flexibility associates with environmental sensitivity in scleractinian corals.

PubMed

Putnam, Hollie M; Stat, Michael; Pochon, Xavier; Gates, Ruth D

2012-11-07

Flexibility in biological systems is seen as an important driver of macro-ecosystem function and stability. Spatially constrained endosymbiotic settings, however, are less studied, although environmental thresholds of symbiotic corals are linked to the function of their endosymbiotic dinoflagellate communities. Symbiotic flexibility is a hypothesized mechanism that corals may exploit to adapt to climate change. This study explores the flexibility of the coral-Symbiodinium symbiosis through quantification of Symbiodinium ITS2 sequence assemblages in a range of coral species and genera. Sequence assemblages are expressed as an index of flexibility incorporating phylogenetic divergence and relative abundance of Symbiodinium sequences recovered from the host. This comparative analysis reveals profound differences in the flexibility of corals for Symbiodinium, thereby classifying corals as generalists or specifists. Generalists such as Acropora and Pocillopora exhibit high intra- and inter-species flexibility in their Symbiodinium assemblages and are some of the most environmentally sensitive corals. Conversely, specifists such as massive Porites colonies exhibit low flexibility, harbour taxonomically narrow Symbiodinium assemblages, and are environmentally resistant corals. Collectively, these findings challenge the paradigm that symbiotic flexibility enhances holobiont resilience. This underscores the need for a deeper examination of the extent and duration of the functional benefits associated with endosymbiotic diversity and flexibility under environmental stress.

An overview of carbon materials for flexible electrochemical capacitors.

PubMed

He, Yongmin; Chen, Wanjun; Gao, Caitian; Zhou, Jinyuan; Li, Xiaodong; Xie, Erqing

2013-10-07

Under the background of the quick development of lightweight, flexible, and wearable electronic devices in our society, a flexible and highly efficient energy management strategy is needed for their counterpart energy-storage systems. Among them, flexible electrochemical capacitors (ECs) have been considered as one of the most promising candidates because of their significant advantages in power and energy densities, and unique properties of being flexible, lightweight, low-cost, and environmentally friendly compared with current energy storage devices. In a common EC, carbon materials play an irreplaceable and principal role in its energy-storage performance. Up till now, most progress towards flexible ECs technologies has mostly benefited from the continuous development of carbon materials. As a result, in view of the dual remarkable highlights of ECs and carbon materials, a summary of recent research progress on carbon-based flexible EC electrode materials is presented in this review, including carbon fiber (CF, consisting of carbon microfiber-CMF and carbon nanofiber-CNF) networks, carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene coatings, CNT and/or graphene papers (or films), and freestanding three-dimensional (3D) flexible carbon-based macroscopic architectures. Furthermore, some promising carbon materials for great potential applications in flexible ECs are introduced. Finally, the trends and challenges in the development of carbon-based electrode materials for flexible ECs and their smart applications are analyzed.

Landscape Terms and Place Names in the Trobriand Islands--The Kaile'una Subset

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senft, Gunter

2008-01-01

After a brief introduction to the topic the paper first gives an overview of Kilivila landscape terms and then presents the inventory of names for villages, wells, island points, reef-channels and gardens on Kaile'una Island, one of the Trobriand Islands in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The data on the meaning of the place names…

The Combine Project: An Experience in a Dual-Language Classroom = El proyecto de la cosechadora: una experiencia en una clase bilingue.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Rebecca

This article, also available in Spanish, describes what happened when a bilingual kindergarten class in West Liberty, Iowa, investigated a combine. The dual-language Kindergarten program supports content area instruction in both Spanish and English. The first part of the article tells the story of the Combine Project, this class's first project…

Traveling Along a Zipline

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

resultados se obtienen al equilibrar las fuerzas en las direcciones horizontal y vertical, de modo que el tratamiento es accesible para mayores de física...masa. A medida que aumenta el peso del ciclista de 0 a, las trayectorias de manera uniforme interpolar entre una catenaria y una elipse. Estos...an algebraic equation. Keywords: Zipline, curved spacetime, force balance, catenary. Resumen La trayectoria de un jinete lentamente atravesando

A Modular, Reconfigurable Surveillance UAV Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-02

Una Società Galileo Avionica A Modular, Reconfigurable Surveillance UAV Architecture METEOR, Finmeccanica Group Zona Industriale di Soleschiano Via...ES) METEOR, Finmeccanica Group Zona Industriale di Soleschiano Via Mario Stoppani 21 34077 Ronchi dei Legionari (GO) ITALY 8. PERFORMING...PMSFMS RS1Backup FMS NSU Payload Control Actuators Router Router RS2 Recovery Devices Una Società Galileo Avionica • Daylight TV Camera • IR Sensor • HR

The nature and necessity of operational flexibility in the emergency department.

PubMed

Ward, Michael J; Ferrand, Yann B; Laker, Lauren F; Froehle, Craig M; Vogus, Timothy J; Dittus, Robert S; Kripalani, Sunil; Pines, Jesse M

2015-02-01

Hospital-based emergency departments (EDs), given their high cost and major role in allocating care resources, are at the center of the debate about how to maximize value in delivering health care in the United States. To operate effectively and create value, EDs must be flexible, having the ability to rapidly adapt to the highly variable needs of patients. The concept of flexibility has not been well described in the ED literature. We introduce the concept, outline its potential benefits, and provide some illustrative examples to facilitate incorporating flexibility into ED management. We draw on operations research and organizational theory to identify and describe 5 forms of flexibility: physical, human resource, volume, behavioral, and conceptual. Each form of flexibility may be useful individually or in combination with other forms in improving ED performance and enhancing value. We also offer suggestions for measuring operational flexibility in the ED. A better understanding of operational flexibility and its application to the ED may help us move away from reactive approaches of managing variable demand to a more systematic approach. We also address the tension between cost and flexibility and outline how "partial flexibility" may help resolve some challenges. Applying concepts of flexibility from other disciplines may help clinicians and administrators think differently about their workflow and provide new insights into managing issues of cost, flow, and quality in the ED. Copyright © 2014 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Specificity and Affinity Quantification of Flexible Recognition from Underlying Energy Landscape Topography

PubMed Central

Chu, Xiakun; Wang, Jin

2014-01-01

Flexibility in biomolecular recognition is essential and critical for many cellular activities. Flexible recognition often leads to moderate affinity but high specificity, in contradiction with the conventional wisdom that high affinity and high specificity are coupled. Furthermore, quantitative understanding of the role of flexibility in biomolecular recognition is still challenging. Here, we meet the challenge by quantifying the intrinsic biomolecular recognition energy landscapes with and without flexibility through the underlying density of states. We quantified the thermodynamic intrinsic specificity by the topography of the intrinsic binding energy landscape and the kinetic specificity by association rate. We found that the thermodynamic and kinetic specificity are strongly correlated. Furthermore, we found that flexibility decreases binding affinity on one hand, but increases binding specificity on the other hand, and the decreasing or increasing proportion of affinity and specificity are strongly correlated with the degree of flexibility. This shows more (less) flexibility leads to weaker (stronger) coupling between affinity and specificity. Our work provides a theoretical foundation and quantitative explanation of the previous qualitative studies on the relationship among flexibility, affinity and specificity. In addition, we found that the folding energy landscapes are more funneled with binding, indicating that binding helps folding during the recognition. Finally, we demonstrated that the whole binding-folding energy landscapes can be integrated by the rigid binding and isolated folding energy landscapes under weak flexibility. Our results provide a novel way to quantify the affinity and specificity in flexible biomolecular recognition. PMID:25144525

Specificity and affinity quantification of flexible recognition from underlying energy landscape topography.

PubMed

Chu, Xiakun; Wang, Jin

2014-08-01

Flexibility in biomolecular recognition is essential and critical for many cellular activities. Flexible recognition often leads to moderate affinity but high specificity, in contradiction with the conventional wisdom that high affinity and high specificity are coupled. Furthermore, quantitative understanding of the role of flexibility in biomolecular recognition is still challenging. Here, we meet the challenge by quantifying the intrinsic biomolecular recognition energy landscapes with and without flexibility through the underlying density of states. We quantified the thermodynamic intrinsic specificity by the topography of the intrinsic binding energy landscape and the kinetic specificity by association rate. We found that the thermodynamic and kinetic specificity are strongly correlated. Furthermore, we found that flexibility decreases binding affinity on one hand, but increases binding specificity on the other hand, and the decreasing or increasing proportion of affinity and specificity are strongly correlated with the degree of flexibility. This shows more (less) flexibility leads to weaker (stronger) coupling between affinity and specificity. Our work provides a theoretical foundation and quantitative explanation of the previous qualitative studies on the relationship among flexibility, affinity and specificity. In addition, we found that the folding energy landscapes are more funneled with binding, indicating that binding helps folding during the recognition. Finally, we demonstrated that the whole binding-folding energy landscapes can be integrated by the rigid binding and isolated folding energy landscapes under weak flexibility. Our results provide a novel way to quantify the affinity and specificity in flexible biomolecular recognition.

Identification of Suitable Water Harvesting Zones Based on Geomorphic Resources for Drought Areas: A Case Study of Una District, Himachal Pradesh, India.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakasam, D. C., Jr.; Zaman, B.

2014-12-01

Water is one of the most vital natural resource and its availability and quality determine ecosystem productivity, both for agricultural and natural systems. Una district is one of the major potential agricultural districts in Himachal Pradesh, India. More than 70% of the population of this district is engaged in agriculture and allied sectors and major crops grown are maize, wheat, rice, sugarcane, pulses and vegetables. The region faces drought every year and about 90 per cent of the area is water stressed. This has resulted in crop loss and shortage of food and fodder. The sources of drinking water, small ponds and bowlies dry-up during summer season resulting in scarcity of drinking water. Una district receives rainfall during monsoons from June to September and also during non-monsoon period (winter). The annual average rainfall in the area is about 1040 mm with 55 average rainy days. But due to heavy surface run-off the farmers not able to cultivate the crops more than once in a year. Past research indicate that the geomorphology of the Una district might be responsible for such droughts as it controls the surface as well as ground water resources. The research proposes to develop a water stress model for Una district using the geomorphic parameters, water resource and land use land cover data of the study area. Using Survey of India topographical maps (1:50000), the geomorphic parameters are extracted. The spatial layers of these parameters i.e. drainage density, slope, relative relief, ruggedness index, surface water body's frequency are created in GIS. A time series of normalized remotely sensed data of the study area is used for land use land cover classification and analyses. Based on the results from the water stress model, the drought/water stress areas and water harvesting zones are identified and documented. The results of this research will help the general population in resolving the drinking water problem to a certain extent and also the cultivators to water the crops more than twice per year which might increase the crop yield in Una district.

Predicting vibrational failure of flexible ducting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henry, R. H.

1971-01-01

Technique applies to liquid or gas transfer through flexible ducting and proves valuable in high velocity fluid flow cases. Fluid mechanism responsible for free bellows vibrational excitation also causes flexible hose oscillation. Static pressure stress influences flexible ducting fatigue life and is considered separately.

California's New School Funding Flexibility. Technical Appendices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weston, Margaret

2011-01-01

The three appendices herein accompany the main report, "California's New School Funding Flexibility." Included are: (1) California's Previous Flexibility Policies; (2) Data and Methods; and (3) Categorical Funding and Student Disadvantage. (Contains 3 tables and 12 footnotes.) [For "California's New School Funding Flexibility,"…

The development of cognitive flexibility beyond the preschool period: an investigation using a modified Flexible Item Selection Task.

PubMed

Dick, Anthony Steven

2014-09-01

We explored the development of cognitive flexibility in typically developing 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds and adults by modifying a common cognitive flexibility task, the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST). Although performance on the standard FIST reached ceiling by 8 years, FIST performance on other variations continued to improve until 10 years of age. Within a detailed task analysis, we also explored working memory storage and processing components of executive function and how these contribute to the development of cognitive flexibility. The findings reinforce the notion that cognitive flexibility is a multifaceted construct but that the development of working memory contributes in part to age-related change in this ability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Flexibility Scale: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Cognitive Flexibility Measure in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

PubMed

Strang, John F; Anthony, Laura G; Yerys, Benjamin E; Hardy, Kristina K; Wallace, Gregory L; Armour, Anna C; Dudley, Katerina; Kenworthy, Lauren

2017-08-01

Flexibility is a key component of executive function, and is related to everyday functioning and adult outcomes. However, existing informant reports do not densely sample cognitive aspects of flexibility; the Flexibility Scale (FS) was developed to address this gap. This study investigates the validity of the FS in 221 youth with ASD and 57 typically developing children. Exploratory factor analysis indicates a five-factor scale: Routines/rituals, transitions/change, special interests, social flexibility, and generativity. The FS demonstrated convergent and divergent validity with comparative domains of function in other measures, save for the Generativity factor. The FS discriminated participants with ASD and controls. Thus, this study suggests the FS may be a viable, comprehensive measure of flexibility in everyday settings.

Workplace Flexibility and Daily Stress Processes in Hotel Employees and their Children

PubMed Central

Almeida, David M.; Davis, Kelly D.

2013-01-01

Our research aims to understand the consequences of inadequate workplace flexibility through the lens of daily stress processes. Using a sample of hourly hotel employees with children aged 10 to 18 who participated in a daily diary study, we compared workers with low and high flexibility on stressor exposure, reactivity, and transmission. Our findings showed a consistent pattern of hourly workers with low flexibility having greater exposure to work stressors in general and to work place arguments in particular. Workers with low flexibility were also more emotional and physically reactive to work stressors. There was some evidence of stressor transmission to children when parents had low flexibility. Increasing workplace flexibility could serve as a protective factor in exposure and reactivity to stressors that are experienced in daily life. PMID:23833321

Flexible thin-film transistors on plastic substrate at room temperature.

PubMed

Han, Dedong; Wang, Wei; Cai, Jian; Wang, Liangliang; Ren, Yicheng; Wang, Yi; Zhang, Shengdong

2013-07-01

We have fabricated flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) on plastic substrates using Aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) as an active channel layer at room temperature. The AZO-TFTs showed n-channel device characteristics and operated in enhancement mode. The device shows a threshold voltage of 1.3 V, an on/off ratio of 2.7 x 10(7), a field effect mobility of 21.3 cm2/V x s, a subthreshold swing of 0.23 V/decade, and the off current of less than 10(-12) A at room temperature. Recently, the flexible displays have become a very hot topic. Flexible thin film transistors are key devices for realizing flexible displays. We have investigated AZO-TFT on flexible plastic substrate, and high performance flexible TFTs have been obtained.

Simulation analysis of resource flexibility on healthcare processes

PubMed Central

Simwita, Yusta W; Helgheim, Berit I

2016-01-01

Purpose This paper uses discrete event simulation to explore the best resource flexibility scenario and examine the effect of implementing resource flexibility on different stages of patient treatment process. Specifically we investigate the effect of resource flexibility on patient waiting time and throughput in an orthopedic care process. We further seek to explore on how implementation of resource flexibility on patient treatment processes affects patient access to healthcare services. We focus on two resources, namely, orthopedic surgeon and operating room. Methods The observational approach was used to collect process data. The developed model was validated by comparing the simulation output with actual patient data collected from the studied orthopedic care process. We developed different scenarios to identify the best resource flexibility scenario and explore the effect of resource flexibility on patient waiting time, throughput, and future changes in demand. The developed scenarios focused on creating flexibility on service capacity of this care process by altering the amount of additional human resource capacity at different stages of patient care process and extending the use of operating room capacity. Results The study found that resource flexibility can improve responsiveness to patient demand in the treatment process. Testing different scenarios showed that the introduction of resource flexibility reduces patient waiting time and improves throughput. The simulation results show that patient access to health services can be improved by implementing resource flexibility at different stages of the patient treatment process. Conclusion This study contributes to the current health care literature by explaining how implementing resource flexibility at different stages of patient care processes can improve ability to respond to increasing patients demands. This study was limited to a single patient process; studies focusing on additional processes are recommended. PMID:27785046

Simulation analysis of resource flexibility on healthcare processes.

PubMed

Simwita, Yusta W; Helgheim, Berit I

2016-01-01

This paper uses discrete event simulation to explore the best resource flexibility scenario and examine the effect of implementing resource flexibility on different stages of patient treatment process. Specifically we investigate the effect of resource flexibility on patient waiting time and throughput in an orthopedic care process. We further seek to explore on how implementation of resource flexibility on patient treatment processes affects patient access to healthcare services. We focus on two resources, namely, orthopedic surgeon and operating room. The observational approach was used to collect process data. The developed model was validated by comparing the simulation output with actual patient data collected from the studied orthopedic care process. We developed different scenarios to identify the best resource flexibility scenario and explore the effect of resource flexibility on patient waiting time, throughput, and future changes in demand. The developed scenarios focused on creating flexibility on service capacity of this care process by altering the amount of additional human resource capacity at different stages of patient care process and extending the use of operating room capacity. The study found that resource flexibility can improve responsiveness to patient demand in the treatment process. Testing different scenarios showed that the introduction of resource flexibility reduces patient waiting time and improves throughput. The simulation results show that patient access to health services can be improved by implementing resource flexibility at different stages of the patient treatment process. This study contributes to the current health care literature by explaining how implementing resource flexibility at different stages of patient care processes can improve ability to respond to increasing patients demands. This study was limited to a single patient process; studies focusing on additional processes are recommended.

Global mapping of DNA conformational flexibility on Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Menconi, Giulia; Bedini, Andrea; Barale, Roberto; Sbrana, Isabella

2015-04-01

In this study we provide the first comprehensive map of DNA conformational flexibility in Saccharomyces cerevisiae complete genome. Flexibility plays a key role in DNA supercoiling and DNA/protein binding, regulating DNA transcription, replication or repair. Specific interest in flexibility analysis concerns its relationship with human genome instability. Enrichment in flexible sequences has been detected in unstable regions of human genome defined fragile sites, where genes map and carry frequent deletions and rearrangements in cancer. Flexible sequences have been suggested to be the determinants of fragile gene proneness to breakage; however, their actual role and properties remain elusive. Our in silico analysis carried out genome-wide via the StabFlex algorithm, shows the conserved presence of highly flexible regions in budding yeast genome as well as in genomes of other Saccharomyces sensu stricto species. Flexibile peaks in S. cerevisiae identify 175 ORFs mapping on their 3'UTR, a region affecting mRNA translation, localization and stability. (TA)n repeats of different extension shape the central structure of peaks and co-localize with polyadenylation efficiency element (EE) signals. ORFs with flexible peaks share common features. Transcripts are characterized by decreased half-life: this is considered peculiar of genes involved in regulatory systems with high turnover; consistently, their function affects biological processes such as cell cycle regulation or stress response. Our findings support the functional importance of flexibility peaks, suggesting that the flexible sequence may be derived by an expansion of canonical TAYRTA polyadenylation efficiency element. The flexible (TA)n repeat amplification could be the outcome of an evolutionary neofunctionalization leading to a differential 3'-end processing and expression regulation in genes with peculiar function. Our study provides a new support to the functional role of flexibility in genomes and a strategy for its characterization inside human fragile sites.

Role of Spontaneous Brain Activity in Explicit and Implicit Aspects of Cognitive Flexibility under Socially Conflicting Situations: A Resting-state fMRI Study using Fractional Amplitude of Low-frequency Fluctuations.

PubMed

Fujino, Junya; Tei, Shisei; Jankowski, Kathryn F; Kawada, Ryosaku; Murai, Toshiya; Takahashi, Hidehiko

2017-12-26

We are constantly exposed to socially conflicting situations in everyday life, and cognitive flexibility is essential for adaptively coping with such difficulties. Flexible goal choice and pursuit are not exclusively conscious, and therefore cognitive flexibility involves both explicit and implicit forms of processing. However, it is unclear how individual differences in explicit and implicit aspects of flexibility are associated with neural activity in a resting state. Here, we measured intrinsic fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) as an indicator of regional brain spontaneous activity, together with explicit and implicit aspects of cognitive flexibility using the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) and Implicit Association Test (IAT). Consistent with the dual processing theory, there was a strong association between explicit aspects of flexibility (CFS score) and "rationalism" thinking style and between implicit aspects (IAT effect) and "experientialism." The level of explicit flexibility was also correlated with fALFF values in the left lateral prefrontal cortex, whereas the level of implicit flexibility was correlated with fALFF values in the right cerebellum. Furthermore, the fALFF values in both regions predicted individual preference for flexible decision-making strategy in a vignettes simulation task. These results add to our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying flexible decision-making for solving social conflicts. More generally, our findings highlight the utility of RS-fMRI combined with both explicit and implicit psychometric measures for better understanding individual differences in social cognition. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Global Mapping of DNA Conformational Flexibility on Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PubMed Central

Menconi, Giulia; Bedini, Andrea; Barale, Roberto; Sbrana, Isabella

2015-01-01

In this study we provide the first comprehensive map of DNA conformational flexibility in Saccharomyces cerevisiae complete genome. Flexibility plays a key role in DNA supercoiling and DNA/protein binding, regulating DNA transcription, replication or repair. Specific interest in flexibility analysis concerns its relationship with human genome instability. Enrichment in flexible sequences has been detected in unstable regions of human genome defined fragile sites, where genes map and carry frequent deletions and rearrangements in cancer. Flexible sequences have been suggested to be the determinants of fragile gene proneness to breakage; however, their actual role and properties remain elusive. Our in silico analysis carried out genome-wide via the StabFlex algorithm, shows the conserved presence of highly flexible regions in budding yeast genome as well as in genomes of other Saccharomyces sensu stricto species. Flexibile peaks in S. cerevisiae identify 175 ORFs mapping on their 3’UTR, a region affecting mRNA translation, localization and stability. (TA)n repeats of different extension shape the central structure of peaks and co-localize with polyadenylation efficiency element (EE) signals. ORFs with flexible peaks share common features. Transcripts are characterized by decreased half-life: this is considered peculiar of genes involved in regulatory systems with high turnover; consistently, their function affects biological processes such as cell cycle regulation or stress response. Our findings support the functional importance of flexibility peaks, suggesting that the flexible sequence may be derived by an expansion of canonical TAYRTA polyadenylation efficiency element. The flexible (TA)n repeat amplification could be the outcome of an evolutionary neofunctionalization leading to a differential 3’-end processing and expression regulation in genes with peculiar function. Our study provides a new support to the functional role of flexibility in genomes and a strategy for its characterization inside human fragile sites. PMID:25860149

APPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH TO THE PROBLEM OF INSTRUCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SARTAIN, HARRY W.

SELECTED RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEM OF INSTRUCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY IS SURVEYED AND DISCUSSED. BROAD TOPICS OF DISCUSSION ARE DEPARTMENTALIZATION, HOMOGENEOUS SECTIONING, INTERCLASS ABILITY SECTIONING, THE EXTENT OF VARIABILITY IN READING DEVELOPMENT, AND PRACTICES THAT MAY INCREASE FLEXIBILITY. AMONG THOSE PRACTICES TO INCREASE FLEXIBILITY ARE TEAM…

21 CFR 874.4720 - Mediastinoscope and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

.... The device is made of materials such as stainless steel. This generic type of device includes the flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier. (b...

21 CFR 874.4720 - Mediastinoscope and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... The device is made of materials such as stainless steel. This generic type of device includes the flexible foreign body claw, flexible biopsy forceps, rigid biopsy curette, flexible biopsy brush, rigid biopsy forceps, and flexible biopsy curette, but excludes the fiberoptic light source and carrier. (b...

40 CFR 63.8782 - Am I subject to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operations... you own or operate a flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site that operates a flame... flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site is a plant site where pieces of flexible polyurethane...

40 CFR 63.8782 - Am I subject to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operations... you own or operate a flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site that operates a flame... flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site is a plant site where pieces of flexible polyurethane...

40 CFR 63.8782 - Am I subject to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operations... you own or operate a flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site that operates a flame... flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site is a plant site where pieces of flexible polyurethane...

40 CFR 63.8782 - Am I subject to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operations... you own or operate a flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site that operates a flame... flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site is a plant site where pieces of flexible polyurethane...

40 CFR 63.8782 - Am I subject to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operations... you own or operate a flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site that operates a flame... flexible polyurethane foam fabrication plant site is a plant site where pieces of flexible polyurethane...

Long-Lived Flexible Displays Employing Efficient and Stable Inverted Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Fukagawa, Hirohiko; Sasaki, Tsubasa; Tsuzuki, Toshimitsu; Nakajima, Yoshiki; Takei, Tatsuya; Motomura, Genichi; Hasegawa, Munehiro; Morii, Katsuyuki; Shimizu, Takahisa

2018-05-29

Although organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are promising for use in applications such as in flexible displays, reports of long-lived flexible OLED-based devices are limited due to the poor environmental stability of OLEDs. Flexible substrates such as plastic allow ambient oxygen and moisture to permeate into devices, which degrades the alkali metals used for the electron-injection layer in conventional OLEDs (cOLEDs). Here, the fabrication of a long-lived flexible display is reported using efficient and stable inverted OLEDs (iOLEDs), in which electrons can be effectively injected without the use of alkali metals. The flexible display employing iOLEDs can emit light for over 1 year with simplified encapsulation, whereas a flexible display employing cOLEDs exhibits almost no luminescence after only 21 d with the same encapsulation. These results demonstrate the great potential of iOLEDs to replace cOLEDs employing alkali metals for use in a wide variety of flexible organic optoelectronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Issues and Challenges Facing Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries for Practical Application.

PubMed

Cha, Hyungyeon; Kim, Junhyeok; Lee, Yoonji; Cho, Jaephil; Park, Minjoon

2017-12-27

With the advent of flexible electronics, lithium-ion batteries have become a key component of high performance energy storage systems. Thus, considerable effort is made to keep up with the development of flexible lithium-ion batteries. To date, many researchers have studied newly designed batteries with flexibility, however, there are several significant challenges that need to be overcome, such as degradation of electrodes under external load, poor battery performance, and complicated cell preparation procedures. In addition, an in-depth understanding of the current challenges for flexible batteries is rarely addressed in a systematical and practical way. Herein, recent progress and current issues of flexible lithium-ion batteries in terms of battery materials and cell designs are reviewed. A critical overview of important issues and challenges for the practical application of flexible lithium-ion batteries is also provided. Finally, the strategies are discussed to overcome current limitations of the practical use of flexible lithium-based batteries, providing a direction for future research. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Wearable and flexible electronics for continuous molecular monitoring.

PubMed

Yang, Yiran; Gao, Wei

2018-04-03

Wearable biosensors have received tremendous attention over the past decade owing to their great potential in predictive analytics and treatment toward personalized medicine. Flexible electronics could serve as an ideal platform for personalized wearable devices because of their unique properties such as light weight, low cost, high flexibility and great conformability. Unlike most reported flexible sensors that mainly track physical activities and vital signs, the new generation of wearable and flexible chemical sensors enables real-time, continuous and fast detection of accessible biomarkers from the human body, and allows for the collection of large-scale information about the individual's dynamic health status at the molecular level. In this article, we review and highlight recent advances in wearable and flexible sensors toward continuous and non-invasive molecular analysis in sweat, tears, saliva, interstitial fluid, blood, wound exudate as well as exhaled breath. The flexible platforms, sensing mechanisms, and device and system configurations employed for continuous monitoring are summarized. We also discuss the key challenges and opportunities of the wearable and flexible chemical sensors that lie ahead.

[Not Available].

PubMed

San Mauro-Martín, Ismael; Collado-Yurrita, Luis; Blumenfeld-Olivares, Javier Andrés; Cuadrado-Cenzual, María Ángeles; Calle-Purón, María Elisa; Hernández-Cabria, Marta; Garicano-Vilar, Elena; Pérez-Arruche, Eva; Arce-Delgado, Esperanza; CiudadCabañas, María José

2016-06-30

Introducción: la hipercolesterolemia es uno de los principales factores de riesgo en la enfermedad cardiovascular. Los esteroles vegetales se han postulado como agentes reguladores y beneficiosos para el control de esta.Objetivo: analizar el efecto de los esteroles vegetales añadidos en una leche en la reducción del colesterol plasmático en adultos jóvenes.Métodos: ensayo clínico, controlado, aleatorizado, doble ciego y cruzado. Los esteroles (2,24 g diarios) fueron administrados en dos tomas de 350 ml de una leche comercial desnatada, durante dos periodos de 3 semanas, separados por una "fase de lavado" de 2 semanas, en el grupo experimental. Al grupo control se le administró la misma cantidad de leche desnatada, sin esteroles. Tanto al inicio como al final de cadaperiodo de intervención se extrajeron muestras sanguíneas. Se analizaron la composición corporal, hábitos de salud y los siguientes marcadores sanguíneos: perfil lipídico, hematológico, inflamación, etc.Resultados: se incluyeron 54 personas en el estudio con una edad media de 38,8 ± 7,3 años. La diferencia porcentual entre los marcadores basales y finales para el colesterol total, colesterol-LDL, colesterol-HDL, triglicéridos y colesterol no-HDL fueron del 9,73%, 12,5%, 1,9%, 3,15% y 13,2%, respectivamente. Se obtuvieron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el grupo experimental y el grupo control, para todos los marcadores analizados excepto para los triglicéridos.Conclusión: los esteroles vegetales suministrados en un alimento de consumo habitual, como la leche, pueden ser una estrategia terapéutica no farmacológica para el control de la hipercolesterolemia de alto interés sanitario.

Meningococco B: controllo di due focolai epidemici mediante vaccinazione

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Riassunto La problematica di un efficace approccio vaccinale nei confronti del Meningococco B (MenB) è stata superata identificando con la metodica della "reverse vaccinology" alcuni antigeni capaci di indurre una risposta verso la maggior parte dei ceppi di MenB circolanti nel mondo. Il nuovo vaccino MenB a 4 componenti (4CMenB) è stato autorizzato in Europa, Australia e Canada, ed è entrato nei calendari di immunizzazione pediatrica internazionali: Australia, Canada, UK. In Italia, le prime regioni che hanno raccomandato la vaccinazione contro il MenB sono state Basilicata e Puglia. La gestione di epidemie/focolai epidemici richiede la messa in atto di una risposta rapida da parte delle autorità sanitarie nei confronti di una emergenza sanitaria ad elevato impatto, anche emotivo, sulla popolazione, come recentemente dimostrato in due università americane. Alla dichiarazione di focolaio epidemico in atto, in entrambi i contesti si è attivata una procedura per l'uso del vaccino 4CMenB non ancora autorizzato negli USA. È stato così possibile organizzare gli interventi di profilassi attiva nei due campus universitari, adottando il primo impiego su larga scala del nuovo vaccino 4CMenB e conseguendo, in tempi relativamente brevi, elevati tassi di copertura vaccinale. A fronte di circa 14000 studenti immunizzati con almeno una dose, non è stata segnalata alcuna problematica di eventi avversi conseguenti all'immunizzazione; ad oggi non si sono verificati casi nei soggetti che hanno ricevuto il vaccino. Come conseguenza dei due focolai descritti, è oggi in corso la valutazione da parte dell'FDA per l'estensione dell'uso del vaccino 4CMenB negli Stati Uniti negli adolescenti e giovani adulti. PMID:25916017

[In Process Citation].

PubMed

Blázquez, Ferrán Padrós; Navarro Contreras, Gabriela; Garcidueñas Gallegos, Diana; Fulgencio Juárez, Mónica

2016-03-25

Introducción: la obesidad es una enfermedad asociada a diferentes trastornos físicos y emocionales que inciden en la calidad de vida y que representan un problema de elevada prevalencia en el mundo. La etiología es múltiple y compleja; se ha señalado la culpa como consecuencia del sobrepeso y, al mismo tiempo, como factor asociado al aumento de peso. En México no existen instrumentos para evaluar la culpa por obesidad y sobrepeso en niños y adolescentes. Objetivos: analizar la fiabilidad y validez de la Escala de Culpa por Obesidad o Sobrepeso para Niños y Adolescentes (ECOSNA) en población de Morelia (México). Material y métodos: se elaboró una versión preliminar basada en la bibliografía que se sometió a la revisión de jueces expertos. La escala obtenida de 6 ítems se aplicó a una muestra de 1.418 estudiantes de educación básica de 7 a 15 años. Se realizó un análisis factorial confir- matorio y se estudió la relación de la escala con otras variables como autoestima, sintomatología depresiva y ansiedad. Resultados: la escala resultó unifactorial, se obtuvo un índice alfa de Cronbach de 0,853. La escala ECOSNA mostró una correlación moderada e inversa con la escala de autoestima, y directa y baja con la sintomatología depresiva y la ansiedad clínica. Conclusión: los datos empíricos indican que la escala presenta una validez y confiabilidad satisfactorias.

Tratamiento Quirúrgico de los Meningiomas del Foramen Óptico, Técnicay Resultados de una Serie de 18 Pacientes

PubMed Central

Goldschmidt, Ezequiel; Ajler, Pablo; Campero, Álvaro; Landriel, Federico; Sposito, Maximiliano; Carrizo, Antonio

2014-01-01

Introducción: los meningiomas del foramen óptico producen un rápido deterioro de la función visual aún cuando su tamaño es pequeño, por eso su diagnóstico y manejo difiere del resto de los meningiomas clinoideos. El propósito de este estudio es presentar la técnica y los resultados de nuestro manejo quirúrgico de meningiomas foraminales (MF). Pacientes y Métodos: se llevó a cabo una revisión de las historias clínicas de 47 pacientes con meningiomas primarios intraorbitarios. Se realizaron 52 cirugías en los pacientes con MF. Se empleó una craneotomía fronto-orbitaria, seguida de una descompresión extradural del canal óptico, resección del componente intraorbitario y exploración intradural del nervio óptico. Resultados: de los 12 pacientes con MF que presentaban la visión conservada, la agudeza visual fue preservada en 7 casos, mejoró en 2, y empeoró en 3. En 18 pacientes, el principal síntoma fue exoftalmos y en 35 pacientes ceguera unilateral. Ocurrieron 6 recurrencias, 2 a 10 años después de la resección quirúrgica. Cinco de ellos fueron reoperados. Se indicó radioterapia después de la recurrencia en 3 pacientes. Conclusión: el manejo de los MF continúa siendo controvertido y frecuentemente se propone un tratamiento conservador. Basados en nuestros hallazgos de frecuente extensión intracraneal, proponemos realizar una resección total o subtotal del tumor, preservando el nervio óptico en pacientes con visión prequirúrgica conservada. PMID:25165616

Unilateral adrenalectomy improves urinary protein excretion but does not abolish its relationship to sodium excretion in patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma.

PubMed

Pimenta, E; Gordon, R D; Ahmed, A H; Cowley, D; Robson, D; Kogovsek, C; Stowasser, M

2011-10-01

Experimental and human data suggest that adverse cardiovascular (CV) and renal effects of aldosterone excess are dependent on concomitant dietary salt intake. Increased urinary protein (Uprot) is an early sign of nephropathy independently associated with CV risk. We have previously reported a positive association between Uprot and urinary sodium (UNa) in patients with hyperaldosteronism, but not in patients with normal aldosterone levels. We aimed to determine whether Uprot is related to UNa in patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and whether the degree of Uprot and strength of this relationship is reduced following correction of hyperaldosteronism. Subjects with APA (n=24) underwent measurement of 24 h Uprot and UNa before and after unilateral adrenalectomy (follow-up 15.0±11.9 months). Following surgery, mean clinic systolic blood pressure fell (150.4±18.2 vs 134.5±14.5 mm Hg, P=0.0008), despite a reduction in number of antihypertensive medications, and Uprot (211.2±101.6 vs 106.0±41.8 mg per day, P<0.0001) decreased. There was a positive correlation between Uprot and UNa both before (r=0.5477, P=0.0056) and after (r=0.5097, P=0.0109) adrenalectomy. Changes in UNa independently predicted Uprot reduction (P=0.0189). These findings suggest that both aldosterone levels and dietary salt contribute to renal damage, and that once glomerular damage occurs it is not completely resolved following correction of hyperaldosteronism. Our study suggests that treatment strategies based on reduction of aldosterone effects, by adrenalectomy or mineralocorticoid receptor blockade, in conjunction with low-salt diet would provide additional target-organ protection in patients with primary aldosteronism.

Workplace flexibility: from research to action.

PubMed

Galinsky, Ellen; Sakai, Kelly; Wigton, Tyler

2011-01-01

Ellen Galinsky, Kelly Sakai, and Tyler Wigton explore the "time famine" among American workers-the continuing sense among employees of not having enough time to manage the multiple responsibilities of work and personal and family life. Noting that large shares of U.S. employees report feeling the need for greater workplace flexibility to enable them to take better care of family responsibilities, the authors examine a large-scale community-engagement initiative to increase workplace flexibility voluntarily. Using the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce as a primary source of data, the authors begin with an overview of the prevalence of flexibility in today's American workplace. They track which categories of employees have access to various flexibility options, as well as the extent to which employees with access to various types of flexibility use those options. Findings from the study indicate that the majority of employees want flexibility but that access to it varies, with more advantaged employees--those who are well educated, have high salaries, and work full time, for example--being doubly advantaged in having greater access to flexibility. A number of employers, say the authors, tend to be skeptical of the value of workplace flexibility and to fear that employees will abuse it if it is offered. But the study data reveal that most employees use flexibility quite conservatively. When the authors use their nationally representative data set to investigate correlations between access to workplace flexibility and a range of workplace outcomes especially valued by employers--employee engagement, job satisfaction, retention, and health--they find that employers as well as employees can benefit from flexibility. Finally, the authors discuss When Work Works, a large, national community-based initiative under way since 2003 to increase voluntary adoption of workplace flexibility. The authors detail the conceptual basis of the project's design, noting its emphasis on flexibility as one component of effective workplaces that can benefit employers, employees, and communities alike. Galinsky, Sakai, and Wigton conclude by drawing lessons learned from the project and briefly discussing the implications of using research to bring about workplace change.

Trajectory-Oriented Approach to Managing Traffic Complexity: Trajectory Flexibility Metrics and Algorithms and Preliminary Complexity Impact Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idris, Husni; Vivona, Robert A.; Al-Wakil, Tarek

2009-01-01

This document describes exploratory research on a distributed, trajectory oriented approach for traffic complexity management. The approach is to manage traffic complexity based on preserving trajectory flexibility and minimizing constraints. In particular, the document presents metrics for trajectory flexibility; a method for estimating these metrics based on discrete time and degree of freedom assumptions; a planning algorithm using these metrics to preserve flexibility; and preliminary experiments testing the impact of preserving trajectory flexibility on traffic complexity. The document also describes an early demonstration capability of the trajectory flexibility preservation function in the NASA Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP) platform.

Cognitive flexibility and religious disbelief.

PubMed

Zmigrod, Leor; Rentfrow, P Jason; Zmigrod, Sharon; Robbins, Trevor W

2018-06-11

Cognitive flexibility is operationalized in the neuropsychological literature as the ability to shift between modes of thinking and adapt to novel or changing environments. Religious belief systems consist of strict rules and rituals that offer adherents certainty, consistency, and stability. Consequently, we hypothesized that religious adherence and practice of repetitive religious rituals may be related to the persistence versus flexibility of one's cognition. The present study investigated the extent to which tendencies towards cognitive flexibility versus persistence are related to three facets of religious life: religious affiliation, religious practice, and religious upbringing. In a large sample (N = 744), we found that religious disbelief was related to cognitive flexibility across three independent behavioural measures: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Remote Associates Test, and Alternative Uses Test. Furthermore, lower frequency of religious service attendance was related to cognitive flexibility. When analysing participants' religious upbringing in relation to their current religious affiliation, it was manifest that current affiliation was more influential than religious upbringing in all the measured facets of cognitive flexibility. The findings indicate that religious affiliation and engagement may shape and be shaped by cognitive control styles towards flexibility versus persistence, highlighting the tight links between flexibility of thought and religious ideologies.

High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals.

PubMed

Varghese, Tony; Hollar, Courtney; Richardson, Joseph; Kempf, Nicholas; Han, Chao; Gamarachchi, Pasindu; Estrada, David; Mehta, Rutvik J; Zhang, Yanliang

2016-09-12

Screen printing allows for direct conversion of thermoelectric nanocrystals into flexible energy harvesters and coolers. However, obtaining flexible thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit ZT through printing is an exacting challenge due to the difficulties to synthesize high-performance thermoelectric inks and the poor density and electrical conductivity of the printed films. Here, we demonstrate high-performance flexible films and devices by screen printing bismuth telluride based nanocrystal inks synthesized using a microwave-stimulated wet-chemical method. Thermoelectric films of several tens of microns thickness were screen printed onto a flexible polyimide substrate followed by cold compaction and sintering. The n-type films demonstrate a peak ZT of 0.43 along with superior flexibility, which is among the highest reported ZT values in flexible thermoelectric materials. A flexible thermoelectric device fabricated using the printed films produces a high power density of 4.1 mW/cm(2) with 60 °C temperature difference between the hot side and cold side. The highly scalable and low cost process to fabricate flexible thermoelectric materials and devices demonstrated here opens up many opportunities to transform thermoelectric energy harvesting and cooling applications.

A Concept for Flexible Operations and Optimized Traffic into Metroplex Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLaurentis, Daniel; Landry, Steve; Sun, Dengfeng; Wieland, Fred; Tyagi, Ankit

2011-01-01

A "Flexible Flight Operations" concept for airport metroplexes was studied. A flexible flight is one whose destination airport is not assigned until a threshold is reached near the arrival area at which time the runway which reduces overall delay is assigned. The concept seeks to increase throughput by exploiting flexibility. The quantification of best-case benefits from the concept was pursued to establish whether concept research is warranted. Findings indicate that indeed the concept has potential for significant reductions in delay (and cost due to delay) in the N90 (NY/NJ) and SCT (Southern California) metroplexes. Delay reductions of nearly 26% are possible in N90 when 30% of the commercial airline flights are flexible (smartly selected by their low probability of connecting passengers); nearly 40% delay reduction is found when 50% of the flights are flexible. In the SCT metroplex, delay reductions estimates are greater. Greater reductions result at SCT since it is less constrained currently than N90, providing "more room" to take advantage of flexibility. Using the flexible operations concept for on-demand/air taxi and General Aviation flights were found to be beneficial at NY/NJ, indicating the flexible operations concepts may be useful to wide variety of users..

Body image flexibility moderates the association between disordered eating cognition and disordered eating behavior in a non-clinical sample of women: a cross-sectional investigation.

PubMed

Moore, Makeda; Masuda, Akihiko; Hill, Mary L; Goodnight, Bradley L

2014-12-01

Body image flexibility, a regulation process of openly and freely experiencing disordered eating thoughts and body dissatisfaction, has been found to be a buffering factor against disordered eating symptomatology. The present cross-sectional study investigates whether body image flexibility accounts for disordered eating behavior above and beyond disordered eating cognition, mindfulness, and psychological inflexibility in a sample of nonclinical women, and whether body image flexibility moderates the associations between these correlates and disordered eating behavior. Participants were 421 women, age 21±5.3 years old on average, who completed a web-based survey that included the self-report measures of interest. Results demonstrate the incremental effects of body image flexibility on disordered eating behavior above and beyond disordered eating cognition, mindfulness, and psychological inflexibility. Women with greater body image flexibility endorse disordered eating behavior less so than those with lower body image flexibility. Body image flexibility moderates the association between disordered eating cognition and disordered eating behavior; for women with greater body image flexibility, disordered eating cognition is not positively associated with disordered eating behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals

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

Varghese, Tony; Hollar, Courtney; Richardson, Joseph

Screen printing allows for direct conversion of thermoelectric nanocrystals into flexible energy harvesters and coolers. However, obtaining flexible thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit ZT through printing is an exacting challenge due to the difficulties to synthesize high-performance thermoelectric inks and the poor density and electrical conductivity of the printed films. Here, we demonstrate high-performance flexible films and devices by screen printing bismuth telluride based nanocrystal inks synthesized using a microwave-stimulated wet-chemical method. Thermoelectric films of several tens of microns thickness were screen printed onto a flexible polyimide substrate followed by cold compaction and sintering. The n-type films demonstratemore » a peak ZT of 0.43 along with superior flexibility, which is among the highest reported ZT values in flexible thermoelectric materials. A flexible thermoelectric device fabricated using the printed films produces a high power density of 4.1 mW/cm 2 with 60°C temperature difference between the hot side and cold side. In conclusion, the highly scalable and low cost process to fabricate flexible thermoelectric materials and devices demonstrated here opens up many opportunities to transform thermoelectric energy harvesting and cooling applications.« less

The role of body image psychological flexibility on the treatment of eating disorders in a residential facility.

PubMed

Bluett, E J; Lee, E B; Simone, M; Lockhart, G; Twohig, M P; Lensegrav-Benson, Tera; Quakenbush-Roberts, Benita

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to test whether pre-treatment levels of psychological flexibility would longitudinally predict quality of life and eating disorder risk in patients at a residential treatment facility for eating disorders. Data on body image psychological flexibility, quality of life, and eating disorder risk were collected from 63 adolescent and 50 adult, female, residential patients (N=113) diagnosed with an eating disorder. These same measures were again collected at post-treatment. Sequential multiple regression analyses were performed to test whether pre-treatment levels of psychological flexibility longitudinally predicted quality of life and eating disorder risk after controlling for age and baseline effects. Pre-treatment psychological flexibility significantly predicted post-treatment quality of life with approximately 19% of the variation being attributable to age and pre-treatment psychological flexibility. Pre-treatment psychological flexibility also significantly predicted post-treatment eating disorder risk with nearly 30% of the variation attributed to age and pre-treatment psychological flexibility. This study suggests that levels of psychological flexibility upon entering treatment for an eating disorder longitudinally predict eating disorder outcome and quality of life. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Controlling Flexible Manipulators, an Experimental Investigation. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hastings, Gordon Greene

1986-01-01

Lightweight, slender manipulators offer faster response and/or greater workspace range for the same size actuators than tradional manipulators. Lightweight construction of manipulator links results in increased structural flexibility. The increase flexibility must be considered in the design of control systems to properly account for the dynamic flexible vibrations and static deflections. Real time control of the flexible manipulator vibrations are experimentally investigated. Models intended for real-time control of distributed parameter system such as flexible manipulators rely on model approximation schemes. An linear model based on the application of Lagrangian dynamics to a rigid body mode and a series of separable flexible modes is examined with respect to model order requirements, and modal candidate selection. Balanced realizations are applied to the linear flexible model to obtain an estimate of appropriate order for a selected model. Describing the flexible deflections as a linear combination of modes results in measurements of beam state, which yield information about several modes. To realize the potential of linear systems theory, knowledge of each state must be available. State estimation is also accomplished by implementation of a Kalman Filter. State feedback control laws are implemented based upon linear quadratic regulator design.

High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals

DOE PAGES

Varghese, Tony; Hollar, Courtney; Richardson, Joseph; ...

2016-09-12

Screen printing allows for direct conversion of thermoelectric nanocrystals into flexible energy harvesters and coolers. However, obtaining flexible thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit ZT through printing is an exacting challenge due to the difficulties to synthesize high-performance thermoelectric inks and the poor density and electrical conductivity of the printed films. Here, we demonstrate high-performance flexible films and devices by screen printing bismuth telluride based nanocrystal inks synthesized using a microwave-stimulated wet-chemical method. Thermoelectric films of several tens of microns thickness were screen printed onto a flexible polyimide substrate followed by cold compaction and sintering. The n-type films demonstratemore » a peak ZT of 0.43 along with superior flexibility, which is among the highest reported ZT values in flexible thermoelectric materials. A flexible thermoelectric device fabricated using the printed films produces a high power density of 4.1 mW/cm 2 with 60°C temperature difference between the hot side and cold side. In conclusion, the highly scalable and low cost process to fabricate flexible thermoelectric materials and devices demonstrated here opens up many opportunities to transform thermoelectric energy harvesting and cooling applications.« less

High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals

PubMed Central

Varghese, Tony; Hollar, Courtney; Richardson, Joseph; Kempf, Nicholas; Han, Chao; Gamarachchi, Pasindu; Estrada, David; Mehta, Rutvik J.; Zhang, Yanliang

2016-01-01

Screen printing allows for direct conversion of thermoelectric nanocrystals into flexible energy harvesters and coolers. However, obtaining flexible thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit ZT through printing is an exacting challenge due to the difficulties to synthesize high-performance thermoelectric inks and the poor density and electrical conductivity of the printed films. Here, we demonstrate high-performance flexible films and devices by screen printing bismuth telluride based nanocrystal inks synthesized using a microwave-stimulated wet-chemical method. Thermoelectric films of several tens of microns thickness were screen printed onto a flexible polyimide substrate followed by cold compaction and sintering. The n-type films demonstrate a peak ZT of 0.43 along with superior flexibility, which is among the highest reported ZT values in flexible thermoelectric materials. A flexible thermoelectric device fabricated using the printed films produces a high power density of 4.1 mW/cm2 with 60 °C temperature difference between the hot side and cold side. The highly scalable and low cost process to fabricate flexible thermoelectric materials and devices demonstrated here opens up many opportunities to transform thermoelectric energy harvesting and cooling applications. PMID:27615036

Metabolic flexibility as an adaptation to energy resources and requirements in health and disease.

PubMed

Smith, Reuben L; Soeters, Maarten R; Wüst, Rob C I; Houtkooper, Riekelt H

2018-04-24

The ability to efficiently adapt metabolism by substrate sensing, trafficking, storage and utilization, dependent on availability and requirement is known as metabolic flexibility. In this review, we discuss the breadth and depth of metabolic flexibility and its impact on health and disease. Metabolic flexibility is essential to maintain energy homeostasis in times of either caloric excess or caloric restriction, and in times of either low or high energy demand, such as during exercise. The liver, adipose tissue and muscle govern systemic metabolic flexibility and manage nutrient sensing, uptake, transport, storage and expenditure by communication via endocrine cues. At a molecular level, metabolic flexibility relies on the configuration of metabolic pathways which is regulated by key metabolic enzymes and transcription factors, many of which interact closely with the mitochondria. Disrupted metabolic flexibility, or metabolic inflexibility, however, is associated with many pathological conditions including metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer. Multiple factors like dietary composition and feeding frequency, exercise training, and use of pharmacological compounds influence metabolic flexibility and will be discussed here. Lastly, we outline important advances in metabolic flexibility research and discuss medical horizons and translational aspects.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Flexible Fuel Vehicle Conversions

Science.gov Websites

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Thinking about Flexibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villa, Mario Diaz

2009-01-01

This article emphasizes the complexity of the term flexibility and discusses its meanings and political dimensions, along with its expressions or realizations within the field of higher education. It proposes a new principle of flexibility that overcomes an understanding of flexibility within higher education as the mere ability or versatility to…

Current Issues in Flexibility Fitness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knudson, Duane V.; Magnusson, Peter; McHugh, Malachy

2000-01-01

Physical activity is extremely important in maintaining good health. Activity is not possible without a certain amount of flexibility. This report discusses issues related to flexibility fitness. Flexibility is a property of the musculoskeletal system that determines the range of motion achievable without injury to the joints. Static flexibility…

Timing Is Everything: Adapting to the Flexible Schedule.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browne, Karen Stevens; Burton, Linda

1989-01-01

Discusses the benefits of flexible scheduling in school media centers and emphasizes the importance of cooperation among media specialists, teachers, administrators, and volunteers in successfully implementing flexible scheduling. The experiences of a school media specialist who introduced flexible scheduling in the media center at Whiskey Bottom…

5 CFR 532.513 - Flexible and compressed work schedules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flexible and compressed work schedules... REGULATIONS PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Premium Pay and Differentials § 532.513 Flexible and compressed work schedules. Federal Wage System employees who are authorized to work flexible and compressed work schedules...

40 CFR 63.1294 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-diisocyanate emissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-diisocyanate emissions. 63.1294 Section 63.1294 Protection of Environment... Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1294 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam...

40 CFR 63.1294 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-diisocyanate emissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-diisocyanate emissions. 63.1294 Section 63.1294 Protection of Environment... Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1294 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam...

40 CFR 63.1294 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-diisocyanate emissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-diisocyanate emissions. 63.1294 Section 63.1294 Protection of Environment... Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1294 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam...

Department of Defense Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-26

... regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), the Department of Defense's printed agenda entries include only: (1) Rules that are in the Agency's regulatory flexibility agenda, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because they are likely to have a significant...

HI en la dirección de la denominada ``Ventana de Puppis"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morras, R.; Pöppel, W. G. L.; Arnal, E. M.; Bajaja, E.

Analizando los datos combinados de los relevamientos de HI de Hartmann & Burton (1997) y Arnal et.al (2000), hemos detectado la presencia de una estructura en forma de ``shell" en la denominada ``ventana de Puppis". Esta estructura, cuyo centro se encuentra en la dirección (l = 245 deg, b = -5 deg) tiene un diámetro angular de ˜ 18 deg y es detectada en el rango de velocidades (LSR) entre -9 y +6 km/seg. El análisis de los datos sugiere que esta estructura puede haberse originado en una perturbación en el denominado ``Feature A" de Lindblad (1973), a una distancia de 150-200 pc del Sol. Se determinaron parámetros tales como Masa y Energía Cinética del Shell y se analiza un posible origen del mismo.

Astronomía Mocoví

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López, A.; Giménez Benitez, S.; Fernández, L.

El presente trabajo, es una revisión crítica de la astronomía en la cultura Mocoví, aportando a lo realizado previamente por Lehmann Nistche (Lehmann Nistche, 1924 y 1927) el resultado de nuestro trabajo de campo. Un mayor conocimiento de las cosmovisiones de las etnias de esta área es fundamental para una mejor comprensión de la dispersión de las ideas cosmológicas entre los pueblos aborígenes americanos, dada la importancia del corredor chaqueño como conexión entre las altas culturas andinas, la mesopotamia y la región pampeana (Susnik, 1972). Para ello se realiza una comparación con otras cosmovisiones del área americana. Nuestro aporte se enmarca dentro de las actuales líneas de trabajo mundialmente en desarrollo en Astronomía en la Cultura.

Confidence Intervals for Omega Coefficient: Proposal for Calculus.

PubMed

Ventura-León, José Luis

2018-01-01

La confiabilidad es entendida como una propiedad métrica de las puntuaciones de un instrumento de medida. Recientemente se viene utilizando el coeficiente omega (ω) para la estimación de la confiabilidad. No obstante, la medición nunca es exacta por la influencia del error aleatorio, por esa razón es necesario calcular y reportar el intervalo de confianza (IC) que permite encontrar en valor verdadero en un rango de medida. En ese contexto, el artículo plantea una forma de estimar el IC mediante el método de bootstrap para facilitar este procedimiento se brindan códigos de R (un software de acceso libre) para que puedan realizarse los cálculos de una forma amigable. Se espera que el artículo sirva de ayuda a los investigadores de ámbito de salud.

Errores fotométricos debido al uso del filtro anular de mediana en imágenes CCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gil-Hutton, R.; Cañada, M.; Noel, N.

El filtro anular de mediana tiene la importante propiedad de tener una escala claramente definida, lo que permite remover de una imagen CCD todos los objetos con tamaños menores a esta escala, independientemente de su morfología particular, y reemplazarlos por el correspondiente ``background" local. Este filtro es de gran utilidad para remover gradientes de fondo, ``fringing" y halos de objetos extendidos mediante el simple procedimiento de restar a la imagen original una imagen filtrada, repitiendo el proceso las veces que sea necesario. En este trabajo se presentan resultados sobre los errores que introduce este filtro en la fotometría de objetos con diferente relación S/N y su aplicación a imágenes con gradientes de fondo y ``fringing".

eUnaG: a new ligand-inducible fluorescent reporter to detect drug transporter activity in live cells

PubMed Central

Yeh, Johannes T.-H.; Nam, Kwangho; Yeh, Joshua T.-H.; Perrimon, Norbert

2017-01-01

The absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of metabolites and toxic organic solutes are orchestrated by the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and the organic solute carrier family (SLC) proteins. A large number of ABC and SLC transpoters exist; however, only a small number have been well characterized. To facilitate the analysis of these transporters, which is important for drug safety and physiological studies, we developed a sensitive genetically encoded bilirubin (BR)-inducible fluorescence sensor (eUnaG) to detect transporter-coupled influx/efflux of organic compounds. This sensor can be used in live cells to measure transporter activity, as excretion of BR depends on ABC and SLC transporters. Applying eUnaG in functional RNAi screens, we characterize l(2)03659 as a Drosophila multidrug resistant-associated ABC transporter. PMID:28176814

Flexible-Wing-Based Micro Air Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ifju, Peter G.; Jenkins, David A.; Ettinger, Scott; Lian, Yong-Sheng; Shyy, Wei; Waszak, Martin R.

2002-01-01

This paper documents the development and evaluation of an original flexible-wing-based Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) technology that reduces adverse effects of gusty wind conditions and unsteady aerodynamics, exhibits desirable flight stability, and enhances structural durability. The flexible wing concept has been demonstrated on aircraft with wingspans ranging from 18 inches to 5 inches. Salient features of the flexible-wing-based MAV, including the vehicle concept, flexible wing design, novel fabrication methods, aerodynamic assessment, and flight data analysis are presented.

Ultra-slim flexible glass for roll-to-roll electronic device fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garner, Sean; Glaesemann, Scott; Li, Xinghua

2014-08-01

As displays and electronics evolve to become lighter, thinner, and more flexible, the choice of substrate continues to be critical to their overall optimization. The substrate directly affects improvements in the designs, materials, fabrication processes, and performance of advanced electronics. With their inherent benefits such as surface quality, optical transmission, hermeticity, and thermal and dimensional stability, glass substrates enable high-quality and long-life devices. As substrate thicknesses are reduced below 200 μm, ultra-slim flexible glass continues to provide these inherent benefits to high-performance flexible electronics such as displays, touch sensors, photovoltaics, and lighting. In addition, the reduction in glass thickness also allows for new device designs and high-throughput, continuous manufacturing enabled by R2R processes. This paper provides an overview of ultra-slim flexible glass substrates and how they enable flexible electronic device optimization. Specific focus is put on flexible glass' mechanical reliability. For this, a combination of substrate design and process optimizations has been demonstrated that enables R2R device fabrication on flexible glass. Demonstrations of R2R flexible glass processes such as vacuum deposition, photolithography, laser patterning, screen printing, slot die coating, and lamination have been made. Compatibility with these key process steps has resulted in the first demonstration of a fully functional flexible glass device fabricated completely using R2R processes.

The Nature and Necessity of Operational Flexibility in the Emergency Department

PubMed Central

Ferrand, Yann B.; Laker, Lauren F.; Froehle, Craig M.; Vogus, Timothy J.; Dittus, Robert S.; Kripalani, Sunil; Pines, Jesse M.

2014-01-01

Hospital-based emergency departments (ED), given their high cost and major role in allocating care resources,are at the center of the debate regarding how to maximize value in delivering healthcare in the United States. In order to operate effectively and create value, EDs must be flexible: the ability to rapidly adapt to the highly variable needs of patients. The concept of flexibility has not been well described in the ED literature. We introduce the concept,outline its potential benefits, and provide some illustrative examples to facilitate incorporating flexibility into ED management. We draw upon operations research and organizational theory to identify and describe five forms of flexibility: physical, human resource, volume, behavioral, and conceptual. Each form of flexibility may be individually or in combination with others useful in improving ED performance and enhancing value. We also offer suggestions for measuring operational flexibility in the ED. A better understanding of operational flexibility and its application to the ED may help us move away from reactive approaches of managing variable demand to a more systematic approach. We also address the tension between cost and flexibility and outline how “partial flexibility” may potentially help resolve some challenges. Applying concepts of flexibility from other disciplines may help clinicians and administrators think differently about their workflow and provide new insights into managing issues of cost, flow, and quality in the ED. PMID:25233811

[An Exploration of Working Conditions and Flexible System for Hospital Nurses].

PubMed

Huang, Chung-I; Yu, Chien; Yu, Chin-Cheh

2016-04-01

The lack of sufficient numbers of professional nurses in the healthcare system in Taiwan is an issue that affects the sustainability of this system and that relates closely to working conditions. The present study explores the expectations that nurses hold with regard to working conditions and the operation of a flexible system in hospitals. A literature review and focus-group interviews were used to develop the questionnaire Working Conditions and Flexible System. A total of 1,150 copies of this questionnaire were distributed to practicing nurses using stratified random sampling, with 1,146 valid copies returned for a valid recovery rate of 99.65%. The results show that the expectations of participants concerning working conditions and a flexible system focus on the 6 factors of task, numerical, divisional, temporal, wages, and leading flexibility. The total mean was 4.35 (SD=0.42). The means for the 6 types of flexibility were all greater than 4.0. Participants deemed flexibility to be of high importance. The demographic variables hospital, work location, age, education level, work position, work unit, and total work years all affected the 6 types of flexibility significantly. The present study supports that the retention of nurses is significantly associated with working conditions and the operation of a flexible system. Administrators and mangers must create positive working conditions and a flexible system in order to enhance the retention and career development of nurses.

Additive-free thick graphene film as an anode material for flexible lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rana, Kuldeep; Kim, Seong Dae; Ahn, Jong-Hyun

2015-04-01

This work demonstrates a simple route to develop mechanically flexible electrodes for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) that are usable as lightweight effective conducting networks for both cathodes and anodes. Removing electrochemically dead elements, such as binders, conducting agents and metallic current collectors, from the battery components will allow remarkable progress in this area. To investigate the feasibility of using thick, additive-free graphene films as anodes for flexible LIBs, we have synthesized and tested thick, additive-free, freestanding graphene films as anodes, first in a coin cell and further in a flexible full cell. As an anode material in a half cell, it showed a discharge capacity of about 350 mA h g-1 and maintained nearly this capacity over 50 cycles at various current rates. This film was also tested as an anode material in a full cell with a LiCoO2 cathode and showed good electrochemical performance. Because the graphene-based flexible film showed good performance in half- and full coin cells, we used this film as a flexible anode for flexible LIBs. No conducting agent or binder was used in the anode side, which helped in realizing the flexible LIBs. Using this, we demonstrate a thin, lightweight and flexible lithium ion battery with good electrochemical performance in both its flat and bent states.This work demonstrates a simple route to develop mechanically flexible electrodes for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) that are usable as lightweight effective conducting networks for both cathodes and anodes. Removing electrochemically dead elements, such as binders, conducting agents and metallic current collectors, from the battery components will allow remarkable progress in this area. To investigate the feasibility of using thick, additive-free graphene films as anodes for flexible LIBs, we have synthesized and tested thick, additive-free, freestanding graphene films as anodes, first in a coin cell and further in a flexible full cell. As an anode material in a half cell, it showed a discharge capacity of about 350 mA h g-1 and maintained nearly this capacity over 50 cycles at various current rates. This film was also tested as an anode material in a full cell with a LiCoO2 cathode and showed good electrochemical performance. Because the graphene-based flexible film showed good performance in half- and full coin cells, we used this film as a flexible anode for flexible LIBs. No conducting agent or binder was used in the anode side, which helped in realizing the flexible LIBs. Using this, we demonstrate a thin, lightweight and flexible lithium ion battery with good electrochemical performance in both its flat and bent states. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr06082b

Invertible flexible matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Justino, Júlia

2017-06-01

Matrices with coefficients having uncertainties of type o (.) or O (.), called flexible matrices, are studied from the point of view of nonstandard analysis. The uncertainties of the afore-mentioned kind will be given in the form of the so-called neutrices, for instance the set of all infinitesimals. Since flexible matrices have uncertainties in their coefficients, it is not possible to define the identity matrix in an unique way and so the notion of spectral identity matrix arises. Not all nonsingular flexible matrices can be turned into a spectral identity matrix using Gauss-Jordan elimination method, implying that that not all nonsingular flexible matrices have the inverse matrix. Under certain conditions upon the size of the uncertainties appearing in a nonsingular flexible matrix, a general theorem concerning the boundaries of its minors is presented which guarantees the existence of the inverse matrix of a nonsingular flexible matrix.

A flexible skin patch for continuous physiological monitoring of mental disorders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Won Ick; Lee, Bong Kuk; Ryu, Jin Hwa; Baek, In-Bok; Yu, Han Young; Kim, Seunghwan

2017-10-01

In this study, we have newly developed a flexible adhesive skin patch of electrocardiogram (ECG) device for continuous physiological monitoring of mental disorders. In addition, this flexible patch did not cause any damage to the skin even after 24 hours attachment. We have also suggested the possibility of novel interconnection for copper film on polyimide and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers of the flexible patch. Self-align and soldering of IC chips such as resistor between metal pads on flexible skin patch have also successfully fabricated for 5 min at 180 °C in vacuum oven. Low temperature interconnection technology based on a Sn42/Bi58 solder was also developed for flexible ECG devices. As a result, we can monitor the mental health status through a comprehensive analysis of biological signals from flexible ECG devices.

The Flexibility Hypothesis of Healing.

PubMed

Hinton, Devon E; Kirmayer, Laurence J

2017-03-01

Theories of healing have attempted to identify general mechanisms that may work across different modalities. These include altering expectations, remoralization, and instilling hope. In this paper, we argue that many forms of healing and psychotherapy may work by inducing positive psychological states marked by flexibility or an enhanced ability to shift cognitive sets. Healing practices may induce these states of cognitive and emotional flexibility through specific symbolic interventions we term "flexibility primers" that can include images, metaphors, music, and other media. The flexibility hypothesis suggests that cognitive and emotional flexibility is represented, elicited, and enacted through multiple modalities in healing rituals. Identifying psychological processes and cultural forms that evoke and support cognitive and emotional flexibility provides a way to understand the cultural specificity and potential efficacy of particular healing practices and can guide the design of interventions that promote resilience and well-being.

Carbon Footprint in Flexible Ureteroscopy: A Comparative Study on the Environmental Impact of Reusable and Single-Use Ureteroscopes.

PubMed

Davis, Niall F; McGrath, Shannon; Quinlan, Mark; Jack, Gregory; Lawrentschuk, Nathan; Bolton, Damien M

2018-03-01

There are no comparative assessments on the environmental impact of endourologic instruments. We evaluated and compared the environmental impact of single-use flexible ureteroscopes with reusable flexible ureteroscopes. An analysis of the typical life cycle of the LithoVue™ (Boston Scientific) single-use digital flexible ureteroscope and Olympus Flexible Video Ureteroscope (URV-F) was performed. To measure the carbon footprint, data were obtained on manufacturing of single-use and reusable flexible ureteroscopes and from typical uses obtained with a reusable scope, including repairs, replacement instruments, and ultimate disposal of both ureteroscopes. The solid waste generated (kg) and energy consumed (kWh) during each case were quantified and converted into their equivalent mass of carbon dioxide (kg of CO 2 ) released. Flexible ureteroscopic raw materials composed of plastic (90%), steel (4%), electronics (4%), and rubber (2%). The manufacturing cost of a flexible ureteroscope was 11.49 kg of CO 2 per 1 kg of ureteroscope. The weight of the single-use LithoVue and URV-F flexible ureteroscope was 0.3 and 1 kg, respectively. The total carbon footprint of the lifecycle assessment of the LithoVue was 4.43 kg of CO 2 per endourologic case. The total carbon footprint of the lifecycle of the reusable ureteroscope was 4.47 kg of CO 2 per case. The environmental impacts of the reusable flexible ureteroscope and the single-use flexible ureteroscope are comparable. Urologists should be aware that the typical life cycle of urologic instruments is a concerning source of environmental emissions.

Cellulose Nanofiber Composite Substrates for Flexible Electronics

Treesearch

Ronald Sabo; Jung-Hun Seo; Zhenqiang Ma

2012-01-01

Flexible electronics have a large number of potential applications including malleable displays and wearable computers. The current research into high-speed, flexible electronic substrates employs the use of plastics for the flexible substrate, but these plastics typically have drawbacks, such as high thermal expansion coefficients. Transparent films made from...

Chapter 2.3 Cellulose Nanofibril Composite Substrates for Flexible Electronics

Treesearch

Ronald Sabo; Jung-Hun Seo; Zhenqiang Ma

2013-01-01

Flexible electronics have a large number of potential applications, including malleable displays and wearable computers. Current research into high-speed, flexible electronic substrates uses plastics for the flexible substrate, but these plastics typically have drawbacks, such as high thermal expansion coefficients. Transparent films made from cellulose...

Flexible Programmes in Higher Professional Education: Expert Validation of a Flexible Educational Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schellekens, Ad; Paas, Fred; Verbraeck, Alexander; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2010-01-01

In a preceding case study, a process-focused demand-driven approach for organising flexible educational programmes in higher professional education (HPE) was developed. Operations management and instructional design contributed to designing a flexible educational model by means of discrete-event simulation. Educational experts validated the model…

21 CFR 886.1390 - Flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens. 886.1390 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1390 Flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens. (a) Identification. A flexible diagnostic Fresnel lens is a device that is a very thin lens which has...

49 CFR 173.37 - Hazardous Materials in Flexible Bulk Containers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... an external visual inspection by the person filling the Flexible Bulk Container to ensure: (1) The... transported in cargo transport units when offered for transportation by vessel. (7) Flexible Bulk Containers... 49 Transportation 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Hazardous Materials in Flexible Bulk Containers...

49 CFR 173.37 - Hazardous Materials in Flexible Bulk Containers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... an external visual inspection by the person filling the Flexible Bulk Container to ensure: (1) The... transported in cargo transport units when offered for transportation by vessel. (7) Flexible Bulk Containers... 49 Transportation 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Hazardous Materials in Flexible Bulk Containers...

Flexible Work Options within the Organisational System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albion, Majella J.; Chee, Munli

2006-01-01

The availability of flexible work options provides an opportunity for individuals to shape their careers in order to optimise their work and life goals. This study takes a systems theory approach to examine how the use of flexible work options influences relationships and interactions in the workplace. The "Flexible Work Options…

40 CFR 63.1295 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-HAP ABA storage vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-HAP ABA storage vessels. 63.1295 Section 63.1295 Protection of Environment... Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1295 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam...

40 CFR 63.1295 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-HAP ABA storage vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-HAP ABA storage vessels. 63.1295 Section 63.1295 Protection of Environment... Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1295 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam...

40 CFR 63.1295 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-HAP ABA storage vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production-HAP ABA storage vessels. 63.1295 Section 63.1295 Protection of Environment... Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1295 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam...

Employee Responses to Flexible Work Schedules: An Inter-Organization, Inter-System Comparison.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Jon L.; Newstrom, John W.

1982-01-01

Compared employee affective and behavioral responses to four work schedules--a fixed-hour schedule and three variations of flexible working hours. Hypothesized systematic differences in employee responses reflecting increased flexibility were not supported. Employees generally responded more favorably to flexible hour systems as contrasted with…

Incidental Vocabulary Learning in Second Language Acquisition: A Literature Review (Aprendizaje incidental de vocabulario en la adquisición de una segunda lengua: una revisión de literatura)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Restrepo Ramos, Falcon Dario

2015-01-01

This literature review aims to analyze previous studies that address the incidental learning of vocabulary in second language acquisition. The articles included in this literature review look into the understanding of vocabulary learning through incidental means, the relationship of reading and incidental vocabulary learning, and the strategies…

[80 years of soial service in medicine].

PubMed

Hace 80 años, la Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional, en voz de su director, Gustavo Baz Prada, hizo una propuesta que pronto se convirtió en realidad y finalmente en norma, la que desde entonces se conoce como SS. Esta iniciativa se vio como una manera para que los estudiantes de medicina del último año retribuyeran a la sociedad una parte de lo que esta invirtió en su educación, consolidaran su formación mediante la exposición a las realidades de todos los días en los medios más necesitados, se pusieran a prueba sobre sus verdaderas capacidades para atender pacientes y participaran en la solución de un problema de atención sanitaria que en ese entonces era mucho más apremiante que ahora. Unos años después, los recién egresados de otras licenciaturas (pasantes) también fueron incorporados a esta estrategia y, al fin, se reconoció formalmente como una responsabilidad de las instituciones educativas. Las aportaciones del SS a la salud de las personas y a la formación de los médicos han sido incuestionables, y la experiencia humana que ha representado para quienes lo han vivido ha dejado marcas indelebles.

La binaria LSS 3074 y su entorno: ?`una nueva asociación OB?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niemela, V.; Morrell, N.; Corti, M.

En este trabajo presentamos un nuevo análisis orbital de LSS~3074, junto con tipos espectrales y velocidades radiales de estrellas que podrían constituir con ella una nueva asociación OB. La estrella O4f LSS3074 fue descubierta como binaria espectroscópica de corto período y líneas dobles por Morrell & Niemela (1990, ASP Conf. Ser. 7, 57). Posteriormente, Haefner et~al.(1994, IBVS 3969) encontraron variaciones fotométricas, estimando una inclinación orbital entre 50o y 55o. Teniendo en cuenta la importancia de obtener valores empíricos para las masas de estrellas O tempranas, y considerando la gran dispersión existente entre los valores observados y su discrepancia con los predichos por los modelos teóricos, hemos obtenido nuevas observaciones espectroscópicas de este sistema, con el propósito de mejorar los elementos orbitales derivados en la solución preliminar. Además, como las estrellas O tempranas suelen formar parte de cúmulos y asociaciones OB, hemos llevado a cabo una investigación espectroscópica de varias estrellas tempranas que podrían estar físicamente relacionadas con LSS~3074.

[Trattamento della dipendenza da alcol. Alcol e persone senza fissa dimora: punto di vista sociale].

PubMed

Alessandrini, Giovanni; Ciccarelli, Rosaria; Battagliese, Gemma; Cereatti, Federica; Gencarelli, Simona; Messina, Marisa Patrizia; Vitali, Mario; De Rosa, Francesca; Ledda, Roberta; Mancini, Serena; Attilia, Maria Luisa

2018-01-01

RIASSUNTO. Il fenomeno delle persone senza fissa dimora sta assumendo in questi anni una rilevanza sociale devastante, con una prevalenza stimata in USA e in Europa compresa tra il 5,6% e il 13,9%. Queste persone hanno una scarsa qualità di vita, una limitata o assente vita sociale, sono spesso disoccupate o lavorano solo saltuariamente. Sono a rischio di problemi con la legge, sono spesso affette da dipendenza da droghe, da patologie psichiatriche e internistiche. L'alcol spesso non rappresenta la causa della loro condizione sociale, ma solo la conseguenza, contribuendo in questo modo al loro degrado bio-psico-sociale. Nel 2009 lo US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Homelessness Assistance Programs e nel 2010 la European Consensus Conference on Homelessness hanno segnato un grande passo avanti nella riabilitazione sociale di queste persone, utilizzando il concetto del "case management". In particolare lo Standard Case Management si è dimostrato in grado di migliorare la stabilità abitativa, di ridurre l'uso di droghe e di rimuovere le barriere lavorative. L'Assertive Community Treatment si è dimostrato, invece, in grado di migliorare la stabilità abitativa e ha un rapporto costo/beneficio migliore per i pazienti affetti da doppia diagnosi.

Descompresión microvascular en neuralgia del trigémino: Reporte de 36 casos y revisión de la literatura

PubMed Central

Campero, Alvaro; Ajler, Pablo; Campero, Abraham Agustín

2014-01-01

Objetivo: El propósito del presente trabajo es presentar los resultados de 36 pacientes con diagnóstico de neuralgia del trigémino (NT), en los cuales se realizó una descompresión microvascular (DMV). Material y Método: Desde junio de 2005 a mayo de 2012, 36 pacientes con diagnóstico de NT fueron operados por el primer autor (AC), realizando una DMV. Se evaluó: Edad, sexo, tiempo de sintomatología previo a la cirugía, hallazgos intraoperatorios (a través de los videos quirúrgicos), y resultados postoperatorios. Resultados: De los 36 pacientes operados, 25 fueron mujeres y 11 varones. El promedio de edad fue de 48 años. El seguimiento postoperatorio fue en promedio de 38 meses. De los 36 pacientes, 32 (88%) evolucionaron sin dolor hasta la fecha. De los 4 casos con recurrencia de dolor, en dos pacientes se observó como hallazgo intraoperatorio un conflicto venoso. Conclusión: La DMV como tratamiento de la NT es un procedimiento efectivo y seguro. El hallazgo intraoperatorio de una “compresión” venosa podría indicar una evolución postoperatoria desfavorable. PMID:25379343

Flexible interconnects for fuel cell stacks

DOEpatents

Lenz, David J.; Chung, Brandon W.; Pham, Ai Quoc

2004-11-09

An interconnect that facilitates electrical connection and mechanical support with minimal mechanical stress for fuel cell stacks. The interconnects are flexible and provide mechanically robust fuel cell stacks with higher stack performance at lower cost. The flexible interconnects replace the prior rigid rib interconnects with flexible "fingers" or contact pads which will accommodate the imperfect flatness of the ceramic fuel cells. Also, the mechanical stress of stacked fuel cells will be smaller due to the flexibility of the fingers. The interconnects can be one-sided or double-sided.

Potential energy hypersurface and molecular flexibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koča, Jaroslav

1993-02-01

The molecular flexibility phenomenon is discussed from the conformational potential energy(hyper) surface (PES) point of view. Flexibility is considered as a product of three terms: thermodynamic, kinetic and geometrical. Several expressions characterizing absolute and relative molecular flexibility are introduced, depending on a subspace studied of the entire conformational space, energy level E of PES as well as absolute temperature. Results obtained by programs DAISY, CICADA and PANIC in conjunction with molecular mechanics program MMX for flexibility analysis of isopentane, 2,2-dimethylpentane and isohexane molecules are introduced.

Shaft flexibility effects on the forced response of a bladed-disk assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khader, N.; Loewy, R. G.

1990-01-01

A model analysis approach is used to study the forced response of an actual flexible bladed-disk-shaft system. Both in-plane and out-of-plane flexible deformations of the bladed-disk assembly are considered, in addition to its rigid-body translations and rotations, resulting from the bending of the supporting flexible shaft in two orthogonal planes. The effects of Coriolis forces and structural coupling between flexible and rigid disk motions on the system's response are investigated. Aerodynamic loads acting on the rotating and vibrating bladed-disk assembly are accounted for through a simple quasi-steady representation, to evaluate their influence, combined with shaft flexibility and Coriolis effects.

Flexible transparent conducting hybrid film using a surface-embedded copper nanowire network: a highly oxidation-resistant copper nanowire electrode for flexible optoelectronics.

PubMed

Im, Hyeon-Gyun; Jung, Soo-Ho; Jin, Jungho; Lee, Dasom; Lee, Jaemin; Lee, Daewon; Lee, Jung-Yong; Kim, Il-Doo; Bae, Byeong-Soo

2014-10-28

We report a flexible high-performance conducting film using an embedded copper nanowire transparent conducting electrode; this material can be used as a transparent electrode platform for typical flexible optoelectronic devices. The monolithic composite structure of our transparent conducting film enables simultaneously an outstanding oxidation stability of the copper nanowire network (14 d at 80 °C), an exceptionally smooth surface topography (R(rms) < 2 nm), and an excellent opto-electrical performances (Rsh = 25 Ω sq(-1) and T = 82%). A flexible organic light emitting diode device is fabricated on the transparent conducting film to demonstrate its potential as a flexible copper nanowire electrode platform.

Impact of Flexibility Options on Grid Economic Carrying Capacity of Solar and Wind: Three Case Studies

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

Denholm, Paul; Novacheck, Joshua; Jorgenson, Jennie

In this study, we attempt to quantify the benefits of various options of grid flexibility by measuring their impact on two measures: economic carrying capacity and system costs. Flexibility can increase ECC and reduce overall system costs. In some cases, options that provide a limited increase in ECC can provide significant operational savings, thus demonstrating the need to evaluate flexibility options using multiple metrics. The value of flexibility options varies regionally due to different generation mixes and types of renewables. The more rapid decline in PV value compared to wind makes PV more dependent on adding flexibility options, including transmissionmore » and energy storage.« less

Flexible radio-frequency single-crystal germanium switch on plastic substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Guoxuan; Cai, Tianhao; Yuan, Hao-Chih; Seo, Jung-Hun; Ma, Jianguo; Ma, Zhenqiang

2014-04-01

This Letter presents the realization and characterizations of the flexible radio-frequency (RF)/microwave switches on plastic substrates employing single-crystal germanium (Ge) nanomembranes. The fabricated flexible Ge single-pole, single-throw (SPST) switches display high frequency responses (e.g., insertion loss of <1.3 dB at up to 30 GHz and isolation >10 dB at up to ˜13 GHz). RF performance tradeoff exists for the flexible Ge switches and the major affecting parameters are determined. The flexible Ge SPST switch shows better RF property to that of the flexible Si SPST switch. Underlying mechanism is investigated by theoretical analysis and modeling of switches with different structures.

Thin film transistors for flexible electronics: contacts, dielectrics and semiconductors.

PubMed

Quevedo-Lopez, M A; Wondmagegn, W T; Alshareef, H N; Ramirez-Bon, R; Gnade, B E

2011-06-01

The development of low temperature, thin film transistor processes that have enabled flexible displays also present opportunities for flexible electronics and flexible integrated systems. Of particular interest are possible applications in flexible sensor systems for unattended ground sensors, smart medical bandages, electronic ID tags for geo-location, conformal antennas, radiation detectors, etc. In this paper, we review the impact of gate dielectrics, contacts and semiconductor materials on thin film transistors for flexible electronics applications. We present our recent results to fully integrate hybrid complementary metal oxide semiconductors comprising inorganic and organic-based materials. In particular, we demonstrate novel gate dielectric stacks and semiconducting materials. The impact of source and drain contacts on device performance is also discussed.

The flow dynamics behind a flexible finite cylinder as a flexible agitator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yong, T. H.; Chan, H. B.; Dol, S. S.; Wee, S. K.; Kumar, P.

2017-06-01

This paper investigates the flow dynamics behind a flexible finite cylinder in a single-phase flow using a water tunnel. The cylinder was individually submerged in water at ReD = 4000, 6000 and 8000. The cylinder investigated has a AR = 10 and 16 and is made of EVA in order to achieve the lower stiffness for flexibility. A same AR of its aluminium rigid cylinder was investigated to serve as a benchmark to the flow dynamics behind a flexible cylinder. The results the downwash that hinders the transportation of vortices to the downstream was diminished. As a direct consequence of this phenomenon, the turbulence production has seen significant improvement for flexible finite cylinder.

Vibration and Control of Flexible Rotor Supported by Magnetic Bearings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nonami, Kenzou

1988-01-01

Active vibration control of flexible rotors supported by magnetic bearings is discussed. Using a finite-element method for a mathematical model of the flexible rotor, the eigenvalue problem is formulated taking into account the interaction between a mechanical system of the flexible rotor and an electrical system of the magnetic bearings and the controller. However, for the sake of simplicity, gyroscopic effects are disregarded. It is possible to adapt this formulation to a general flexible rotor-magnetic bearing system. Controllability with and without collocation sensors and actuators located at the same distance along the rotor axis is discussed for the higher order flexible modes of the test rig. In conclusion, it is proposed that it is necessary to add new active control loops for the higher flexible modes even in the case of collocation. Then it is possible to stabilize for the case of uncollocation by means of this method.

Flexible ACT & Resource-group ACT: Different Working Procedures Which Can Supplement and Strengthen Each Other. A Response.

PubMed

van Veldhuizen, Remmers; Delespaul, Philippe; Kroon, Hans; Mulder, Niels

2015-01-01

This article is a response to Nordén and Norlander's 'Absence of Positive Results for Flexible Assertive Community Treatment. What is the next approach?'[1], in which they assert that 'at present [there is] no evidence for Flexible ACT and… that RACT might be able to provide new impulses and new vitality to the treatment mode of ACT'. We question their analyses and conclusions. We clarify Flexible ACT, referring to the Flexible Assertive Community Treatment Manual (van Veldhuizen, 2013) [2] to rectify misconceptions. We discuss Nordén and Norlander's interpretation of research on Flexible ACT. The fact that too little research has been done and that there are insufficient positive results cannot serve as a reason to propagate RACT. However, the Resource Group method does provide inspiration for working with clients to involve their networks more effectively in Flexible ACT.

Optical connections on flexible substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosman, Erwin; Geerinck, Peter; Christiaens, Wim; Van Steenberge, Geert; Vanfleteren, Jan; Van Daele, Peter

2006-04-01

Optical interconnections integrated on a flexible substrate combine the advantages of optical data transmissions (high bandwidth, no electromagnetic disturbance and low power consumption) and those of flexible substrates (compact, ease of assembly...). Especially the flexible character of the substrates can significantly lower the assembly cost and leads to more compact modules. Especially in automotive-, avionic-, biomedical and sensing applications there is a great potential for these flexible optical interconnections because of the increasing data-rates, increasing use of optical sensors and requirement for smaller size and weight. The research concentrates on the integration of commercially available polymer optical layers (Truemode Backplane TM Polymer, Ormocer®) on a flexible Polyimide film, the fabrication of waveguides and out-of plane deflecting 45° mirrors, the characterization of the optical losses due to the bending of the substrate, and the fabrication of a proof-of-principal demonstrator. The resulting optical structures should be compatible with the standard fabrication of flexible printed circuit boards.

Flexible ACT & Resource-group ACT: Different Working Procedures Which Can Supplement and Strengthen Each Other. A Response#

PubMed Central

van Veldhuizen, Remmers; Delespaul, Philippe; Kroon, Hans; Mulder, Niels

2015-01-01

This article is a response to Nordén and Norlander’s ‘Absence of Positive Results for Flexible Assertive Community Treatment. What is the next approach?’[1], in which they assert that ‘at present [there is] no evidence for Flexible ACT and… that RACT might be able to provide new impulses and new vitality to the treatment mode of ACT’. We question their analyses and conclusions. We clarify Flexible ACT, referring to the Flexible Assertive Community Treatment Manual (van Veldhuizen, 2013) [2] to rectify misconceptions. We discuss Nordén and Norlander’s interpretation of research on Flexible ACT. The fact that too little research has been done and that there are insufficient positive results cannot serve as a reason to propagate RACT. However, the Resource Group method does provide inspiration for working with clients to involve their networks more effectively in Flexible ACT. PMID:25767558

Class advantage and the gender divide: flexibility on the job and at home.

PubMed

Gerstel, Naomi; Clawson, Dan

2014-09-01

Using a survey, interviews, and observations, the authors examine inequality in temporal flexibility at home and at work. They focus on four occupations to show that class advantage is deployed in the service of gendered notions of temporal flexibility while class disadvantage makes it difficult to obtain such flexibility. The class advantage of female nurses and male doctors enables them to obtain flexibility in their work hours; they use that flexibility in gendered ways: nurses to prioritize family and physicians to prioritize careers. Female nursing assistants and male emergency medical technicians can obtain little employee-based flexibility and, as a result, have more difficulty meeting conventional gendered expectations. Advantaged occupations "do gender" in conventional ways while disadvantaged occupations "undo gender." These processes operate through organizational rules and cultural schemas that sustain one another but may undermine the gender and class neutrality of family-friendly policies.

Flexible Learning Environments: Leveraging the Affordances of Flexible Delivery and Flexible Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Janette R.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this article is to explore the key features of "flexible learning environments" (FLEs). Key principles associated with FLEs are explained. Underlying tenets and support mechanisms necessary for the implementation of FLEs are described. Similarities and differences in traditional learning and FLEs are explored. Finally, strategies…

75 FR 22741 - Raw Flexible Magnets From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty New...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-30

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C-570-923] Raw Flexible Magnets From... review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on raw flexible magnets (RFM) from the People's Republic of... published on September 17, 2008. See Raw Flexible Magnets from the People's Republic of China...

75 FR 22740 - Raw Flexible Magnets From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Antidumping Duty New...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-30

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-922] Raw Flexible Magnets From... review of the antidumping duty order on raw flexible magnets (``magnets'') from the People's Republic of... September 17, 2008. See Antidumping Duty Order: Raw Flexible Magnets from the People's Republic of China, 73...

78 FR 77425 - Raw Flexible Magnets From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Expedited Sunset Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-23

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C-570-923] Raw Flexible Magnets From... the countervailing duty (``CVD'') order on raw flexible magnets (``RFM'') from the People's Republic... of Expedited Sunset Review of the Countervailing Duty Order on Raw Flexible Magnets from the People's...

49 CFR 230.41 - Flexible staybolts with caps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Flexible staybolts with caps. 230.41 Section 230... Appurtenances Staybolts § 230.41 Flexible staybolts with caps. (a) General. Flexible staybolts with caps shall have their caps removed during every 5th annual inspection for the purpose of inspecting the bolts for...

Flexible Learning, Human Resource and Organisational Development: Putting Theory To Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jakupec, Viktor, Ed.; Garrick, John, Ed.

This book addresses contemporary contexts of flexible learning and its practices and provides insights about directions that education and training providers may be required to follow to implement flexible learning in a variety of settings. Key issues and debates include the following: social and economic dimensions of flexible learning and…

Education, Training and the Flexible Labour Market.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merson, Martin

1996-01-01

The British government's policy of flexible labor market may be interpreted as either flexibility of conditions, which encourages temporary, contingent work, or flexibility of skills, a repertoire that enables workers to undertake a range of tasks as needed. The challenge for educators is to help workers understand and engage in an uncertain world…

Flexibility of Employment Relationships: Possibilities and Limits. IAB Labour Market Research Topics No. 22.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walwei, Ulrich

The controversial discussion of "atypical" forms of employment overlooks the fact that all parties involved can benefit from greater flexibility in the employment relationship. It all depends on what is made more flexible and how this greater flexibility is achieved. Employment relationships are built on a variety of factors…

Highly porous ceramic oxide aerogels having improved flexibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guo, Haiquan (Inventor); Meador, Mary Ann B. (Inventor); Nguyen, Baochau N. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Ceramic oxide aerogels having improved flexibility are disclosed. Preferred embodiments exhibit high modulus and other strength properties despite their improved flexibility. The gels may be polymer cross-linked via organic polymer chains to further improve strength properties, without substantially detracting from the improved flexibility. Methods of making such aerogels are also disclosed.

Development of the Coping Flexibility Scale: Evidence for the Coping Flexibility Hypothesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kato, Tsukasa

2012-01-01

"Coping flexibility" was defined as the ability to discontinue an ineffective coping strategy (i.e., evaluation coping) and produce and implement an alternative coping strategy (i.e., adaptive coping). The Coping Flexibility Scale (CFS) was developed on the basis of this definition. Five studies involving approximately 4,400 Japanese…

49 CFR 178.710 - Standards for flexible IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...) Definitions for flexible IBCs: (1) Flexible IBCs consist of a body constructed of film, woven plastic, woven... body of the IBC or formed from a continuation of the IBC body material. (c) Construction requirements... in previous use. (7) When flexible IBCs are filled, the ratio of height to width may not be more than...

49 CFR 178.710 - Standards for flexible IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Definitions for flexible IBCs: (1) Flexible IBCs consist of a body constructed of film, woven plastic, woven... body of the IBC or formed from a continuation of the IBC body material. (c) Construction requirements... in previous use. (7) When flexible IBCs are filled, the ratio of height to width may not be more than...

49 CFR 178.710 - Standards for flexible IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Definitions for flexible IBCs: (1) Flexible IBCs consist of a body constructed of film, woven plastic, woven... body of the IBC or formed from a continuation of the IBC body material. (c) Construction requirements... in previous use. (7) When flexible IBCs are filled, the ratio of height to width may not be more than...

49 CFR 178.710 - Standards for flexible IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Definitions for flexible IBCs: (1) Flexible IBCs consist of a body constructed of film, woven plastic, woven... body of the IBC or formed from a continuation of the IBC body material. (c) Construction requirements... in previous use. (7) When flexible IBCs are filled, the ratio of height to width may not be more than...

Flexibility as a Management Principle in Dementia Care: The Adards Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Bester, Allan

2006-01-01

Purpose: Flexibility is an essential ingredient of person-centered care. We illustrate the potential impact of flexibility by portraying a nursing home that uses flexibility in its approach to residents and staff members. Designs and Methods: The paper describes the management strategies, principles, and environmental features used by the Adards…

75 FR 79751 - Improving Government Regulations; Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), the Department of Defense's printed agenda entries include only: (1) Rules that are in the Agency's regulatory flexibility agenda, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because they are likely to have a significant...

Flexible Work Schedules: What Are We Trading off To Get Them?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golden, Lonnie

2001-01-01

Flexible work schedules have more than doubled since 1985, but workers sometimes must be willing to increase their hours, work evening shifts, or switch to part-time status, self-employment, or certain occupations to get flexibility. Flexibility was less likely for nonwhite, female, unmarried, and less-educated workers. (Contains 38 notes and…

Flexible Ablators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stackpoole, Margaret M. (Inventor); Ghandehari, Ehson M. (Inventor); Thornton, Jeremy J. (Inventor); Covington, Melmoth Alan (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A low-density article comprising a flexible substrate and a pyrolizable material impregnated therein, methods of preparing, and devices using the article are disclosed. The pyrolizable material pyrolizes above 350 C and does not flow at temperatures below the pyrolysis temperature. The low-density article remains flexible after impregnation and continues to remain flexible when the pyrolizable material is fully pyrolized.

Large-Scale Direct-Writing of Aligned Nanofibers for Flexible Electronics.

PubMed

Ye, Dong; Ding, Yajiang; Duan, Yongqing; Su, Jiangtao; Yin, Zhouping; Huang, Yong An

2018-05-01

Nanofibers/nanowires usually exhibit exceptionally low flexural rigidities and remarkable tolerance against mechanical bending, showing superior advantages in flexible electronics applications. Electrospinning is regarded as a powerful process for this 1D nanostructure; however, it can only be able to produce chaotic fibers that are incompatible with the well-patterned microstructures in flexible electronics. Electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) direct-writing technology enables large-scale deposition of highly aligned nanofibers in an additive, noncontact, real-time adjustment, and individual control manner on rigid or flexible, planar or curved substrates, making it rather attractive in the fabrication of flexible electronics. In this Review, the ground-breaking research progress in the field of EHD direct-writing technology is summarized, including a brief chronology of EHD direct-writing techniques, basic principles and alignment strategies, and applications in flexible electronics. Finally, future prospects are suggested to advance flexible electronics based on orderly arranged EHD direct-written fibers. This technology overcomes the limitations of the resolution of fabrication and viscosity of ink of conventional inkjet printing, and represents major advances in manufacturing of flexible electronics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High Performance All-Solid-State Flexible Micro-Pseudocapacitor Based on Hierarchically Nanostructured Tungsten Trioxide Composite

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Microsupercapacitors (MSCs) are promising energy storage devices to power miniaturized portable electronics and microelectromechanical systems. With the increasing attention on all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors, new strategies for high-performance flexible MSCs are highly desired. Here, we demonstrate all-solid-state, flexible micropseudocapacitors via direct laser patterning on crack-free, flexible WO3/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composites containing high levels of porous hierarchically structured WO3 nanomaterials (up to 50 wt %) and limited binder (PVDF, <25 wt %). The work leads to an areal capacitance of 62.4 mF·cm–2 and a volumetric capacitance of 10.4 F·cm–3, exceeding that of graphene based flexible MSCs by a factor of 26 and 3, respectively. As a noncarbon based flexible MSC, hierarchically nanostructured WO3 in the narrow finger electrode is essential to such enhancement in energy density due to its pseudocapacitive property. The effects of WO3/PVDF/MWCNTs composite composition and the dimensions of interdigital structure on the performance of the flexible MSCs are investigated. PMID:26618406

Immediate Effects of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching Programs Compared With Passive Stretching Programs for Hamstring Flexibility: A Critically Appraised Topic.

PubMed

Hill, Kristian J; Robinson, Kendall P; Cuchna, Jennifer W; Hoch, Matthew C

2017-11-01

Clinical Scenario: Increasing hamstring flexibility through clinical stretching interventions may be an effective means to prevent hamstring injuries. However the most effective method to increase hamstring flexibility has yet to be determined. For a healthy individual, are proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching programs more effective in immediately improving hamstring flexibility when compared with static stretching programs? Summary of Key Findings: A thorough literature search returned 195 possible studies; 5 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included. Current evidence supports the use of PNF stretching or static stretching programs for increasing hamstring flexibility. However, neither program demonstrated superior effectiveness when examining immediate increases in hamstring flexibility. Clinical Bottom Line: There were consistent findings from multiple low-quality studies that indicate there is no difference in the immediate improvements in hamstring flexibility when comparing PNF stretching programs to static stretching programs in physically active adults. Strength of Recommendation: Grade B evidence exists that PNF and static stretching programs equally increase hamstring flexibility immediately following the stretching program.

Development of flexible Ni80Fe20 magnetic nano-thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vopson, M. M.; Naylor, J.; Saengow, T.; Rogers, E. G.; Lepadatu, S.; Fetisov, Y. K.

2017-11-01

Flexible magnetic Ni80Fe20 thin films with excellent adhesion, mechanical and magnetic properties have been fabricated using magnetron plasma deposition. We demonstrate that flexible Ni80Fe20 thin films maintain their non-flexible magnetic properties when the films are over 60 nm thick. However, when their thickness is reduced, the flexible thin films display significant increase in their magnetic coercive field compared to identical films coated on a solid Silicon substrate. For a 15 nm flexible Ni80Fe20 film coated onto 110 μm Polyvinylidene fluoride polymer substrate, we achieved a remarkable 355% increase in the magnetic coercive field relative to the same film deposited onto a Si substrate. Experimental evidence, backed by micro-magnetic modelling, indicates that the increase in the coercive fields is related to the larger roughness texture of the flexible substrates. This effect essentially transforms soft Ni80Fe20 permalloy thin films into medium/hard magnetic films allowing not only mechanical flexibility of the structure, but also fine tuning of their magnetic properties.

Mechanically Flexible and High-Performance CMOS Logic Circuits.

PubMed

Honda, Wataru; Arie, Takayuki; Akita, Seiji; Takei, Kuniharu

2015-10-13

Low-power flexible logic circuits are key components required by the next generation of flexible electronic devices. For stable device operation, such components require a high degree of mechanical flexibility and reliability. Here, the mechanical properties of low-power flexible complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic circuits including inverter, NAND, and NOR are investigated. To fabricate CMOS circuits on flexible polyimide substrates, carbon nanotube (CNT) network films are used for p-type transistors, whereas amorphous InGaZnO films are used for the n-type transistors. The power consumption and voltage gain of CMOS inverters are <500 pW/mm at Vin = 0 V (<7.5 nW/mm at Vin = 5 V) and >45, respectively. Importantly, bending of the substrate is not found to cause significant changes in the device characteristics. This is also observed to be the case for more complex flexible NAND and NOR logic circuits for bending states with a curvature radius of 2.6 mm. The mechanical stability of these CMOS logic circuits makes them ideal candidates for use in flexible integrated devices.

High Performance All-Solid-State Flexible Micro-Pseudocapacitor Based on Hierarchically Nanostructured Tungsten Trioxide Composite.

PubMed

Huang, Xuezhen; Liu, Hewei; Zhang, Xi; Jiang, Hongrui

2015-12-23

Microsupercapacitors (MSCs) are promising energy storage devices to power miniaturized portable electronics and microelectromechanical systems. With the increasing attention on all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors, new strategies for high-performance flexible MSCs are highly desired. Here, we demonstrate all-solid-state, flexible micropseudocapacitors via direct laser patterning on crack-free, flexible WO3/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composites containing high levels of porous hierarchically structured WO3 nanomaterials (up to 50 wt %) and limited binder (PVDF, <25 wt %). The work leads to an areal capacitance of 62.4 mF·cm(-2) and a volumetric capacitance of 10.4 F·cm(-3), exceeding that of graphene based flexible MSCs by a factor of 26 and 3, respectively. As a noncarbon based flexible MSC, hierarchically nanostructured WO3 in the narrow finger electrode is essential to such enhancement in energy density due to its pseudocapacitive property. The effects of WO3/PVDF/MWCNTs composite composition and the dimensions of interdigital structure on the performance of the flexible MSCs are investigated.

Flexible black phosphorus ambipolar transistors, circuits and AM demodulator.

PubMed

Zhu, Weinan; Yogeesh, Maruthi N; Yang, Shixuan; Aldave, Sandra H; Kim, Joon-Seok; Sonde, Sushant; Tao, Li; Lu, Nanshu; Akinwande, Deji

2015-03-11

High-mobility two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are desirable for high-performance mechanically flexible nanoelectronics. In this work, we report the first flexible black phosphorus (BP) field-effect transistors (FETs) with electron and hole mobilities superior to what has been previously achieved with other more studied flexible layered semiconducting transistors such as MoS2 and WSe2. Encapsulated bottom-gated BP ambipolar FETs on flexible polyimide afforded maximum carrier mobility of about 310 cm(2)/V·s with field-effect current modulation exceeding 3 orders of magnitude. The device ambipolar functionality and high-mobility were employed to realize essential circuits of electronic systems for flexible technology including ambipolar digital inverter, frequency doubler, and analog amplifiers featuring voltage gain higher than other reported layered semiconductor flexible amplifiers. In addition, we demonstrate the first flexible BP amplitude-modulated (AM) demodulator, an active stage useful for radio receivers, based on a single ambipolar BP transistor, which results in audible signals when connected to a loudspeaker or earphone. Moreover, the BP transistors feature mechanical robustness up to 2% uniaxial tensile strain and up to 5000 bending cycles.

A Skin-attachable Flexible Piezoelectric Pulse Wave Energy Harvester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Sunghyun; Cho, Young-Ho

2014-11-01

We present a flexible piezoelectric generator, capable to harvest energy from human arterial pulse wave on the human wrist. Special features and advantages of the flexible piezoelectric generator include the multi-layer device design with contact windows and the simple fabrication process for the higher flexibility with the better energy harvesting efficiency. We have demonstrated the design effectiveness and the process simplicity of our skin- attachable flexible piezoelectric pulse wave energy harvester, composed of the sensitive P(VDF-TrFE) piezoelectric layer on the flexible polyimide support layer with windows. We experimentally characterize and demonstrate the energy harvesting capability of 0.2~1.0μW in the Human heart rate range on the skin contact area of 3.71cm2. Additional physiological and/or vital signal monitoring devices can be fabricated and integrated on the skin attachable flexible generator, covered by an insulation layer; thus demonstrating the potentials and advantages of the present device for such applications to the flexible multi-functional selfpowered artificial skins, capable to detect physiological and/or vital signals on Human skin using the energy harvested from arterial pulse waves.

Cognitive flexibility and changes in hopelessness across time: A moderation hypothesis.

PubMed

Yu, Junhong; Lee, Tatia M C

2017-01-01

Prior literature has suggested that cognitive flexibility is implicated in the feeling of hopelessness. However, studies on the nature of their relationship have been scarce. This study posits a moderation hypothesis on the relationship between cognitive flexibility and hopelessness. A total of 78 elderly participants (M age  = 70, SD = 6.1) were administered a self-report measure of hopelessness across two time points approximately 10 months apart and a measure of cognitive flexibility. We hypothesized that baseline hopelessness scores would moderate the relationship between cognitive flexibility and hopelessness scores 10 months later. Specifically, among the high baseline hopelessness group, we predicted that cognitively flexible participants would report lower hopelessness scores 10 months later. However, for the low baseline hopelessness group, cognitive flexibility would be unrelated to hopelessness scores 10 months later. The results of a bootstrapped moderation analysis controlling for age, sex, education, and general cognitive status supported our moderation hypothesis and predictions. These findings reveal the complex nature of the relationship between cognitive flexibility and hopelessness. The implications of these findings in the wider clinical context were discussed.

Faculty career flexibility: Why we need it and how best to achieve it

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, Kate

2010-02-01

Research conducted over the last decade provides compelling evidence that higher education institutions have a strong business case for providing flexibility for their tenure-track and tenured faculty. Flexibility constitutes an effective tool for recruiting and retaining talented faculty. Career flexibility is especially critical to retaining some of the most qualified female PhDs in academic science, engineering, and mathematics. Acquiring the best talent is essential to an institution's ability to achieve excellence and maintain its competitive advantage in a global environment. In an effort to increase the flexibility of faculty careers, the American Council on Education partnered with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to create the Award for Faculty Career Flexibility. This presentation will address the origins of the award and share findings from the awards process. Fairly simple and cost effective strategies have been successful in accelerating the cultural change necessary to increase the flexibility of faculty careers. This presentation shares these strategies in addition to information about the types of policies and practices being adopted to support faculty work-life balance through career flexibility. )

Evidence supporting a role for astrocytes in the regulation of cognitive flexibility and neuronal oscillations through the Ca2+ binding protein S100β.

PubMed

Brockett, Adam T; Kane, Gary A; Monari, Patrick K; Briones, Brandy A; Vigneron, Pierre-Antoine; Barber, Gabriela A; Bermudez, Andres; Dieffenbach, Uma; Kloth, Alexander D; Buschman, Timothy J; Gould, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is important for cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch between two task-relevant dimensions. Changes in neuronal oscillations and alterations in the coupling across frequency ranges have been correlated with attention and cognitive flexibility. Here we show that astrocytes in the mPFC of adult male Sprague Dawley rats, participate in cognitive flexibility through the astrocyte-specific Ca2+ binding protein S100β, which improves cognitive flexibility and increases phase amplitude coupling between theta and gamma oscillations. We further show that reduction of astrocyte number in the mPFC impairs cognitive flexibility and diminishes delta, alpha and gamma power. Conversely, chemogenetic activation of astrocytic intracellular Ca2+ signaling in the mPFC enhances cognitive flexibility, while inactivation of endogenous S100β among chemogenetically activated astrocytes in the mPFC prevents this improvement. Collectively, our work suggests that astrocytes make important contributions to cognitive flexibility and that they do so by releasing a Ca2+ binding protein which in turn enhances coordinated neuronal oscillations.

Mechanically Flexible and High-Performance CMOS Logic Circuits

PubMed Central

Honda, Wataru; Arie, Takayuki; Akita, Seiji; Takei, Kuniharu

2015-01-01

Low-power flexible logic circuits are key components required by the next generation of flexible electronic devices. For stable device operation, such components require a high degree of mechanical flexibility and reliability. Here, the mechanical properties of low-power flexible complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) logic circuits including inverter, NAND, and NOR are investigated. To fabricate CMOS circuits on flexible polyimide substrates, carbon nanotube (CNT) network films are used for p-type transistors, whereas amorphous InGaZnO films are used for the n-type transistors. The power consumption and voltage gain of CMOS inverters are <500 pW/mm at Vin = 0 V (<7.5 nW/mm at Vin = 5 V) and >45, respectively. Importantly, bending of the substrate is not found to cause significant changes in the device characteristics. This is also observed to be the case for more complex flexible NAND and NOR logic circuits for bending states with a curvature radius of 2.6 mm. The mechanical stability of these CMOS logic circuits makes them ideal candidates for use in flexible integrated devices. PMID:26459882

Testing of the coping flexibility hypothesis based on the dual-process theory: Relationships between coping flexibility and depressive Symptoms.

PubMed

Kato, Tsukasa

2015-12-15

According to the dual-process theory of coping flexibility (Kato, 2012), coping flexibility is the ability to discontinue an ineffective coping strategy (i.e., evaluation coping process) and implement an alternative strategy (i.e., adaptive coping process). The coping flexibility hypothesis (CFH) proposes that the ability to engage in flexible coping is related to better psychological functioning and physical health, including less depression. I the present study, participants were 393 American Whites, 429 Australian Whites, and 496 Chinese, selected from the data pool of the 2013 Coping and Health Survey (see Kato, 2014b). They completed both the Coping Flexibility Scale (Kato, 2012), which is based on the dual-process theory of coping flexibility, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). For all nationalities and genders, evaluation coping and adaptive coping were significantly correlated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling revealed that evaluation coping was associated with lower depressive symptoms for all nationalities and genders, whereas no significant relationships between adaptive coping and depressive symptoms were found for any nationalities. Our results partially supported that the CFH fits with the dual-process theory of coping flexibility. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Embedded Ag Grid Electrodes as Current Collector for Ultraflexible Transparent Solid-State Supercapacitor.

PubMed

Xu, Jian-Long; Liu, Yan-Hua; Gao, Xu; Sun, Yilin; Shen, Su; Cai, Xinlei; Chen, Linsen; Wang, Sui-Dong

2017-08-23

Flexible transparent solid-state supercapacitors have attracted immerse attention for the power supply of next-generation flexible "see-through" or "invisible" electronics. For fabrication of such devices, high-performance flexible transparent current collectors are highly desired. In this paper, the utilization of embedded Ag grid transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) fabricated by a facile soft ultraviolet imprinting lithography method combined with scrap techniques, as the current collector for flexible transparent solid-state supercapacitors, is demonstrated. The embedded Ag grid TCEs exhibit not only excellent optoelectronic properties (R S ∼ 2.0 Ω sq -1 and T ∼ 89.74%) but also robust mechanical properties, which could meet the conductivity, transparency, and flexibility needs of current collectors for flexible transparent supercapacitors. The obtained supercapacitor exhibits large specific capacitance, long cycling life, high optical transparency (T ∼ 80.58% at 550 nm), high flexibility, and high stability. Owing to the embedded Ag grid TCE structure, the device shows a slight capacitance loss of 2.6% even after 1000 cycles of repetitive bending for a bending radius of up to 2.0 mm. This paves the way for developing high-performance current collectors and thus flexible transparent energy storage devices, and their general applicability opens up opportunities for flexible transparent electronics.

The Association of Dorsiflexion Flexibility on Landing Mechanics during a Drop Vertical Jump

PubMed Central

Malloy, Philip; Meinerz, Carolyn; Geiser, Christopher; Kipp, Kristof

2016-01-01

Purpose While previous studies have examined the association between ankle dorsiflexion flexibility and deleterious landing postures, it is not currently known how landing kinetics are influenced by ankle dorsiflexion flexibility. The purpose of this study was to examine if ankle dorsiflexion flexibility was associated with landing kinematics and kinetics that have been shown to increase the risk of ACL injury in female athletes. Methods Twenty-three female collegiate soccer players participated in a preseason screening that included the assessment of ankle dorsiflexion flexibility and lower-body kinematics and kinetics during a drop vertical jump task. Results The results demonstrated that females with less ankle dorsiflexion flexibility exhibited greater peak knee abduction moments (r = −.442), greater peak knee abduction angles (r = .355), and less peak knee flexion angles (r = −.385) during landing. The range of dorsiflexion flexibility for the current study was between 9°–23° degrees (mean = 15.0°; SD 3.9°). Conclusion Dorsiflexion flexibility may serve as a useful clinical measure to predict poor landing postures and external forces that have been associated with increased knee injury risk. Rehabilitation specialists can provide interventions aimed at improving dorsiflexion flexibility in order to ameliorate the impact of this modifiable factor on deleterious landing kinematics and kinetics in female athletes. PMID:25112598

Apparatus And Method Of Using Flexible Printed Circuit Board In Optical Transceiver Device

DOEpatents

Anderson, Gene R.; Armendariz, Marcelino G.; Bryan, Robert P.; Carson, Richard F.; Duckett, III, Edwin B.; McCormick, Frederick B.; Peterson, David W.; Peterson, Gary D.; Reysen, Bill H.

2005-03-15

This invention relates to a flexible printed circuit board that is used in connection with an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver module. In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board has flexible metal layers in between flexible insulating layers, and the circuit board comprises: (1) a main body region orientated in a first direction having at least one electrical or optoelectronic device; (2) a plurality of electrical contact pads integrated into the main body region, where the electrical contact pads function to connect the flexible printed circuit board to an external environment; (3) a buckle region extending from one end of the main body region; and (4) a head region extending from one end of the buckle region, and where the head region is orientated so that it is at an angle relative to the direction of the main body region. The electrical contact pads may be ball grid arrays, solder balls or land-grid arrays, and they function to connect the circuit board to an external environment. A driver or amplifier chip may be adapted to the head region of the flexible printed circuit board. In another embodiment, a heat spreader passes along a surface of the head region of the flexible printed circuit board, and a window is formed in the head region of the flexible printed circuit board. Optoelectronic devices are adapted to the head spreader in such a manner that they are accessible through the window in the flexible printed circuit board.

A FISTful of Emotion: Individual Differences in Trait Anxiety and Cognitive-Affective Flexibility During Preadolescence.

PubMed

Mărcuş, Oana; Stanciu, Oana; MacLeod, Colin; Liebregts, Heather; Visu-Petra, Laura

2016-10-01

Cognitive-affective flexibility represents the ability to switch between alternative ways of processing emotional stimuli according to situational demands and individual goals. Although reduced flexibility has been implicated as a mechanism for the development of anxiety, there is very limited data on this relationship in children and adolescents. The aim of the current study was to investigate cognitive-affective flexibility in preadolescents (N = 112, 50 girls, 11-12 and 13-14 years old) and to examine if this ability is related to individual differences in trait anxiety. Their interplay was assessed using the modified version of the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST; Jacques and Zelazo 2001) with non-emotional stimuli (geometrical shapes) and the Emotional FIST (EM-FIST) with emotional stimuli (emotional facial expressions). Performance on the EM-FIST indicated that across the whole age range, trials requiring greater cognitive flexibility were more demanding than nonflexible ones, as revealed by both response time and accuracy performance. Moreover, flexibility demands were higher for younger children than for older ones but only in terms of response speed. Individual differences in trait anxiety moderated the impact of flexibility only on the EM-FIST. Being flexible on the EM-FIST was more demanding for high trait anxious children than for their low trait anxious peers. Lastly, overall girls responded faster than boys, but only in the EM-FIST. These findings extend the presently limited literature concerning variability in cognitive-affective flexibility during this sensitive developmental window.

Current progress and technical challenges of flexible liquid crystal displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujikake, Hideo; Sato, Hiroto

2009-02-01

We focused on several technical approaches to flexible liquid crystal (LC) display in this report. We have been developing flexible displays using plastic film substrates based on polymer-dispersed LC technology with molecular alignment control. In our representative devices, molecular-aligned polymer walls keep plastic-substrate gap constant without LC alignment disorder, and aligned polymer networks create monostable switching of fast-response ferroelectric LC (FLC) for grayscale capability. In the fabrication process, a high-viscosity FLC/monomer solution was printed, sandwiched and pressed between plastic substrates. Then the polymer walls and networks were sequentially formed based on photo-polymerization-induced phase separation in the nematic phase by two exposure processes of patterned and uniform ultraviolet light. The two flexible backlight films of direct illumination and light-guide methods using small three-primary-color light-emitting diodes were fabricated to obtain high-visibility display images. The fabricated flexible FLC panels were driven by external transistor arrays, internal organic thin film transistor (TFT) arrays, and poly-Si TFT arrays. We achieved full-color moving-image displays using the flexible FLC panel and the flexible backlight film based on field-sequential-color driving technique. Otherwise, for backlight-free flexible LC displays, flexible reflective devices of twisted guest-host nematic LC and cholesteric LC were discussed with molecular-aligned polymer walls. Singlesubstrate device structure and fabrication method using self-standing polymer-stabilized nematic LC film and polymer ceiling layer were also proposed for obtaining LC devices with excellent flexibility.

Vagal Flexibility: A Physiological Predictor of Social Sensitivity

PubMed Central

Muhtadie, Luma; Akinola, Modupe; Koslov, Katrina; Mendes, Wendy Berry

2015-01-01

This research explores vagal flexibility— dynamic modulation of cardiac vagal control—as an individual-level physiological index of social sensitivity. In 4 studies, we test the hypothesis that individuals with greater cardiac vagal flexibility, operationalized as higher cardiac vagal tone at rest and greater cardiac vagal withdrawal (indexed by a decrease in respiratory sinus arrhythmia) during cognitive or attentional demand, perceive social-emotional information more accurately and show greater sensitivity to their social context. Study 1 sets the foundation for this investigation by establishing that vagal flexibility can be elicited consistently in the laboratory and reliably over time. Study 2 demonstrates that vagal flexibility has different associations with psychological characteristics than does vagal tone, and that these characteristics are primarily social in nature. Study 3 links individual differences in vagal flexibility with accurate detection of social and emotional cues depicted in still facial images. Study 4 demonstrates that individuals with greater vagal flexibility respond to dynamic social feedback in a more context-sensitive manner than do individuals with less vagal flexibility. Specifically, compared with their less flexible counterparts, individuals with greater vagal flexibility, when assigned to receive negative social feedback, report more shame, show more pronounced blood pressure responses, and display less sociable behavior, but when receiving positive social feedback display more sociable behavior. Taken together, these findings suggest that vagal flexibility is a useful individual difference physiological predictor of social sensitivity, which may have implications for clinical, developmental, and health psychologists. PMID:25545841

Trunk-rotation flexibility in collegiate softball players with or without a history of shoulder or elbow injury.

PubMed

Aragon, Veronica J; Oyama, Sakiko; Oliaro, Scott M; Padua, Darin A; Myers, Joseph B

2012-01-01

Throwing is a whole-body motion that requires the transfer of momentum from the lower extremity to the upper extremity via the trunk. No research to date examines the association between a history of shoulder or elbow injury and trunk flexibility in overhead athletes. To determine if injury history and trunk-rotation flexibility are associated and to compare trunk-rotation flexibility measured using 3 clinical tests: half-kneeling rotation test with the bar in the back, half-kneeling rotation test with the bar in the front, and seated rotation test in softball position players with or without a history of shoulder or elbow injury. Cross-sectional design. University softball facilities. Sixty-five female National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I softball position players. Trunk-rotation flexibility was measured with 3 clinical tests. Recent injury history was obtained using a questionnaire and verified by the certified athletic trainer. Binomial regression models were used to determine if injury history was associated with flexibility categories (high, normal, or limited tertiles) for each of the 6 (3 tests × 2 directions) trunk-rotation flexibility measures. Trunk-rotation flexibility measures from 3 clinical tests were compared between participants with and without a history of shoulder or elbow injury using analysis-of-variance models. When measured using the half-kneeling rotation test with the bar in the back and the seated rotation test, injury history and forward trunk-rotation flexibility were associated. However, no mean group differences were seen in trunk-rotation flexibility between participants with and without a history of shoulder or elbow injury. Limited forward trunk-rotation flexibility may be a risk factor for shoulder or elbow injuries. However, further study is needed to confirm the study finding.

Effect of flexibility on the growth of concentration fluctuations in a suspension of sedimenting fibers: Particle simulations

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

Manikantan, Harishankar; Saintillan, David

2016-01-15

Three-dimensional numerical simulations are performed to study the stability of a sedimenting suspension of weakly flexible fibers. It is well known that a suspension of rigid rods sedimenting under gravity at low Reynolds number is unstable to concentration fluctuations owing to hydrodynamic interactions. Flexible fibers, however, reorient while settling and even weak flexibility can alter their collective dynamics. In our recent work [Manikantan et al., “The instability of a sedimenting suspension of weakly flexible fibres,” J. Fluid Mech. 756, 935–964 (2014)], we developed a mean-field theory to predict the linear stability of such a system. Here, we verify these predictionsmore » using accurate and efficient particle simulations based on a slender-body model. We also demonstrate the mechanisms by which flexibility-induced reorientation alters suspension microstructure, and through it, its stability. Specifically, we first show that the anisotropy of the base state in the case of a suspension of flexible fibers has a destabilizing effect compared to a suspension of rigid rods. Second, a conflicting effect of flexibility is also shown to suppress particle clustering and slow down the growth of the instability. The relative magnitude of filament flexibility and rotational Brownian motion dictates which effect dominates, and our simulations qualitatively follow theoretically predicted trends. The mechanism for either effects is tied to the flexibility-induced reorientation of particles, which we illustrate using velocity and orientation statistics from our simulations. Finally, we also show that, in the case of an initially homogeneous and isotropic suspension, flexibility always acts to suppress the growth of the instability.« less

Reliability and factorial validity of flexibility tests for team sports.

PubMed

Sporis, Goran; Vucetic, Vlatko; Jovanovic, Mario; Jukic, Igor; Omrcen, Darija

2011-04-01

The main goal of this method paper was to evaluate the reliability and factorial validity of flexibility tests used in soccer, and to do crossvalidation study on 2 other team sports using handball and basketball players. The second aim was to compare the validity of the different tests and evaluate the flexibility of soccer players; the third was to determine the positional differences between attackers, defenders, and midfielders in all flexibility tests. One hundred and fifty (n = 150) elite male junior soccer players, members of the First Croatian Junior League Teams, and 60 (n = 60) handball and 60 (n = 60) basketball players also members of the First Croatian Junior League Teams volunteered to participate in the study, tested for the purpose of crossvalidation. The SAR and V-SAR had the greatest AVR and ICC. The within-subjects variation ranged from between 0.3 and 3.8%. The lowest value of CV was found between the LSPL and LSPR. Low to moderate statistically significant correlation coefficients were found among all the measured flexibility tests. It was observed that the greatest correlations existed between the SAR and V-SAR (r = 0.65) and between the LLSR and LLSL (r = 0.56). Statistically significant correlations were also observed between the BLPL and BLPR (r = 0.62). The principal components factor analysis of 9 flexibility tests resulted in the extraction of 3 significant components. The results of this study have the following implications for the assessment of flexibility in soccer: (a) all flexibility tests used in this study have the acceptable between and within-subjects reliability and they can be used to estimate the flexibility of soccer players; (b) the LSPL and LSPR tests are the most reliable and valid flexibility tests for the estimation of flexibility of professional soccer players.

Do flexible work policies improve parents' health? A natural experiment based on the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

PubMed

Avendano, Mauricio; Panico, Lidia

2018-03-01

There is limited evidence of the impact of policies to promote work-family balance on family health. Exploiting the introduction of the UK Flexible Working Act (2003), we examined whether a policy that grants parents the right to request flexible work influences their health and well-being. Using the UK Millennium Cohort Study, we focus on 6424 mothers employed in 2001-2002, when the cohort child was 9 months old, until their child's seventh birthday. We used a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach to compare changes in outcomes before and after the policy among mothers most likely to benefit and mothers unlikely to benefit from the policy. Flexible working increased in a small group of mothers (n=548) whose employer did not offer work flexibility before the reform (treatment group). By contrast, among mothers whose employer already offered flexible work before the reform (control group, n=5810), there was little change or a slight decline in flexible working. DiD estimates suggest that the policy was associated with an increase in flexible working (37.5 percentage points, 95% CI 32.9 to 41.6), but it had no impact on self-rated health (-1.6 percentage points, 95% CI -4.4 to 1.1), long-term illness (-1.87 percentage points, 95% CI -4.3 to 0.5) or life satisfaction scores (β=0.04, 95% CI -0.08 to 0.16). The Flexible Working Act increased flexible working only among a small group of mothers who had not yet the right to request work flexibility, but it had no impact on their health and well-being. Policies promoting work flexibility may require stronger incentives for both parents and employers. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Male and female runners demonstrate different sagittal plane mechanics as a function of static hamstring flexibility.

PubMed

Williams, D S Blaise; Welch, Lee M

2015-01-01

Injuries to runners are common. However, there are many potential contributing factors to injury. While lack of flexibility alone is commonly related to injury, there are clear differences in hamstring flexibility between males and females. To compare the effect of static hamstring length on sagittal plane mechanics between male and female runners. Forty subjects (30.0±6.4 years) participated and were placed in one of 4 groups: flexible males (n=10), inflexible males (n=10), flexible females (n=10), and inflexible females (n=10). All subjects were free of injury at the time of data collection. Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were collected while subjects ran over ground across 2 force platforms. Sagittal plane joint angles and moments were calculated at the knee and hip and compared with a 2-way (sex X flexibility) ANOVA (α=0.05). Males exhibited greater peak knee extension moment than females (M=2.80±0.47, F=2.48±0.52 Nm/kg*m, p=0.05) and inflexible runners exhibited greater peak knee extension moment than flexible runners (In=2.83±0.56, Fl=2.44±0.51 Nm/kg*m, p=0.01). For hip flexion at initial contact, a significant interaction existed (p<0.05). Flexible females (36.7±7.4º) exhibited more hip flexion than inflexible females (27.9±4.6º, p<0.01) and flexible males (30.1±9.5º, p<0.05). No differences existed for knee angle at initial contact, peak knee angle, peak hip angle, or peak hip moment. Hamstring flexibility results in different mechanical profiles in males and females. Flexibility in the hamstrings may result in decreased moments via active or passive tension. These differences may have implications for performance and injury in flexible female runners.

Male and female runners demonstrate different sagittal plane mechanics as a function of static hamstring flexibility

PubMed Central

Williams III, D. S. Blaise; Welch, Lee M.

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Injuries to runners are common. However, there are many potential contributing factors to injury. While lack of flexibility alone is commonly related to injury, there are clear differences in hamstring flexibility between males and females. Objective: To compare the effect of static hamstring length on sagittal plane mechanics between male and female runners. Method: Forty subjects (30.0±6.4 years) participated and were placed in one of 4 groups: flexible males (n=10), inflexible males (n=10), flexible females (n=10), and inflexible females (n=10). All subjects were free of injury at the time of data collection. Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were collected while subjects ran over ground across 2 force platforms. Sagittal plane joint angles and moments were calculated at the knee and hip and compared with a 2-way (sex X flexibility) ANOVA (α=0.05). Results: Males exhibited greater peak knee extension moment than females (M=2.80±0.47, F=2.48±0.52 Nm/kg*m, p=0.05) and inflexible runners exhibited greater peak knee extension moment than flexible runners (In=2.83±0.56, Fl=2.44±0.51 Nm/kg*m, p=0.01). For hip flexion at initial contact, a significant interaction existed (p<0.05). Flexible females (36.7±7.4º) exhibited more hip flexion than inflexible females (27.9±4.6º, p<0.01) and flexible males (30.1±9.5º, p<0.05). No differences existed for knee angle at initial contact, peak knee angle, peak hip angle, or peak hip moment. Conclusion: Hamstring flexibility results in different mechanical profiles in males and females. Flexibility in the hamstrings may result in decreased moments via active or passive tension. These differences may have implications for performance and injury in flexible female runners. PMID:26537812

Association Between Flexible Duty Hour Policies and General Surgery Resident Examination Performance: A Flexibility in Duty Hour Requirements for Surgical Trainees (FIRST) Trial Analysis.

PubMed

Blay, Eddie; Hewitt, D Brock; Chung, Jeanette W; Biester, Thomas; Fiore, James F; Dahlke, Allison R; Quinn, Christopher M; Lewis, Frank R; Bilimoria, Karl Y

2017-02-01

Concerns persist about the effect of current duty hour reforms on resident educational outcomes. We investigated whether a flexible, less-restrictive duty hour policy (Flexible Policy) was associated with differential general surgery examination performance compared with current ACGME duty hour policy (Standard Policy). We obtained examination scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination, Qualifying Examination (written boards), and Certifying Examination (oral boards) for residents in 117 general surgery residency programs that participated in the Flexibility in Duty Hour Requirements for Surgical Trainees (FIRST) Trial. Using bivariate analyses and regression models, we compared resident examination performance across study arms (Flexible Policy vs Standard Policy) for 2015 and 2016, and 1 year of the Qualifying Examination and Certifying Examination. Adjusted analyses accounted for program-level factors, including the stratification variable for randomization. In 2016, FIRST trial participants were 4,363 general surgery residents. Mean American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination scores for residents were not significantly different between study groups (Flexible Policy vs Standard Policy) overall (Flexible Policy: mean [SD] 502.6 [100.9] vs Standard Policy: 502.7 [98.6]; p = 0.98) or for any individual postgraduate year level. There was no difference in pass rates between study arms for either the Qualifying Examination (Flexible Policy: 90.4% vs Standard Policy: 90.5%; p = 0.99) or Certifying Examination (Flexible Policy: 86.3% vs Standard Policy: 88.6%; p = 0.24). Results from adjusted analyses were consistent with these findings. Flexible, less-restrictive duty hour policies were not associated with differences in general surgery resident performance on examinations during the FIRST Trial. However, more years under flexible duty hour policies might be needed to observe an effect. Copyright © 2016 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Variability of the Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 Flexibility Without Significant Change in the Initial Conformation of the Protein or Its Environment; a Computational Study.

PubMed

Taghizadeh, Mohammad; Goliaei, Bahram; Madadkar-Sobhani, Armin

2016-06-01

Protein flexibility, which has been referred as a dynamic behavior has various roles in proteins' functions. Furthermore, for some developed tools in bioinformatics, such as protein-protein docking software, considering the protein flexibility, causes a higher degree of accuracy. Through undertaking the present work, we have accomplished the quantification plus analysis of the variations in the human Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2 (hCDK2) protein flexibility without affecting a significant change in its initial environment or the protein per se. The main goal of the present research was to calculate variations in the flexibility for each residue of the hCDK2, analysis of their flexibility variations through clustering, and to investigate the functional aspects of the residues with high flexibility variations. Using Gromacs package (version 4.5.4), three independent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the hCDK2 protein (PDB ID: 1HCL) was accomplished with no significant changes in their initial environments, structures, or conformations, followed by Root Mean Square Fluctuations (RMSF) calculation of these MD trajectories. The amount of variations in these three curves of RMSF was calculated using two formulas. More than 50% of the variation in the flexibility (the distance between the maximum and the minimum amount of the RMSF) was found at the region of Val-154. As well, there are other major flexibility fluctuations in other residues. These residues were mostly positioned in the vicinity of the functional residues. The subsequent works were done, as followed by clustering all hCDK2 residues into four groups considering the amount of their variability with respect to flexibility and their position in the RMSF curves. This work has introduced a new class of flexibility aspect of the proteins' residues. It could also help designing and engineering proteins, with introducing a new dynamic aspect of hCDK2, and accordingly, for the other similar globular proteins. In addition, it could provide a better computational calculation of the protein flexibility, which is, especially important in the comparative studies of the proteins' flexibility.

Variability of the Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 Flexibility Without Significant Change in the Initial Conformation of the Protein or Its Environment; a Computational Study

PubMed Central

Taghizadeh, Mohammad; Goliaei, Bahram; Madadkar-Sobhani, Armin

2016-01-01

Background Protein flexibility, which has been referred as a dynamic behavior has various roles in proteins’ functions. Furthermore, for some developed tools in bioinformatics, such as protein-protein docking software, considering the protein flexibility, causes a higher degree of accuracy. Through undertaking the present work, we have accomplished the quantification plus analysis of the variations in the human Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2 (hCDK2) protein flexibility without affecting a significant change in its initial environment or the protein per se. Objectives The main goal of the present research was to calculate variations in the flexibility for each residue of the hCDK2, analysis of their flexibility variations through clustering, and to investigate the functional aspects of the residues with high flexibility variations. Materials and Methods Using Gromacs package (version 4.5.4), three independent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the hCDK2 protein (PDB ID: 1HCL) was accomplished with no significant changes in their initial environments, structures, or conformations, followed by Root Mean Square Fluctuations (RMSF) calculation of these MD trajectories. The amount of variations in these three curves of RMSF was calculated using two formulas. Results More than 50% of the variation in the flexibility (the distance between the maximum and the minimum amount of the RMSF) was found at the region of Val-154. As well, there are other major flexibility fluctuations in other residues. These residues were mostly positioned in the vicinity of the functional residues. The subsequent works were done, as followed by clustering all hCDK2 residues into four groups considering the amount of their variability with respect to flexibility and their position in the RMSF curves. Conclusions This work has introduced a new class of flexibility aspect of the proteins’ residues. It could also help designing and engineering proteins, with introducing a new dynamic aspect of hCDK2, and accordingly, for the other similar globular proteins. In addition, it could provide a better computational calculation of the protein flexibility, which is, especially important in the comparative studies of the proteins’ flexibility. PMID:28959320

The effects of wing flexibility on the flight performance and stability of flapping wing micro air vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bluman, James Edward

Insect wings are flexible. However, the influence of wing flexibility on the flight dynamics of insects and flapping wing micro air vehicles is unknown. Most studies in the literature consider rigid wings and conclude that the hover equilibrium is unstable. This dissertation shows that a flapping wing flyer with flexible wings exhibits stable natural modes of the open loop system in hover, never reported before. The free-flight insect flight dynamics is modeled for both flexible and rigid wings. Wing mass and inertia are included in the nonlinear equations of motion. The flapping wing aerodynamics are modeled using a quasi-steady model, a well-validated two dimensional Navier Stokes model, and a coupled, two dimensional Navier Stokes - Euler Bernoulli beam model that accurately models the fluid-structure interaction of flexible wings. Hover equilibrium is systematically and efficiently determined with a coupled quasi-steady and Navier-Stokes equation trimmer. The power and stability are reported at hover while parametrically varying the pitch axis location for rigid wings and the structural stiffness for flexible wings. The results indicate that the rigid wings possess an unstable oscillatory mode mainly due to their pitch sensitivity to horizontal velocity perturbations. The flexible wings stabilize this mode primarily by adjusting their wing shape in the presence of perturbations. The wing's response to perturbations generates significantly more horizontal velocity damping and pitch rate damping than in rigid wings. Furthermore, the flexible wings experience substantially less wing wake interaction, which, for rigid wings, is destabilizing. The power required to hover a fruit fly with actively rotating rigid wings varies between 16.9 and 34.2 W/kg. The optimal power occurs when the pitch axis is located at 30% chord, similar to some biological observations. Flexible wings require 23.1 to 38.5 W/kg. However, flexible wings exhibit more stable system dynamics and allow for simpler and lighter designs since they do not require pitch actuation mechanisms. This study is the first to evaluate the impact of wing flexibility on the hovering stability of flapping flyers, which can explain the ranges of flexibility seen in insects and can inform designs of synthetic flapping wing robots.

Dissociable Changes of Frontal and Parietal Cortices in Inherent Functional Flexibility across the Human Life Span.

PubMed

Yin, Dazhi; Liu, Wenjing; Zeljic, Kristina; Wang, Zhiwei; Lv, Qian; Fan, Mingxia; Cheng, Wenhong; Wang, Zheng

2016-09-28

Extensive evidence suggests that frontoparietal regions can dynamically update their pattern of functional connectivity, supporting cognitive control and adaptive implementation of task demands. However, it is largely unknown whether this flexibly functional reconfiguration is intrinsic and occurs even in the absence of overt tasks. Based on recent advances in dynamics of resting-state functional resonance imaging (fMRI), we propose a probabilistic framework in which dynamic reconfiguration of intrinsic functional connectivity between each brain region and others can be represented as a probability distribution. A complexity measurement (i.e., entropy) was used to quantify functional flexibility, which characterizes heterogeneous connectivity between a particular region and others over time. Following this framework, we identified both functionally flexible and specialized regions over the human life span (112 healthy subjects from 13 to 76 years old). Across brainwide regions, we found regions showing high flexibility mainly in the higher-order association cortex, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), lateral parietal cortex, and lateral temporal lobules. In contrast, visual, auditory, and sensory areas exhibited low flexibility. Furthermore, we observed that flexibility of the right LPFC improved during maturation and reduced due to normal aging, with the opposite occurring for the left lateral parietal cortex. Our findings reveal dissociable changes of frontal and parietal cortices over the life span in terms of inherent functional flexibility. This study not only provides a new framework to quantify the spatiotemporal behavior of spontaneous brain activity, but also sheds light on the organizational principle behind changes in brain function across the human life span. Recent neuroscientific research has demonstrated that the human capability of adaptive task control is primarily the result of the flexible operation of frontal brain networks. However, it remains unclear whether this flexibly functional reconfiguration is intrinsic and occurs in the absence of an overt task. In this study, we propose a probabilistic framework to quantify the functional flexibility of each brain region using resting-state fMRI. We identify regions showing high flexibility mainly in the higher-order association cortex. In contrast, primary and unimodal visual and sensory areas show low flexibility. On the other hand, our findings reveal dissociable changes of frontal and parietal cortices in terms of inherent functional flexibility over the life span. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3610060-15$15.00/0.

La Migracion Como Una Transicion Critica para la Persona en Su Ambiente. Una Interpretacion Organismico Evolutiva. (Migration as a Critical Person-in-Environment Transition: An Organismic-Developmental Interpretation.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pacheco, Angel M.; And Others

In order to explore some of the changes and stresses connected with migration and return migration, a study was conducted among migrants returning from the United States mainland to Puerto Rico. The sample consisted of 75 adolescents participating in a Bilingual Education program in Puerto Rico. Data were collected using Psychological Distance…

Peer Interaction: A Social Perspective towards the Development of Foreign Language Learning (Interacción entre pares: una perspectiva social hacia el desarrollo del aprendizaje en una lengua extranjera)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gómez Lobatón, July Carolina

2011-01-01

This pedagogical innovation aims at discovering new ways of interaction that go beyond the unidirectional relationship that is presented in the classrooms most of the times. The innovation considers peers to be active agents in the construction of knowledge and proposes new ways to arrange groups in the classroom so that the arrangement can…

Usos de Mets Para La Planificación, Monitoreo e Interpretación en Pastizales Áridos

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Los modelos de estado y transición (METs) representan los posibles cambios en el estado ecológico de una clase específica de tierra (un sitio ecológico). Los METs permiten tener una comprensión general de los cambios en el estado ecológico y cómo gestionarlos. Pero los METs también se pueden usar di...

Medida de los beneficios económicos de la integridad ecológica del Río Mameyes en Puerto Rico

Treesearch

Armando Gonzalez-Caban; John Loomis

1999-01-01

Se realizó una valoración de contingencia a través de una encuesta en persona de los jefes de familia puertorriqueños, de abril a agosto de 1995, para estimar su consentimiento-parapagar por la preservación de niveles de agua en el Río Mameyes, y evitar la construcción de la represa propuesta...

Características del viento en estrellas Be derivadas del perfil Hα

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohrmann, R.; Cidale, L.

El estudio teórico de perfiles Hα y su variabilidad en estrellas Be ha sido frecuentemente desarrollado en base a modelos de envolturas circunestelares inhomogéneas, donde la geometría del material es responsable de la forma del perfil dependiendo de la dirección de observación. Nosotros damos una interpretación alternativa y proponemos que la mayoría de las propiedades de esta línea tienen origen en la base de un viento estelar y de una estructura cromosférica anexa a la fotósfera. Encontramos que típicos perfiles Hα en Be, como son los llamados pole-on y winebottle, pueden ser reproducidos cualitativamente sin recurrir a la existencia de una envoltura asimétrica. Analizamos como la línea Hα permite identificar la posible estructura del viento en la región donde éste se inicia.

POBREZA Y VULNERABILIDAD EN MÉXICO: EL CASO DE LOS JÓVENES QUE NO ESTUDIAN NI TRABAJAN*

PubMed Central

Aguila, Emma; Mejía, Nelly; Pérez, Francisco; Rivera, Alfonso; Ramírez, Edgar

2015-01-01

La situación de los jóvenes que no estudian ni trabajan (ninis) se ha vuelto evidente en los últimos años debido a los riesgos que enfrenta dicha población. Este artículo contribuye a la literatura al analizar las características económicas y laborales de los ninis, explora la situación laboral de sus parejas y provee proyecciones al año 2030. Asimismo, propone una clasificación de ninis para focalizar el diseño de políticas públicas, que identifica una tendencia a la baja de éstos debido a las mujeres que acceden al sistema educativo y al mercado laboral y que una mayor proporción de esta población estará compuesta por desempleados. PMID:25918452

La implantacion del enfoque constructivista en el aula de ciencia: Estudio de caso multiple

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arroyo Betancourt, Luz I.

Esta investigacion estudia la implantacion del enfoque constructivista en tres aulas de ciencia del contexto puertorriqueno. Se auscultaron las practicas educativas que utilizan maestras consideradas constructivistas y la correspondencia de sus practicas educativas con los elementos esenciales de la didactica que proponen los teoricos de los planteamientos constructivistas. Se ausculto, ademas, a que vision del enfoque constructivista responden las expresiones de las maestras acerca de su practica educativa y como compara con su quehacer, a la luz de los elementos esenciales de las visiones constructivistas piagetiana, social y radical. Se utilizo el diseno de estudio descriptivo de caso multiple. El estudio se baso en entrevistas a profundidad, revision de documentos y observacion no participativa a la sala de clases. El contexto fueron tres escuelas publicas de la Region Educativa de San Juan, una elemental, una intermedia y una superior. Los resultados confirmaron que la transicion hacia el enfoque constructivista es un proceso que toma tiempo, dedicacion y la participacion en adiestramientos y readiestramientos acerca del nuevo enfoque. Las maestras coinciden en la mayoria de las practicas educativas que utilizan para implantar el enfoque constructivista de ensenanza y difieren en algunas debido, probablemente, a que han tenido que adaptarlas a los correspondientes niveles de ensenanza: elemental, intermedio y superior. Dos de las maestras planifican por conceptos generadores, mientras que una de ellas planifica siguiendo la guia que recibe del Departamento de Educacion. Difieren ademas, en el enfasis que confieren al inquirir cientifico. Con relacion a la correspondencia entre la vision manifestada por las maestras a la luz de las visiones piagetiana, social y radical, aparentemente, las preguntas del protocolo de entrevistas no lograron evocar la informacion con suficiente profundidad, por lo que la investigadora tuvo que inferir las visiones de las participantes basado en lo que estas manifestaron en su practica didactica. Dos maestras coinciden en una vision constructivista social de la construccion del conocimiento, del aprendizaje y de los metodos didacticos. La otra manifesto una vision constructivista piagetiana en el aprendizaje, los metodos didacticos y en la construccion del conocimiento. Se espera que este trabajo, ademas de promover los estudios de caso sobre el enfoque constructivista de ensenanza en el contexto puertorriqueno, sirva para que los maestros, que estan transformando su enfoque educativo de uno tradicional a uno constructivista, tengan una vision mas clara de la implantacion de este enfoque. Se espera ademas que sirva para que el Departamento de Educacion y sus programas de adiestramiento y readiestramiento en servicio, asi como las universidades y sus programas de preparacion de maestros, tomen en cuenta los resultados y recomendaciones de este estudio al revisar sus programas.

Association Between Estimated 24-h Urinary Sodium Excretion and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults

PubMed Central

Won, Jong Chul; Hong, Jae Won; Noh, Jung Hyun; Kim, Dong-Jun

2016-01-01

Abstract High sodium intake is 1 of the modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but in Korea, daily sodium intake is estimated to be double the level recommended by World Health Organization. We investigated the association between the estimated 24-h urinary sodium excretion (24hUNaE) and metabolic syndrome using nationwide population data. In total, 17,541 individuals (weighted n = 33,200,054; weighted men, 52.5% [95% confidence interval, CI = 51.8–53.3]; weighted age, 45.2 years [44.7–45.7]) who participated in the Korean Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009 to 2011 were investigated. NCEP-ATP III criteria for metabolic syndrome were used, and sodium intake was estimated by 24hUNaE using Tanaka equation with a spot urine sample. The weighted mean 24hUNaE values were 3964 mg/d (95% CI = 3885–4044) in men and 4736 mg/d (4654–4817) in women. The weighted age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 22.2% (21.4–23.0), and it increased with 24hUNaE quartile in both men and women (mean ± standard error of the mean; men: 22.5 ± 1.0%, 23.0 ± 1.0%, 26.0 ± 1.2%, and 26.0 ± 1.2%; P = 0.026; women: 19.4 ± 0.8%, 17.7 ± 0.8%, 19.8 ± 1.0%, and 23.0 ± 1.1%; P = 0.002, for quartiles 1–4, respectively). Even after adjustment for age, daily calorie intake, heavy alcohol drinking, regular exercise, college graduation, and antihypertensive medication, the weighted prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased with the increase in 24hUNaE in men and women. The weighted 24hUNaE was positively associated with the number of metabolic syndrome components after adjustment for confounding factors in men and women. In subjects without antihypertensive medication, the odds ratio for metabolic syndrome in quartile 4 of 24hUNaE compared with quartile 1 was 1.56 (1.33–1.84, P < 0.001) in the total population, 1.66 (1.34–2.06, P < 0.001) in men, and 1.94 (1.49–2.53, P < 0.001) in women. In this nationwide population study, we observed a significant independent association between high sodium intake, estimated by spot urine sodium excretion, and the presence of metabolic syndrome in men and women. PMID:27082553

Highly transparent, low-haze, hybrid cellulose nanopaper as electrodes for flexible electronics

Treesearch

Xuezhu Xu; Jian Zhou; Long Jiang; Gilles Lubineau; Tienkhee Ng; Boon S. Ooi; Hsien-Yu Liao; Chao Shen; Long Chen; Junyong Zhu

2016-01-01

Paper is an excellent candidate to replace plastics as a substrate for flexible electronics due to its low cost, renewability and flexibility. Cellulose nanopaper (CNP), a new type of paper made of nanosized cellulose fibers, is a promising substrate material for transparent and flexible electrodes due to its potentially high transparency and high mechanical strength....

Flexible Work Hours and Other Job Factors in Parental Time with Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baxter, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Flexible working hours are typically seen to be advantageous to working parents, as the flexible hours more easily allow responsibilities of care and employment be balanced. But do flexible work hours actually mean that parents can spend more time with their children? This article explores this for parents of young children in Australia. The…

78 FR 73561 - Raw Flexible Magnets From China and Taiwan; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews Concerning...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-06

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 701-TA-452 and 731-TA-1129-1130 (Review)] Raw... Countervailing Duty Order on Raw Flexible Magnets From China and the Antidumping Duty Orders on Raw Flexible... the countervailing duty order on raw flexible magnets from China and the antidumping duty orders on...

75 FR 61425 - Raw Flexible Magnets from the People's Republic of China: Rescission of New Shipper Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-05

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-922] Raw Flexible Magnets from... the initiation of a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on raw flexible magnets from the... forth in 19 CFR 351.214(b) and initiated an antidumping duty new shipper review. See Raw Flexible...

Flexible Learning Strategies in First through Fourth-Year Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassidy, Alice; Fu, Guopeng; Valley, Will; Lomas, Cyprien; Jovel, Eduardo; Riseman, Andrew

2016-01-01

Flexible Learning (FL) is a pedagogical approach allowing for flexibility of time, place, and audience, including but not solely focused on the use of technologies. We describe Flexible Learning as a pedagogical approach in four courses framed by three key themes: 1) objectives and aspects of course design, 2) evaluation and assessment, and 3)…

25 CFR 170.300 - May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR... Financing § 170.300 May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects? Yes. Tribes may use flexible financing in the same manner as States to finance IRR transportation projects, unless...

25 CFR 170.300 - May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR... Financing § 170.300 May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects? Yes. Tribes may use flexible financing in the same manner as States to finance IRR transportation projects, unless...

25 CFR 170.300 - May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2012-04-01 2011-04-01 true May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR... Financing § 170.300 May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects? Yes. Tribes may use flexible financing in the same manner as States to finance IRR transportation projects, unless...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: How Do Flexible Fuel Cars Work Using

Science.gov Websites

Ethanol? Flexible Fuel Cars Work Using Ethanol? to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: How Do Flexible Fuel Cars Work Using Ethanol? on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: How Do Flexible Fuel Cars Work Using Ethanol? on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data

Flexible Pedagogies: Employer Engagement and Work-Based Learning. Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kettle, Jane

2013-01-01

This publication focuses on national and international policy initiatives to develop a better understanding of work-based learners and the types of flexibility that may well enhance their study especially pedagogically. As part of our five-strand research project "Flexible Pedagogies: preparing for the future" it: (1) highlights the…

Carbon Nanotube Based Flexible Supercapacitors

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

Carbon Nanotube Based Flexible Supercapacitors by Christopher M. Anton and Matthew H. Ervin ARL-TR-5522 April 2011...Carbon Nanotube Based Flexible Supercapacitors Christopher M. Anton and Matthew H. Ervin Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, ARL...September 2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Carbon Nanotube Based Flexible Supercapacitors 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT

2007 Precision Strike Annual Programs Review

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-25

Adapting our methods • Remaining a flexible combined-arms force • Enabling a generation of combat- experienced decision-makers by distributing...Sustain Propulsion Network RadioMEMS IMU Flexible Engagement Options Requirements Capabilities Precision Attack Missile (PAM) 67” (with Canister...Aimpoint 6 PAM Seeker Modes PAM’s Multiple Targeting Modes Increase Flexibility , Improve Lethality PAM’s Multiple Targeting Modes Increase Flexibility

Behavioural Flexibility in Individuals with Angelman Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Non-Specific Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Didden, R.; Sigafoos, J.; Green, V. A.; Korzilius, H.; Mouws, C.; Lancioni, G. E.; O'Reilly, M. F.; Curfs, L. M. G.

2008-01-01

Background: Little is known about behavioural flexibility in children and adults with Angelman syndrome and whether people with this syndrome have more or less problems in being behaviourally flexible as compared with other people. Method: Behavioural flexibility scores were assessed in 129 individuals with Angelman syndrome using 11 items from…

Knowledge and Control in the Flexible Workplace. EAE610 The Changing Workplace: Part B.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Peter

This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, The Changing Workplace: Part B, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. The first part of the document examines current thinking regarding knowledge and control in workplaces emphasizing flexible production systems, flexible technology, and a flexible work…

Flexible Pedagogies: Part-Time Learners and Learning in Higher Education. Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLinden, Michael

2013-01-01

This publication focuses on national and international policy initiatives to develop a better understanding of part-time learners and the types of flexibility that may enhance their study especially pedagogically. As part of our five-strand research project "Flexible Pedagogies: preparing for the future" it: (1) highlights the challenges…

MILSTAR's flexible substrate solar array: Lessons learned, addendum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibb, John

1990-01-01

MILSTAR's Flexible Substrate Solar Array (FSSA) is an evolutionary development of the lightweight, flexible substrate design pioneered at Lockheed during the seventies. Many of the features of the design are related to the Solar Array Flight Experiment (SAFE), flown on STS-41D in 1984. FSSA development has created a substantial technology base for future flexible substrate solar arrays such as the array for the Space Station Freedom. Lessons learned during the development of the FSSA can and should be applied to the Freedom array and other future flexible substrate designs.

Flexible ureterorenoscopy: Tips and tricks.

PubMed

Somani, Bhaskar Kumar; Aboumarzouk, Omar; Srivastava, Aneesh; Traxer, Olivier

2013-01-01

With advancement in technology, improvement in endoscope and ancillary equipment, more complex procedures can be performed using flexible ureterorenoscopy. In this review article we provide a summary of flexible ureterorenoscopic procedures with "tips and tricks" for success for each type of procedure. It looks at the disposables used with flexible ureterorenoscopic procedures, set up and patient positioning for gaining access, insertion and handling of scope and the use of urethral access sheath. We also provide techniques for various flexible ureterorenoscopic procedures including management of renal stones, calyceal diverticula and upper tract urothelial tumours.

Flexible ureterorenoscopy: Tips and tricks

PubMed Central

Somani, Bhaskar Kumar; Aboumarzouk, Omar; Srivastava, Aneesh; Traxer, Olivier

2013-01-01

With advancement in technology, improvement in endoscope and ancillary equipment, more complex procedures can be performed using flexible ureterorenoscopy. In this review article we provide a summary of flexible ureterorenoscopic procedures with “tips and tricks” for success for each type of procedure. It looks at the disposables used with flexible ureterorenoscopic procedures, set up and patient positioning for gaining access, insertion and handling of scope and the use of urethral access sheath. We also provide techniques for various flexible ureterorenoscopic procedures including management of renal stones, calyceal diverticula and upper tract urothelial tumours. PMID:23662000

System and method for manufacture of airfoil components

DOEpatents

Moors, Thomas Michael

2016-11-29

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to systems and methods for manufacturing an airfoil component. The system can include: a geometrical mold; an elongated flexible sleeve having a closed-off interior and positioned within the geometrical mold, wherein the elongated flexible sleeve is further positioned to have a desired geometry; an infusing channel in fluid communication with the closed-off interior of the elongated flexible sleeve and configured to communicate a resinous material thereto; a vacuum channel in fluid communication with the closed-off interior of the elongated flexible sleeve and configured to vacuum seal the closed-off interior of the elongated flexible sleeve; and a glass fiber layer positioned within the closed-off interior of the elongated flexible sleeve.

Disk flexibility effects on the rotordynamics of the SSME high pressure turbopumps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flowers, George T.

1990-01-01

Rotordynamical analyses are typically performed using rigid disk models. Studies of rotor models in which the effects of disk flexibility were included indicate that it may be an important effect for many systems. This issue is addressed with respect to the Space Shuttle Main Engine high pressure turbopumps. Finite element analyses were performed for a simplified free-free flexible disk rotor models and the modes and frequencies compared to those of a rigid disk model. Equations were developed to account for disk flexibility in rotordynamical analysis. Simulation studies were conducted to assess the influence of disk flexibility on the HPOTP. Some recommendations are given as to the importance of disk flexibility and for how this project should proceed.

Flexible ferroelectric element based on van der Waals heteroepitaxy.

PubMed

Jiang, Jie; Bitla, Yugandhar; Huang, Chun-Wei; Do, Thi Hien; Liu, Heng-Jui; Hsieh, Ying-Hui; Ma, Chun-Hao; Jang, Chi-Yuan; Lai, Yu-Hong; Chiu, Po-Wen; Wu, Wen-Wei; Chen, Yi-Chun; Zhou, Yi-Chun; Chu, Ying-Hao

2017-06-01

We present a promising technology for nonvolatile flexible electronic devices: A direct fabrication of epitaxial lead zirconium titanate (PZT) on flexible mica substrate via van der Waals epitaxy. These single-crystalline flexible ferroelectric PZT films not only retain their performance, reliability, and thermal stability comparable to those on rigid counterparts in tests of nonvolatile memory elements but also exhibit remarkable mechanical properties with robust operation in bent states (bending radii down to 2.5 mm) and cycling tests (1000 times). This study marks the technological advancement toward realizing much-awaited flexible yet single-crystalline nonvolatile electronic devices for the design and development of flexible, lightweight, and next-generation smart devices with potential applications in electronics, robotics, automotive, health care, industrial, and military systems.

Impact of Flexibility Options on Grid Economic Carrying Capacity of Solar and Wind: Three Case Studies

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

Denholm, Paul; Novacheck, Joshua; Jorgenson, Jennie

In this study, we attempt to quantify the benefits of various options of grid flexibility by measuring their impact on two measures: economic carrying capacity and system costs. Flexibility can increase economic carrying capacity and reduce overall system costs. In some cases, options that provide a limited increase in economic carrying capacity can provide significant operational savings, thus demonstrating the need to evaluate flexibility options using multiple metrics. The value of flexibility options varies regionally due to different generation mixes and types of renewables. The more rapid decline in PV value compared to wind makes PV more dependent on addingmore » flexibility options, including transmission and energy storage.« less

Flexible barrier film, method of forming same, and organic electronic device including same

DOEpatents

Blizzard, John; Tonge, James Steven; Weidner, William Kenneth

2013-03-26

A flexible barrier film has a thickness of from greater than zero to less than 5,000 nanometers and a water vapor transmission rate of no more than 1.times.10.sup.-2 g/m.sup.2/day at 22.degree. C. and 47% relative humidity. The flexible barrier film is formed from a composition, which comprises a multi-functional acrylate. The composition further comprises the reaction product of an alkoxy-functional organometallic compound and an alkoxy-functional organosilicon compound. A method of forming the flexible barrier film includes the steps of disposing the composition on a substrate and curing the composition to form the flexible barrier film. The flexible barrier film may be utilized in organic electronic devices.

Defining the flexibility window in ordered aluminosilicate zeolites

PubMed Central

Wells, Stephen A.; Leung, Ka Ming; Edwards, Peter P.; Tucker, Matt G.

2017-01-01

The flexibility window in zeolites was originally identified using geometric simulation as a hypothetical property of SiO2 systems. The existence of the flexibility window in hypothetical structures may help us to identify those we might be able to synthesize in the future. We have previously found that the flexibility window in silicates is connected to phase transitions under pressure, structure amorphization and other physical behaviours and phenomena. We here extend the concept to ordered aluminosilicate systems using softer ‘bar’ constraints that permit additional flexibility around aluminium centres. Our experimental investigation of pressure-induced amorphization in sodalites is consistent with the results of our modelling. The softer constraints allow us to identify a flexibility window in the anomalous case of goosecreekite. PMID:28989777

Flexible ferroelectric element based on van der Waals heteroepitaxy

PubMed Central

Jiang, Jie; Bitla, Yugandhar; Huang, Chun-Wei; Do, Thi Hien; Liu, Heng-Jui; Hsieh, Ying-Hui; Ma, Chun-Hao; Jang, Chi-Yuan; Lai, Yu-Hong; Chiu, Po-Wen; Wu, Wen-Wei; Chen, Yi-Chun; Zhou, Yi-Chun; Chu, Ying-Hao

2017-01-01

We present a promising technology for nonvolatile flexible electronic devices: A direct fabrication of epitaxial lead zirconium titanate (PZT) on flexible mica substrate via van der Waals epitaxy. These single-crystalline flexible ferroelectric PZT films not only retain their performance, reliability, and thermal stability comparable to those on rigid counterparts in tests of nonvolatile memory elements but also exhibit remarkable mechanical properties with robust operation in bent states (bending radii down to 2.5 mm) and cycling tests (1000 times). This study marks the technological advancement toward realizing much-awaited flexible yet single-crystalline nonvolatile electronic devices for the design and development of flexible, lightweight, and next-generation smart devices with potential applications in electronics, robotics, automotive, health care, industrial, and military systems. PMID:28630922

Recent advances in flexible and wearable organic optoelectronic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Hong; Shen, Yang; Li, Yanqing; Tang, Jianxin

2018-01-01

Flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices have been developing to a new stage due to their unique capacity for the possibility of a variety of wearable intelligent electronics, including bendable smartphones, foldable touch screens and antennas, paper-like displays, and curved and flexible solid-state lighting devices. Before extensive commercial applications, some issues still have to be solved for flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices. In this regard, this review concludes the newly emerging flexible substrate materials, transparent conductive electrodes, device architectures and light manipulation methods. Examples of these components applied for various kinds of devices are also summarized. Finally, perspectives about the bright future of flexible and wearable electronic devices are proposed. Project supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2016YFB0400700).

Elastoplasticidad anisotropa de metales en grandes deformaciones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caminero Torija, Miguel Angel

El objetivo de este trabajo es el desarrollo de modelos y algoritmos numericos que simulen el comportamiento del material bajo estas condiciones en el contexto de programas de elementos finitos, dando como resultado predicciones mas precisas de los procesos de conformado y deformacion plastica en general. Para lograr este objetivo se han desarrollado diversas tareas destinadas a mejorar las predicciones en tres aspectos fundamentales. El primer aspecto consiste en la mejora de la descripcion del endurecimiento cinematico anisotropo en pequenas deformaciones, lo cual se ha realizado a traves de modelos y algoritmos implicitos de superficies multiples. Ha sido estudiada la consistencia de este tipo de modelos tanto si estan basados en una regla implicita similar a la de Mroz o en la regla de Prager. Ademas se han simulado los ensayos de Lamba y Sidebottom, obteniendo, en contra de la creencia general, muy buenas predicciones con la regla de Prager. Dichos modelos podrian ser extendidos de forma relativamente facil para considerar grandes deformaciones a traves de procedimientos en deformaciones logaritmicas, similares a los desarrollados en esta tesis y detallados a continuacion. El segundo aspecto consiste en la descripcion de la anisotropia elastoplastica inicial. Esto se ha conseguido mediante el desarrollo de modelos y algoritmos para plasticidad anisotropa en grandes deformaciones, bien ignorando la posible anisotropia elastica, bien considerandola simultaneamente con la anisotropia plastica. Para ello ha sido necesario desarrollar primero un nuevo algoritmo de elastoplasticidad anisotropa en pequenas deformaciones consistentemente linealizado y sin despreciar ningun termino, de tal forma que se conserve la convergencia cuadratica de los metodos de Newton. Este algoritmo en pequenas deformaciones ha servido para realizar la correccion plastica de dos algoritmos en grandes deformaciones. El primero de estos algoritmos es una variacion del clasico algoritmo de Eterovic y Bathe para incluir la posibilidad de plasticidad anisotropa con endurecimiento mixto. Este primer algoritmo esta restringido a casos de isotropia elastica. La isotropia elastica es una hipotesis bastante habitual en plasticidad anisotropa y tiene la ventaja de que permite el uso de formulaciones mixtas u/p. El segundo algoritmo, mas complejo y general, incluye la posibilidad de elasticidad anisotropa, plasticidad anisotropa y endurecimiento mixto. Este algoritmo supone una contribucion importante ya que esta basado en hipotesis comunmente aceptadas y utilizadas en elastoplasticidad isotropa: descomposicion multiplicativa del gradiente de deformaciones en parte elastica y parte plastica, descripcion hiperelastica sencilla en funcion de deformaciones logaritmicas e integracion exponencial que conserva el volumen. Ademas, la estructura final del algoritmo es modular y relativamente sencilla, consistiendo en un pre- y un postprocesador geometrico y una correccion plastica realizada en pequenas deformaciones. El algoritmo esta consistentemente linealizado para conservar la convergencia cuadratica asintotica de los metodos de Newton y la forma final que toma dicha linealizacion es similar al caso de isotropia elastoplastica implementado; consiste en el modulo tangente algoritmico de pequenas deformaciones sobre el que se aplica una transformacion para convertirlo en el de grandes deformaciones. Todos estos modelos han sido implementados en un codigo propio de elementos finitos denominado DULCINEA, el cual tiene formulaciones lagrangianas totales y actualizadas para grandes deformaciones. Una de las tareas necesarias para poder realizar las simulaciones, ha sido el estudio e implementacion de diferentes elementos que no sufran el bloqueo volumetrico severo que se observa en formulaciones estandar basadas en desplazamientos. Este bloqueo se debe a la condicion de quasi-incompresibilidad que imponen los modelos de plasticidad desviadores y consiste en una respuesta exageradamente rigida de la solucion obtenida por el metodo de los elementos finitos estandar. Entre los elementos implementados cabe destacar el basado en la formulacion mixta u/p, que contiene una interpolacion adicional de grados de libertad de presion. Estos grados de libertad adicionales habitualmente son internos al elemento en mecanica de solidos. En este trabajo se ha desarrollado e implementado en DULCINEA una familia de elementos tridimensionales mixtos en grandes deformaciones que incluye el caso particular BMIX 27/27/4, basado en la formulacion u/p, constituido por 27 nudos, con 27 puntos de integracion estandar y 4 grados de libertad de presiones, y que pasa la condicion Inf-Sup o de Babuska-Brezzi. Sin embargo, se ha observado que la formulacion u/p presenta ciertas limitaciones bajo las hipotesis conjuntas de anisotropia elastica y anisotropia plastica. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

[Inspecting the cochlear scala tympanic with flexible and semi-flexible micro-endoscope].

PubMed

Zhang, Daoxcing; Zhang, Yankun

2006-02-01

Flexible and semi-flexible micro-endoscopes were used in cochlear scala tympani inspection , to explore their application in inner ear examination. Fifteen profound hearing loss patients preparing for cochlear implant were included in this study. During the operation, micro-endoscopy was performed after opening the cochlear scala tympani. And 1 mm diameter semi-flexible micro-endoscope could go as deep as 9 mm into the cochlear scala tympani, while 0. 5 mm diameter flexible micro-endoscope could go as deep as 25 mm. The inspecting results were compared with video recording. Using 0.5 mm flexible micro-endoscope, we canould check cochlear scala tympani with depth range of 15-25 mm, but the video imaging was not clear enough to examine the microstructure in the cochlear. With 1 mm diameter semi-flexible micro-endoscope, we could reach 9 mm deep into the cochlear. During the examination, we found 3 cases with calcification deposit in osseous spiral lamina, l case with granulation tissue in the lateral wall of scala tympani, no abnormal findings in the other 11 cases. Inspecting the cochlear scala tympani with 0.5 mm flexible micro-endoscope, even though we can reach the second circuit of the cochlear, it is difficult to find the pathology in the cochlear because of the poor video imaging. With 1 mm semi-flexible micro-endoscope, we can identify the microstructure of the cochlear clearly and find the pathologic changes, but the inserting depth was limited to 9 mm with limitation to examine the whole cochlear.

A flexible and miniaturized hair dye based photodetector via chemiluminescence pathway.

PubMed

Lin, Ching-Chang; Sun, Da-Shiuan; Lin, Ya-Lin; Tsai, Tsung-Tso; Cheng, Chieh; Sun, Wen-Hsien; Ko, Fu-Hsiang

2017-04-15

A flexible and miniaturized metal semiconductor metal (MSM) biomolecular photodetector was developed as the core photocurrent system through chemiluminescence for hydrogen peroxide sensing. The flexible photocurrent sensing system was manufactured on a 30-µm-thick crystalline silicon chip by chemical etching process, which produced a flexible silicon chip. A surface texturization design on the flexible device enhanced the light-trapping effect and minimized reflectivity losses from the incident light. The model protein streptavidin bound to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was successfully immobilized onto the sensor surface through high-affinity conjugation with biotin. The luminescence reaction occurred with luminol, hydrogen peroxide and HRP enzyme, and the emission of light from the catalytic reaction was detected by underlying flexible photodetector. The chemiluminescence in the miniaturized photocurrent sensing system was successfully used to determine the hydrogen peroxide concentration in real-time analyses. The hydrogen peroxide detection limit of the flexible MSM photodetector was 2.47mM. The performance of the flexible MSM photodetector maintained high stability under bending at various bending radii. Moreover, for concave bending, a significant improvement in detection signal intensity (14.5% enhancement compared with a flat configuration) was observed because of the increased photocurrent, which was attributed to enhancement of light trapping. Additionally, this detector was used to detect hydrogen peroxide concentrations in commercial hair dye products, which is a significant issue in the healthcare field. The development of this novel, flexible and miniaturized MSM biomolecular photodetector with excellent mechanical flexibility and high sensitivity demonstrates the applicability of this approach to future wearable sensor development efforts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive flexibility predicts early reading skills

PubMed Central

Colé, Pascale; Duncan, Lynne G.; Blaye, Agnès

2014-01-01

An important aspect of learning to read is efficiency in accessing different kinds of linguistic information (orthographic, phonological, and semantic) about written words. The present study investigates whether, in addition to the integrity of such linguistic skills, early progress in reading may require a degree of cognitive flexibility in order to manage the coordination of this information effectively. Our study will look for evidence of a link between flexibility and both word reading and passage reading comprehension, and examine whether any such link involves domain-general or reading-specific flexibility. As the only previous support for a predictive relationship between flexibility and early reading comes from studies of reading comprehension in the opaque English orthography, another possibility is that this relationship may be largely orthography-dependent, only coming into play when mappings between representations are complex and polyvalent. To investigate these questions, 60 second-graders learning to read the more transparent French orthography were presented with two multiple classification tasks involving reading-specific cognitive flexibility (based on words) and non-specific flexibility (based on pictures). Reading skills were assessed by word reading, pseudo-word decoding, and passage reading comprehension measures. Flexibility was found to contribute significant unique variance to passage reading comprehension even in the less opaque French orthography. More interestingly, the data also show that flexibility is critical in accounting for one of the core components of reading comprehension, namely, the reading of words in isolation. Finally, the results constrain the debate over whether flexibility has to be reading-specific to be critically involved in reading. PMID:24966842

Next Generation Non-Vacuum, Maskless, Low Temperature Nanoparticle Ink Laser Digital Direct Metal Patterning for a Large Area Flexible Electronics

PubMed Central

Yeo, Junyeob; Hong, Sukjoon; Lee, Daehoo; Hotz, Nico; Lee, Ming-Tsang; Grigoropoulos, Costas P.; Ko, Seung Hwan

2012-01-01

Flexible electronics opened a new class of future electronics. The foldable, light and durable nature of flexible electronics allows vast flexibility in applications such as display, energy devices and mobile electronics. Even though conventional electronics fabrication methods are well developed for rigid substrates, direct application or slight modification of conventional processes for flexible electronics fabrication cannot work. The future flexible electronics fabrication requires totally new low-temperature process development optimized for flexible substrate and it should be based on new material too. Here we present a simple approach to developing a flexible electronics fabrication without using conventional vacuum deposition and photolithography. We found that direct metal patterning based on laser-induced local melting of metal nanoparticle ink is a promising low-temperature alternative to vacuum deposition– and photolithography-based conventional metal patterning processes. The “digital” nature of the proposed direct metal patterning process removes the need for expensive photomask and allows easy design modification and short turnaround time. This new process can be extremely useful for current small-volume, large-variety manufacturing paradigms. Besides, simple, scalable, fast and low-temperature processes can lead to cost-effective fabrication methods on a large-area polymer substrate. The developed process was successfully applied to demonstrate high-quality Ag patterning (2.1 µΩ·cm) and high-performance flexible organic field effect transistor arrays. PMID:22900011

Next generation non-vacuum, maskless, low temperature nanoparticle ink laser digital direct metal patterning for a large area flexible electronics.

PubMed

Yeo, Junyeob; Hong, Sukjoon; Lee, Daehoo; Hotz, Nico; Lee, Ming-Tsang; Grigoropoulos, Costas P; Ko, Seung Hwan

2012-01-01

Flexible electronics opened a new class of future electronics. The foldable, light and durable nature of flexible electronics allows vast flexibility in applications such as display, energy devices and mobile electronics. Even though conventional electronics fabrication methods are well developed for rigid substrates, direct application or slight modification of conventional processes for flexible electronics fabrication cannot work. The future flexible electronics fabrication requires totally new low-temperature process development optimized for flexible substrate and it should be based on new material too. Here we present a simple approach to developing a flexible electronics fabrication without using conventional vacuum deposition and photolithography. We found that direct metal patterning based on laser-induced local melting of metal nanoparticle ink is a promising low-temperature alternative to vacuum deposition- and photolithography-based conventional metal patterning processes. The "digital" nature of the proposed direct metal patterning process removes the need for expensive photomask and allows easy design modification and short turnaround time. This new process can be extremely useful for current small-volume, large-variety manufacturing paradigms. Besides, simple, scalable, fast and low-temperature processes can lead to cost-effective fabrication methods on a large-area polymer substrate. The developed process was successfully applied to demonstrate high-quality Ag patterning (2.1 µΩ·cm) and high-performance flexible organic field effect transistor arrays.

Polyimide-Epoxy Composites with Superior Bendable Properties for Application in Flexible Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sangyoup; Yoo, Taewon; Han, Youngyu; Kim, Hanglim; Han, Haksoo

2017-08-01

The need for flexible electronics with outstanding bending properties is increasing due to the demand for wearable devices and next-generation flexible or rollable smartphones. In addition, the requirements for flexible or rigid-flexible electronics are sharply increasing to achieve the design of space-saving electronic devices. In this regard, coverlay (CL) film is a key material used in the bending area of flexible electronics, albeit infrequently. Because flexible electronics undergo folding and unfolding numerous times, CL films with superior mechanical and bending properties are required so that the bending area can endure such severe stress. However, because current CL films are only used for a designated bending area in the flexible electronics panel, their highly complicated and expensive manufacturing procedure is a disadvantage. In addition, the thickness of CL films must be decreased to satisfy the ongoing requirement for increasingly thin products. However, due to the limitations of the two-layer structure of existing CL films, the manufacturing process cannot be made more cost effective by simply applying more thin film onto the board. To address this problem, we have developed liquid coverlay inks (LCIs) with superior bendable properties, in comparison with CL films, when applied onto flexible electronics using a screen-printing method. The results show that LCIs have the potential to become one of the leading candidates to replace existing CL films because of their lower cost and faster manufacturing process.

Flexible solid-state supercapacitors based on three-dimensional graphene hydrogel films.

PubMed

Xu, Yuxi; Lin, Zhaoyang; Huang, Xiaoqing; Liu, Yuan; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

2013-05-28

Flexible solid-state supercapacitors are of considerable interest as mobile power supply for future flexible electronics. Graphene or carbon nanotubes based thin films have been used to fabricate flexible solid-state supercapacitors with high gravimetric specific capacitances (80-200 F/g), but usually with a rather low overall or areal specific capacitance (3-50 mF/cm(2)) due to the ultrasmall electrode thickness (typically a few micrometers) and ultralow mass loading, which is not desirable for practical applications. Here we report the exploration of a three-dimensional (3D) graphene hydrogel for the fabrication of high-performance solid-state flexible supercapacitors. With a highly interconnected 3D network structure, graphene hydrogel exhibits exceptional electrical conductivity and mechanical robustness to make it an excellent material for flexible energy storage devices. Our studies demonstrate that flexible supercapacitors with a 120 μm thick graphene hydrogel thin film can exhibit excellent capacitive characteristics, including a high gravimetric specific capacitance of 186 F/g (up to 196 F/g for a 42 μm thick electrode), an unprecedented areal specific capacitance of 372 mF/cm(2) (up to 402 mF/cm(2) for a 185 μm thick electrode), low leakage current (10.6 μA), excellent cycling stability, and extraordinary mechanical flexibility. This study demonstrates the exciting potential of 3D graphene macrostructures for high-performance flexible energy storage devices.

Agreement Between Face-to-Face and Free Software Video Analysis for Assessing Hamstring Flexibility in Adolescents.

PubMed

Moral-Muñoz, José A; Esteban-Moreno, Bernabé; Arroyo-Morales, Manuel; Cobo, Manuel J; Herrera-Viedma, Enrique

2015-09-01

The objective of this study was to determine the level of agreement between face-to-face hamstring flexibility measurements and free software video analysis in adolescents. Reduced hamstring flexibility is common in adolescents (75% of boys and 35% of girls aged 10). The length of the hamstring muscle has an important role in both the effectiveness and the efficiency of basic human movements, and reduced hamstring flexibility is related to various musculoskeletal conditions. There are various approaches to measuring hamstring flexibility with high reliability; the most commonly used approaches in the scientific literature are the sit-and-reach test, hip joint angle (HJA), and active knee extension. The assessment of hamstring flexibility using video analysis could help with adolescent flexibility follow-up. Fifty-four adolescents from a local school participated in a descriptive study of repeated measures using a crossover design. Active knee extension and HJA were measured with an inclinometer and were simultaneously recorded with a video camera. Each video was downloaded to a computer and subsequently analyzed using Kinovea 0.8.15, a free software application for movement analysis. All outcome measures showed reliability estimates with α > 0.90. The lowest reliability was obtained for HJA (α = 0.91). The preliminary findings support the use of a free software tool for assessing hamstring flexibility, offering health professionals a useful tool for adolescent flexibility follow-up.

Flexible plastic, paper and textile lab-on-a chip platforms for electrochemical biosensing.

PubMed

Economou, Anastasios; Kokkinos, Christos; Prodromidis, Mamas

2018-06-26

Flexible biosensors represent an increasingly important and rapidly developing field of research. Flexible materials offer several advantages as supports of biosensing platforms in terms of flexibility, weight, conformability, portability, cost, disposability and scope for integration. On the other hand, electrochemical detection is perfectly suited to flexible biosensing devices. The present paper reviews the field of integrated electrochemical bionsensors fabricated on flexible materials (plastic, paper and textiles) which are used as functional base substrates. The vast majority of electrochemical flexible lab-on-a-chip (LOC) biosensing devices are based on plastic supports in a single or layered configuration. Among these, wearable devices are perhaps the ones that most vividly demonstrate the utility of the concept of flexible biosensors while diagnostic cards represent the state-of-the art in terms of integration and functionality. Another important type of flexible biosensors utilize paper as a functional support material enabling the fabrication of low-cost and disposable paper-based devices operating on the lateral flow, drop-casting or folding (origami) principles. Finally, textile-based biosensors are beginning to emerge enabling real-time measurements in the working environment or in wound care applications. This review is timely due to the significant advances that have taken place over the last few years in the area of LOC biosensors and aims to direct the readers to emerging trends in this field.

Integration of car-body flexibility into train-track coupling system dynamics analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Liang; Zhang, Qing; Xiao, Xinbiao; Wen, Zefeng; Jin, Xuesong

2018-04-01

The resonance vibration of flexible car-bodies greatly affects the dynamics performances of high-speed trains. In this paper, we report a three-dimensional train-track model to capture the flexible vibration features of high-speed train carriages based on the flexible multi-body dynamics approach. The flexible car-body is modelled using both the finite element method (FEM) and the multi-body dynamics (MBD) approach, in which the rigid motions are obtained by using the MBD theory and the structure deformation is calculated by the FEM and the modal superposition method. The proposed model is applied to investigate the influence of the flexible vibration of car-bodies on the dynamics performances of train-track systems. The dynamics performances of a high-speed train running on a slab track, including the car-body vibration behaviour, the ride comfort, and the running safety, calculated by the numerical models with rigid and flexible car-bodies are compared in detail. The results show that the car-body flexibility not only significantly affects the vibration behaviour and ride comfort of rail carriages, but also can has an important influence on the running safety of trains. The rigid car-body model underestimates the vibration level and ride comfort of rail vehicles, and ignoring carriage torsional flexibility in the curving safety evaluation of trains is conservative.

Highly flexible InSnO electrodes on thin colourless polyimide substrate for high-performance flexible CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jeong-Il; Heo, Jin Hyuck; Park, Sung-Hyun; Hong, Ki Il; Jeong, Hak Gee; Im, Sang Hyuk; Kim, Han-Ki

2017-02-01

We fabricated high-performance flexible CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) perovskite solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 15.5% on roll-to-roll sputtered ITO films on 60 μm-thick colourless polyimide (CPI) substrate. Due to the thermal stability of the CPI substrate, an ITO/CPI sample subjected to rapid thermal annealing at 300 °C showed a low sheet resistance of 57.8 Ω/square and high transmittance of 83.6%, which are better values than those of an ITO/PET sample. Outer and inner bending tests demonstrated that the mechanical flexibility of the ITO/CPI was superior to that of the conventional ITO/PET sample owing to the thinness of the CPI substrate. In addition, due to its good mechanical flexibility, the ITO/CPI showed no change in resistance after 10,000 cycle outer and inner dynamic fatigue tests. Flexible perovskite solar cells with the structure of Au/PTAA/MAPbI3/ZnO/ITO/CPI showed a high power conversion efficiency of 15.5%. The successful operation of these flexible perovskite solar cells on ITO/CPI substrate indicated that the ITO film on thermally stable CPI substrate is a promising of flexible substrate for high-temperature processing, a finding likely to advance the commercialization of cost-efficient flexible perovskite solar cells.

The role of proline substitutions within flexible regions on thermostability of luciferase.

PubMed

Yu, Haoran; Zhao, Yang; Guo, Chao; Gan, Yiru; Huang, He

2015-01-01

Improving the stability of firefly luciferase has been a critical issue for its wider industrial applications. Studies about hyperthermophile proteins show that flexibility could be an effective indicator to find out weak spots to engineering thermostability of proteins. However, the relationship among flexibility, activity and stability in most of proteins is unclear. Proline is the most rigid residue and can be introduced to rigidify flexible regions to enhance thermostability of proteins. We firstly apply three different methods, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, B-FITTER and framework rigidity optimized dynamics algorithm (FRODA) to determine the flexible regions of Photinus pyralis luciferase: Fragment 197-207; Fragment 471-481 and Fragment 487-495. Then, introduction of proline is used to rigidify these flexible regions. Two mutants D476P and H489P within most flexible regions are finally designed. In the results, H489P mutant shows improved thermostability while maintaining its catalytic efficiency compared to that of wild type luciferase. Flexibility analysis confirms that the overall rigidity and local rigidity of H489P mutant are greatly strengthened. D476P mutant shows decreased thermosatbility and the reason for this is elucidated at the molecular level. S307P mutation is randomly chosen outside the flexible regions as a control. Thermostability analysis shows that S307P mutation has decreased kinetic stability and enhanced thermodynamic stability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strong Capillarity, Chemisorption, and Electrocatalytic Capability of Crisscrossed Nanostraws Enabled Flexible, High-Rate, and Long-Cycling Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

PubMed

Ma, Lianbo; Zhang, Wenjun; Wang, Lei; Hu, Yi; Zhu, Guoyin; Wang, Yanrong; Chen, Renpeng; Chen, Tao; Tie, Zuoxiu; Liu, Jie; Jin, Zhong

2018-05-22

The development of flexible lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high energy density and long cycling life are very appealing for the emerging flexible, portable, and wearable electronics. However, the progress on flexible Li-S batteries was limited by the poor flexibility and serious performance decay of existing sulfur composite cathodes. Herein, we report a freestanding and highly flexible sulfur host that can simultaneously meet the flexibility, stability, and capacity requirements of flexible Li-S batteries. The host consists of a crisscrossed network of carbon nanotubes reinforced CoS nanostraws (CNTs/CoS-NSs). The CNTs/CoS-NSs with large inner space and high conductivity enable high loading and efficient utilization of sulfur. The strong capillarity effect and chemisorption of CNTs/CoS-NSs to sulfur species were verified, which can efficiently suppress the shuttle effect and promote the redox kinetics of polysulfides. The sulfur-encapsulated CNTs/CoS-NSs (S@CNTs/CoS-NSs) cathode in Li-S batteries exhibits superior performance, including high discharge capacity, rate capability (1045 mAh g -1 at 0.5 C and 573 mAh g -1 at 5.0 C), and cycling stability. Intriguingly, the soft-packed Li-S batteries based on S@CNTs/CoS-NSs cathode show good flexibility and stability upon bending.

Additive-free thick graphene film as an anode material for flexible lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Rana, Kuldeep; Kim, Seong Dae; Ahn, Jong-Hyun

2015-04-28

This work demonstrates a simple route to develop mechanically flexible electrodes for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) that are usable as lightweight effective conducting networks for both cathodes and anodes. Removing electrochemically dead elements, such as binders, conducting agents and metallic current collectors, from the battery components will allow remarkable progress in this area. To investigate the feasibility of using thick, additive-free graphene films as anodes for flexible LIBs, we have synthesized and tested thick, additive-free, freestanding graphene films as anodes, first in a coin cell and further in a flexible full cell. As an anode material in a half cell, it showed a discharge capacity of about 350 mA h g(-1) and maintained nearly this capacity over 50 cycles at various current rates. This film was also tested as an anode material in a full cell with a LiCoO2 cathode and showed good electrochemical performance. Because the graphene-based flexible film showed good performance in half- and full coin cells, we used this film as a flexible anode for flexible LIBs. No conducting agent or binder was used in the anode side, which helped in realizing the flexible LIBs. Using this, we demonstrate a thin, lightweight and flexible lithium ion battery with good electrochemical performance in both its flat and bent states.

Comparative analysis on flexibility requirements of typical Cryogenic Transfer lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jadon, Mohit; Kumar, Uday; Choukekar, Ketan; Shah, Nitin; Sarkar, Biswanath

2017-04-01

The cryogenic systems and their applications; primarily in large Fusion devices, utilize multiple cryogen transfer lines of various sizes and complexities to transfer cryogenic fluids from plant to the various user/ applications. These transfer lines are composed of various critical sections i.e. tee section, elbows, flexible components etc. The mechanical sustainability (under failure circumstances) of these transfer lines are primary requirement for safe operation of the system and applications. The transfer lines need to be designed for multiple design constraints conditions like line layout, support locations and space restrictions. The transfer lines are subjected to single load and multiple load combinations, such as operational loads, seismic loads, leak in insulation vacuum loads etc. [1]. The analytical calculations and flexibility analysis using professional software are performed for the typical transfer lines without any flexible component, the results were analysed for functional and mechanical load conditions. The failure modes were identified along the critical sections. The same transfer line was then refurbished with the flexible components and analysed for failure modes. The flexible components provide additional flexibility to the transfer line system and make it safe. The results obtained from the analytical calculations were compared with those obtained from the flexibility analysis software calculations. The optimization of the flexible component’s size and selection was performed and components were selected to meet the design requirements as per code.

Role of Pectoral Fin Flexibility in Robotic Fish Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazaz Behbahani, Sanaz; Tan, Xiaobo

2017-08-01

Pectoral fins play a vital role in the maneuvering and locomotion of fish, and they have become an important actuation mechanism for robotic fish. In this paper, we explore the effect of flexibility of robotic fish pectoral fins on the robot locomotion performance and mechanical efficiency. A dynamic model for the robotic fish is presented, where the flexible fin is modeled as multiple rigid elements connected via torsional springs and dampers. Blade element theory is used to capture the hydrodynamic force on the fin. The model is validated with experimental results obtained on a robotic fish prototype, equipped with 3D-printed fins of different flexibility. The model is then used to analyze the impacts of fin flexibility and power/recovery stroke speed ratio on the robot swimming speed and mechanical efficiency. It is found that, in general, flexible fins demonstrate advantages over rigid fins in speed and efficiency at relatively low fin-beat frequencies, while rigid fins outperform flexible fins at higher frequencies. For a given fin flexibility, the optimal frequency for speed performance differs from the optimal frequency for mechanical efficiency. In addition, for any given fin, there is an optimal power/recovery stroke speed ratio, typically in the range of 2-3, that maximizes the speed performance. Overall, the presented model offers a promising tool for fin flexibility and gait design, to achieve speed and efficiency objectives for robotic fish actuated with pectoral fins.

Dynamic analysis and control of lightweight manipulators with flexible parallel link mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jeh Won

1991-01-01

The flexible parallel link mechanism is designed for increased rigidity to sustain the buckling when it carries a heavy payload. Compared to a one link flexible manipulator, a two link flexible manipulator, especially the flexible parallel mechanism, has more complicated characteristics in dynamics and control. The objective of this research is the theoretical analysis and the experimental verification of dynamics and control of a two link flexible manipulator with a flexible parallel link mechanism. Nonlinear equations of motion of the lightweight manipulator are derived by the Lagrangian method in symbolic form to better understand the structure of the dynamic model. A manipulator with a flexible parallel link mechanism is a constrained dynamic system whose equations are sensitive to numerical integration error. This constrained system is solved using singular value decomposition of the constraint Jacobian matrix. The discrepancies between the analytical model and the experiment are explained using a simplified and a detailed finite element model. The step response of the analytical model and the TREETOPS model match each other well. The nonlinear dynamics is studied using a sinusoidal excitation. The actuator dynamic effect on a flexible robot was investigated. The effects are explained by the root loci and the Bode plot theoretically and experimentally. For the base performance for the advanced control scheme, a simple decoupled feedback scheme is applied.

Flexibility in the HCFC Allowance System

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The rule that established the HCFC allowance system also created an allowance transfer mechanism to provide flexibility. This fact sheet highlights the flexibilities incorporated into the HCFC allowance system.

78 FR 77423 - Raw Flexible Magnets From the People's Republic of China and Taiwan: Final Results of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-23

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-922, A-583-842] Raw Flexible... orders on raw flexible magnets from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan pursuant to section 751(c... antidumping duty orders on raw flexible magnets from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. Scope of the...

The Relationship of the Sit and Reach Test to Criterion Measures of Hamstring and Back Flexibility in Young Females.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Allen W.; Baker, Alice A.

1986-01-01

This study tested 100 female adolescents to determine the relationships of the sit and reach test, a component of the Health Related Fitness Test, with back and hamstring flexibility. Findings indicate the sit and reach test is moderately related to hamstring flexibility but not to back and low back flexibility. (Author/MT)

Defect Analysis of Roll-to-Roll SAIL Manufactured Flexible Display Backplanes

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

tenting defect through the SAIL process Figure 5: Flexible backplane electrical tester Figure 6: R2R optical inspection system Figure 7: TEM of TFT ...Analysis of Roll-to-Roll SAIL Manufactured Flexible Display...Marcia Almanza-Workman, Robert A. Garcia, HanJun Kim, Ohseung Kwon, Frank Jeffrey HP Laboratories HPL-2011-35 SAIL, flexible displays, roll-to-roll HP

25 CFR 170.300 - May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false May tribes use flexible financing to finance IRR transportation projects? 170.300 Section 170.300 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PROGRAM Indian Reservation Roads Program Funding Flexible Financing § 170.300 May tribes use flexible...

Brief Report: Impaired Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST) in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yerys, Benjamin E.; Wolff, Brian C.; Moody, Eric; Pennington, Bruce F.; Hepburn, Susan L.

2012-01-01

Cognitive flexibility has been measured with inductive reasoning or explicit rule tasks in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The "Flexible Item Selection Task" (FIST) differs from previous cognitive flexibility tasks in ASD research by giving children an abstract, ambiguous rule to switch. The ASD group (N = 22; Mean age = 8.28…

Characterizing Flexible and Instrinsically Unstructured Biological Macromolecules by SAS using the Porod-Debye Law

PubMed Central

Rambo, Robert P.; Tainer, John A.

2011-01-01

Unstructured proteins, RNA or DNA components provide functionally important flexibility that is key to many macromolecular assemblies throughout cell biology. As objective, quantitative experimental measures of flexibility and disorder in solution are limited, small angle scattering (SAS), and in particular small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), provides a critical technology to assess macromolecular flexibility as well as shape and assembly. Here, we consider the Porod-Debye law as a powerful tool for detecting biopolymer flexibility in SAS experiments. We show that the Porod-Debye region fundamentally describes the nature of the scattering intensity decay, which captures information needed for distinguishing between folded and flexible particles. Particularly for comparative SAS experiments, application of the law, as described here, can distinguish between discrete conformational changes and localized flexibility relevant to molecular recognition and interaction networks. This approach aids insightful analyses of fully and partly flexible macromolecules that is more robust and conclusive than traditional Kratky analyses. Furthermore, we demonstrate for prototypic SAXS data that the ability to calculate particle density by the Porod-Debye criteria, as shown here, provides an objective quality assurance parameter that may prove of general use for SAXS modeling and validation. PMID:21509745

Flexible bottom-gate graphene transistors on Parylene C substrate and the effect of current annealing

PubMed Central

Kim, Hyungsoo; Bong, Jihye; Mikael, Solomon; Kim, Tong June; Williams, Justin C.; Ma, Zhenqiang

2016-01-01

Flexible graphene transistors built on a biocompatible Parylene C substrate would enable active circuitry to be integrated into flexible implantable biomedical devices. An annealing method to improve the performance of a flexible transistor without damaging the flexible substrate is also desirable. Here, we present a fabrication method of a flexible graphene transistor with a bottom-gate coplanar structure on a Parylene C substrate. Also, a current annealing method and its effect on the device performance have been studied. The localized heat generated by the current annealing method improves the drain current, which is attributed to the decreased contact resistance between graphene and S/D electrodes. A maximum current annealing power in the Parylene C-based graphene transistor has been extracted to provide a guideline for an appropriate current annealing. The fabricated flexible graphene transistor shows a field-effect mobility, maximum transconductance, and a Ion/Ioff ratio of 533.5 cm2/V s, 58.1 μS, and 1.76, respectively. The low temperature process and the current annealing method presented here would be useful to fabricate two-dimensional materials-based flexible electronics. PMID:27795570

A Water-/Fireproof Flexible Lithium-Oxygen Battery Achieved by Synergy of Novel Architecture and Multifunctional Separator.

PubMed

Yin, Yan-Bin; Yang, Xiao-Yang; Chang, Zhi-Wen; Zhu, Yun-Hai; Liu, Tong; Yan, Jun-Min; Jiang, Qing

2018-01-01

To meet the increasing demands for portable and flexible devices in a rapidly developing society, it is urgently required to develop highly safe and flexible electrochemical energy-storage systems. Flexible lithium-oxygen batteries with high theoretical specific energy density are promising candidates; however, the conventional half-open structure design prevents it from working properly under water or fire conditions. Herein, as a proof-of-concept experiment, a highly safe flexible lithium-oxygen battery achieved by the synergy of a vital multifunctional structure design and a unique composite separator is proposed and fabricated. The structure can effectively prevent the invasion of water from the environment and combustion, which is further significantly consolidated with the help of a polyimide and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) composite separator, which holds good water resistance, thermal stability, and ionic conductivity. Unexpectedly, the obtained lithium-oxygen battery exhibits superior flexibility, water resistance, thermal resistance, and cycling stability (up to 218 cycles; at a high current of 1 mA and capacity of 4 mA h). This novel water/fireproof, flexible lithium-oxygen battery is a promising candidate to power underwater flexible electronics. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Conductive Silver Nanowires Fabricated by Two-beam Laser Direct Writing on the Flexible Sheet.

PubMed

He, Gui-Cang; Zheng, Mei-Ling; Dong, Xian-Zi; Jin, Feng; Liu, Jie; Duan, Xuan-Ming; Zhao, Zhen-Sheng

2017-02-02

Flexible electrically conductive nanowires are now a key component in the fields of flexible devices. The achievement of metal nanowire with good flexibility, conductivity, compact and smooth morphology is recognized as one critical milestone for the flexible devices. In this study, a two-beam laser direct writing system is designed to fabricate AgNW on PET sheet. The minimum width of the AgNW fabricated by this method is 187 ± 34 nm with the height of 84 ± 4 nm. We have investigated the electrical resistance under different voltages and the applicable voltage per meter range is determined to be less than 7.5 × 10 3  V/m for the fabricated AgNW. The flexibility of the AgNW is very excellent, since the resistance only increases 6.63% even after the stretched bending of 2000 times at such a small bending radius of 1.0 mm. The proposed two-beam laser direct writing is an efficient method to fabricate AgNW on the flexible sheet, which could be applied in flexible micro/nano devices.

Demand-driven biogas production by flexible feeding in full-scale - Process stability and flexibility potentials.

PubMed

Mauky, Eric; Weinrich, Sören; Jacobi, Hans-Fabian; Nägele, Hans-Joachim; Liebetrau, Jan; Nelles, Michael

2017-08-01

For future energy supply systems with high proportions from renewable energy sources, biogas plants are a promising option to supply demand-driven electricity to compensate the divergence between energy demand and energy supply by uncontrolled sources like wind and solar. Apart expanding gas storage capacity a demand-oriented feeding with the aim of flexible gas production can be an effective alternative. The presented study demonstrated a high degree of intraday flexibility (up to 50% compared to the average) and a potential for an electricity shutdown of up to 3 days (decreasing gas production by more than 60%) by flexible feeding in full-scale. Furthermore, the long-term process stability was not affected negatively due to the flexible feeding. The flexible feeding resulted in a variable rate of gas production and a dynamic progression of individual acids and the respective pH-value. In consequence, a demand-driven biogas production may enable significant savings in terms of the required gas storage volume (up to 65%) and permit far greater plant flexibility compared to constant gas production. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Workplace flexibility, work hours, and work-life conflict: finding an extra day or two.

PubMed

Hill, E Jeffrey; Erickson, Jenet Jacob; Holmes, Erin K; Ferris, Maria

2010-06-01

This study explores the influence of workplace flexibility on work-life conflict for a global sample of workers from four groups of countries. Data are from the 2007 International Business Machines Global Work and Life Issues Survey administered in 75 countries (N = 24,436). We specifically examine flexibility in where (work-at-home) and when (perceived schedule flexibility) workers engage in work-related tasks. Multivariate results indicate that work-at-home and perceived schedule flexibility are generally related to less work-life conflict. Break point analyses of sub-groups reveal that employees with workplace flexibility are able to work longer hours (often equivalent to one or two 8-hr days more per week) before reporting work-life conflict. The benefit of work-at-home is increased when combined with schedule flexibility. These findings were generally consistent across all four groups of countries, supporting the case that workplace flexibility is beneficial both to individuals (in the form of reduced work-life conflict) and to businesses (in the form of capacity for longer work hours). However, work-at-home appears less beneficial in countries with collectivist cultures. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Flexible Aqueous Lithium-Ion Battery with High Safety and Large Volumetric Energy Density.

PubMed

Dong, Xiaoli; Chen, Long; Su, Xiuli; Wang, Yonggang; Xia, Yongyao

2016-06-20

A flexible and wearable aqueous lithium-ion battery is introduced based on spinel Li1.1 Mn2 O4 cathode and a carbon-coated NASICON-type LiTi2 (PO4 )3 anode (NASICON=sodium-ion super ionic conductor). Energy densities of 63 Wh kg(-1) or 124 mWh cm(-3) and power densities of 3 275 W kg(-1) or 11.1 W cm(-3) can be obtained, which are seven times larger than the largest reported till now. The full cell can keep its capacity without significant loss under different bending states, which shows excellent flexibility. Furthermore, two such flexible cells in series with an operation voltage of 4 V can be compatible with current nonaqueous Li-ion batteries. Therefore, such a flexible cell can potentially be put into practical applications for wearable electronics. In addition, a self-chargeable unit is realized by integrating a single flexible aqueous Li-ion battery with a commercial flexible solar cell, which may facilitate the long-time outdoor operation of flexible and wearable electronic devices. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Flexible Organic Electronics in Biology: Materials and Devices.

PubMed

Liao, Caizhi; Zhang, Meng; Yao, Mei Yu; Hua, Tao; Li, Li; Yan, Feng

2015-12-09

At the convergence of organic electronics and biology, organic bioelectronics attracts great scientific interest. The potential applications of organic semiconductors to reversibly transmit biological signals or stimulate biological tissues inspires many research groups to explore the use of organic electronics in biological systems. Considering the surfaces of movable living tissues being arbitrarily curved at physiological environments, the flexibility of organic bioelectronic devices is of paramount importance in enabling stable and reliable performances by improving the contact and interaction of the devices with biological systems. Significant advances in flexible organic bio-electronics have been achieved in the areas of flexible organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), polymer electrodes, smart textiles, organic electrochemical ion pumps (OEIPs), ion bipolar junction transistors (IBJTs) and chemiresistors. This review will firstly discuss the materials used in flexible organic bioelectronics, which is followed by an overview on various types of flexible organic bioelectronic devices. The versatility of flexible organic bioelectronics promises a bright future for this emerging area. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Oxide Heteroepitaxy for Flexible Optoelectronics.

PubMed

Bitla, Yugandhar; Chen, Ching; Lee, Hsien-Chang; Do, Thi Hien; Ma, Chun-Hao; Qui, Le Van; Huang, Chun-Wei; Wu, Wen-Wei; Chang, Li; Chiu, Po-Wen; Chu, Ying-Hao

2016-11-30

The emerging technological demands for flexible and transparent electronic devices have compelled researchers to look beyond the current silicon-based electronics. However, fabrication of devices on conventional flexible substrates with superior performance are constrained by the trade-off between processing temperature and device performance. Here, we propose an alternative strategy to circumvent this issue via the heteroepitaxial growth of transparent conducting oxides (TCO) on the flexible mica substrate with performance comparable to that of their rigid counterparts. With the examples of ITO and AZO as a case study, a strong emphasis is laid upon the growth of flexible yet epitaxial TCO relying muscovite's superior properties compared to those of conventional flexible substrates and its compatibility with the present fabrication methods. Besides excellent optoelectro-mechanical properties, an additional functionality of high-temperature stability, normally lacking in the current state-of-the-art transparent flexitronics, is provided by these heterostructures. These epitaxial TCO electrodes with good chemical and thermal stabilities as well as mechanical durability can significantly contribute to the field of flexible, light-weight, and portable smart electronics.

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

Milligan, Michael; Bloom, Aaron P; Townsend, Aaron

Defining flexibility has been a challenge that a number of industry members and researchers have attempted to address in recent years. With increased variability and uncertainty of variable generation (VG), the resources on the system will have to be more flexible to adjust output, so that power output ranges, power ramp rates, and energy duration sustainability are sufficient to meet the needs of balancing supply with demand at various operational timescales. This chapter discusses whether existing market designs provide adequate incentives for resources to offer their flexibility into the market to meet the increased levels of variability and uncertainty introducedmore » by VG in the short-term operational time frame. It presents a definition of flexibility and discusses how increased levels of VG require increased needs for flexibility on power systems. Following this introductory material, the chapter examines how existing market designs ensure that resources have the right incentives to provide increased flexibility, and then discusses a number of emerging market design elements that impact flexibility incentives.« less

Thin Film Transistor Control Circuitry for MEMS Acoustic Transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daugherty, Robin

This work seeks to develop a practical solution for short range ultrasonic communications and produce an integrated array of acoustic transmitters on a flexible substrate. This is done using flexible thin film transistor (TFT) and micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). The goal is to develop a flexible system capable of communicating in the ultrasonic frequency range at a distance of 10-100 meters. This requires a great deal of innovation on the part of the FDC team developing the TFT driving circuitry and the MEMS team adapting the technology for fabrication on a flexible substrate. The technologies required for this research are independently developed. The TFT development is driven primarily by research into flexible displays. The MEMS development is driving by research in biosensors and micro actuators. This project involves the integration of TFT flexible circuit capabilities with MEMS micro actuators in the novel area of flexible acoustic transmitter arrays. This thesis focuses on the design, testing and analysis of the circuit components required for this project.

Flexible Ceramic-Metal Insulation Composite and Method of Making

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rasky, Daniel J. (Inventor); Sawko, Paul M. (Inventor); Kilodziej, Paul (Inventor); Kourtides, Demetrius A. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A method for joining a woven flexible ceramic fabric and a thin metal sheet creating an integral metal surfaced flexible thermal protection article, which methods compress: placing multiple dots of high temperature metallic or fabric and the thin metal sheet in a random or organized pattern, with the proviso that the brazing material covers about 10% or less of the surface of one flat side of the metal sheet; heating the flexible ceramic fabric, brazing material and thin metal sheet for a predetermined period of time to integrally connect the same; and cooling the formed flexible article to ambient temperature. Preferably the flexible ceramic is selected from fibers comprising atoms of silicon, carbon, nitrogen, boron, oxygen or combinations thereof. The flexible thermal protection article produced is also part of the present invention. The thin metal sheet is comprised of titanium, aluminum, chromium, niobium or alloys or combinations thereof. The brazing material is selected from copper/silver or copper/gold or is a ceramic brazing or adhesive material.

Flexible Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Filters toward Radiofrequency Wireless Communication.

PubMed

Jiang, Yuan; Zhao, Yuan; Zhang, Lin; Liu, Bohua; Li, Quanning; Zhang, Menglun; Pang, Wei

2018-03-30

This paper presents a flexible radiofrequency filter with a central frequency of 2.4 GHz based on film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBARs). The flexible filter consists of five air-gap type FBARs, each comprised of an aluminum nitride piezoelectric thin film sandwiched between two thin-film electrodes. By transfer printing the inorganic film structure from a silicon wafer to an ultrathin polyimide substrate, high electrical performance and mechanical flexibility are achieved. The filter has a peak insertion loss of -1.14 dB, a 3 dB bandwidth of 107 MHz, and a temperature coefficient of frequency of -27 ppm °C -1 . The passband and roll-off characteristics of the flexible filter are comparable with silicon-based commercial products. No electrical performance degradation and mechanical failure occur under bending tests with a bending radius of 2.5 mm or after 100 bending cycles. The flexible FBAR filters are believed to be promising candidates for future flexible wireless communication systems. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Light Management in Flexible Glass by Wood Cellulose Coating

PubMed Central

Fang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhu, Hong-Li; Li, Yuan-Yuan; Liu, Zhen; Dai, Jia-Qi; Preston, Colin; Garner, Sean; Cimo, Pat; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Chen, Gang; Hu, Liang-Bing

2014-01-01

Ultra-thin flexible glass with high transparency is attractive for a broad range of display applications; however, substrates with low optical haze are not ideal for thin film solar cells, since most of the light will go through the semiconductor layer without scattering, and the length of light travelling path in the active layer is small. By simply depositing a layer of TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical)-oxidized wood fibers (TOWFs), we are able to tailor the optical properties of flexible glass dramatically from exhibiting low haze (<1%) to high haze (~56%) without compromising the total forward transmittance (~90%). The influence of the TOWFs morphology on the optical properties of TOWFs-coated flexible glass is investigated. As the average fiber length decreases, the transmission haze of TOWF-coated flexible glass illustrates a decreasing trend. Earth-abundant natural materials for transparent, hazy, and flexible glass have tremendous applicability in the fabrication of flexible optoelectronics with tunable light scattering effects by enabling inexpensive and large-scale processes. PMID:25068486

Nanocarbon-Based Materials for Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Lv, Tian; Liu, Mingxian; Zhu, Dazhang; Gan, Lihua; Chen, Tao

2018-04-01

Because of the rapid development of flexible electronics, it is important to develop high-performance flexible energy-storage devices, such as supercapacitors and metal-ion batteries. Compared with metal-ion batteries, supercapacitors exhibit higher power density, longer cycling life, and excellent safety, and they can be easily fabricated into all-solid-state devices by using polymer gel electrolytes. All-solid-state supercapacitors (ASSSCs) have the advantages of being lightweight and flexible, thus showing great potential to be used as power sources for flexible portable electronics. Because of their high specific surface area and excellent electrical and mechanical properties, nanocarbon materials (such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon nanofibers, and so on) have been widely used as efficient electrode materials for flexible ASSSCs, and great achievements have been obtained. Here, the recent advances in flexible ASSSCs are summarized, from design strategies to fabrication techniques for nanocarbon electrodes and devices. Current challenges and future perspectives are also discussed. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Functional Specialization and Flexibility in Human Association Cortex

PubMed Central

Yeo, B. T. Thomas; Krienen, Fenna M.; Eickhoff, Simon B.; Yaakub, Siti N.; Fox, Peter T.; Buckner, Randy L.; Asplund, Christopher L.; Chee, Michael W.L.

2015-01-01

The association cortex supports cognitive functions enabling flexible behavior. Here, we explored the organization of human association cortex by mathematically formalizing the notion that a behavioral task engages multiple cognitive components, which are in turn supported by multiple overlapping brain regions. Application of the model to a large data set of neuroimaging experiments (N = 10 449) identified complex zones of frontal and parietal regions that ranged from being highly specialized to highly flexible. The network organization of the specialized and flexible regions was explored with an independent resting-state fMRI data set (N = 1000). Cortical regions specialized for the same components were strongly coupled, suggesting that components function as partially isolated networks. Functionally flexible regions participated in multiple components to different degrees. This heterogeneous selectivity was predicted by the connectivity between flexible and specialized regions. Functionally flexible regions might support binding or integrating specialized brain networks that, in turn, contribute to the ability to execute multiple and varied tasks. PMID:25249407

Flexible working hours and well-being in Finland.

PubMed

Kandolin, I; Härmä, M; Toivanen, M

2001-12-01

Flexibility of working hours became more prevalent in the 1990s in Finland. According to a representative survey on Finnish wage and salary earners (n = 1790) at the beginning of 2000, a great majority of male (76%) and female (65%) employees regularly worked overtime and/or had irregular working hours every month. These employees were flexible in meeting the needs of their companies/employers. Individual flexibility of working hours was far less common, only one third of male and female employees were able to regulate their working hours. A better balance between company-controlled and individual flexibility would, however, improve the well-being of employees. Employees working overtime without being allowed to regulate their working hours felt more symptoms of distress and had more conflicts in combining workplace and family roles than those who could individually determine their working hours flexibly. An investment in individually determined flexibility, for example by means of participatory planning, would improve the well-being of employees, and thus also improve the productivity of the organization.

Investigation on the Acoustic Absorption of Flexible Micro-Perforated Panel with Ultra-Micro Perforations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guoxin; Tang, Xiaoning; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Qian, Y. J.; Kong, Deyi

2017-11-01

Flexible micro-perforated panel has unique advantages in noise reduction due to its good flexibility compared with traditional rigid micro-perforated panel. In this paper, flexible micro-perforated panel was prepared by computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine. Three kinds of plastics including polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyimide (PI) were taken as the matrix materials to prepare flexible micro-perforated panel. It has been found that flexible micro-perforated panel made of PET possessing good porosity and proper density, elastic modulus and poisson ratio exhibited the best acoustic absorption properties. The effects of various structural parameters including perforation diameter, perforation ratio, thickness and air gap have also been investigated, which would be helpful to the optimization of acoustic absorption properties.

Flexible, planar-integrated, all-solid-state fiber supercapacitors with an enhanced distributed-capacitance effect.

PubMed

Liu, Bin; Tan, Dongsheng; Wang, Xianfu; Chen, Di; Shen, Guozhen

2013-06-10

Flexible and highly efficient energy storage units act as one of the key components in portable electronics. In this work, by planar-integrated assembly of hierarchical ZnCo₂O₄ nanowire arrays/carbon fibers electrodes, a new class of flexible all-solid-state planar-integrated fiber supercapacitors are designed and produced via a low-cost and facile method. The as-fabricated flexible devices exhibit high-efficiency, enhanced capacity, long cycle life, and excellent electrical stability. An enhanced distributed-capacitance effect is experimentally observed for the device. This strategy enables highly flexible new structured supercapacitors with maximum functionality and minimized size, thus making it possible to be readily applied in flexible/portable photoelectronic devices. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Microcavity-Free Broadband Light Outcoupling Enhancement in Flexible Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Nanostructured Transparent Metal-Dielectric Composite Electrodes.

PubMed

Xu, Lu-Hai; Ou, Qing-Dong; Li, Yan-Qing; Zhang, Yi-Bo; Zhao, Xin-Dong; Xiang, Heng-Yang; Chen, Jing-De; Zhou, Lei; Lee, Shuit-Tong; Tang, Jian-Xin

2016-01-26

Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) hold great promise for future bendable display and curved lighting applications. One key challenge of high-performance flexible OLEDs is to develop new flexible transparent conductive electrodes with superior mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. Herein, an effective nanostructured metal/dielectric composite electrode on a plastic substrate is reported by combining a quasi-random outcoupling structure for broadband and angle-independent light outcoupling of white emission with an ultrathin metal alloy film for optimum optical transparency, electrical conduction, and mechanical flexibility. The microcavity effect and surface plasmonic loss can be remarkably reduced in white flexible OLEDs, resulting in a substantial increase in the external quantum efficiency and power efficiency to 47.2% and 112.4 lm W(-1).

Optimized flexible cover films for improved conversion efficiency in thin film flexible solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guterman, Sidney; Wen, Xin; Gudavalli, Ganesh; Rhajbhandari, Pravakar; Dhakal, Tara P.; Wilt, David; Klotzkin, David

2018-05-01

Thin film solar cell technologies are being developed for lower cost and flexible applications. For such technologies, it is desirable to have inexpensive, flexible cover strips. In this paper, we demonstrate that transparent silicone cover glass adhesive can be doped with TiO2 nanoparticles to achieve an optimal refractive index and maximize the performance of the cell. Cells covered with the film doped with nanoparticles at the optimal concentration demonstrated a ∼1% increase in photocurrent over the plain (undoped) film. In addition, fused silica beads can be incorporated into the flexible cover slip to realize a built-in pseudomorphic glass diffuser layer as well. This additional degree of freedom in engineering flexible solar cell covers allows maximal performance from a given cell for minimal increased cost.

Flexibility as a management principle in dementia care: the Adards example.

PubMed

Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Bester, Allan

2006-08-01

Flexibility is an essential ingredient of person-centered care. We illustrate the potential impact of flexibility by portraying a nursing home that uses flexibility in its approach to residents and staff members. The paper describes the management strategies, principles, and environmental features used by the Adards nursing home in Australia. Adards' flexibility in daily work and task scheduling promotes both resident and staff autonomy, which in turn allows for higher staffing levels, lower staff turnover, and more typical life experiences for residents than is found in many long-term-care facilities in the United States. The article provides an example and a basis for future discussion on this topic, with the hope that it will prompt other institutions to expand the level of flexibility in their policies and procedures.

Knowledge of damage identification about tensegrities via flexibility disassembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Ge; Feng, Xiaodong; Du, Shigui

2017-12-01

Tensegrity structures composing of continuous cables and discrete struts are under tension and compression, respectively. In order to determine the damage extents of tensegrity structures, a new method for tensegrity structural damage identification is presented based on flexibility disassembly. To decompose a tensegrity structural flexibility matrix into the matrix represention of the connectivity between degress-of-freedoms and the diagonal matrix comprising of magnitude informations. Step 1: Calculate perturbation flexibility; Step 2: Compute the flexibility connectivity matrix and perturbation flexibility parameters; Step 3: Calculate the perturbation stiffness parameters. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by a numeical example comprising of 12 cables and 4 struts with pretensioned. Accurate identification of local damage depends on the availability of good measured data, an accurate and reasonable algorithm.

Flexible ferroelectric organic crystals

DOE PAGES

Owczarek, Magdalena; Hujsak, Karl A.; Ferris, Daniel P.; ...

2016-10-13

Flexible organic materials possessing useful electrical properties, such as ferroelectricity, are of crucial importance in the engineering of electronic devices. But, until now, only ferroelectric polymers have intrinsically met this flexibility requirement, leaving small-molecule organic ferroelectrics with room for improvement. Since both flexibility and ferroelectricity are rare properties on their own, combining them in one crystalline organic material is challenging. We report that trisubstituted haloimidazoles not only display ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity-the properties that originate from their non-centrosymmetric crystal lattice-but also lend their crystalline mechanical properties to fine-tuning in a controllable manner by disrupting the weak halogen bonds between the molecules.more » This element of control makes it possible to deliver another unique and highly desirable property, namely crystal flexibility. Moreover, the electrical properties are maintained in the flexible crystals.« less

A passivity based control methodology for flexible joint robots with application to a simplified shuttle RMS arm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sicard, Pierre; Wen, John T.

1991-01-01

The main goal is to develop a general theory for the control of flexible robots, including flexible joint robots, flexible link robots, rigid bodies with flexible appendages, etc. As part of the validation, the theory is applied to the control law development for a test example which consists of a three-link arm modeled after the shoulder yaw joint of the space shuttle remote manipulator system (RMS). The performance of the closed loop control system is then compared with the performance of the existing RMS controller to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The theoretical foundation of this new approach to the control of flexible robots is presented and its efficacy is demonstrated through simulation results on the three-link test arm.

Flexibility increases lift on passive fluttering wings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tam, Daniel; Bush, John

2013-11-01

We examine the influence of flexibility on the side-to-side fluttering motion of passive wings settling under the influence of gravity. This effect is examined through an experimental investigation of deformable rectangular wings falling in a water tank. Our results demonstrate the existence of an optimal flexibility, for which flexible wings remain flying twice longer and hence settle twice slower compared to rigid wings of identical mass and geometry. Flow visualizations and measurements provide key insight to elucidate the role of flexibility in generating increased lift and wing circulation by shedding additional vorticity at the turning point. Theoretical scalings are derived from a reduced model of the flight dynamics in qualitative and quantitative agreement with experiments. These scalings rationalize the strong positive correlation between flexibility and time of flight.

Perceived versus used workplace flexibility in Singapore: predicting work-family fit.

PubMed

Jones, Blake L; Scoville, D Phillip; Hill, E Jeffrey; Childs, Geniel; Leishman, Joan M; Nally, Kathryn S

2008-10-01

This study examined the relationship of 2 types of workplace flexibility to work-family fit and work, personal, and marriage-family outcomes using data (N = 1,601) representative of employed persons in Singapore. We hypothesized that perceived and used workplace flexibility would be positively related to the study variables. Results derived from structural equation modeling revealed that perceived flexibility predicted work-family fit; however, used flexibility did not. Work-family fit related positively to each work, personal, and marriage-family outcome; however, workplace flexibility only predicted work and personal outcomes. Findings suggest work-family fit may be an important facilitating factor in the interface between work and family life, relating directly to marital satisfaction and satisfaction in other family relationships. Implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Autonomous assembly with collision avoidance of a fleet of flexible spacecraft based on disturbance observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ti; Wen, Hao

2018-06-01

This paper presents a distributed control law with disturbance observer for the autonomous assembly of a fleet of flexible spacecraft to construct a large flexible space structure. The fleet of flexible spacecraft is driven to the pre-assembly configuration firstly, and then to the desired assembly configuration. A distributed assembly control law with disturbance observer is proposed by treating the flexible dynamics as disturbances acting on the rigid motion of the flexible spacecraft. Theoretical analysis shows that the control law can actuate the fleet to the desired configuration. Moreover, the collision avoidance between the members is also considered in the process from initial configuration to pre-assembly configuration. Finally, a numerical example is presented to verify the feasibility of proposed mission planning and the effectiveness of control law.

PROGRAMA PARA LA VERIFICACION DE LA TECNOLOGIA AMBIENTAL - CULTIVANDO ASOCIACIONES PARA EL INCREMENTO DE LAS SELECCIONES DE TECNOLOGIAS AMBIENTALES A LOS SECTORES PUBLICO Y PRIVADO EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Y EN EL EXTERIOR (EPA/600/F-97/005A)

EPA Science Inventory

La meta del ETV es verificar, a travs de una
evaluacin de informacin objectiva y de calidad, las caracteristicas del desempeo de tecnologas
comerciales ambientales. As el ETV proporciona a
los compradores y los licenciadores potenciales una valoracin imparcial y creble d...

Galaxias australes con núcleo doble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gimeno, G.; Díaz, R.; Carranza, G.

Se estudia una muestra de galaxias australes con núcleo doble a partir de una búsqueda extensiva en la literatura. Se analizan las características morfológicas, fotométricas y espectroscópicas de la muestra. Para algunas galaxias se han realizado observaciones con el espectrógrafo multifunción (EMF) de la Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre a partir de las cuales se determinaron parámetros cinemáticos.

Ependimoma myxopapilar sacro gigante con osteolisis

PubMed Central

Ajler, Pablo; Landriel, Federico; Goldschmidt, Ezequiel; Campero, Álvaro; Yampolsky, Claudio

2014-01-01

Objetivo: la presentación de un caso de una paciente con un ependimoma sacro con extensa infiltración y destrucción ósea local. Descripción del caso: una mujer de 53 años acudió a la consulta por dolor lumbosacro y alteraciones sensitivas perineales y esfinterianas. La imágenes por Resonancia Magnética (IRM) y la Tomografía Axial Computada (TAC) mostraron una lesión expansiva gigante a nivel S2-S4 con extensa osteólisis e invasión de tejidos adyacentes. Se realizó una exéresis tumoral completa con mejoría del estatus funcional. La anatomía patológica informó ependimoma mixopapilar. Discusión: la extensión de la resección quirúrgica es el mejor predictor de buen pronóstico. El tratamiento radiante se reserva como opción adyuvante para las resecciones incompletas y recidiva tumoral. La quimioterapia sólo debería utilizarse en casos en que la cirugía y la radioterapia estén contraindicadas. Conclusión: Los ependimomas mixopapilares sacros con destrucción ósea y presentación intra y extradural son muy infrecuentes y deben ser tenidos en cuenta entre los diagnósticos diferenciales preoperatorios. Su resección total, siempre que sea posible, es la mejor alternativa terapéutica. PMID:25165615

Diseno de una Actividad de Aprendizaje Basada en la Argumentacion Dialogica en un curso Virtual de Biotecnologia y su Incidencia en el Desarrollo de Competencias Cientificas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz Benavides, Fedra Lorena

El proposito de la investigacion fue evaluar la efectividad de una actividad de aprendizaje basado en la argumentacion dialogica en linea y su incidencia en el desarrollo de competencias cientificas. Se fundamenta en la teoria del aprendizaje socio cultural de Vigotsky (1984), los principios del diseno instruccional de la cognicion situada por Hung y Der-Thang (2001) y como estrategia se aplico la argumentacion dialogica utilizando el Modelo Argumentativo de Toulmin MAT (1984). El diseno experimental comparo dos grupos de estudiantes A y B en el curso virtual de Biotecnologia. El grupo A (experimental) desarrollo la discusion a partir de la estrategia disenada para este estudio y el grupo B (control) realizo la discusion desde las actividades tradicionales. El desarrollo de la competencia argumentativa se valoro con el instrumento de evaluacion para argumentacion dialogica en linea propuesta por Clark y Sampson (2008). La evaluacion de las competencias cientificas se realizo a partir de una postprueba. Los datos fueron analizados con pruebas estadisticas no parametricas. Los resultados de la investigacion, indicaron diferencias significativas en el nivel de la competencia argumental en el grupo experimental en comparacion al grupo control. Igualmente se demostro que existe una relacion positiva entre el nivel de desarrollo de la competencia argumentativa y el nivel de desarrollo de las competencias cientificas.

Integrando la historia clínica ambiental en el consejo prenatal y cuidado de 2 casos de gastrosquisis

PubMed Central

García, J.A. Ortega; Martín, M.; Lamas, A. Brea; De Paco-Matallana, C.; Jiménez, J.I. Ruiz; Soldin, O.P.

2017-01-01

Introducción La gastroquisis es una malformación de etiología desconocida en la que se han implicado factores de riesgo (FR) genéticos y medioambientales. El objetivo de este trabajo es desarrollar la historia clínica medioambiental pediátrica (HCMAP) de la gastroquisis en 2 pacientes. Pacientes y métodos Revisión bibliográfica en Pubmed y en el Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Database. Búsqueda selectiva de sustancias con capacidad teratogénica en el Hazardous Substances Data Bank. Palabras clave utilizadas fueron: «gastroschisis» y «gastroschisis and risk factor». Resultados En ambos casos están presentes los siguientes FR descritos en la literatura: corta cohabitación, embarazos no planificados de madres relativamente jóvenes, cambio de pareja reciente, ingesta de alcohol, déficits nutricionales importantes, tabaquismo activo/pasivo. Un caso estuvo expuesto a cocaína, humo de cannabis y se realizó una ortopantografía durante el embarazo. Conclusiones 1) Es necesario obtener la HCMAP en todo paciente con gastroquisis; 2) una cuidadosa HCMAP requiere una adecuada revisión de los FR relacionados e instrucción básica para caracterizar y cuantificar las exposiciones medioambientales, y 3) siguiendo estos pasos, complementaremos nuestras labores asistenciales y preventivas. PMID:20122885

Desgarros del epitelio pigmentario de la retina: factores de riesgo, mecanismo y control terapéutico.

PubMed

Clemens, Christoph R; Eter, Nicole

2017-07-11

Los desgarros del epitelio pigmentario de la retina (EPR) se asocian en la mayoría de los casos con los desprendimientos vascularizados del EPR debido a una degeneración macular asociada a la edad (DMAE), y normalmente implican una pérdida adversa de la agudeza visual. Estudios recientes indican que ha habido un aumento en la incidencia de desgarros del EPR desde la introducción de fármacos anti-factor de crecimiento del endotelio vascular (anti-VEGF) así como una asociación temporal entre el desgarro y la inyección intravítrea. Dado que el número de pacientes con DMAE y el número de inyecciones anti-VEGF va en aumento, tanto la dificultad de prevenir desgarros del EPR como el tratamiento tras la formación de los desgarros han adquirido una mayor relevancia. De forma paralela, la evolución de la imagenología de la retina ha contribuido de manera significativa a comprender mejor el desarrollo de los desgarros del EPR en los últimos años. Esta revisión resume los conocimientos que se poseen actualmente sobre el desarrollo, los factores pronósticos y las estrategias terapéuticas de los desgarros del EPR antes y después de que estos se formen. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Flexible thermal apparatus for mounting of thermoelectric cooler

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Jack A. (Inventor); Petrick, S. Walter (Inventor); Bard, Steven (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A flexible heat transfer apparatus used to flexibly connect and thermally couple a thermoelectric cooler to an object to be cooled is disclosed. The flexible heat transfer apparatus consists of a pair of flexible corrugated sheets made from high thermal conductivity materials such as copper, aluminum, gold, or silver. The ridges of the corrugated sheets are oriented perpendicular to one another and bonded sandwich-fashion between three plates to define an upper section and a lower section. The upper section provides X flexure, the lower section provides Y flexure, and both sections together provide Z flexure.

Remote vacuum compaction of compressible hazardous waste

DOEpatents

Coyne, M.J.; Fiscus, G.M.; Sammel, A.G.

1998-10-06

A system is described for remote vacuum compaction and containment of low-level radioactive or hazardous waste comprising a vacuum source, a sealable first flexible container, and a sealable outer flexible container for receiving one or more first flexible containers. A method for compacting low level radioactive or hazardous waste materials at the point of generation comprising the steps of sealing the waste in a first flexible container, sealing one or more first containers within an outer flexible container, breaching the integrity of the first containers, evacuating the air from the inner and outer containers, and sealing the outer container shut. 8 figs.

Remote vacuum compaction of compressible hazardous waste

DOEpatents

Coyne, Martin J.; Fiscus, Gregory M.; Sammel, Alfred G.

1998-01-01

A system for remote vacuum compaction and containment of low-level radioactive or hazardous waste comprising a vacuum source, a sealable first flexible container, and a sealable outer flexible container for receiving one or more first flexible containers. A method for compacting low level radioactive or hazardous waste materials at the point of generation comprising the steps of sealing the waste in a first flexible container, sealing one or more first containers within an outer flexible container, breaching the integrity of the first containers, evacuating the air from the inner and outer containers, and sealing the outer container shut.

Flexible transparent conductors based on metal nanowire networks

DOE PAGES

Guo, Chuan Fei; Ren, Zhifeng

2015-04-01

Few conductors are transparent and flexible. Metals have the best electrical conductivity, but they are opaque and stiff in bulk form. However, metals can be transparent and flexible when they are very thin or properly arranged on the nanoscale. This review focuses on the flexible transparent conductors based on percolating networks of metal. Specifically, we discuss the fabrication, the means to improve the electrical conductivity, the large stretchability and its mechanism, and the applications of these metal networks. We also suggest some criteria for evaluating flexible transparent conductors and propose some new research directions in this emerging field.

Remote vacuum compaction of compressible hazardous waste

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

Coyne, M.J.; Fiscus, G.M.; Sammel, A.G.

1996-12-31

A system is described for remote vacuum compaction and containment of low-level radioactive or hazardous waste comprising a vacuum source, a sealable first flexible container, and a sealable outer flexible container for receiving one or more first flexible containers. A method for compacting low level radioactive or hazardous waste materials at the point of generation comprising the steps of sealing the waste in a first flexible container, sealing one or more first containers within an outer flexible container, breaching the integrity of the first containers, evacuating the air from the inner and outer containers, and sealing the outer container shut.

Turgidity-dependent petiole flexibility enables efficient water use by a tree subjected to water stress.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Rodriguez, David; Cournède, Paul-Henry; de Langre, Emmanuel

2016-06-07

Water stress is a major cause of tree mortality. In response to drought, leaves wilt due to an increase in petiole flexibility. We present an analytical model coupling petiole mechanics, thermal balance, and xylem hydraulics to investigate the role of petiole flexibility in protecting a tree from water stress. Our model suggests that turgidity-dependent petiole flexibility can significantly attenuate the minimal xylem pressure and thus reduce the risk of cavitation. Moreover, we show that petiole flexibility increases water use efficiency by trees under water stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flexible thermal laminate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dawn, F. S.; Sauers, D. G.

1977-01-01

Lightweight flexible laminate of interwoven conducting and insulating yarns, designed to provide localized controlled heating for propellant tanks on space vehicles, is useful for nonspace applications where weight, bulk, and flexibility are critical concerns.

Effects of a three-month therapeutic exercise programme on flexibility in subjects with low back pain.

PubMed

Kuukkanen, T; Mälkiä, E

2000-01-01

Spinal and muscle flexibility have been studied intensively and used clinically as outcome measurements in the rehabilitation of subjects with low back pain. The results of previous studies are contradictory and there is a lack of longitudinal data on the effects of long term therapeutic exercise on flexibility. A controlled experimental study was conducted to determine the effects of progressive therapeutic exercise on spinal and muscle flexibility. Eighty-six chronic low back pain subjects fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were divided into three study groups: (1) intensive training group, (2) home exercise group and (3) control group. The intervention period lasted three months and measurements were performed at both the beginning of the study and immediately after intervention. Follow-up measurements were carried out six and 12 months after baseline. Spinal flexibility was measured with lumbar flexion, extension, spinal lateral flexion and rotation, and muscle flexibility was measured with measurements of erector spinae, hamstring and iliopsoas muscles. Also self-reported outcomes of the Oswestry Index and Borg Scale--Back Pain Intensity were used. Associations between change (pre- to post-treatment) were determined for the dependent variables. The results showed no correlation between flexibility, the Oswestry Index or back pain intensity. After the first three-month period lumbar flexion, extension and spinal rotation decreased among all subjects. Spinal rotation and erector spinae muscle flexibility improved significantly with intensive training. At the nine-month follow-up, erector spine flexibility was still greater than at baseline. Hamstring flexibility increased among the intensive training and home exercise groups from pre- to post-intervention. However, the degree of hamstring flexibility gained during training was subsequently lost following the period without programmed exercise in both training groups. Self-reported outcome variables showed positive changes among the three study groups after the completion of intervention period, but these changes were only able to be maintained during subsequent follow-ups for the intensive training and home exercise groups. The findings suggest that flexibility does not play an important role in coping with chronic low back pain for subjects whose functional limitations are not severe. Also, it appears that the achieved gains in spinal and muscle flexibility may not be able to be maintained without continued exercise.

Incorporating operational flexibility into electric generation planning Impacts and methods for system design and policy analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmintier, Bryan S.

This dissertation demonstrates how flexibility in hourly electricity operations can impact long-term planning and analysis for future power systems, particularly those with substantial variable renewables (e.g., wind) or strict carbon policies. Operational flexibility describes a power system's ability to respond to predictable and unexpected changes in generation or demand. Planning and policy models have traditionally not directly captured the technical operating constraints that determine operational flexibility. However, as demonstrated in this dissertation, this capability becomes increasingly important with the greater flexibility required by significant renewables (>= 20%) and the decreased flexibility inherent in some low-carbon generation technologies. Incorporating flexibility can significantly change optimal generation and energy mixes, lower system costs, improve policy impact estimates, and enable system designs capable of meeting strict regulatory targets. Methodologically, this work presents a new clustered formulation that tractably combines a range of normally distinct power system models, from hourly unit-commitment operations to long-term generation planning. This formulation groups similar generators into clusters to reduce problem size, while still retaining the individual unit constraints required to accurately capture operating reserves and other flexibility drivers. In comparisons against traditional unit commitment formulations, errors were generally less than 1% while run times decreased by several orders of magnitude (e.g., 5000x). Extensive numerical simulations, using a realistic Texas-based power system show that ignoring flexibility can underestimate carbon emissions by 50% or result in significant load and wind shedding to meet environmental regulations. Contributions of this dissertation include: 1. Demonstrating that operational flexibility can have an important impact on power system planning, and describing when and how these impacts occur; 2. Demonstrating that a failure to account for operational flexibility can result in undesirable outcomes for both utility planners and policy analysts; and 3. Extending the state of the art for electric power system models by introducing a tractable method for incorporating unit commitment based operational flexibility at full 876o hourly resolution directly into planning optimization. Together these results encourage and offer a new flexibility-aware approach for capacity planning and accompanying policy design that can enable cleaner, less expensive electric power systems for the future. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, libraries.mit.edu/docs - docs mit.edu)

The impact of flexible benefits plans on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intentions.

PubMed

Heshizer, B

1994-01-01

This study assesses the dimensionality of employee attitudes toward flexible benefits plans and the impact of these plans on measures of job satisfaction, commitment and turnover intent. The study points to the need for more work on the measurement of employee attitudes toward flexible benefits and on the nomological framework of flexible benefits as a construct in compensation research.

1984 Defense Financial and Investment Review (DFAIR). Survey of Defense Procurement Personnel Results and Findings

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

to be neither too high, nor too low. They agreed that the flexible progress payment model is too complex to administer, Very few agreed that the flow...Progress Payment Rate ....................... 133 Flexible Progress Payment Model ................... 146 Flow Down of Financing Provisions...Flexible Progress Payment Model A plurality (45%) of all respondents agreed that the flexible progress payment model is too

Biologically Inspired, Anisoptropic Flexible Wing for Optimal Flapping Flight

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-31

Anisotropic Flexible Wing for Optimal Flapping Flight FA9550-07-1-0547 Sb. GRANT NUMBER Sc. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Sd. PROJECT NUMBER...anisotropic structural flexibility ; c) Conducted coordinated experimental and computational modeling to determine the roles of aerodynamic loading, wing inertia...and structural flexibility and elasticity; and d) Developed surrogate tools for flapping wing MA V design and optimization. Detailed research

Flexible Display and Integrated Communication Devices (FDICD) Technology. Volume 2

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

AFRL-RH-WP-TR-2008-0072 Flexible Display and Integrated Communication Devices (FDICD) Technology, Volume II David Huffman Keith Tognoni...14 April 2004 – 20 June 2008 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Flexible Display and Integrated Communication Devices (FDICD) Technology, Volume II 5a...14. ABSTRACT This flexible display and integrated communication devices (FDICD) technology program sought to create a family of powerful

Standing to Preach, Moving to Teach: What TAs Learned from Teaching in Flexible and Less-Flexible Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Victoria; Leger, Andy; Riel, Annie

2016-01-01

This paper examines the effect of the architectural layout of two classrooms (one flexible and one less-flexible) on Teaching Assistants' (TAs) movement and interactions with students. Four TAs from a first-year undergraduate introductory course were chosen for the two studies. In study 1, the TAs taught the same lesson twice to two groups of…

Flexible working hours, health, and well-being in Europe: some considerations from a SALTSA project.

PubMed

Costa, Giovanni; Akerstedt, Torbjorn; Nachreiner, Friedhelm; Baltieri, Federica; Carvalhais, José; Folkard, Simon; Dresen, Monique Frings; Gadbois, Charles; Gartner, Johannes; Sukalo, Hiltraud Grzech; Härmä, Mikko; Kandolin, Irja; Sartori, Samantha; Silvério, Jorge

2004-01-01

The project brought together researchers from 9 EU-Countries and resulted in a number of actions, in particular the following: (a) There is an urgent need of defining the concept of flexible working hours, since it has been used in many different and even counterintuitive ways; the most obvious distinction is where the influence over the working hours lies, that is between the "company-based flexibility" and the "individual-oriented flexibility"; (b) The review of the Legislation in force in the 15 European countries shows that the regulation of working times is quite extensive and covers (Council Directive 93/104/EC) almost all the various arrangements of working hours (i.e., part-time, overtime, shift, and night work), but fails to provide for flexibility; (c) According to the data of the Third EU Survey on Working Conditions, longer and "irregular" working hours are in general linked to lower levels of health and well-being; moreover, low (individual) flexibility and high variability of working hours (i.e., company-based flexibility) were consistently associated with poor health and well-being, while low variability combined with high autonomy showed positive effects; (d) Six substudies from different countries demonstrated that flexible working hours vary according to country, economic sector, social status, and gender; overtime is the most frequent form of company-based flexibility but has negative effects on stress, sleep, and social and mental health; individual flexibility alleviates the negative effects of the company-based flexibility on subjective health, safety, and social well-being; (e) The literature review was able to list more than 1,000 references, but it was striking that most of these documents were mainly argumentative with very little empirical data. Thus, one may conclude that there is a large-scale intervention ongoing in our society with almost completely unknown and uncontrolled effects. Consequently, there is a strong need for systematic research and well-controlled actions in order to examine in detail what flexible working hours are considered, what and where are their positive effects, in particular, as concerns autonomy, and what regulation seem most reasonable.

Parent's Relative Perceived Work Flexibility Compared to Their Partner Is Associated With Emotional Exhaustion.

PubMed

Leineweber, Constanze; Falkenberg, Helena; Albrecht, Sophie C

2018-01-01

A number of studies have found that control over work conditions and hours is positively related to mental health. Still, potential positive and negative effects of work flexibility remain to be fully explored. On the one hand, higher work flexibility might provide better opportunities for recovery. On the other hand, especially mothers may use flexibility to meet household and family demands. Here, we investigated the association between parent's work flexibility, rated relative to their partner, and emotional exhaustion in interaction with gender. Additionally, gender differences in time use were investigated. Cross-sectional analyses based on responses of employed parents to the 2012 wave of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) were conducted ( N = 2,911). Generalized linear models with gamma distribution and a log-link function were used to investigate associations between relative work-flexibility (lower, equal, or higher as compared to partner), gender, and emotional exhaustion. After control for potential confounders, we found that having lower work flexibility than the partner was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion as compared to those with higher relative work flexibility. Also, being a mother was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion, independent of possible confounders. An interaction effect between low relative work flexibility and gender was found in relation to emotional exhaustion. Regarding time use, clear differences between mothers' and fathers' were found. However, few indications were found that relative work flexibility influenced time use. Mothers spent more time on household chores as compared to fathers, while fathers reported longer working hours. Fathers spent more time on relaxation compared with mothers. To conclude, our results indicate that lower relative work flexibility is detrimental for mental health both for mothers and fathers. However, while gender seems to have a pronounced effect on time use, relative work flexibility seems to have less influence on how time is used. Generally, mothers tend to spend more time on unpaid work while fathers spend longer hours on paid work and report more time for relaxation.

Parent's Relative Perceived Work Flexibility Compared to Their Partner Is Associated With Emotional Exhaustion

PubMed Central

Leineweber, Constanze; Falkenberg, Helena; Albrecht, Sophie C.

2018-01-01

A number of studies have found that control over work conditions and hours is positively related to mental health. Still, potential positive and negative effects of work flexibility remain to be fully explored. On the one hand, higher work flexibility might provide better opportunities for recovery. On the other hand, especially mothers may use flexibility to meet household and family demands. Here, we investigated the association between parent's work flexibility, rated relative to their partner, and emotional exhaustion in interaction with gender. Additionally, gender differences in time use were investigated. Cross-sectional analyses based on responses of employed parents to the 2012 wave of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) were conducted (N = 2,911). Generalized linear models with gamma distribution and a log-link function were used to investigate associations between relative work-flexibility (lower, equal, or higher as compared to partner), gender, and emotional exhaustion. After control for potential confounders, we found that having lower work flexibility than the partner was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion as compared to those with higher relative work flexibility. Also, being a mother was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion, independent of possible confounders. An interaction effect between low relative work flexibility and gender was found in relation to emotional exhaustion. Regarding time use, clear differences between mothers' and fathers' were found. However, few indications were found that relative work flexibility influenced time use. Mothers spent more time on household chores as compared to fathers, while fathers reported longer working hours. Fathers spent more time on relaxation compared with mothers. To conclude, our results indicate that lower relative work flexibility is detrimental for mental health both for mothers and fathers. However, while gender seems to have a pronounced effect on time use, relative work flexibility seems to have less influence on how time is used. Generally, mothers tend to spend more time on unpaid work while fathers spend longer hours on paid work and report more time for relaxation. PMID:29774006

Trunk-Rotation Flexibility in Collegiate Softball Players With or Without a History of Shoulder or Elbow Injury

PubMed Central

Aragon, Veronica J.; Oyama, Sakiko; Oliaro, Scott M.; Padua, Darin A.; Myers, Joseph B.

2012-01-01

Context: Throwing is a whole-body motion that requires the transfer of momentum from the lower extremity to the upper extremity via the trunk. No research to date examines the association between a history of shoulder or elbow injury and trunk flexibility in overhead athletes. Objective: To determine if injury history and trunk-rotation flexibility are associated and to compare trunk-rotation flexibility measured using 3 clinical tests: half-kneeling rotation test with the bar in the back, half-kneeling rotation test with the bar in the front, and seated rotation test in softball position players with or without a history of shoulder or elbow injury. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: University softball facilities. Patients or Other Participants: Sixty-five female National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I softball position players. Intervention(s): Trunk-rotation flexibility was measured with 3 clinical tests. Recent injury history was obtained using a questionnaire and verified by the certified athletic trainer. Main Outcome Measure(s): Binomial regression models were used to determine if injury history was associated with flexibility categories (high, normal, or limited tertiles) for each of the 6 (3 tests × 2 directions) trunk-rotation flexibility measures. Trunk-rotation flexibility measures from 3 clinical tests were compared between participants with and without a history of shoulder or elbow injury using analysis-of-variance models. Results: When measured using the half-kneeling rotation test with the bar in the back and the seated rotation test, injury history and forward trunk-rotation flexibility were associated. However, no mean group differences were seen in trunk-rotation flexibility between participants with and without a history of shoulder or elbow injury. Conclusions: Limited forward trunk-rotation flexibility may be a risk factor for shoulder or elbow injuries. However, further study is needed to confirm the study finding. PMID:23068587

Bleeding profile of a flexible extended regimen of ethinylestradiol/drospirenone in US women: an open-label, three-arm, active-controlled, multicenter study.

PubMed

Jensen, Jeffrey T; Garie, Sona Grossova; Trummer, Dietmar; Elliesen, Jörg

2012-08-01

Unscheduled bleeding may affect satisfaction and compliance with extended oral contraceptive (OC) regimens. The bleeding patterns of two variants of a flexible dosing regimen designed to manage intracyclic bleeding problems during extended cycles were compared with that of a conventional OC regimen. This was a 1-year, open-label, active-controlled, Phase 3 study conducted in the USA. Healthy women (18-45 years) received an ethinylestradiol (EE) 20 mcg/drospirenone 3 mg OC in two flexible extended regimens or in a conventional 24/4 (i.e., 28-day) regimen. The primary regimen [management of intracyclic bleeding (flexible(MIB)) regimen] was an extended dosing regimen that required subjects to initiate 4-day tablet-free intervals after 3 days of breakthrough bleeding/spotting. An alternative extended regimen [active period control (flexible(APC)) regimen] allowed subjects to initiate a 4-day tablet-free interval irrespective of the occurrence of bleeding. Bleeding profiles were compared between treatments. Efficacy and safety outcomes were also assessed. The full analysis set comprised 1864 women (flexible(MIB), N=1406; flexible(APC), N=232; conventional 24/4, N=226). Over 1 year, subjects in the flexible(MIB) group experienced significantly fewer (mean±SD, 40±30) bleeding/spotting days than those in the conventional 24/4 group (52±35). The corresponding value in the flexible(APC) group was 47±33 days. The pregnancy rate in the flexible(MIB) group was 1.65 per 100 woman-years (95% confidence interval, 0.96-2.65). All three regimens were well tolerated. A flexible(MIB) dosing regimen of EE 20 mcg/drospirenone 3 mg is associated with good contraceptive efficacy and fewer bleeding/spotting days than the conventional 24/4 regimen. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intra-patient comparison of parietal pleural biopsies by rigid forceps, flexible forceps and cryoprobe obtained during medical thoracoscopy: a prospective series of 80 cases with pleural effusion.

PubMed

Wurps, H; Schönfeld, N; Bauer, T T; Bock, M; Duve, C; Sauer, R; Mairinger, T; Griff, S

2016-07-07

There is only few data available on the use of cryotechnique during medical thoracoscopy. Medical thoracoscopy was performed in consecutive patients with pleural effusion. Prospectively, biopsies were taken by rigid forceps, flexible forceps and cryoprobe. Specimen size, depth and diagnostic yield were compared. 80 Patients were included. 408 biopsies were taken (205 rigid biopsies, 104 flexible biopsies, 99 cryobiopsies). Mean surface area of rigid biopsies was 22.6 ± 20.4 mm(2) (flexible biopsies: 7.1 ± 9.3 mm(2), cryobiopsies: 14.4 ± 12.8 mm(2)). Rigid biopsies were significantly larger than cryobiopsies (p < 0.001) and flexible biopsies (p < 0.001), crybiopsies were significantly larger than flexible biopsies (p < 0.01). A deep biopsy containing fatty tissue was harvested in 63 % of rigid biopsies (cryobiopsy: 49.5 % flexible biopsy: 39.5 %). In 79/80 cases (98.7 % 95 % CI cannot be calculated) a diagnosis was obtained by rigid biopsy (cryobiopsy: 73/80 cases (91.3 % 95 % CI 86.0 - 96.5 %), flexible biopsy: 74/80 cases (92.5 % 95 % CI 88.6 - 97.4 %)). Diagnostic yield achieved with cryobiopsies was inferior to the yield of rigid biopsies (Difference: 12.7 %), but non-inferior to flexible biopsies (Difference: 6.5 %). Cryobiopsies in medical thoracoscopy are safe with high diagnostic yield, non-inferior to flexible biopsies with increased tissue quantity and quality. Cryotechnique can develop an important role in medical thoracoscopy in the near future when rigid thoracoscopy is not available.

Animation of multi-flexible body systems and its use in control system design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juengst, Carl; Stahlberg, Ron

1993-01-01

Animation can greatly assist the structural dynamicist and control system analyst with better understanding of how multi-flexible body systems behave. For multi-flexible body systems, the structural characteristics (mode frequencies, mode shapes, and damping) change, sometimes dramatically with large angles of rotation between bodies. With computer animation, the analyst can visualize these changes and how the system responds to active control forces and torques. A characterization of the type of system we wish to animate is presented. The lack of clear understanding of the above effects was a key element leading to the development of a multi-flexible body animation software package. The resulting animation software is described in some detail here, followed by its application to the control system analyst. Other applications of this software can be determined on an individual need basis. A number of software products are currently available that make the high-speed rendering of rigid body mechanical system simulation possible. However, such options are not available for use in rendering flexible body mechanical system simulations. The desire for a high-speed flexible body visualization tool led to the development of the Flexible Or Rigid Mechanical System (FORMS) software. This software was developed at the Center for Simulation and Design Optimization of Mechanical Systems at the University of Iowa. FORMS provides interactive high-speed rendering of flexible and/or rigid body mechanical system simulations, and combines geometry and motion information to produce animated output. FORMS is designed to be both portable and flexible, and supports a number of different user interfaces and graphical display devices. Additional features have been added to FORMS that allow special visualization results related to the nature of the flexible body geometric representations.

Self-Mobilization Using a Foam Roller Versus a Roller Massager: Which Is More Effective for Increasing Hamstrings Flexibility?

PubMed

DeBruyne, Danielle M; Dewhurst, Marina M; Fischer, Katelyn M; Wojtanowski, Michael S; Durall, Chris

2017-01-01

Clinical Scenario: Increasing the length of the muscle-tendon unit may prevent musculotendinous injury. Various methods have been proposed to increase muscle-tendon flexibility, including self-mobilization using foam rollers or roller massagers, although the effectiveness of these devices is uncertain. This review was conducted to determine if the use of foam rollers or roller massagers to improve hamstrings flexibility is supported by moderate- to high-quality evidence. Are foam rollers or roller massagers effective for increasing hamstrings flexibility in asymptomatic physically active adults? Summary of Key Findings: The literature was searched for studies on the effects of using foam rollers or roller massagers to increase hamstrings flexibility in asymptomatic physically active adults. Four randomized controlled trials were included; 2 studies provided level 2 or 3 evidence regarding foam rollers and 2 studies provided level 2 or 3 evidence regarding roller massagers. Both roller-massager studies reported increases in hamstrings flexibility after treatment. Data from the foam-roller studies did not demonstrate a statistically significant increase in hamstrings flexibility, but 1 study did demonstrate a strong effect size. Clinical Bottom Line: The reviewed moderate-quality studies support the use of roller massagers but provide limited evidence on the effectiveness of foam rolling to increase hamstrings flexibility in asymptomatic physically active adults. Flexibility gains may be improved by a longer duration of treatment and administration by a trained therapist. Gains appear to decline rapidly postrolling. Neither device has been shown to confer a therapeutic benefit superior to static stretching, and the effectiveness of these devices for preventing injury is unknown. Strength of Recommendation: Grade B evidence supports the use of roller massagers to increase hamstrings flexibility in asymptomatic physically active adults.

Interest in and perceived barriers to flexible-track residencies in general surgery: a national survey of residents and program directors.

PubMed

Abbett, Sarah K; Hevelone, Nathanael D; Breen, Elizabeth M; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Peyre, Sarah E; Ashley, Stanley W; Smink, Douglas S

2011-01-01

The American Board of Surgery now permits general surgery residents to complete their clinical training over a 6-year period. Despite this new policy, the level of interest in flexible scheduling remains undefined. We sought to determine why residents and program directors (PDs) are interested in flexible tracks and to understand implementation barriers. National survey. All United States general surgery residency programs that participate in the Association of Program Directors in Surgery listserv. PDs and categorical general surgery residents in the United States. Attitudes about flexible tracks in surgery training. A flexible track was defined as a schedule that allows residents to pursue nonclinical time during residency with resulting delay in residency completion. Of the 748 residents and 81 PDs who responded, 505 residents and 45 PDs were supportive of flexible tracks (68% vs 56%, p = 0.03). Residents and PDs both were interested in flexible tracks to pursue research (86% vs 82%, p = 0.47) and child bearing (69% vs 58%, p = 0.13), but residents were more interested in pursuing international work (74% vs 53%, p = 0.004) and child rearing (63% vs 44%, p = 0.02). Although 71% of residents believe that flexible-track residents would not be respected as the equal of other residents, only 17% of PDs indicated they would not respect flexible-track residents (p < 0.001). Most residents and PDs support flexible tracks, although they differ in their motivation and perceived barriers. This finding lends support to the new policy of the American Board of Surgery. Copyright © 2011 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Abnormal frontal theta oscillations underlie the cognitive flexibility deficits in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Yeung, Michael K; Han, Yvonne M Y; Sze, Sophia L; Chan, Agnes S

2016-03-01

Deficits in cognitive flexibility have been suggested to underlie the repetitive and stereotyped behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Because cognitive flexibility is primarily mediated by the frontal lobe, where structural and functional abnormalities have been extensively found in these individuals, it is conceivable that their deficits in cognitive flexibility are related to abnormal activations of the frontal lobe. The present study investigates cognitive flexibility and its underlying neurophysiological activities as indicated by theta oscillations in children with ASD. Twenty-five children with high-functioning ASD and 25 IQ- and age-matched typically developing (TD) children were subjected to neuropsychological assessments on cognitive flexibility and electroencephalography recordings. The children with ASD performed significantly worse than the TD children across the tasks of cognitive flexibility, including the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). These children also demonstrated a reduced increase of the theta power localized in multiple brain regions, including various sectors of the frontal lobe at the late stage (i.e., 600 ms-900 ms poststimulus interval) but not the early stage (i.e., 250 ms-550 ms poststimulus interval) of the performance of the modified WCST. The suppressed late frontal theta activities were further shown to be significantly correlated with a poorer performance on the cognitive flexibility measures. Our findings suggest that abnormal activations of multiple cortical regions, especially the frontal lobe, form the neural basis of the cognitive flexibility deficits in children with ASD. In addition, we found an EEG marker of cognitive flexibility which could be used to monitor treatment outcomes objectively. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

[Not Available].

PubMed

Giner, Manel; Culebras, Jesús M; Meguid, Michael M

2016-03-01

En agosto de 1976, un joven llamado LeRoy cayó desde una cornisa fracturándose el fémur. Se sospechó una hemorragia interna importante. Durante una laparotomía se comprobó que todos los órganos internos estaban intactos y los cirujanos ortopédicos arreglaron la fractura. Treintadías después, LeRoy murió. Había comido poco; diariamente, tan solo había recibido tres litros de la glucosa, el equivalente a 510 calorías, por vía intravenosa. La glucosa fue insuficiente para satisfacer sus necesidades nutricionales, perdiendo más del 20% de su peso corporaldurante su estancia en el hospital. La causa de la muerte se debió a "desnutrición médicamente inducida". Mientras tanto, un artículo científico documentó que la prevalencia de desnutrición en los hospitales de Boston era del 44% y que la desnutrición en sí era un predictor de altas tasas de complicaciones y muerte.Como resultado, los médicos sensibilizados formaron una sociedad que creó programas de formación y alentó la formación de equipos de nutrición en los hospitales. La industria comercializó fórmulas de nutrición y catéteres. Las complicaciones en enfermos hospitalizados cayeron en picado, mientras que las tasas de supervivencia aumentaron. California aprobó una legislación para regular el soporte nutricional. Aunque la industria de la atención sanitaria reconoce la importancia de la nutrición en los cuidados al paciente, el Congreso no proporcionó apoyo fiscal para los equipos de nutrición. Como resultado, los hospitales disolvieron sus equipos de nutrición de reciente creación. La educación y las habilidades en nutrición disminuyeron, y las complicaciones hospitalarias y las tasas de mortalidad aumentaron de nuevo.

La salud en personas con discapacidad intelectual en España: estudio europeo POMONA-II

PubMed Central

Martínez-Leal, Rafael; Salvador-Carulla, Luis; Gutiérrez-Colosía, Mencía Ruiz; Nadal, Margarida; Novell-Alsina, Ramón; Martorell, Almudena; González-Gordón, Rodrigo G.; Mérida-Gutiérrez, M. Reyes; Ángel, Silvia; Milagrosa-Tejonero, Luisa; Rodríguez, Alicia; García-Gutiérrez, Juan C.; Pérez-Vicente, Amado; García-Ibáñez, José; Aguilera-Inés, Francisco

2011-01-01

Introducción Estudios internacionales demuestran que existe un patrón diferenciado de salud y una disparidad en la atención sanitaria entre personas con discapacidad intelectual (DI) y población general. Objetivo Obtener datos sobre el estado de salud de las personas con DI y compararlos con datos de población general. Pacientes y métodos Se utilizó el conjunto de indicadores de salud P15 en una muestra de 111 sujetos con DI. Los datos de salud encontrados se compararon según el tipo de residencia de los sujetos y se utilizó la Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2006 para comparar estos datos con los de la población general. Resultados La muestra con DI presentó 25 veces más casos de epilepsia y el doble de obesidad. Un 20% presentó dolor bucal, y existió una alta presencia de problemas sensoriales, de movilidad y psicosis. Sin embargo, encontramos una baja presencia de patologías como la diabetes, la hipertensión, la osteoartritis y la osteoporosis. También presentaron una menor participación en programas de prevención y promoción de la salud, un mayor número de ingresos hospitalarios y un uso menor de los servicios de urgencia. Conclusiones El patrón de salud de las personas con DI difiere del de la población general, y éstas realizan un uso distinto de los servicios sanitarios. Es importante el desarrollo de programas de promoción de salud y de formación profesional específicamente diseñados para la atención de personas con DI, así como la implementación de encuestas de salud que incluyan datos sobre esta población. PMID:21948011

Calibración del retardo ionosférico en observaciones astrométricas y geodésicas a partir de observaciones GPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunini, C.; Kleusberg, A.; Arias, E. F.; de Biasi, M. S.

Los parámetros astrométricos y geodésicos de precisión se determinan hoy mediante la observación con técnicas espaciales (VLBI, GPS y LSR). Las técnicas VLBI y GPS operan en la banda de microondas y en ella la ionósfera terrestre es dispersiva. Las señales que provienen de las radiofuentes y de los satélites atraviesan la ionósfera, donde el índice de refracción difiere de la unidad en una cantidad que es proporcional a la densidad de electrones libres e inversamente proporcional al cuadrado de la frecuencia de la onda portadora. Actualmente el International GPS Service for Geodynamics (IGS) mantiene operacional una red global integrada por más de 50 estaciones equipadas con receptores GPS de alta performance; las observaciones diarias son accesibles a los usuarios mediante ftp. La posibilidad de utilizar estas observaciones en un monitoreo continuo de la ionósfera fue señalada por diversos autores, razón por la cual en los últimos años se ha invertido un significativo esfuerzo en la producción de mapas ionosféricos regionales y globales. En el presente trabajo se utilizan 28 estaciones cuyas observaciones mapean la mayor parte de la ionósfera global. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran la posibilidad de obtener mapas ionosféricos globales con una resolución de medio día y con una precisión de (1.5 nseg (rms)). Dichos mapas proveen valores medios globales para el intervalo ajustado. Los residuos del ajuste por mínimos cuadrados constituyen una señal a partir de la cual pueden estudiarse mejor las variaciones geográficas de la ionósfera y las componentes estadísticas de su variación temporal.

[Not Available].

PubMed

Fehrman-Rosas, Pamela; Delgado-Sánchez, Claudia; Fuentes-Fuentes, Jessica; Hidalgo-Fernández, Andrea; Quintana-Muñoz, Carol; Yunge-Hidalgo, Wilma; Fernández-Godoy, Eloina; Durán-Agüero, Samuel

2016-06-30

Objetivo: asociar patrones alimentarios con la autopercepción del estado nutricional en estudiantes universitarios chilenos de Nutrición y Dietética.Material y métodos: estudio transversal en el que se evaluó a 634 estudiantes de Nutrición y Dietética, de los cuales un 86,4% eran mujeres. A cada alumno se le mostraron siete modelos anatómicos correspondientes a valores de índice de masa corporal (IMC) de 18, 22, 25, 27, 30, 35 y 40 kg/m2. Cada estudiante debía elegir el modelo con el que mejor se identificaba. Posteriormente, se realizó la evaluación antropométrica, se calculó el IMC real comparándolo posteriormente con el IMC percibido, y finalmente se le aplicó una encuesta alimentaria.Resultados: se observa que los sujetos que sobreestiman su peso presentan un menor porcentaje de cumplimiento en el consumo de frutas y verduras al día; en cambio, el mayor porcentaje de sujetos que sigue las recomendaciones se encuentra en el grupo que se ve igual. Hay unaasociación entre una buena percepción de la imagen corporal y el consumo de 3 o más porciones de frutas al día OR = 0,554 (IC 95%; 0,360-0,852), 2 o más porciones de verduras al día OR = 0,438 (IC 95%; 0,283-0,678) y un consumo de alcohol menor de una vez a la semanaOR = 0,451 (IC 95%; 0,270-0,752).Conclusión: los estudiantes que registran una ingesta adecuada de verduras y frutas autodefinen su alimentación como saludable e ideal y tienden a autopercibirse coherentemente en relación con su estado nutricional; además, estos sujetos son los que presentan una ingesta menor de alimentos poco saludables.

El uso de la neuromodulación para el tratamiento del temblor

PubMed Central

Bendersky, Damián; Ajler, Pablo; Yampolsky, Claudio

2014-01-01

Introducción: El temblor puede ser un desorden incapacitante y el tratamiento de primera línea para estos pacientes es farmacológico. Sin embargo, este tratamiento puede llevar a una reducción satisfactoria del temblor en sólo el 50% de los pacientes con temblor esencial. La talamotomía era el tratamiento de elección para el temblor refractario al tratamiento médico hasta que comenzó a utilizarse la estimulación cerebral profunda (ECP) del núcleo ventral intermedio (Vim) del tálamo. En la actualidad, raramente se realiza la talamotomía. Métodos: Este artículo es una revisión no sistemática de las indicaciones, resultados, parámetros de programación y técnica quirúrgica de la ECP del Vim para el tratamiento del temblor. Resultados: Aunque los resultados clínicos son similares usando la talamotomía o la ECP del Vim, la primera causa más efectos adversos que la última. Además, la ECP puede ser usada bilateralmente, mientras que la talamotomía tiene un alto riesgo de causar disartria cuando se realiza de ambos lados. La ECP del Vim logró una adecuada mejoría del temblor en varias series de pacientes con temblor causado por temblor esencial, enfermedad de Parkinson o esclerosis múltiple. Además del Vim, hay otros blancos que están siendo usados por varios autores, tales como la zona incerta y las radiaciones prelemniscales. Conclusión: La ECP del Vim es un tratamiento útil para el temblor incapacitante refractario al tratamiento médico. Es esencial realizar una precisa selección de pacientes, así como utilizar una técnica quirúrgica correcta. Aún se desconoce el mejor blanco estereotáctico para el temblor, aunque el Vim es el más usado. PMID:25165613

21 CFR 874.4680 - Bronchoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... (flexible or rigid) and accessories. (a) Identification. A bronchoscope (flexible or rigid) and accessories... bronchoscope and is intended to examine or treat the larynx and tracheobronchial tree. It is typically used...

Flexible Manufacturing Systems: What's in It for the Manufacturer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chowdhury, A. R.; Peckman, Donald C.

1987-01-01

The authors define the Flexible Manufacturing System and outline its history. They describe what the processing time includes and provide advantages and disadvantages of Flexible Manufacturing Systems compared to conventional manufacturing. (CH)

Why Exercise Is Wise

MedlinePlus

... person's sports performance. Some activities, like dance or martial arts, require great flexibility. But increased flexibility also can ... activities that encourage flexibility are easy to find. Martial arts like karate, ballet, gymnastics , and yoga are good ...

Duct Joining System

DOEpatents

Proctor, John P.

2001-02-27

A duct joining system for providing an air-tight seal and mechanical connection for ducts and fittings is disclosed. The duct joining system includes a flexible gasket affixed to a male end of a duct or fitting. The flexible gasket is affixed at an angle relative to normal of the male end of the duct. The female end of the other duct includes a raised bead in which the flexible gasket is seated when the ducts are properly joined. The angled flexible gasket seated in the raised bead forms an air-tight seal as well as fastens or locks the male end to the female end. Alternatively, when a flexible duct is used, a band clamp with a raised bead is clamped over the female end of the flexible duct and over the male end of a fitting to provide an air tight seal and fastened connection.

Duct joining system

DOEpatents

Proctor, John P.; deKieffer, Robert C.

2001-01-01

A duct joining system for providing an air-tight seal and mechanical connection for ducts and fittings is disclosed. The duct joining system includes a flexible gasket affixed to a male end of a duct or fitting. The flexible gasket is affixed at an angle relative to normal of the male end of the duct. The female end of the other duct includes a raised bead in which the flexible gasket is seated when the ducts are properly joined. The angled flexible gasket seated in the raised bead forms an air-tight seal as well as fastens or locks the male end to the female end. Alternatively, when a flexible duct is used, a band clamp with a raised bead is clamped over the female end of the flexible duct and over the male end of a fitting to provide an air tight seal and fastened connection.

Integration of mechanism and control for large-angle slew maneuvers of flexible structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chew, Meng-Sang

1991-01-01

A rolling contact noncircular gear system is applied to assist a desired controller in the slewing of a flexible space structure. The varying gear ratio in cooperation with the controller results in lower feedback gains at the controller, as well as considerably reducing flexural vibrations of the space structure. The noncircular gears consist of a pair of convex noncircular cylinders with specially designed profiles that are synthesized in conjunction with the optimal controller gains for minimizing the flexural vibrations of flexible structure during a slew maneuver. Convexity of the cylindrical profiles for this noncircular gear device must be ensured to maintain rolling contact between the two cylinders. Simulations of slewing control tasks for two kinds of flexible space structures, such as a planar flexible beam and the planar articulated flexible beams, are presented.

IR Sensor Synchronizing Active Shutter Glasses for 3D HDTV with Flexible Liquid Crystal Lenses

PubMed Central

Han, Jeong In

2013-01-01

IR sensor synchronizing active shutter glasses for three-dimensional high definition television (3D HDTV) were developed using a flexible liquid crystal (FLC) lens. The FLC lens was made on a polycarbonate (PC) substrate using conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) processes. The flexible liquid crystal lens displayed a maximum transmission of 32% and total response time of 2.56 ms. The transmittance, the contrast ratio and the response time of the flexible liquid crystal lens were superior to those of glass liquid crystal lenses. Microcontroller unit and drivers were developed as part of a reception module with power supply for the IR sensor synchronizing active shutter glasses with the flexible liquid crystal lens prototypes. IR sensor synchronizing active shutter glasses for 3D HDTV with flexible liquid crystal lenses produced excellent 3D images viewing characteristics.

Sympathetic arousal, but not disturbed executive functioning, mediates the impairment of cognitive flexibility under stress.

PubMed

Marko, Martin; Riečanský, Igor

2018-05-01

Cognitive flexibility emerges from an interplay of multiple cognitive systems, of which lexical-semantic and executive are thought to be the most important. Yet this has not been addressed by previous studies demonstrating that such forms of flexible thought deteriorate under stress. Motivated by these shortcomings, the present study evaluated several candidate mechanisms implied to mediate the impairing effects of stress on flexible thinking. Fifty-seven healthy adults were randomly assigned to psychosocial stress or control condition while assessed for performance on cognitive flexibility, working memory capacity, semantic fluency, and self-reported cognitive interference. Stress response was indicated by changes in skin conductance, hearth rate, and state anxiety. Our analyses showed that acute stress impaired cognitive flexibility via a concomitant increase in sympathetic arousal, while this mediator was positively associated with semantic fluency. Stress also decreased working memory capacity, which was partially mediated by elevated cognitive interference, but neither of these two measures were associated with cognitive flexibility or sympathetic arousal. Following these findings, we conclude that acute stress impairs cognitive flexibility via sympathetic arousal that modulates lexical-semantic and associative processes. In particular, the results indicate that stress-level of sympathetic activation may restrict the accessibility and integration of remote associates and bias the response competition towards prepotent and dominant ideas. Importantly, our results indicate that stress-induced impairments of cognitive flexibility and executive functions are mediated by distinct neurocognitive mechanisms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coping with occupational stress: the role of optimism and coping flexibility.

PubMed

Reed, Daniel J

2016-01-01

The current study aimed at measuring whether coping flexibility is a reliable and valid construct in a UK sample and subsequently investigating the association between coping flexibility, optimism, and psychological health - measured by perceived stress and life satisfaction. A UK university undergraduate student sample (N=95) completed an online questionnaire. The study is among the first to examine the validity and reliability of the English version of a scale measuring coping flexibility in a Western population and is also the first to investigate the association between optimism and coping flexibility. The results revealed that the scale had good reliability overall; however, factor analysis revealed no support for the existing two-factor structure of the scale. Coping flexibility and optimism were found to be strongly correlated, and hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the interaction between them predicted a large proportion of the variance in both perceived stress and life satisfaction. In addition, structural equation modeling revealed that optimism completely mediated the relationship between coping flexibility and both perceived stress and life satisfaction. The findings add to the occupational stress literature to further our understanding of how optimism is important in psychological health. Furthermore, given that optimism is a personality trait, and consequently relatively stable, the study also provides preliminary support for the potential of targeting coping flexibility to improve psychological health in Western populations. These findings must be replicated, and further analyses of the English version of the Coping Flexibility Scale are needed.

Stress analysis in a pedicle screw fixation system with flexible rods in the lumbar spine.

PubMed

Kim, Kyungsoo; Park, Won Man; Kim, Yoon Hyuk; Lee, SuKyoung

2010-01-01

Breakage of screws has been one of the most common complications in spinal fixation systems. However, no studies have examined the breakage risk of pedicle screw fixation systems that use flexible rods, even though flexible rods are currently being used for dynamic stabilization. In this study, the risk of breakage of screws for the rods with various flexibilities in pedicle screw fixation systems is investigated by calculating the von Mises stress as a breakage risk factor using finite element analysis. Three-dimensional finite element models of the lumbar spine with posterior one-level spinal fixations at L4-L5 using four types of rod (a straight rod, a 4 mm spring rod, a 3 mm spring rod, and a 2 mm spring rod) were developed. The von Mises stresses in both the pedicle screws and the rods were analysed under flexion, extension, lateral bending, and torsion moments of 10 Nm with a follower load of 400 N. The maximum von Mises stress, which was concentrated on the neck region of the pedicle screw, decreased as the flexibility of the rod increased. However, the ratio of the maximum stress in the rod to the yield stress increased substantially when a highly flexible rod was used. Thus, the level of rod flexibility should be considered carefully when using flexible rods for dynamic stabilization because the intersegmental motion facilitated by the flexible rod results in rod breakage.

Individual variation in foraging behavior reveals a trade-off between flexibility and performance of a top predator

PubMed Central

McGhee, Katie E.; Roche, Daniel P.; Bell, Alison M.

2017-01-01

There is increasing evidence that behavioral flexibility is associated with the ability to adaptively respond to environmental change. Flexibility can be advantageous in some contexts such as exploiting novel resources, but it may come at a cost of accuracy or performance in ecologically relevant tasks, such as foraging. Such trade-offs may, in part, explain why individuals within a species are not equally flexible. Here, we conducted a reversal learning task and predation experiment on a top fish predator, the Northern pike (Esox lucius), to examine individual variation in flexibility and test the hypothesis that an individual’s behavioral flexibility is negatively related with its foraging performance. Pikes were trained to receive a food reward from either a red or blue cup and then the color of the rewarded cup was reversed. We found that pike improved over time in how quickly they oriented to the rewarded cup, but there was a bias toward the color red. Moreover, there was substantial variation among individuals in their ability to overcome this red bias and switch from an unrewarded red cup to the rewarded blue cup, which we interpret as consistent variation among individuals in behavioral flexibility. Furthermore, individual differences in behavioral flexibility were negatively associated with foraging performance on ecologically relevant stickleback prey. Our data indicate that individuals cannot be both behaviorally flexible and efficient predators, suggesting a trade-off between these two traits. PMID:29046598

The Effects of Embedded Generative Learning Strategies and Collaboration on Knowledge Acquisition in a Cognitive Flexibility-Based Computer Learning Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-08-07

cognitive flexibility theory and generative learning theory which focus primarily on the individual student’s cognitive development , collaborative... develop "Handling Transfusion Hazards," a computer program based upon cognitive flexibility theory principles. The Program: Handling Transfusion Hazards...computer program was developed according to cognitive flexibility theory principles. A generative version was then developed by embedding

Method and apparatus for air-coupled transducer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Song, Junho (Inventor); Chimenti, Dale E. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

An air-coupled transducer includes a ultrasonic transducer body having a radiation end with a backing fixture at the radiation end. There is a flexible backplate conformingly fit to the backing fixture and a thin membrane (preferably a metallized polymer) conformingly fit to the flexible backplate. In one embodiment, the backing fixture is spherically curved and the flexible backplate is spherically curved. The flexible backplate is preferably patterned with pits or depressions.

DNA-nucleobases: Gate Dielectric/Passivation Layer for Flexible GFET-based Sensor Applications (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-24

kapton, Polydimethylsiloxane ( PDMS ), photo-print paper (laminate side) and Corning Willow glass (WG). Guanine was deposited onto graphene that had been...flexible substrates-kapton, PDMS , photo-print paper, and WG were performed to determine whether the graphene-substrate interface effects the graphene...flexible substrates-kapton, PDMS , photo-print paper, and WG. Kapton, PDMS , and photo-print paper were chosen as flexible substrates due to their

Contextual classification on a CDC Flexible Processor system. [for photomapped remote sensing data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, B. W.; Siegel, H. J.; Swain, P. H.

1981-01-01

A potential hardware organization for the Flexible Processor Array is presented. An algorithm that implements a contextual classifier for remote sensing data analysis is given, along with uniprocessor classification algorithms. The Flexible Processor algorithm is provided, as are simulated timings for contextual classifiers run on the Flexible Processor Array and another system. The timings are analyzed for context neighborhoods of sizes three and nine.

Physics-based Morphology Analysis and Adjoint Optimization of Flexible Flapping Wings

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-30

understand the underlying physics of flexible wings in flying insects and birds towards the bio -inspired wing designs with superior aerodynamic...flapping flights have been developed to understand the underlying physics of flexible wings in flying insects and birds towards the bio -inspired wing...been developed to understand the underlying physics of flexible wings in flying insects and birds towards the bio -inspired wing designs with superior

Extremely Bendable, High-Performance Integrated Circuits Using Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Networks for Digital, Analog, and Radio-Frequency Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-07

circuits on mechanically flexible substrates for digital, analog and radio frequency applications. The asobtained thin-film transistors ( TFTs ) exhibit... flexible substrates for digital, analog and radio frequency applications. The as- obtained thin-film transistors ( TFTs ) exhibit highly uniform device...LCD) and organic light- emitting diode ( OLED ) displays lack the transparency and flexibility and are thus unsuitable for flexible electronic

Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying behavioral stability: implications for the evolutionary origin of personality.

PubMed

Duckworth, Renée A

2015-12-01

Personality traits are behaviors that show limited flexibility over time and across contexts, and thus understanding their origin requires an understanding of what limits behavioral flexibility. Here, I suggest that insight into the evolutionary origin of personality traits requires determining the relative importance of selection and constraint in producing limits to behavioral flexibility. Natural selection as the primary cause of limits to behavioral flexibility assumes that the default state of behavior is one of high flexibility and predicts that personality variation arises through evolution of buffering mechanisms to stabilize behavioral expression, whereas the constraint hypothesis assumes that the default state is one of limited flexibility and predicts that the neuroendocrine components that underlie personality variation are those most constrained in flexibility. Using recent work on the neurobiology of sensitive periods and maternal programming of offspring behavior, I show that some of the most stable aspects of the neuroendocrine system are structural components and maternally induced epigenetic effects. Evidence of numerous constraints to changes in structural features of the neuroendocrine system and far fewer constraints to flexibility of epigenetic systems suggests that structural constraints play a primary role in the origin of behavioral stability and that epigenetic programming may be more important in generating adaptive variation among individuals. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Highly flexible, transparent and conducting CuS-nanosheet networks for flexible quantum-dot solar cells.

PubMed

Xu, Zijie; Li, Teng; Zhang, Fayin; Hong, Xiaodan; Xie, Shuyao; Ye, Meidan; Guo, Wenxi; Liu, Xiangyang

2017-03-17

The rapid development of modern electronics has given rise to a higher demand for flexible and wearable energy sources. Flexible transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are one of the essential components of flexible/wearable thin-film solar cells (SCs). In this regard, we present highly transparent and conducting CuS-nanosheet (NS) networks with an optimized sheet resistance (R s ) as low as 50 Ω sq -1 at 85% transmittance as a counter electrode (CE) for flexible quantum-dot solar cells (QDSCs). The CuS NS network electrode exhibits remarkable mechanical flexibility under bending tests compared to traditional ITO/plastic substrates and sputtered CuS films. Herein, CuS NS networks not only served as conducting films for collecting electrons from the external circuit, but also served as superior catalysts for reducing polysulfide (S 2- /S x 2- ) electrolytes. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 3.25% was achieved for the QDSCs employing CuS NS networks as CEs, which was much higher than those of the devices based on Pt networks and sputtered CuS films. We believe that such CuS network TCEs with high flexibility, transparency, conductivity and catalytic activity could be widely used in making wearable electronic products.

Roll-to-roll slot-die coating of 400 mm wide, flexible, transparent Ag nanowire films for flexible touch screen panels

PubMed Central

Kim, Dong-Ju; Shin, Hae-In; Ko, Eun-Hye; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Kim, Tae-Woong; Kim, Han-Ki

2016-01-01

We report fabrication of large area Ag nanowire (NW) film coated using a continuous roll-to-roll (RTR) slot die coater as a viable alternative to conventional ITO electrodes for cost-effective and large-area flexible touch screen panels (TSPs). By controlling the flow rate of shear-thinning Ag NW ink in the slot die, we fabricated Ag NW percolating network films with different sheet resistances (30–70 Ohm/square), optical transmittance values (89–90%), and haze (0.5–1%) percentages. Outer/inner bending, twisting, and rolling tests as well as dynamic fatigue tests demonstrated that the mechanical flexibility of the slot-die coated Ag NW films was superior to that of conventional ITO films. Using diamond-shape patterned Ag NW layer electrodes (50 Ohm/square, 90% optical transmittance), we fabricated 12-inch flexible film-film type and rigid glass-film-film type TSPs. Successful operation of flexible TSPs with Ag NW electrodes indicates that slot-die-coated large-area Ag NW films are promising low cost, high performance, and flexible transparent electrodes for cost-effective large-area flexible TSPs and can be substituted for ITO films, which have high sheet resistance and are brittle. PMID:27677410

Roll-to-roll slot-die coating of 400 mm wide, flexible, transparent Ag nanowire films for flexible touch screen panels.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Ju; Shin, Hae-In; Ko, Eun-Hye; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Kim, Tae-Woong; Kim, Han-Ki

2016-09-28

We report fabrication of large area Ag nanowire (NW) film coated using a continuous roll-to-roll (RTR) slot die coater as a viable alternative to conventional ITO electrodes for cost-effective and large-area flexible touch screen panels (TSPs). By controlling the flow rate of shear-thinning Ag NW ink in the slot die, we fabricated Ag NW percolating network films with different sheet resistances (30-70 Ohm/square), optical transmittance values (89-90%), and haze (0.5-1%) percentages. Outer/inner bending, twisting, and rolling tests as well as dynamic fatigue tests demonstrated that the mechanical flexibility of the slot-die coated Ag NW films was superior to that of conventional ITO films. Using diamond-shape patterned Ag NW layer electrodes (50 Ohm/square, 90% optical transmittance), we fabricated 12-inch flexible film-film type and rigid glass-film-film type TSPs. Successful operation of flexible TSPs with Ag NW electrodes indicates that slot-die-coated large-area Ag NW films are promising low cost, high performance, and flexible transparent electrodes for cost-effective large-area flexible TSPs and can be substituted for ITO films, which have high sheet resistance and are brittle.

Flexible Blades for Wind Turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, Madeline Carlisle; Macphee, David; Harris, Caleb

2016-11-01

Previous research has shown that windmills with flexible blades are more efficient than those with rigid blades. Flexibility offers passive pitch control, preferable to active pitch control which is costly and requires maintenance. Flexible blades morph such that the blade more closely resembles its design point at part load and over load. The lift-to-drag ratios on individual blades was investigated. A mold was designed and machined from an acrylic slab for the casting of blades with a NACA 0012 cross section. A flexible blade was cast from silicone and a rigid blade was cast from polyurethane. Each of these blades was tested in a wind tunnel, cantilever mounted, spanning the whole test section. The angle of attack was varied by rotating the mount. All tests were performed at the same wind speed. A load cell within the mount measured forces on the blade, from which the lift and drag forces were calculated. The stall point for the flexible blade occurred later than for the rigid blade, which agrees with previous research. Lift-to-drag ratios were larger for the flexible blade at all angles of attack tested. Flexible blades seem to be a viable option for passive pitch control. Future research will include different airfoil cross sections, wind speeds, and blade materials. Funding from NSF REU site Grant EEC 1358991 is greatly appreciated.

Roll-to-roll slot-die coating of 400 mm wide, flexible, transparent Ag nanowire films for flexible touch screen panels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dong-Ju; Shin, Hae-In; Ko, Eun-Hye; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Kim, Tae-Woong; Kim, Han-Ki

2016-09-01

We report fabrication of large area Ag nanowire (NW) film coated using a continuous roll-to-roll (RTR) slot die coater as a viable alternative to conventional ITO electrodes for cost-effective and large-area flexible touch screen panels (TSPs). By controlling the flow rate of shear-thinning Ag NW ink in the slot die, we fabricated Ag NW percolating network films with different sheet resistances (30-70 Ohm/square), optical transmittance values (89-90%), and haze (0.5-1%) percentages. Outer/inner bending, twisting, and rolling tests as well as dynamic fatigue tests demonstrated that the mechanical flexibility of the slot-die coated Ag NW films was superior to that of conventional ITO films. Using diamond-shape patterned Ag NW layer electrodes (50 Ohm/square, 90% optical transmittance), we fabricated 12-inch flexible film-film type and rigid glass-film-film type TSPs. Successful operation of flexible TSPs with Ag NW electrodes indicates that slot-die-coated large-area Ag NW films are promising low cost, high performance, and flexible transparent electrodes for cost-effective large-area flexible TSPs and can be substituted for ITO films, which have high sheet resistance and are brittle.

Are flexibility and muscle-strengthening activities associated with a higher risk of developing low back pain?

PubMed Central

Sandler, Robert D.; Sui, Xuemei; Church, Timothy S.; Fritz, Stacy L.; Beattie, Paul F.; Blair, Steven N.

2013-01-01

Objective To examine the association between participation in flexibility or muscle-strengthening activities with the development of low back pain (LBP). Design Observational cohort study. Methods The cohort included 4,610 adults, 17% female, between 20 and 81 years of age (mean 46.6, s.d. 4.96). The cohort was followed for a mean of 4.9 years for self-reported LBP. All participants reported at baseline whether they performed flexibility or muscle-strengthening activities, including specific sub-types. Results Neither general performance of flexibility or muscle-strengthening activities were associated with a higher incidence of LBP compared to those who did not perform these activities. Those who reported stretching, as a specific flexibility activity were at a higher risk of developing LBP compared with those who performed no flexibility exercises, reported calisthenic flexibility activities, or attended exercise classes. Those who reported using weight training machines, as part of muscle-strengthening activities, had a higher risk of reporting LBP, compared with those who did not perform muscle-strengthening activities or performed calisthenic or free weight activities. Conclusion In this sample, stretching or use of weight training machines is associated with increased risk of developing LBP compared to use of free weights, calisthenics or flexibility classes. PMID:23988784

Nature-Inspired Structural Materials for Flexible Electronic Devices.

PubMed

Liu, Yaqing; He, Ke; Chen, Geng; Leow, Wan Ru; Chen, Xiaodong

2017-10-25

Exciting advancements have been made in the field of flexible electronic devices in the last two decades and will certainly lead to a revolution in peoples' lives in the future. However, because of the poor sustainability of the active materials in complex stress environments, new requirements have been adopted for the construction of flexible devices. Thus, hierarchical architectures in natural materials, which have developed various environment-adapted structures and materials through natural selection, can serve as guides to solve the limitations of materials and engineering techniques. This review covers the smart designs of structural materials inspired by natural materials and their utility in the construction of flexible devices. First, we summarize structural materials that accommodate mechanical deformations, which is the fundamental requirement for flexible devices to work properly in complex environments. Second, we discuss the functionalities of flexible devices induced by nature-inspired structural materials, including mechanical sensing, energy harvesting, physically interacting, and so on. Finally, we provide a perspective on newly developed structural materials and their potential applications in future flexible devices, as well as frontier strategies for biomimetic functions. These analyses and summaries are valuable for a systematic understanding of structural materials in electronic devices and will serve as inspirations for smart designs in flexible electronics.

Gender consistency and flexibility: using dynamics to understand the relationship between gender and adjustment.

PubMed

DiDonato, Matthew D; Martin, Carol L; Hessler, Eric E; Amazeen, Polemnia G; Hanish, Laura D; Fabes, Richard A

2012-04-01

Controversy surrounds questions regarding the influence of being gender consistent (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that are consistent with one's biological sex) versus being gender flexible (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that vary from masculine to feminine as circumstances arise) on children's adjustment outcomes, such as self-esteem, positive emotion, or behavior problems. Whereas evidence supporting the consistency hypothesis is abundant, little support exists for the flexibility hypothesis. To shed new light on the flexibility hypothesis, we explored children's gendered behavior from a dynamical perspective that highlighted variability and flexibility in addition to employing a conventional approach that emphasized stability and consistency. Conventional mean-level analyses supported the consistency hypothesis by revealing that gender atypical behavior was related to greater maladjustment, and dynamical analyses supported the flexibility hypothesis by showing that flexibility of gendered behavior over time was related to positive adjustment. Integrated analyses showed that gender typical behavior was related to the adjustment of children who were behaviorally inflexible, but not for those who were flexible. These results provided a more comprehensive understanding of the relation between gendered behavior and adjustment in young children and illustrated for the first time the feasibility of applying dynamical analyses to the study of gendered behavior.

Fabrication techniques and applications of flexible graphene-based electronic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luqi, Tao; Danyang, Wang; Song, Jiang; Ying, Liu; Qianyi, Xie; He, Tian; Ningqin, Deng; Xuefeng, Wang; Yi, Yang; Tian-Ling, Ren

2016-04-01

In recent years, flexible electronic devices have become a hot topic of scientific research. These flexible devices are the basis of flexible circuits, flexible batteries, flexible displays and electronic skins. Graphene-based materials are very promising for flexible electronic devices, due to their high mobility, high elasticity, a tunable band gap, quantum electronic transport and high mechanical strength. In this article, we review the recent progress of the fabrication process and the applications of graphene-based electronic devices, including thermal acoustic devices, thermal rectifiers, graphene-based nanogenerators, pressure sensors and graphene-based light-emitting diodes. In summary, although there are still a lot of challenges needing to be solved, graphene-based materials are very promising for various flexible device applications in the future. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 60936002, 61025021, 61434001, 61574083), the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (No. 2015CB352100), the National Key Project of Science and Technology (No. 2011ZX02403-002) and the Special Fund for Agroscientific Research in the Public Interest of China (No. 201303107). M.A.M is additionally supported by the Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) Program of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and China's Postdoctoral Science Foundation (CPSF).

High-Efficiency Flexible Solar Cells Based on Organometal Halide Perovskites.

PubMed

Wang, Yuming; Bai, Sai; Cheng, Lu; Wang, Nana; Wang, Jianpu; Gao, Feng; Huang, Wei

2016-06-01

Flexible and light-weight solar cells are important because they not only supply power to wearable and portable devices, but also reduce the transportation and installation cost of solar panels. High-efficiency organometal halide perovskite solar cells can be fabricated by a low-temperature solution process, and hence are promising for flexible-solar-cell applications. Here, the development of perovskite solar cells is briefly discussed, followed by the merits of organometal halide perovskites as promising candidates as high-efficiency, flexible, and light-weight photovoltaic materials. Afterward, recent developments of flexible solar cells based on perovskites are reviewed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A flexible optically re-writable color liquid crystal display

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yihong; Sun, Jiatong; Liu, Yang; Shang, Jianhua; Liu, Hao; Liu, Huashan; Gong, Xiaohui; Chigrinov, Vladimir; Kowk, Hoi Sing

2018-03-01

It is very difficult to make a liquid crystal display (LCD) that is flexible. However, for an optically re-writable LCD (ORWLCD), only the spacers and the substrates need to be flexible because the driving unit and the display unit are separate and there are no electronics in the display part of ORWLCD. In this paper, three flexible-spacer methods are proposed to achieve this goal. A cholesteric liquid crystal colored mirror with a polarizer behind it is used as the colored reflective backboard of an ORWLCD. Polyethersulfone substrates and flexible spacers are used to make the optically re-writable cell insensitive to mechanical force.

High-performance carbon nanotube thin-film transistors on flexible paper substrates

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

Liu, Na; Yun, Ki Nam; Yu, Hyun-Yong

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are promising materials as active channels for flexible transistors owing to their excellent electrical and mechanical properties. However, flexible SWCNT transistors have never been realized on paper substrates, which are widely used, inexpensive, and recyclable. In this study, we fabricated SWCNT thin-film transistors on photo paper substrates. The devices exhibited a high on/off current ratio of more than 10{sup 6} and a field-effect mobility of approximately 3 cm{sup 2}/V·s. The proof-of-concept demonstration indicates that SWCNT transistors on flexible paper substrates could be applied as low-cost and recyclable flexible electronics.

Organizational flexibility as a strategic option: fostering dynamic capabilities of hospitals.

PubMed

Dias, Casimiro; Escoval, Ana

2014-01-01

The main purpose of this article is to examine how the internal and external dimensions of organizational flexibility impact hospital performance. Results reveal that matching internal and external flexibilities contributes to the development of capabilities to adopt new strategic options. Such interactions have a significant impact in terms of hospital performance. A cluster of dynamic hospitals, which is characterised by high levels of both internal and external flexibilities, (instead of that have high levels of both internal and external flexibilities) was found to have the double level of performance compared with other clusters. The implications for research and managerial practice are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Longwoods Publishing.

El Derecho de su Hijo(a) a Una Educacion: Una guia para los Padres de Ninos Impedidos en el Estado de Nueva York (Your Child's Right to an Education: A Guide for Parents of Children with Handicapping Conditions in New York State).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept. Albany. Office for the Education of Children with Handicapping Conditions.

Intended for parents of handicapped students, the guide (available in English, Spanish, or Chinese) sets forth the New York State policies for speical education. The following topics are among those considered: eligibility for special education, program types, alternative placements (such as residential settings), referral, evaluation,…

Trasforiiazioni Termoelastiche Finite di Solidi Incomprimibili

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Signorini, A.

Queste lezlioni hanno come direttiva una sintesi di quanto si trova sistematicamente sviluppato in una mia Memoria sulle trasformazioni termoelastiche finite di solidi incomprimibili, in corso di stampa negli Annali di Matematica pura e applicata t. XXXIX ( 1955) pp. 147-201 , Verranno anche esposti, come necessaria premessa, alcuni d ei risultati di due precedenti Memorie degli stessi Annali. Invece, per motivo di brevità, non potrò dare neppure un cenno delle ulteriori ricerche svilup pate dal prof. T. Manacorda in tre recentissimi suoi lavori:

Elaborazione dei dati sperimentali

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dapor, M.; Ropele, M.

L'analisi statistica dei dati sperimentali, la loro elaborazione ed una corretta stima degli errori sono conoscenze necessarie agli studenti di fisica, biologia, chimica, ingegneria e dei corsi di specializzazione tecnico-scientifici in cui a di laboratorio. Chi si occupa di problemi tecnici e di misure, per studio o per lavoro, deve possedere gli strumenti matematici di calcolo e di analisi necessari ad una corretta interpretazione dei dati sperimentali. Il testo fornisce in modo sintetico, chiaro ed esaustivo, tutte le nozioni e le conoscenze utili allo scopo.

Observacion y anatisis de la varlacton de parametros geofisicos de un pozo ubicado en el piedemonte lIanero

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montano Mejia, Felix Humberto

2001-12-01

Este articulo presenta el desarrollo de instrumentacion especializada que se diseiio y se puso en funcionamiento con el fin de real izar la observacion y el anal isis de la variacion de parametres geofisicos de un pozo ubicado en el piedemonte llanero. La instrumentacion esta compuesta por una estacion remota para el registro multipararnetro y una estacion local en la cual se analizan los registros bajados de la estacion remota mediante la interrogacion periodica.

Manual de métodos de campo para el monitoreo de aves terrestres

Treesearch

C. John Ralph; Geoffrey R. Geupel; Peter Pyle; Thomas E. Martin; David F DeSante; Borja Milá

1996-01-01

El presente manual es una recopilación de métodos de campo para la determinación de índices de abundancia y datos demográficos de poblaciones de aves terrestres en una amplia variedad de hábitats. Está dirigido a biólogos, técnicos de campo, e investigadores de cualquier parte del Continente Americano. Los métodos descritos incluyen cuatro tipos de censos...

Una Escoba para Ana, Cien Oficios para Juan. Quinto Modulo de una Serie para Maestros de Escuela Elemental. (A Broom for Anna, A Hundred Jobs for John. Fifth Module of a Series for Elementary School Teachers).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina, Carmen Eneida, Ed.; And Others

This guide for teachers, in English and Spanish, examines the stereotyped work roles assigned to men and women. The guide examines educational materials that perpetuate these roles and presents teaching alternatives which reinforce students' self esteem and confidence. A pre-test and post-test are included to measure the user's awareness of…

Una Nueva IDEA: Una Guia para Padres acerca de los Cambios en la Ley de Educacion Especial para Ninos con Incapacidades (A New IDEA: A Parent's Guide to the Changes in Social Education Law for Children with Disabilities).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seltzer, Tammy

This guide for parents, in Spanish, explains the changes in the federal special education law resulting from the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Changes related to the parent's role in decisions about the child's education and in how schools can discipline special education students are highlighted. A…

Authoritarian Decision-Making and Alternative Patterns of Power and Influence: The Mexican IBM Case

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-05-01

34 p. 111. For a fuller treatment, see Olga Pellicer de Brody, "El Ilamado a las Inversiones extranjeras, 1953-1958," In Las Empresas Transnaclonales en ...Development, Hewlett-Packard, 27 February 1987. See also Steve Frazier, "Apple y Hewlett-Packard Contra una Empresa 100% de IBM en Mexico," Excelsior, 27...Heraldo. See "IBM Piensa Crear en Mexico una Planta de Microcomputadoras," El Heraldo, 22 January 1985. 125. Orme, ibid. 126. ibid. 127. It is just as

Por Que Mami No Puede Cambiar una Goma? Tercer Modulo de una Serie para Maestros de Escuela Elemental. (Why Can't Mommy Change a Flat Tire? Third Module of a Series for Elementary School Teachers).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina, Carmen Eneida, Ed.; And Others

This guide for teachers, in English and Spanish, examines the role parents play in the socialization of sex roles. A pre-test and post test are included to measure the user's awareness of sexual stereotyping. Five object lessons cover the following topics: (1) stereotypes which exist prior to a baby's birth; (2) behavioral standards on which…

State, Labor, Capital: Institutionalizing Democratic Class Compromise in the Southern Cone.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

recent experiences) to which current unionists can hark back to. 89J. Samuel Valenzuela, "Movimientos Obreros y Sistemas Politicos: Un Analisis...O’Donnell, "Apuntes para una teoria de Estado," Documento CEDES/ G.E. CLASCO, N. 9 (1977); O’Donnell and 0. Oszlak, "Estado y Politicas Estatales en...Reflexiones a partir de algunas experiencias Latinoamericanas," Estudios CEDES, V. 3, N. 2 (1980); Oszlak, "Notas Criticas para una Teoria de la Burocracia

Commuter Connection : Flexible Ridesharing in Marin County, California

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-12-01

This is a final report documenting the Commuter Connection Flexible Registered Ridesharing Demonstration Project. The purpose of this project was to test the feasibility of flexible registered ridesharing, which is a system whereby registered commute...

Deposition SnO(2)/nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites on the separator: a new type of flexible electrode for energy storage devices.

PubMed

Liang, Junfei; Cai, Zhi; Tian, Yu; Li, Lidong; Geng, Jianxin; Guo, Lin

2013-11-27

It is currently very urgent to develop flexible energy storage devices because of the growing academic interest in and strong technical demand of flexible electronics. Exploration of high-performance electrode materials and a corresponding assembly method for fabrication of flexible energy storage devices plays a critical role in fulfilling this demand. Here, we have developed a facile, economic, and green hydrothermal process to synthesize ultrasmall SnO2 nanocrystallites/nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites (USNGs) as a high-performance electrode material for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Furthermore, using the glass microfiber filters (GMFs) as supporting substrate, the novel flexible USNG-GMF bilayered films have been prepared by depositing the as-prepared USNG on GMF through a simple vacuum filtration. Significantly, for the first time, the flexible USNG-GMF bilayered films have directly been used for assembling LIBs, where the GMF further functions as a separator. The obtained highly robust, binder-free, conducting agent-free, and current collector-free new type of flexible electrodes show excellent LIB performance.

Optimum Aggregation and Control of Spatially Distributed Flexible Resources in Smart Grid

DOE PAGES

Bhattarai, Bishnu; Mendaza, Iker Diaz de Cerio; Myers, Kurt S.; ...

2017-03-24

This paper presents an algorithm to optimally aggregate spatially distributed flexible resources at strategic microgrid/smart-grid locations. The aggregation reduces a distribution network having thousands of nodes to an equivalent network with a few aggregated nodes, thereby enabling distribution system operators (DSOs) to make faster operational decisions. Moreover, the aggregation enables flexibility from small distributed flexible resources to be traded to different power and energy markets. A hierarchical control architecture comprising a combination of centralized and decentralized control approaches is proposed to practically deploy the aggregated flexibility. The proposed method serves as a great operational tool for DSOs to decide themore » exact amount of required flexibilities from different network section(s) for solving grid constraint violations. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulation of three operational scenarios in a real low voltage distribution system having high penetrations of electric vehicles and heat pumps. Finally, the simulation results demonstrated that the aggregation helps DSOs not only in taking faster operational decisions, but also in effectively utilizing the available flexibility.« less

Roll-to-roll light directed electrophoretic deposition system and method

DOEpatents

Pascall, Andrew J.; Kuntz, Joshua

2017-06-06

A roll-to-roll light directed electrophoretic deposition system and method advances a roll of a flexible electrode web substrate along a roll-to-roll process path, where a material source is positioned to provide on the flexible electrode web substrate a thin film colloidal dispersion of electrically charged colloidal material dispersed in a fluid. A counter electrode is also positioned to come in contact with the thin film colloidal dispersion opposite the flexible electrode web substrate, where one of the counter electrode and the flexible electrode web substrate is a photoconductive electrode. A voltage source is connected to produce an electric potential between the counter electrode and the flexible electrode web substrate to induce electrophoretic deposition on the flexible electrode web substrate when the photoconductive electrode is rendered conductive, and a patterned light source is arranged to illuminate the photoconductive electrode with a light pattern and render conductive illuminated areas of the photoconductive electrode so that a patterned deposit of the electrically charged colloidal material is formed on the flexible electrode web substrate.

Polyaniline-Modified Oriented Graphene Hydrogel Film as the Free-Standing Electrode for Flexible Solid-State Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Du, Pengcheng; Liu, Huckleberry C; Yi, Chao; Wang, Kai; Gong, Xiong

2015-11-04

In this study, we report polyaniline (PANI)-modified oriented graphene hydrogel (OGH) films as the free-standing electrode for flexible solid-state supercapacitors (SCs). The OGH films are prepared by a facile filtration method using chemically converted graphene sheets and then introduced to PANI on the surface of OGH films by in situ chemical polymerization. The PANI-modified OGH films possess high flexibility, high electrical conductivity, and mechanical robustness. The flexible solid-state SCs based on the PANI-modified OGH films exhibit a specific capacitance of 530 F/g, keeping 80% of its original value up to 10 000 charge-discharge cycles at the current density of 10 A/g. Remarkably, the flexible solid-state SCs maintain ∼100% capacitance retention bent at 180° for 250 cycles. Moreover, the flexible solid-state SCs are further demonstrated to be able to light up a red-light-emitting diode. These results indicate that the flexible solid-state SCs based on PANI-modified OGH films as the free-standing electrode have potential applications as energy-storage devices.

Analyses of balance and flexibility of obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery

PubMed Central

Benetti, Fernanda Antico; Bacha, Ivan Leo; Junior, Arthur Belarmino Garrido; Greve, Júlia Maria D'Andréa

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the postural control and flexibility of obese subjects before and both six and 12 months after bariatric surgery. To verify whether postural control is related to flexibility following weight reductions resulting from bariatric surgery. METHODS: The sample consisted of 16 subjects who had undergone bariatric surgery. All assessments were performed before and six and 12 months after bariatric surgery. Postural balance was assessed using an Accusuway® portable force platform, and flexibility was assessed using a standard chair sit and reach test (Wells' chair). RESULTS: With the force platform, no differences were observed in the displacement area or velocity from the center of pressure in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions. The displacement speed from the center of pressure was decreased at the six month after the surgery; however, unchanged from baseline at 12 months post-surgery. Flexibility increased over time according to the three measurements tested. CONCLUSIONS: Static postural balance did not change. The velocity of postural adjustment responses were increased at six months after surgery. Therefore, weight loss promotes increased flexibility. Yet, improvements in flexibility are not related to improvements in balance. PMID:26934236

Thermal Insulation Performance of Flexible Piping for Use in HTS Power Cables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fesmire, James E.; Augustynowicz, S. D.; Demko, J. A.; Thompson, Karen (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables that typically operate at temperatures below 80 K are being developed for power transmission. The practical application of HTS power cables will require the use of flexible piping to contain the cable and the liquid nitrogen coolant. A study of thermal performance of multilayer insulation (MLI) was conducted in geometries representing both rigid and flexible piping. This experimental study performed at the Cryogenics Test Laboratory of NASA Kennedy Space Center provides a framework for the development of cost-effective, efficient thermal insulation systems that will support these long-distance flexible lines containing HTS power cables. The overall thermal performance of the insulation system for a rigid configuration and for a flexible configuration, simulating a flexible HTS power cable, was determined by the steady-state liquid nitrogen boiloff method under the full range of vacuum levels. Two different cylindrically rolled material systems were tested: a standard MLI and a layered composite insulation (LCI). Comparisons of ideal MLI, MLI on rigid piping, and MLI between flexible piping are presented.

High-power flexible AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors with suppression of negative differential conductance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Seung Kyu; Cho, Moon Uk; Dallas, James; Jang, Taehoon; Lee, Dong Gyu; Pouladi, Sara; Chen, Jie; Wang, Weijie; Shervin, Shahab; Kim, Hyunsoo; Shin, Seungha; Choi, Sukwon; Kwak, Joon Seop; Ryou, Jae-Hyun

2017-09-01

We investigate thermo-electronic behaviors of flexible AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) for high-power operation of the devices using Raman thermometry, infrared imaging, and current-voltage characteristics. A large negative differential conductance observed in HFETs on polymeric flexible substrates is confirmed to originate from the decreasing mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas channel caused by the self-heating effect. We develop high-power transistors by suppressing the negative differential conductance in the flexible HFETs using chemical lift-off and modified Ti/Au/In metal bonding processes with copper (Cu) tapes for high thermal conductivity and low thermal interfacial resistance in the flexible hybrid structures. Among different flexible HFETs, the ID of the HFETs on Cu with Ni/Au/In structures decreases only by 11.3% with increasing drain bias from the peak current to the current at VDS = 20 V, which is close to that of the HFETs on Si (9.6%), solving the problem of previous flexible AlGaN/GaN transistors.

Effect of wing flexibility in dragonfly hovering flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naidu, Vishal; Young, John; Lai, Joseph

2011-11-01

Dragonflies have two pairs of tandem wings, which can be operated independently. Most studies on tandem wings are based on rigid wings, which is in strong contradiction to the natural, flexible dragonfly wings. The effect of wing flexibility in tandem wings is little known. We carry out a comparative, computational study between rigid and flexible, dragonfly shaped wings for hovering flight. In rigid wings during downstroke, a leading edge vortex (LEV) is formed on the upper surface, which forms a low pressure zone. This conical LEV joins the tip vortex and shortly after the mid downstroke when the wing starts to rotate, these vortices are gradually shed resulting in a drop in lift. The vortex system creates a net downwards momentum in the form of a jet. The flexible wings while in motion deform due to aerodynamic and inertial forces. Since there is a strong interaction between wing deformation and air flow around the deformed wings, flexible wing simulations are carried out using a two way fluid structure interaction. The effect of wing flexibility on the flow structure and the subsequent effect on the aerodynamic forces will be studied and presented.

Force-moment line element method for flexible slender bodies in Stokes flow.

PubMed

Jiang, H; Yang, B

2013-09-01

The hydrodynamics of flexible slender bodies in Stokes flow is studied by taking into account the fluid-structure interaction through both forces and coupled moments. The fluid subjected to line sources of forces and moments is described by using integral equations. Meanwhile, the flexible slender body is modeled using finite beam elements. The two sides are linked through interfacial continuity conditions. Upon discretization, it results in a higher-order line element method for efficient and accurate solution of slender-body hydrodynamics. Four examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the present method: (a) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod subjected to a torque at one end, (b) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod subjected to a bending moment at one end, (c) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod subjected to a cyclic force, and (d) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod with a magnetized head within a rotating magnetic field. Examples (a) and (b) may serve as benchmark solutions and examples (c) and (d) show how planar and spiral waves can be excited in a slender body.