Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2007 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2007 award winner, Professor Michael J. Krische, developed selective C-C bond-forming hydrogenation without organometallic reagents, eliminating hazardous reagents and hazardous waste.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2001 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2001 award winner, EDEN Bioscience, discovered and commercialized harpins: nontoxic, naturally occurring, biodegradable proteins that activate a plant's defense and growth mechanisms.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2003 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2003 award winner, Professor Richard A. Gross, developed a transesterification to make polyol-containing polyesters using lipase, replacing heavy metal catalysts and hazardous solvents.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2007 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2007 award winner, Headwaters Technology Innovation, developed a metal nanocatalyst to synthesize hydrogen peroxide directly from hydrogen and oxygen, eliminating hazardous chemicals.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2011 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2011 award winner, Genomatica, is developing and commercializing sustainable basic and intermediate chemicals made from renewable feedstocks including sugars, biomass, and syngas.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winner, Elevance Renewable Sciences, used Nobel-prize-winning metathesis catalysis to produce high-value difunctional chemicals from renewable feedstocks including natural oils.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1997 award winner, Professor Joseph M. DeSimone, developed surfactants that allow carbon dioxide to be a solvent for chemical manufacturing, replacing hazardous chemical solvents.

Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Green Chemistry Challenge 2017 award winners, Merck, developed a novel asymmetric aza-Michael cyclization, employing a chemically stable and fully recyclable organocatalyst to make Letermovir, an antiviral drug

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2005 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2005 award winner, Archer Daniels Midland, developed Archer RC, a nonvolatile, biobased, reactive coalescent that replaces volatile organic coalescents in architectural latex paints.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2014 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2014 award winner, Solazyme, engineered microalgae to produce oils tailored to customers’ needs that can mimic or enhance properties of traditional vegetable oils.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winner, PYROCOOL Technologies, developed a nontoxic, highly biodegradable fire extinguishing foam to replace ozone-depleting gases and foams that release toxic chemicals.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2006 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2006 award winners, Arkon Consultants and NuPro Technologies, developed a safer processing system for flexographic printing that includes washout solvents and reclamation/recycling.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1996 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1996 award winner, Professor Mark Holtzapple, developed methods to convert waste biomass (e.g., sewage sludge, agricultural wastes), into animal feed, industrial chemicals, or fuels.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2014 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2014 award winner, The Solberg Company, replaced fluorinated surfactants in its firefighting foam concentrates with a blend of non-fluorinated surfactants and sugars.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2011 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2011 award winner, BioAmber, developed an integrated technology to produce large, commercial quantities of succinic acid by bacterial fermentation, replacing petroleum-based feedstocks.

NASA and X PRIZE Announce Winners of Lunar Lander Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-05

NASA and the X PRIZE Foundation announced the winners of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge at an awards ceremony at the Rayburn House Office Building, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 in Washington, DC. From left to right, George Nield, Associate Administrator of Commercial Space Transportation, FAA; Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator; Doug Comstock, Director, Innovative Partnerships Program, NASA; David Masten, CEO, Masten Space Systems; Phil Eaton, VP, Operations, Armadillo Aerospace; U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX); Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, X PRIZE Foundation and Mitch Waldman, VP, Advanced Programs & Technology, Northrop Grumman. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1997 award winner, Legacy Systems, developed the Coldstrip process, which uses only water and oxygen to remove photoresist from silicon semiconductors. It replaces corrosive acids.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1997 award winner, Albright & Wilson Americas, discovered that tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium sulfate, THPS, is an effective, safer biocide for use in industrial water systems.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1996 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1996 award winner, Donlar, developed thermal polyaspartate, a nontoxic, biodegradable, biobased polymer made in a highly efficient process for use in agriculture, water treatment, etc.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Academic Award (Coates)

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winner, Professor Geoffrey W. Coates, developed a family of catalysts that use carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to make make polymers including polycarbonates.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2000 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2000 award winner, Professor Chi-Huey Wong, developed reactions with enzymes and safer solvents that can replace traditional reactions done with toxic metals and hazardous solvents.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2004 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2004 award winner, Buckman Laboratories International, developed Optimyze technology, which uses an esterase enzyme to remove sticky contaminants from paper products prior to recycling.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2001 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2001 award winners, Bayer Corporation and Bayer AG, developed a waste-free manufacturing process for sodium iminodisuccinate (Baypure CX), a biodegradable, nontoxic chelating agent.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2002 award winner, SC Fluids, with Los Alamos National Laboratory, developed supercritical CO2 resist remover technology to clean residues from semiconductor wafers during manufacture.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2007 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2007 award winner, Cargill, developed biobased polyols for polyurethane applications, including flexible foams. Cargill makes BiOH polyols from vegetable oils, not petroleum products.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2010 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2010 award winner, Clarke, developed Natular, a plaster matrix that encapsulates the pesticide spinosad, slowly releasing it into water and effectively controlling mosquito larvae.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2006 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2006 award winner, Merck, discovered the asymmetric catalytic hydrogenation of unprotected enamines to make beta-amino acids. Merck applied this to synthesize sitagliptin (Januvia).

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2006 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2006 award winner, Professor Galen J. Suppes, developed a process to convert waste glycerin from biodiesel production into propylene glycol to replace ethylene glycol in antifreeze.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winner, Argonne National Laboratory, developed an efficient, membrane-based process to synthesize lactate esters from sugars. These esters can replace toxic solvents.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2002 award winner, Cargill Dow, developed the NatureWorks process to make biobased, compostable, and recyclable polylactic acid polymers for fibers and plastic packaging.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2005 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2005 award winner, Professor Robin D. Rogers, used ionic liquids to dissolve and process cellulose from wood, cloth, or paper to make new biorenewable or biocompatible materials.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1999 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1999 award winner, Professor Terry Collins, developed a series of TAML oxidant activators that work with hydrogen peroxide to replace chlorine bleaches for paper making and laundry.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2010 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2010 award winner, LS9, engineered microorganisms to convert fermentable sugars selectively to alkanes, olefins, fatty alcohols, or fatty esters, each in a single-unit biorefinery.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1999 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1999 award winner, Lilly Research Laboratories, developed a low-waste drug synthesis using yeast for a stereospecific reduction, reducing solvent amounts, and replacing chromium oxide.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2004 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2004 award winner, Engelhard Corporation, developed a wide range of environmentally friendly Rightfit azo pigments that contain calcium, strontium, or barium instead of heavy metals.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winner, SiGNa Chemistry, stabilized highly reactive sodium and lithium by encapsulating them in porous, sand-like powder, maintaining their usefulness in synthetic reactions.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2002 award winner, Chemical Specialties, developed an alkaline copper quaternary wood preservative to replace chromated copper arsenate preservative phased out due to risk to children.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2011 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2011 award winner, Professor Bruce H. Lipshutz, designed a novel, second-generation surfactant called TPGS-750-M. It is a designer surfactant composed of safe, inexpensive ingredients.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2000 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2000 award winner, Roche Colorado, developed a greener synthesis for gancyclovir (Cytovene, a potent antiviral drug) that uses a second-generation Guanine Triester (GTE) process.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2004 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2004 award winner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, manufactures paclitaxel, the active ingredient in the anticancer drug, Taxol, using plant cell fermentation and extraction to replace synthesis.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2003 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2003 award winner, DuPont, developed a genetically engineered microorganism jointly with Genencor International to manufacture 1,3-propanediol, a building block for Sorona polyester.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2011 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2011 award winner, Kraton Performance Polymers, developed halogen-free, high-flow NEXAR polymer membranes using less solvent that save energy during reverse osmosis to desalinate water.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1999 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1999 award winner, Nalco Chemical Co., developed homogeneous dispersion polymerization with water as the solvent to make polymers to treat water in industrial and municipal operations.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1997 award winner, BHC Company, developed a highly atom-efficient method to make ibuprofen, a common painkiller, using three catalytic steps instead of six stoichiometric ones.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2011 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2011 award winner, Sherwin-Williams, developed water-based acrylic alkyd paints with VOCs that can be made from recycled soda bottle (PET), acrylics, and soybean oil.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2009 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2009 award winner, Eastman Chemical Co., makes esters for emollients and emulsifiers in cosmetics with immobilized enzymes, saving energy and avoiding strong acids and organic solvents.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2003 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2003 award winner, AgraQuest, developed Serenade, an OMRI-listed biofungicide for fruits and vegetables based on Bacillus subtilis QST-713, a naturally occurring strain of bacteria.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2010 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2010 award winners, Merck & Co. and Codexis, developed an enzymatic synthesis for sitagliptin (Januvia) that reduces waste, improves yield and safety, and eliminates a metal catalyst.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2004 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2004 award winners, Professors Charles A. Eckert and Charles L. Liotta, use supercritical CO2 as a solvent to combine reactions and separations, improve efficiency, and reduce waste.

Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Academic Award

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Green Chemistry Challenge 2017 award winner, Professor Schelter, developed a new, targeted approach for separating mixtures of rare earth metals obtained from consumer waste streams comprising mixtures of Nd/Dy and Eu/Y

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2007 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2007 award winners, Professor Kaichang Li, Columbia Forest Products, and Hercules, developed an adhesive for wood composites based on soy flour instead of resins with formaldehyde.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winner, Cytec Industries, developed the MAX HT sodalite scale inhibitor for heat exchangers and pipes in the Bayer process, which converts bauxite into alumina.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2009 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2009 award winner, CEM Corporation, developed a fast, automated analytical process using less toxic reagents and less energy to distinguish protein from the food adulterant, melamine.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1999 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1999 award winner, Dow AgroSciences, developed spinosad, a highly selective, low-toxicity, nonpersistant insecticide made by a soil microorganism. It controls many chewing insect pests.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2001 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2001 award winner, PPG Industries, developed cationic electrodeposition coatings with yttrium that resist corrosion in automobiles. Yttrium is a safe replacement for lead in this use.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winners, Professors Robert E. Maleczka, Jr. and Milton R. Smith, III, developed halogen-free, catalytic C-H activation/borylation to make aryl and heteroaryl boronic esters.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2007 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2007 award winner, NovaSterilis, invented a way to sterilize delicate biological materials such as graft tissue without harming them, using supercritical carbon dioxide and a peroxide.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winner, Buckman International, developed Maximyze enzymes that modify the cellulose in wood fibers to increase binding between fibers in paper and improve paper strength.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winner, Flexsys America, developed nucleophilic aromatic substitution for hydrogen to eliminate waste from a common reaction and to produce 4-ADPA, a high-volume chemical.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1999 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1999 award winner, Biofine, developed a process to convert waste cellulose in paper mill sludge, municipal solid waste, etc. into levulinic acid (LA), a building block for other chemicals.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2009 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2009 award winner, Virent, developed a water-based, catalytic method to make gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel from plant sugar, starch, or cellulose that requires little external energy.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2001 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2001 award winner, Professor Chao-Jun Li, uses metal catalysts in water to carry out chemical reactions that used to need both an oxygen-free atmosphere and hazardous organic solvents.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Academic Award (Waymouth and Hedrick)

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winners, Professor Robert M. Waymouth and Dr. James L. Hedrick, developed a broad class of highly active, environmentally benign, metal-free catalysts for synthesizing plastics.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2005 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2005 award winner, BASF, invented a one-component, urethane acrylate oligomer primer system for automobile refinishing that is UV-curable, has VOCs, and is free of diisocyanates.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1996 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1996 award winner, Monsanto Company, developed a safer synthesis for DSIDA, a key building block for the herbicide RoundUp. The synthesis uses no ammonia, cyanide, or formaldehyde.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Academic Award (Trost)

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winner Professor Barry M. Trost, developed the concept of atom economy: chemical reactions that do not waste atoms. This is a fundamental cornerstone of green chemistry.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2001 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2001 award winner, Novozymes North America, developed BioPreparation, an enzyme technology to separate natural waxes, oils, and contaminants from cotton before it is made into fabric.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1997 award winner, Imation, developed DryView Imaging Systems, which use a special photographic film for medical imaging that replaces hazardous developer chemicals and water with heat.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2000 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2000 award winner, Dow AgroSciences, developed Sentricon to eliminate termites with bait applied only where termites are active; it replaces widespread applications of pesticide to soil.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winner, Dow AgroSciences, used an artificial neural network to discover spinetoram, an improved spinosad biopesticide to replace organophosphates for key pests of fruit trees.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1996 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1996 award winner, Rohm and Haas, developed Sea-Nine, a marine antifoulant to control plants and animals on ship hulls. Sea-Nine replaces persistent, toxic organotin antifoulants.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winner, Nalco Company, developed 3D TRASAR technology to monitor the condition of cooling water continuously and add chemicals only when needed, saving water and energy.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2006 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2006 award winner, Codexis, directed the evolution of three designer enzymes to produce the key chiral building block for atorvastatin, the active ingredient in the drug Lipitor.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2002 award winner, Professor Eric J. Beckman, developed fluorine-free detergents that help supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolve many chemicals, so it can be a solvent for industrial processes.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2013 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2013 award winner, Faraday Technology, Inc., process high-performance chrome coatings to be made from the less toxic, trivalent chromium. Reduce millions of pounds hexavalent chromium without comprising performance.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2014 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2014 award winner, Amyris, engineered yeast to make a chemical called farnesene, which is a building block hydrocarbon that can be converted into a renewable, drop-in replacement for petroleum diesel.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2000 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2000 award winners, Bayer and Bayer AG, Covestro, developed high-performance, water-based, two-component polyurethane (PU) coatings that eliminate most or all VOCs and HAPs in other PU coatings.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2000 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2000 award winner, RevTech, developed a process to print top-quality labels directly on glass. Their Envirogluv inks have no heavy metals, have little to no VOCs, and are biodegradable.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Academic Award (Draths and Frost)

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winners, Dr. Karen M. Draths and Professor John W. Frost, used benign, genetically engineered microbes and sugars (instead of benzene) to synthesize adipic acid and catechol.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2005 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award (Merck & Co., Inc.)

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2005 award winner, Merck, designed an atom-economical, energy- and water-saving, convergent synthesis for aprepitant, the active ingredient in Emend, a drug for nausea and vomiting.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2002 award winner, Pfizer, improved its synthesis of sertraline, the active ingredient in its drug, Zoloft, to double the yield and reduce the use of raw materials, energy, and water.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2008 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2008 award winner, Battelle, developed a biobased soy toner for laser printers and copiers. The technology saves energy and improves de-inking, allowing more paper fiber to be recycled.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2013 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2013 award winner, Prof Richard P. Wool of the University of Delaware, created high-performance materials using vegetable oils, feathers, and flax. Can be used as adhesives, composites, foams, and circuit boards.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2003 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2003 winner, Sud-Chemie, developed a synthesis for solid oxide catalysts used to make hydrogen and clean fuels. The process creates little wastewater, no nitrates, and no or little NOx.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2013 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2013 award winner, Cargill, Inc., developed a vegetable-oil-based transformer fluid that is much less flammable, provides superior performance, is less toxic, and has a substantially lower carbon footprint.

Green Chemistry Challenge: 2017 Small Business Award

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Green Chemistry Challenge 2017 award winner, UniEnergy,improved a vanadium redox flow battery to double the energy density, have a broader operating temperature range, a smaller footprint, reduced chemical usage, and very little capacity degradation.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2010 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2010 award winners, Dow and BASF, jointly developed a route to make propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide that eliminates almost all waste and greatly reduces water and energy use.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1998 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1998 award winner, Rohm and Haas, developed CONFIRM, a highly selective, reduced risk insecticide that disrupts the molting process of caterpillar pests in turf and a variety of crops.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2016 Academic Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2016 award winner, Professor Chirik, discovered a class of catalysts used to produce silicones for consumer goods without using hard-to-mine platinum (less mining, reduces costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste).

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2006 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2006 award winner, S.C. Johnson & Son, developed Greenlist, a rating system for environmental and health effects of ingredients. SC Johnson uses it to reformulate many of its products.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2016 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2016 award winners, Albemarle and CB&I, developed a safer technology to produce alkylate, a clean gasoline component by replacing liquid acid catalysts with a lower environmental impact catalyst

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2003 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2003 award winner, Shaw Industries, developed EcoWorx carpet tiles with a backing that uses less toxic materials. The carpet tile fiber and backing are readily separated for recycling.

Hierarchical winner-take-all particle swarm optimization social network for neural model fitting.

PubMed

Coventry, Brandon S; Parthasarathy, Aravindakshan; Sommer, Alexandra L; Bartlett, Edward L

2017-02-01

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) has gained widespread use as a general mathematical programming paradigm and seen use in a wide variety of optimization and machine learning problems. In this work, we introduce a new variant on the PSO social network and apply this method to the inverse problem of input parameter selection from recorded auditory neuron tuning curves. The topology of a PSO social network is a major contributor to optimization success. Here we propose a new social network which draws influence from winner-take-all coding found in visual cortical neurons. We show that the winner-take-all network performs exceptionally well on optimization problems with greater than 5 dimensions and runs at a lower iteration count as compared to other PSO topologies. Finally we show that this variant of PSO is able to recreate auditory frequency tuning curves and modulation transfer functions, making it a potentially useful tool for computational neuroscience models.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2009 Designing Greener Chemicals Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2009 award winners, Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) and Cook Composites and Polymers Co. (CCP), developed Chempol MPS resins and Sefose sucrose esters to enable high-performance low-VOC alkyd paints.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2016 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2016 award winner, Verdezyne, developed a yeast to produce USDA Certified Biobased dodecanedioic acid (DDDA) used to make high performance nylon 6,12. Lower greenhouse gas emissions, no high temperature or nitric acid

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2012 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2012 award winner, Codexis and Professor Yi Tang, developed a synthesis for the high cholesterol drug, simvastatin, using an engineered acyltransferase enzyme and a low-cost acyl donor as a feedstock.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2016 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2016 award winner, Dow Agrosciences LLC, developed Instinct®, a technology that reduces fertilizer nitrate leaching to ground and surface waters and atmospheric nitrous oxide emissions. More corn and reduces CO2.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1996 Greener Reaction Conditions Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 1996 award winner, Dow Chemical Company, developed a process to manufacture polystyrene foam sheet packaging that uses carbon dioxide (CO2) as a blowing agent, eliminating CFC-12 and HCFC-22.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2005 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award (Archer Daniels Midland Company/Novozymes)

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2005 award winners, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Novozymes, developed an enzymatic interesterification process to make edible fats and oils containing low trans fatty acids and oils.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2010 Academic Award - James C. Liao and Easel Biotechnologies, LLC

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2010 award winner, Dr. James C. Liao, genetically engineered microorganisms to make higher alcohols (with 3 to 8 carbon atoms) from glucose or directly from carbon dioxide (CO2).

ARPA-E LITECAR Challenge

ScienceCinema

Liu, Ping; Salvi, Ashwin

2018-01-16

With more than 250 conceptual designs submitted, we are pleased to highlight the winners of the LIghtweighting Technologies Enabling Comprehensive Automotive Redesign (LITECAR) Challenge. These innovative conceptual designs seek to lightweight a vehicle while maintaining or exceeding current U.S. automotive safety standards.

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2013 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2013 award winner, Life Technologies, developed a one-pot synthesis for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is a much more efficient process that prevents about 1.5 million pounds of hazardous waste a year.

Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge: 2014 Annual Performance Report Kentucky

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge, 2015

2015-01-01

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Kentucky's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Kentucky will implement to address those challenges. In December of 2013, Kentucky received notice that they would join 19 other States as a winner of the Race to…

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2015 Specific Environmental Benefit: Climate Change Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2015 award winner, Algenol, blue-green algae to produce ethanol and other fuels, uses CO2 from air or industrial emitters, reduces the carbon footprint, costs and water usage, no reliance on food crops

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2015 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2015 award winner, LanzaTech Inc. developed a method to utilize gas streams with a range of CO and H2 compositions to produce fuels such as ethanol and chemicals at high selectivities and yields

2004 Small Business Award

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Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2004 award winner, Jeneil Biosurfactant Company, makes biobased, rhamnolipid surfactants by fermentation that are less toxic and more biodegradable than conventional surfactants.

Investigation of Neural Strategies of Visual Search

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krauzlis, Richard J.

2003-01-01

The goal of this project was to measure how neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) change their activity during a visual search task. Specifically, we proposed to measure how the activity of these neurons was altered by the discriminability of visual targets and to test how these changes might predict the changes in the subjects performance. The primary rationale for this study was that understanding how the information encoded by these neurons constrains overall search performance would foster the development of better models of human performance. Work performed during the period supported by this grant has achieved these aims. First, we have recorded from neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) during a visual search task in which the difficulty of the task and the performance of the subject was systematically varied. The results from these single-neuron physiology experiments shows that prior to eye movement onset, the difference in activity across the ensemble of neurons reaches a fixed threshold value, reflecting the operation of a winner-take-all mechanism. Second, we have developed a model of eye movement decisions based on the principle of winner-take-all . The model incorporates the idea that the overt saccade choice reflects only one of the multiple saccades prepared during visual discrimination, consistent with our physiological data. The value of the model is that, unlike previous models, it is able to account for both the latency and the percent correct of saccade choices.

1998 federal energy and water management award winners

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

NONE

1998-10-28

Energy is a luxury that no one can afford to waste, and many Federal Government agencies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of using energy wisely. Thoughtful use of energy resources is important, not only to meet agency goals, but because energy efficiency helps improve air quality. Sound facility management offers huge savings that affect the agency`s bottom line, the environment, and workplace quality. In these fiscally-modest times, pursuing sound energy management programs can present additional challenges for energy and facility managers. The correct path to take is not always the easiest. Hard work, innovation, and vision are characteristicmore » of those who pursue energy efficiency. That is why the Department of energy, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is proud to salute the winners of the 1998 Federal Energy and Water Management Award. The 1998 winners represent the kind of 21st century thinking that will help achieve widespread Federal energy efficiency. In one year, the winners, through a combination of public and private partnerships, saved more than $222 million and 10.5 trillion Btu by actively identifying and implementing energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy projects. Through their dedication, hard work, ingenuity, and success, the award winners have also inspired others to increase their own efforts to save energy and water and to more aggressively pursue the use of renewable energy sources. The Federal Energy and Water Management Awards recognize the winners` contributions and ability to inspire others to take action.« less

Hierarchical Winner-Take-All Particle Swarm Optimization Social Network for Neural Model Fitting

PubMed Central

Coventry, Brandon S.; Parthasarathy, Aravindakshan; Sommer, Alexandra L.; Bartlett, Edward L.

2016-01-01

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) has gained widespread use as a general mathematical programming paradigm and seen use in a wide variety of optimization and machine learning problems. In this work, we introduce a new variant on the PSO social network and apply this method to the inverse problem of input parameter selection from recorded auditory neuron tuning curves. The topology of a PSO social network is a major contributor to optimization success. Here we propose a new social network which draws influence from winner-take-all coding found in visual cortical neurons. We show that the winner-take-all network performs exceptionally well on optimization problems with greater than 5 dimensions and runs at a lower iteration count as compared to other PSO topologies. Finally we show that this variant of PSO is able to recreate auditory frequency tuning curves and modulation transfer functions, making it a potentially useful tool for computational neuroscience models. PMID:27726048

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2016 Designing Greener Chemicals and Specific Environmental Benefit: Climate Change Awards

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge 2016 award winner, Newlight Technologies, developed a net carbon negative plastic made from methane-based GHG. It is cheaper than petroleum-based plastic; used to make cell phone cases, furniture, and other products.

Margined winner-take-all: New learning rule for pattern recognition.

PubMed

Fukushima, Kunihiko

2018-01-01

The neocognitron is a deep (multi-layered) convolutional neural network that can be trained to recognize visual patterns robustly. In the intermediate layers of the neocognitron, local features are extracted from input patterns. In the deepest layer, based on the features extracted in the intermediate layers, input patterns are classified into classes. A method called IntVec (interpolating-vector) is used for this purpose. This paper proposes a new learning rule called margined Winner-Take-All (mWTA) for training the deepest layer. Every time when a training pattern is presented during the learning, if the result of recognition by WTA (Winner-Take-All) is an error, a new cell is generated in the deepest layer. Here we put a certain amount of margin to the WTA. In other words, only during the learning, a certain amount of handicap is given to cells of classes other than that of the training vector, and the winner is chosen under this handicap. By introducing the margin to the WTA, we can generate a compact set of cells, with which a high recognition rate can be obtained with a small computational cost. The ability of this mWTA is demonstrated by computer simulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Change in drawing placement: A measure of change in mood state reflective of hemispheric lateralization of emotion.

PubMed

Butler, Tracy R; O'Mara, Erin M; Wilson, Josephine F

2018-04-26

The Valence Hypothesis of cerebral lateralization of emotion suggests greater right hemisphere activation during negative mood and greater left hemisphere activation during positive mood. This can manifest as visual field attentional bias. Here, study participants completed an assessment of current mood state (PANAS) and made a drawing (Drawing 1). To induce positive or negative mood, participants played a game; then, the winner read a script depicting a positive interpersonal interaction and the loser read a script depicting a negative interpersonal interaction. Participants then drew a second picture (Drawing 2) and completed the PANAS. We hypothesized that the game outcome would change current mood state and hemispheric activation, which would be reflected in drawing placement. The placement of Drawing 2 moved right for winners and left for losers. Winners experienced a greater increase in positive affect from Time 1 to Time 2 than losers and had decreased negative affect from Time 1. Losers had decreased positive affect from Time 1 and had a greater increase in negative affect from Time 1 to Time 2 than winners. Our results suggest that change in current mood state may be objectively observed by evaluating hemispatial bias reflective of brain hemispheric activation with drawings. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Centennial Challenges

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-02-26

Doug Comstock, NASA's Director, Innovative Partnership Office, speaks during a ceremony for winners and participants of NASA’s 2009 Centennial Challenges, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The year-long competition addresses a range of technical challenges that support NASA's missions in aeronautics and space with a goal of encouraging novel solutions from non-traditional sources. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

77 FR 2545 - Announcement of the Requirements and Registration for the Healthy New Year Challenge

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-18

... Challenge Submission Period, visit HealthyNewYear.Challenge.gov and register. Registration is free. After a... money. Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected: An internal panel will judge the Submissions on the... will win, respectively, the prize money identified in the `Amount of Prize' section. In the event of a...

Designing a Smaller Power Inverter: The Google Little Box Challenge

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

Lundstrom, Blake

Google's Little Box Challenge offered $1 million to the team that built the best kilowatt-scale solar inverter with a power density greater than 50 watts per cubic inch. To help determine the winner, NREL validated the entries at the Energy Systems Integration Facility.

2016 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2013 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2014 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2015 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

Grade 1 Students Meet David Wiesner's "Three Pigs."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pantaleo, Sylvia

2002-01-01

Describes the oral, written, and visual arts responses of a group of Grade 1 children. Discusses first grade children's understandings of and responses to several Radical Change characteristics and metafictive techniques found in David Wiesner's "The Three Pigs" (2001), the 2002 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner. Explores the nature of the…

Relationships between competitive wrestling success and neuroendocrine responses.

PubMed

Fry, Andrew C; Schilling, Brian K; Fleck, Steven J; Kraemer, William J

2011-01-01

Previous research on wrestling suggests winning wrestlers will have a greater increase in testosterone (Tes) than losing wrestlers, although the physiological mechanism is unknown. To determine the role of the sympathetic nervous system in this phenomenon, 12 male wrestlers from an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I program wrestled 5 matches over a 2-day period. Serum samples were collected pre (Pre) and immediately postmatch (Post) for the determination of Tes, cortisol (Cort), Tes/Cort, and epinephrine (Epi). The subjects had a combined record of 34 wins, 31 losses, and 4 ties. Testosterone increased (p < 0.05) for both winners and losers, but the increase was greater for winners (X ± SE; nmol · L(-1); winners, pre = 16.4 ± 1.2, post = 23.2 ± 1.5; losers, pre = 14.8 ± 1.0, post = 19.4 ± 1.2). Cortisol and Epi increased similarly for both winners and losers, whereas the Tes/Cort ratio was unaltered at any time. Relative changes in the Epi response (%Δ) for losers were correlated to %ΔTes (r = 0.91), whereas winners did not exhibit similar relationships (r = 0.09). These data suggest that winning wrestlers may use a different regulatory mechanism for their acute Tes responses than losers who appear to depend on sympathetic regulation. Additionally, these data from humans support the biosocial theory of status and the challenge hypothesis developed for competing males in other species.

2014 Federal Green Challenge National Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2015 National Federal Green Challenge Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2017 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following participants in the FGC for their significant efforts in improving the sustainability of their facilities and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

Climate Leadership in the Financial Sector Webinar

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Financial sector winners from the 2015 Climate Leadership Awards discuss best practices and challenges faced by their corporations based on their experience of attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate risk.

When small is better than BIG

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

McDaniel, Hunter; Beard, Matthew C; Wheeler, Lance M

Representing the Center for Advanced Solar Photophysics (CASP), this document is one of the entries in the Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge and was awarded “Overall Winner Runner-up and People’s Choice Winner.” As part of the challenge, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers were invited to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE: energy. The mission of CASP is tomore » explore and exploit the unique physics of nanostructured materials to boost the efficiency of solar energy conversion through novel light-matter interactions, controlled excited-state dynamics, and engineered carrier-carrier coupling.« less

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Team Lore poses with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Lockheed Martin CEO, Marillyn Hewson. Team Lore was one of the semi-finalists in the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge is for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. The winner of the challenge was announced on April 25, 2014 at the USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Team Aegis poses with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Lockheed Martin CEO, Marillyn Hewson. Team Aegis was one of the semi-finalists in the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge is for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. The winner of the challenge was announced on April 25, 2014 at the USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: Christian N. L. Olivers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2009

2009-01-01

Christian N. L. Olivers, winner of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology, is cited for outstanding research on visual attention and working memory. Olivers uses classic experimental designs in an innovative and sophisticated way to determine underlying mechanisms. He has formulated important theoretical…

2014 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the Pacific Southwest Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2014 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the New England Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2014 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the Mid-Atlantic Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2014 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the South Central Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2015 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the Pacific Southwest Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2015 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the New England Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2015 Federal Green Challenge Award Winners in the South Central Region

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We are pleased to recognize the following facilities for their outstanding efforts in 2014 to advance sustainability efforts and for their leadership in reducing the environmental footprint of federal government activities.

2010-2011 Inventors Competition--Winners of the "Gimme Shelter" Competition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tech Directions, 2011

2011-01-01

The number of entries to this year's "Tech Directions" Inventors Competition exceeded even the record set by the 2009-2010 contest--and gave engineer/inventor Harry T. Roman quite a judging challenge. This year's challenge called on students to propose designs for inexpensive, portable shelters that could be used by people made homeless by natural…

Centennial Challenges

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-02-26

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, and Doug Comstock, left, stand with David Masten, of Masten Space Systems, during a ceremony for winners and participants of NASA’s 2009 Centennial Challenges, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The year-long competition addresses a range of technical challenges that support NASA's missions in aeronautics and space with a goal of encouraging novel solutions from non-traditional sources. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Team ARES poses with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Lockheed Martin CEO, Marillyn Hewson. Team ARES was the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge is for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. The winning team was announced on April 25, 2014 at the USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA and X PRIZE Announce Winners of Lunar Lander Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-05

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden gives opening remarks at an awards ceremony for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge at the Rayburn House Office Building on Nov. 5, 2009, in Washington, DC. NASA's Centennial Challenges program gave $1.65 million in prize money to a pair of aerospace companies that successfully simulated landing a spacecraft on the moon and lifting off again. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Team Titan Shielding Systems poses with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Lockheed Martin CEO, Marillyn Hewson. Team Titan Shielding Systems was one of the semi-finalists in the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge is for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. The winner of the challenge was announced on April 25, 2014 at the USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Portraits of Learning 2007: We Present This Year's Winning Student Photos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Technology & Learning, 2007

2007-01-01

This year's more than 4,000 Portraits of Learning entries attest to the growing comfort with digital technologies and visual arts that today's kids have. This article presents 12 winning student photos of the Portraits of Learning 2007. The winners emerged from the selection of subjects that varied wildly--from grasshoppers, giraffes, zebras, and…

Can estrogens be considered as key elements of the challenge hypothesis? The case of intrasexual aggression in a cichlid fish.

PubMed

Scaia, María Florencia; Morandini, Leonel; Noguera, CristobalAlejandro; Trudeau, Vance L; Somoza, Gustavo Manuel; Pandolfi, Matías

2018-06-20

Territorial aggression has been widely studied in males and it has been historically suggested that androgens are key mediators of this behavior. However, more recent evidence suggests that it is the aromatization to estrogens, rather than androgens themselves, that is key to regulating this behavior. Females also display aggressive behaviors, but the physiological regulation of female aggression is still understudied when compared to males. In this context, the challenge hypothesis postulates that male-male aggressive interactions stimulate the production of androgens in males in periods of social instability. Here we determine plasma sex steroid levels in Cichlasoma dimerus to assess whether estrogens are related to aggressive behavior and to test the challenge hypothesis in both males and females. We set-up challenge trials as intrasexual dyadic encounters and determined androgen and estrogen levels before and after the trial in both winners and losers. Even though there were no differences in initial estradiol-17β plasma levels between male winners and losers, initial levels were higher (p = .046) in female winners than in losers, while there were no differences in testosterone or 11-ketotestosterone levels. After trials, both males and females showed elevated levels of estradiol-17β and both androgens, but only males exhibited a significant 1.45, 5.42 and 3.2-fold increase in estradiol-17β, testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone, respectively (p = .023, p = .016, p = .018). Moreover, changes in circulating levels of estradiol-17β in females after the trials do not depend on their reproductive status or on the outcome of the contest. We suggest that female aggression is associated with initial levels of estradiol-17β, and that the challenge hypothesis, originally defined for androgens, could also be extended to estrogens. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Data Visualization and Storytelling: Students Showcasing Innovative Work on the NASA Hyperwall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hankin, E. R.; Hasan, M.; Williams, B. M.; Harwell, D. E.

2017-12-01

Visual storytelling can be used to quickly and effectively tell a story about data and scientific research, with powerful visuals driving a deeper level of engagement. In 2016, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) launched a pilot contest with a grant from NASA to fund students to travel to the AGU Fall Meeting to present innovative data visualizations with fascinating stories on the NASA Hyperwall. This presentation will discuss the purpose of the contest and provide highlights. Additionally, the presentation will feature Mejs Hasan, one of the 2016 contest grand prize winners, who will discuss her award-winning research utilizing Landsat visual data, MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index data, and NOAA nightlight data to study the effects of both drought and war on the Middle East.

Restaurant challenge offers healthful meal options and builds diabetes awareness.

PubMed

Blair, Angela M; Drass, Janice A; Stone, Marylou; Rhoades, Deborah; Baldwin, Susan A; Russ, Kelsey M

2011-01-01

The Frederick Restaurant Challenge is an innovative project based on a collaborative effort among community organizations and partners designed to offer delicious healthful meal options at local restaurants during the month of November for American Diabetes Month. Local restaurants were challenged to participate and submitted recipes for healthful meals to the Frederick County Diabetes Coalition for review by registered dietitians. Diners voted on meals to determine the challenge winner(s), and were eligible to win prizes as well. Publicity prior to and during the month was effective in creating positive news about healthful meals when eating out, raised awareness about diabetes, and provided restaurants with desirable advertising opportunities. Feedback from restaurants and diners was overwhelmingly positive. The purpose of this article is to describe this successful low-budget project to encourage its replication in local communities. The Frederick Restaurant Challenge proved to be a very successful, innovative, low-budget project that met its intended goals: to develop healthful meal options for people with diabetes (or for anyone wishing to eat healthier); to demonstrate that healthful food can taste delicious; and to encourage restaurants to continue offering healthful options on their menus beyond the challenge month. Community interventions such as the Frederick Restaurant Challenge offer unique and important strategies for affecting change and raising awareness not only for people with diabetes but also for the entire community.

Advancing RF pulse design using an open-competition format: Report from the 2015 ISMRM challenge.

PubMed

Grissom, William A; Setsompop, Kawin; Hurley, Samuel A; Tsao, Jeffrey; Velikina, Julia V; Samsonov, Alexey A

2017-10-01

To advance the best solutions to two important RF pulse design problems with an open head-to-head competition. Two sub-challenges were formulated in which contestants competed to design the shortest simultaneous multislice (SMS) refocusing pulses and slice-selective parallel transmission (pTx) excitation pulses, subject to realistic hardware and safety constraints. Short refocusing pulses are needed for spin echo SMS imaging at high multiband factors, and short slice-selective pTx pulses are needed for multislice imaging in ultra-high field MRI. Each sub-challenge comprised two phases, in which the first phase posed problems with a low barrier of entry, and the second phase encouraged solutions that performed well in general. The Challenge ran from October 2015 to May 2016. The pTx Challenge winners developed a spokes pulse design method that combined variable-rate selective excitation with an efficient method to enforce SAR constraints, which achieved 10.6 times shorter pulse durations than conventional approaches. The SMS Challenge winners developed a time-optimal control multiband pulse design algorithm that achieved 5.1 times shorter pulse durations than conventional approaches. The Challenge led to rapid step improvements in solutions to significant problems in RF excitation for SMS imaging and ultra-high field MRI. Magn Reson Med 78:1352-1361, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden and Lockheed Martin CEO, Marillyn Hewson announce the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge was for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation.The USA Science and Engineering Festival is taking place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 26 and 27, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

G-2008-0821-024

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-10-06

Young Scientist Challenge YSC was held at Goddard on October 5-6, 2008 sponsored by 3M. It gave students the opportunity to demonstrate their scientific and engineering skills by participating in live demonstrations. Melissa Rey (Center) was the grand prize winner.

NREL Validated Google's Little Box Challenge Entries | Energy Systems

Science.gov Websites

inverter with a power density greater than 50 watts per cubic inch. To help determine the winner, NREL validated the entries at the Energy Systems Integration Facility. Text version A smaller inverter that is

Solar Geoengineering: Questioning the 'Winners and Losers' Paradigm (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricke, K.

2013-12-01

Concerns that greenhouse gas emissions reductions could be 'too little, too late' have led to increased dialogue within the scientific community regarding potential strategies for counteracting global warming through solar geoengineering - approaches which aim to counteract the effects of global warning by deflecting sunlight to space. Such approaches seek to reduce the amount of climate damage by intentional intervention in the climate system rather than by eliminating the inadvertent intervention causing the damage in the first place. Counteracting greenhouse gas-driven warming by blocking sunlight inevitably results in heterogeneous regional effects and one critique of solar geoengineering technologies is the supposed production of 'winners and losers.' It has become something of a meme to assert that any solar geoengineering deployment would result in 'winners' and 'losers'. However, the evidence underlying this assertion is weak. If Earth's climate system functions as represented in the current generation of climate models, at some level of solar geoengineering, everybody could be a 'winner'. If the models systematically fail to predict highly adverse, yet unanticipated, outcomes, then everybody could be a 'loser' In this talk, I will examine modeling studies analyzing the heterogeneous regional effects of solar geoengineering, presenting data from previously published studies reanalyzed in the context of what it means to 'win' or 'lose' when solar geoengineering is implemented. In particular, I will examine question of appropriate baselines for analysis and the importance of strategic versus absolute gains from implementation. I will conclude by proposing some more critical shortcomings of solar geoengineering than the 'winners and losers' problem and suggest how these shortcomings tie into other 'cutting-edge challenges in climate change science.'

Neuromorphic Implementation of Attractor Dynamics in a Two-Variable Winner-Take-All Circuit with NMDARs: A Simulation Study

PubMed Central

You, Hongzhi; Wang, Da-Hui

2017-01-01

Neural networks configured with winner-take-all (WTA) competition and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic dynamics are endowed with various dynamic characteristics of attractors underlying many cognitive functions. This paper presents a novel method for neuromorphic implementation of a two-variable WTA circuit with NMDARs aimed at implementing decision-making, working memory and hysteresis in visual perceptions. The method proposed is a dynamical system approach of circuit synthesis based on a biophysically plausible WTA model. Notably, slow and non-linear temporal dynamics of NMDAR-mediated synapses was generated. Circuit simulations in Cadence reproduced ramping neural activities observed in electrophysiological recordings in experiments of decision-making, the sustained activities observed in the prefrontal cortex during working memory, and classical hysteresis behavior during visual discrimination tasks. Furthermore, theoretical analysis of the dynamical system approach illuminated the underlying mechanisms of decision-making, memory capacity and hysteresis loops. The consistence between the circuit simulations and theoretical analysis demonstrated that the WTA circuit with NMDARs was able to capture the attractor dynamics underlying these cognitive functions. Their physical implementations as elementary modules are promising for assembly into integrated neuromorphic cognitive systems. PMID:28223913

Neuromorphic Implementation of Attractor Dynamics in a Two-Variable Winner-Take-All Circuit with NMDARs: A Simulation Study.

PubMed

You, Hongzhi; Wang, Da-Hui

2017-01-01

Neural networks configured with winner-take-all (WTA) competition and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic dynamics are endowed with various dynamic characteristics of attractors underlying many cognitive functions. This paper presents a novel method for neuromorphic implementation of a two-variable WTA circuit with NMDARs aimed at implementing decision-making, working memory and hysteresis in visual perceptions. The method proposed is a dynamical system approach of circuit synthesis based on a biophysically plausible WTA model. Notably, slow and non-linear temporal dynamics of NMDAR-mediated synapses was generated. Circuit simulations in Cadence reproduced ramping neural activities observed in electrophysiological recordings in experiments of decision-making, the sustained activities observed in the prefrontal cortex during working memory, and classical hysteresis behavior during visual discrimination tasks. Furthermore, theoretical analysis of the dynamical system approach illuminated the underlying mechanisms of decision-making, memory capacity and hysteresis loops. The consistence between the circuit simulations and theoretical analysis demonstrated that the WTA circuit with NMDARs was able to capture the attractor dynamics underlying these cognitive functions. Their physical implementations as elementary modules are promising for assembly into integrated neuromorphic cognitive systems.

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson spoke at the Orion exhibit at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014. The event was held to announce the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge was for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation.The USA Science and Engineering Festival is taking place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 26 and 27, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden spoke at the Orion exhibit at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014. The event was held to announce the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge was for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation.The USA Science and Engineering Festival is taking place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 26 and 27, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Astronaut Rex Walheim spoke at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014. The event was held to announce the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge was for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation.The winning team's design will be built and flown aboard the Orion/EFT-1. The USA Science and Engineering Festival takes place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 26 and 27, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

App-lifying USGS Earth Science Data: Engaging the public through Challenge.gov

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frame, M. T.

2013-12-01

With the goal of promoting innovative use and applications of USGS data, USGS Core Science Analytics and Synthesis (CSAS) launched the first USGS Challenge: App-lifying USGS Earth Science Data. While initiated before the recent Office of Science and Technology Policy's memorandum 'Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research', our challenge focused on one of the core tenets of the memorandum- expanding discoverability, accessibility and usability of CSAS data. From January 9 to April 1, 2013, we invited developers, information scientists, biologists/ecologists, and scientific data visualization specialists to create applications for selected USGS datasets. Identifying new, innovative ways to represent, apply, and make these data available is a high priority for our leadership. To help boost innovation, our only constraint on the challengers stated they must incorporate at least one of the identified datasets in their application. Winners were selected based on the relevance to the USGS and CSAS missions, innovation in design, and overall ease of use of the application. The winner for Best Overall App was TaxaViewer by the rOpenSci group. TaxaViewer is a Web interface to a mashup of data from the USGS-sponsored interagency Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and other data from the Phylotastic taxonomic Name service, the Global Invasive Species Database, Phylomatic, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The Popular Choice App award, selected through a public vote on the submissions, went to the Species Comparison Tool by Kimberly Sparks of Raleigh, N.C., which allows users to explore the USGS Gap Analysis Program habitat distribution and/or range of two species concurrently. The application also incorporates ITIS data and provides external links to NatureServe species information. Our results indicated that running a challenge was an effective method for promoting our data products and therefore improving accessibility. We had approximately 7,000 unique visitors to our challenge site and a corresponding increase in visits of 50% to our CSAS Web site. Similarly, we saw an increase for some of our data product's Web sites. For instance, ScienceBase received three times more visits during the period of the challenge. Using the challenge as a test case for accessibility of our data, we identified improvements for making our datasets more accessible, identified new ways to integrate across our datasets, and increased the visibility of our program. Feedback we received from participants led us to form a Web Services Team to create good governance by a best practices approach to the data services for our national products. Because this is the first challenge that USGS has done, all of our documentation is available for others in the USGS to use in running their own challenges hopefully leading to an increase in accessibility not just for CSAS but for all of USGS. In future challenges, we expect to focus more narrowly on specific natural resource questions.

L Prize Drives Technology Innovation, Energy Savings

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

None

2014-04-30

Fact sheet that provides an overview of DOE's L Prize competition, which challenges industry to develop high-quality, high-efficiency SSL products to replace 60W incandescent and PAR38 halogen light bulbs, and highlights the competition's first 60W winner from Philips Lighting North America.

2012 Innovators Awards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, Meg; Raths, David; Namahoe, Kanoe

2012-01-01

In this article, the authors present the 2012 Campus Technology Innovators. These IT leaders have deployed extraordinary technology solutions to meet campus challenges. The authors also recognize the vendors and products involved in making these innovative projects a success. The 10 winners are: (1) University of Arizona (Student Systems and…

Temporal sequence learning in winner-take-all networks of spiking neurons demonstrated in a brain-based device.

PubMed

McKinstry, Jeffrey L; Edelman, Gerald M

2013-01-01

Animal behavior often involves a temporally ordered sequence of actions learned from experience. Here we describe simulations of interconnected networks of spiking neurons that learn to generate patterns of activity in correct temporal order. The simulation consists of large-scale networks of thousands of excitatory and inhibitory neurons that exhibit short-term synaptic plasticity and spike-timing dependent synaptic plasticity. The neural architecture within each area is arranged to evoke winner-take-all (WTA) patterns of neural activity that persist for tens of milliseconds. In order to generate and switch between consecutive firing patterns in correct temporal order, a reentrant exchange of signals between these areas was necessary. To demonstrate the capacity of this arrangement, we used the simulation to train a brain-based device responding to visual input by autonomously generating temporal sequences of motor actions.

Microeconomics and Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckman, Steven; Chen, Lanxin; DeAngelo, Greg; Smith, W. James; Zhang, Xieting

2011-01-01

Psychologists such as the Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman challenge the major assumptions of microeconomics: the rational pursuit of self-interest given unchanging tastes. One may explore these issues through a questionnaire that may be distributed in class. How many of your students behave as the psychologists predict? Should economists adapt…

High Noon for High Stakes: Alfie Kohn at Middlebury College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barna, Ed

2002-01-01

The tougher standards movement has five fatal flaws. An emphasis on scores limits student willingness to experiment and be challenged. The "basic skills" approach to teaching--pouring knowledge down student throats--has never worked well. Standardized testing necessarily creates winners and losers. Accountability is coercive and…

1988 Winners of the Cost Reduction Incentive Awards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of College and University Business Officers, Washington, DC.

Outstanding cost-reduction programs implemented at colleges and universities during calendar year 1987 are recognized. Each of the 54 award-winning ideas is described in a paragraph-length program summary. Although some aspects of programs may be unique to a particular institution, creative administrators are challenged to tailor the programs to…

Recipients of RTT Aid Struggling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNeil, Michele

2012-01-01

The 12 winners of the federal Race to the Top competition have experienced near-universal challenges in turning their sweeping, multifaceted proposals into reality, among them a limited state capacity to execute fast, dramatic change and deeply rooted teacher-evaluation systems that have proved hard to transform. Reports unveiled by the U.S.…

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Pictured are all Semi-finalist teams in the Exploration Design Challenge. NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden and Lockheed Martin CEO, Marillyn Hewson announced the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014. The goal of the challenge was for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. The winning team's design will be built and flown aboard the Orion/EFT-1. The USA Science and Engineering Festival is taking place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 26 and 27, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Web-Based Student Feedback: Comparing Teaching-Award and Research-Award Recipients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Symbaluk, Diane G.; Howell, Andrew J.

2010-01-01

We examined web-based ratings and open-ended comments of teaching-award winners (n = 120) and research-award winners (n = 119) to determine if teaching-award winners received more favourable ratings and comments on RateMyProfessors.com. As predicted, students rated teaching-award winners higher than research-award winners on measures of teaching…

Exploration Design Challenge 2014

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-25

Mark Geyer, Orion Program Manager, spoke at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 25, 2014. The event was held to announce the winner of the Exploration Design Challenge. The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge was for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation.The winning team's design will be built and flown aboard the Orion/EFT-1. The USA Science and Engineering Festival takes place at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on April 26 and 27, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Low delay and area efficient soft error correction in arbitration logic

DOEpatents

Sugawara, Yutaka

2013-09-10

There is provided an arbitration logic device for controlling an access to a shared resource. The arbitration logic device comprises at least one storage element, a winner selection logic device, and an error detection logic device. The storage element stores a plurality of requestors' information. The winner selection logic device selects a winner requestor among the requestors based on the requestors' information received from a plurality of requestors. The winner selection logic device selects the winner requestor without checking whether there is the soft error in the winner requestor's information.

EcoCAR Challenge Profile: Virginia Tech

ScienceCinema

Gantt, Lynn

2017-12-27

Since childhood, Lynn Gantt has had a deep seeded passion for cars and the mechanics that drive them. The Virginia native spent his weekends rebuilding antique tractors with his dad to race at tractor pulls across the state, and now the Virginia Tech graduate student is the proud team co-leader of Virginia Tech's EcoCAR Challenge team -- the winners of the three-year long competition, as announced last night at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Planning, implementation and optimization of future space missions using an immersive visualization environment (IVE) machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nathan Harris, E.; Morgenthaler, George W.

2004-07-01

Beginning in 1995, a team of 3-D engineering visualization experts assembled at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company and began to develop innovative virtual prototyping simulation tools for performing ground processing and real-time visualization of design and planning of aerospace missions. At the University of Colorado, a team of 3-D visualization experts also began developing the science of 3-D visualization and immersive visualization at the newly founded British Petroleum (BP) Center for visualization, which began operations in October, 2001. BP acquired ARCO in the year 2000 and awarded the 3-D flexible IVE developed by ARCO (beginning in 1990) to the University of Colorado, CU, the winner in a competition among 6 Universities. CU then hired Dr. G. Dorn, the leader of the ARCO team as Center Director, and the other experts to apply 3-D immersive visualization to aerospace and to other University Research fields, while continuing research on surface interpretation of seismic data and 3-D volumes. This paper recounts further progress and outlines plans in Aerospace applications at Lockheed Martin and CU.

Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Winner of the "FutureCar Challenge

Science.gov Websites

more information contact: George Douglas (303) 275-4096 or (303) 880-2913 (cellular) Golden, Colo at NREL, the car will recharge its batteries at the lab's photovoltaic Outdoor Test Facility, where to the laboratory. Where: NREL's Outdoor Test Facility. Check in at the Visitor's Center to be

Kirkham’s legacy and contemporary challenges in soil physics research

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper, written by the winners of the Don and Betty Kirkham Award in Soil Physics, is dedicated to the legacy of Don Kirkham. It describes eight longstanding or emerging research areas in soil physics that contain key unsolved problems. All are field-oriented with applications to a number of imp...

2011 IEEE Visualization Contest winner: Visualizing unsteady vortical behavior of a centrifugal pump.

PubMed

Otto, Mathias; Kuhn, Alexander; Engelke, Wito; Theisel, Holger

2012-01-01

In the 2011 IEEE Visualization Contest, the dataset represented a high-resolution simulation of a centrifugal pump operating below optimal speed. The goal was to find suitable visualization techniques to identify regions of rotating stall that impede the pump's effectiveness. The winning entry split analysis of the pump into three parts based on the pump's functional behavior. It then applied local and integration-based methods to communicate the unsteady flow behavior in different regions of the dataset. This research formed the basis for a comparison of common vortex extractors and more recent methods. In particular, integration-based methods (separation measures, accumulated scalar fields, particle path lines, and advection textures) are well suited to capture the complex time-dependent flow behavior. This video (http://youtu.be/oD7QuabY0oU) shows simulations of unsteady flow in a centrifugal pump.

Winners, losers, and posers: The effect of power poses on testosterone and risk-taking following competition.

PubMed

Smith, Kristopher M; Apicella, Coren L

2017-06-01

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition. The effect of postural power displays (i.e. power poses) on hormone levels and decision-making has recently been challenged. While Carney et al. (2010) found that holding brief postural displays of power leads to increased testosterone, decreased cortisol and greater economic risk taking, this failed to replicate in a recent high-powered study (Ranehill et al. 2015). It has been put forward that subtle differences in social context may account for the differences in results. Power displays naturally occur within the context of competitions, as do changes in hormones, and researchers have yet to examine the effects of poses within this ecologically relevant context. Using a large sample of 247 male participants, natural winners and losers of a physical competition were randomly assigned to hold a low, neutral or high-power postural display. We found no main effect of pose type on testosterone, cortisol, risk or feelings of power. Winners assigned to a high-power pose had a relative, albeit small, rise in testosterone compared to winners who held neutral or low-power poses. For losers, we found little evidence that high-power poses lead to increased testosterone relative to those holding neutral or low-powered poses. If anything, the reverse was observed - losers had a reduction in testosterone after holding high-power poses. To the extent that changes in testosterone modulate social behaviors adaptively, it is possible that the relative reduction in testosterone observed in losers taking high-powered poses is designed to inhibit further "winner-like" behavior that could result in continued defeat and harm. Still, effects were small, multiple comparisons were made, and the results ran counter to our predictions. We thus treat these conclusions as preliminary. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Male entertainment award winners are older than female winners.

PubMed

Gilberg, M; Hines, T

2000-02-01

It has been said that in the entertainment industry after a certain age women have a harder time being as successful as men. Four analyses of the ages of male and female Oscar winners, Oscar nominees, Emmy winners, and Grammy winners over the past 25 years showed that in all four groups women were, on the average, younger than the men. Two interpretations of these differences are delineated.

Why do winners keep winning? Androgen mediation of winner but not loser effects in cichlid fish

PubMed Central

Oliveira, Rui F.; Silva, Ana; Canário, Adelino V.M.

2009-01-01

Animal conflicts are influenced by social experience such that a previous winning experience increases the probability of winning the next agonistic interaction, whereas a previous losing experience has the opposite effect. Since androgens respond to social interactions, increasing in winners and decreasing in losers, we hypothesized that socially induced transient changes in androgen levels could be a causal mediator of winner/loser effects. To test this hypothesis, we staged fights between dyads of size-matched males of the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). After the first contest, winners were treated with the anti-androgen cyproterone acetate and losers were supplemented with 11-ketotestosterone. Two hours after the end of the first fight, two contests were staged simultaneously between the winner of the first fight and a naive male and between the loser of first fight and another naive male. The majority (88%) of control winners also won the second interaction, whereas the majority of control losers (87%) lost their second fight, thus confirming the presence of winner/loser effects in this species. As predicted, the success of anti-androgen-treated winners in the second fight decreased significantly to chance levels (44%), but the success of androgenized losers (19%) did not show a significant increase. In summary, the treatment with anti-androgen blocks the winner effect, whereas androgen administration fails to reverse the loser effect, suggesting an involvement of androgens on the winner but not on the loser effect. PMID:19324741

Climate change and evolutionary adaptation.

PubMed

Hoffmann, Ary A; Sgrò, Carla M

2011-02-24

Evolutionary adaptation can be rapid and potentially help species counter stressful conditions or realize ecological opportunities arising from climate change. The challenges are to understand when evolution will occur and to identify potential evolutionary winners as well as losers, such as species lacking adaptive capacity living near physiological limits. Evolutionary processes also need to be incorporated into management programmes designed to minimize biodiversity loss under rapid climate change. These challenges can be met through realistic models of evolutionary change linked to experimental data across a range of taxa.

A Systematic Study of the Optical and Electrical Properties of Ge1-ySny and Ge1-x-ySixSny Semiconductor Alloys

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

efficient light sources and detectors continues to be the most significant fundamental challenge. Although there are several promising candidates, there has...not yet been a clear winner. A major challenge in the development of light sources and detectors comes from the fact that both silicon (Si) and...laser diodes), photo- detectors , and electro-optical modulators as well as biological and chemical sensors. Despite the substantial recent progress in

A Bayesian pick-the-winner design in a randomized phase II clinical trial.

PubMed

Chen, Dung-Tsa; Huang, Po-Yu; Lin, Hui-Yi; Chiappori, Alberto A; Gabrilovich, Dmitry I; Haura, Eric B; Antonia, Scott J; Gray, Jhanelle E

2017-10-24

Many phase II clinical trials evaluate unique experimental drugs/combinations through multi-arm design to expedite the screening process (early termination of ineffective drugs) and to identify the most effective drug (pick the winner) to warrant a phase III trial. Various statistical approaches have been developed for the pick-the-winner design but have been criticized for lack of objective comparison among the drug agents. We developed a Bayesian pick-the-winner design by integrating a Bayesian posterior probability with Simon two-stage design in a randomized two-arm clinical trial. The Bayesian posterior probability, as the rule to pick the winner, is defined as probability of the response rate in one arm higher than in the other arm. The posterior probability aims to determine the winner when both arms pass the second stage of the Simon two-stage design. When both arms are competitive (i.e., both passing the second stage), the Bayesian posterior probability performs better to correctly identify the winner compared with the Fisher exact test in the simulation study. In comparison to a standard two-arm randomized design, the Bayesian pick-the-winner design has a higher power to determine a clear winner. In application to two studies, the approach is able to perform statistical comparison of two treatment arms and provides a winner probability (Bayesian posterior probability) to statistically justify the winning arm. We developed an integrated design that utilizes Bayesian posterior probability, Simon two-stage design, and randomization into a unique setting. It gives objective comparisons between the arms to determine the winner.

These Kids Are Really on the Ball! Invention Competition Winners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tech Directions, 2008

2008-01-01

Judge Harry T. Roman, an electrical engineer and inventor himself, has selected the best entries in the 2007-2008 "Tech Directions" Inventors Award Competition. This year's challenge called for students to devise new uses for the common Ping-Pong ball. Of the results, the judge notes "The ideas submitted were most interesting, with a high number…

Trash + Creativity = Problem Solved: Award Winners Give Plastic Bottles Second Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tech Directions, 2007

2007-01-01

Judge Harry T. Roman, an electrical engineer and inventor, has selected the best of the crop in the 2006/2007 Tech Directions Inventors Award Competition. The challenge this year called on students to slow the filling of landfills by devising uses for discarded plastic water, juice, soda, and sports-drink bottles. Judge Roman noted "many common…

American Energy Data Challenge - by IdeaScale

Science.gov Websites

part of this community and receive updates on Open Data by Design Contest. PUBLIC VOTING HAS CLOSED - WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS MONTH! Arrow About Contest #3: Open Data by Design The Department of Energy will award $17,500 in prizes for the best designs that maximize the potential of our open energy data

Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: Fabian A. Soto.

PubMed

2016-11-01

APA's Awards for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology recognize psychologists who have demonstrated excellence early in their careers. One of the 2016 award winners is Fabian A. Soto, whose work "has shed fresh light on a broad range of fundamental psychological issues, including basic associative conditioning, causal judgment, categorization, visual object recognition, and face processing." Soto's award citation, biography, and selected bibliography are presented here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Professor Usain Bolt Welcomes You to the Schoolyard: Physics for Champions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vourlias, Kostas; Seroglou, Fanny

2016-01-01

Could Usain Bolt achieve what teachers often fail to do? Could this famous Olympic winner challenge and motivate students to study mechanics and introduce them to the principles of physics in a fun way, outside of the classroom? In order to answer these questions, we "invited" for one semester the world record holder to visit our Greek…

Multimodality Imaging in Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Is There a Winner?

PubMed Central

Perez, Irving E.; Garcia, Mario J.; Taub, Cynthia C.

2016-01-01

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown cause that can affect the heart. Cardiac sarcoidosis may be present in as many as 25% of patients with systemic sarcoidosis, and it is frequently underdiagnosed. The early and accurate diagnosis of myocardial involvement is challenging. Advanced imaging techniques play important roles in the diagnosis and management of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. PMID:25784137

Coevolution Maintains Diversity in the Stochastic "Kill the Winner" Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Chi; Goldenfeld, Nigel

2017-12-01

The "kill the winner" hypothesis is an attempt to address the problem of diversity in biology. It argues that host-specific predators control the population of each prey, preventing a winner from emerging and thus maintaining the coexistence of all species in the system. We develop a stochastic model for the kill the winner paradigm and show that the stable coexistence state of the deterministic kill the winner model is destroyed by demographic stochasticity, through a cascade of extinction events. We formulate an individual-level stochastic model in which predator-prey coevolution promotes the high diversity of the ecosystem by generating a persistent population flux of species.

Unsupervised learning of contextual constraints in neural networks for simultaneous visual processing of multiple objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Jonathan A.

1992-12-01

A simple self-organizing neural network model, called an EXIN network, that learns to process sensory information in a context-sensitive manner, is described. EXIN networks develop efficient representation structures for higher-level visual tasks such as segmentation, grouping, transparency, depth perception, and size perception. Exposure to a perceptual environment during a developmental period serves to configure the network to perform appropriate organization of sensory data. A new anti-Hebbian inhibitory learning rule permits superposition of multiple simultaneous neural activations (multiple winners), while maintaining contextual consistency constraints, instead of forcing winner-take-all pattern classifications. The activations can represent multiple patterns simultaneously and can represent uncertainty. The network performs parallel parsing, credit attribution, and simultaneous constraint satisfaction. EXIN networks can learn to represent multiple oriented edges even where they intersect and can learn to represent multiple transparently overlaid surfaces defined by stereo or motion cues. In the case of stereo transparency, the inhibitory learning implements both a uniqueness constraint and permits coactivation of cells representing multiple disparities at the same image location. Thus two or more disparities can be active simultaneously without interference. This behavior is analogous to that of Prazdny's stereo vision algorithm, with the bonus that each binocular point is assigned a unique disparity. In a large implementation, such a NN would also be able to represent effectively the disparities of a cloud of points at random depths, like human observers, and unlike Prazdny's method

The Genetics Revolution: Programs and Issues for the Community College. A Monograph Highlighting the Winners of the Exxon Education Foundation Innovation Awards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mays, Marilyn Elaine, Ed.

Presented at a 1996 conference on the implications of the Human Genome Project for community and technical colleges, the 30 papers included in this monograph describe methods for incorporating genetics studies into the two-year college curriculum. Among the papers provided are: (1) "Facing the Unknown: The Ethical Challenges of…

Easier Analysis With Rocket Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Analyzing rocket engines is one of Marshall Space Flight Center's specialties. When Marshall engineers lacked a software program flexible enough to meet their needs for analyzing rocket engine fluid flow, they overcame the challenge by inventing the Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), which was named the co-winner of the NASA Software of the Year award in 2001. This paper describes the GFSSP in a wide variety of applications

New Poster Puzzler | Poster

Cancer.gov

Your challenge is to correctly identify the item and its location from the picture at left. Clue: It’s somewhere at the NCI campus at Frederick or Fort Detrick. All entries must be received by Wednesday, July 1, 2015, and the winner will be drawn from all correct answers received by that date. Kids can win a McDonald’s gift certificate, and parents can win a framed photograph

The following abstracts were presented as posters at the 2016 NEI Psychopharmacology Congress.

PubMed

2017-02-01

Congratulations to the scientific poster winners of the 2016 NEI Psychopharmacology Congress! 1 st Place: A Case Report and Literature Review of Clozapine Re-challenge Titration Schedules (page 26) 2 nd Place: Mental Health Statistics and Suicide Prevention at St. Tammany Parish Jail-2015 (page 41) 3 rd Place: Lithium-Induced Neurotoxicity at Therapeutic Range: Illustrative Cases and Literature Review (page 43).

KSC-2009-6488

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-19

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Astronaut Hall of Fame near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, participants in the 2009 Astronaut Glove Challenge, part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program, pose for a group portrait. In the center of the front row are the winners, Ted Southern of Brooklyn, N.Y., at left, and Peter Homer of Southwest Harbor, Maine. The nationwide competition focused on developing improved pressure suit gloves for astronauts to use while working in space. During the challenge, the gloves were submitted to burst tests, joint force tests and tests to measure their dexterity and strength during operation in a glove box which simulates the vacuum of space. Centennial Challenges is NASA’s program of technology prizes for the citizen-inventor. The winning prize for the Glove Challenge is $250,000 provided by the Centennial Challenges Program. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Topology for Dominance for Network of Multi-Agent System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szeto, K. Y.

2007-05-01

The resource allocation problem in evolving two-dimensional point patterns is investigated for the existence of good strategies for the construction of initial configuration that leads to fast dominance of the pattern by one single species, which can be interpreted as market dominance by a company in the context of multi-agent systems in econophysics. For hexagonal lattice, certain special topological arrangements of the resource in two-dimensions, such as rings, lines and clusters have higher probability of dominance, compared to random pattern. For more complex networks, a systematic way to search for a stable and dominant strategy of resource allocation in the changing environment is found by means of genetic algorithm. Five typical features can be summarized by means of the distribution function for the local neighborhood of friends and enemies as well as the local clustering coefficients: (1) The winner has more triangles than the loser has. (2) The winner likes to form clusters as the winner tends to connect with other winner rather than with losers; while the loser tends to connect with winners rather than losers. (3) The distribution function of friends as well as enemies for the winner is broader than the corresponding distribution function for the loser. (4) The connectivity at which the peak of the distribution of friends for the winner occurs is larger than that of the loser; while the peak values for friends for winners is lower. (5) The connectivity at which the peak of the distribution of enemies for the winner occurs is smaller than that of the loser; while the peak values for enemies for winners is lower. These five features appear to be general, at least in the context of two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of various sizes, hierarchical lattice, Voronoi diagrams, as well as high-dimensional random networks. These general local topological properties of networks are relevant to strategists aiming at dominance in evolving patterns when the interaction between the agents is local.

Efficient computation of hashes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, Raul H. C.; Franqueira, Virginia N. L.; Hobson, Peter R.

2014-06-01

The sequential computation of hashes at the core of many distributed storage systems and found, for example, in grid services can hinder efficiency in service quality and even pose security challenges that can only be addressed by the use of parallel hash tree modes. The main contributions of this paper are, first, the identification of several efficiency and security challenges posed by the use of sequential hash computation based on the Merkle-Damgard engine. In addition, alternatives for the parallel computation of hash trees are discussed, and a prototype for a new parallel implementation of the Keccak function, the SHA-3 winner, is introduced.

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

Gantt, Lynn

Since childhood, Lynn Gantt has had a deep seeded passion for cars and the mechanics that drive them. The Virginia native spent his weekends rebuilding antique tractors with his dad to race at tractor pulls across the state, and now the Virginia Tech graduate student is the proud team co-leader of Virginia Tech's EcoCAR Challenge team -- the winners of the three-year long competition, as announced last night at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Competition for Space Is Controlled by Apoptosis-Induced Change of Local Epithelial Topology.

PubMed

Tsuboi, Alice; Ohsawa, Shizue; Umetsu, Daiki; Sando, Yukari; Kuranaga, Erina; Igaki, Tatsushi; Fujimoto, Koichi

2018-06-11

During the initial stage of tumor progression, oncogenic cells spread despite spatial confinement imposed by surrounding normal tissue. This spread of oncogenic cells (winners) is thought to be governed by selective killing of surrounding normal cells (losers) through a phenomenon called "cell competition" (i.e., supercompetition). Although the mechanisms underlying loser elimination are increasingly apparent, it is not clear how winner cells selectively occupy the space made available following loser apoptosis. Here, we combined live imaging analyses of two different oncogenic clones (Yki/YAP activation and Ras activation) in the Drosophila epithelium with computer simulation of tissue mechanics to elucidate such a mechanism. Contrary to the previous expectation that cell volume loss after apoptosis of loser cells was simply compensated for by the faster proliferation of winner cells, we found that the lost volume was compensated for by rapid cell expansion of winners. Mechanistically, the rapid winner-dominated cell expansion was driven by apoptosis-induced epithelial junction remodeling, which causes re-connection of local cellular connectivity (cell topology) in a manner that selectively increases winner apical surface area. In silico experiments further confirmed that repetition of loser elimination accelerates tissue-scale winner expansion through topological changes over time. Our proposed mechanism for linking loser death and winner expansion provides a new perspective on how tissue homeostasis disruption can initiate from an oncogenic mutation. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Numbers And Gains Of Neurons In Winner-Take-All Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Timothy X.

1993-01-01

Report presents theoretical study of gains required in neurons to implement winner-take-all electronic neural network of given size and related question of maximum size of winner-take-all network in which neurons have specified sigmoid transfer or response function with specified gain.

40 CFR 105.16 - How are award winners publicized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are award winners publicized? 105.16 Section 105.16 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.16 How are award winners...

40 CFR 105.13 - How are the award winners selected?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are the award winners selected? 105.13 Section 105.13 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.13 How are the award winners...

40 CFR 105.11 - Who selects the award winners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Who selects the award winners? 105.11 Section 105.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.11 Who selects the award winners? After...

40 CFR 105.14 - How are award winners notified?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true How are award winners notified? 105.14 Section 105.14 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.14 How are award winners notified? EPA...

40 CFR 105.11 - Who selects the award winners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Who selects the award winners? 105.11 Section 105.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.11 Who selects the award winners? After...

40 CFR 105.16 - How are award winners publicized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How are award winners publicized? 105.16 Section 105.16 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.16 How are award winners...

40 CFR 105.14 - How are award winners notified?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are award winners notified? 105.14 Section 105.14 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.14 How are award winners notified? EPA...

40 CFR 105.16 - How are award winners publicized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true How are award winners publicized? 105.16 Section 105.16 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.16 How are award winners...

40 CFR 105.11 - Who selects the award winners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Who selects the award winners? 105.11 Section 105.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.11 Who selects the award winners? After...

40 CFR 105.13 - How are the award winners selected?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are the award winners selected? 105.13 Section 105.13 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.13 How are the award winners...

40 CFR 105.11 - Who selects the award winners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Who selects the award winners? 105.11 Section 105.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.11 Who selects the award winners? After...

40 CFR 105.13 - How are the award winners selected?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How are the award winners selected? 105.13 Section 105.13 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.13 How are the award winners...

40 CFR 105.13 - How are the award winners selected?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true How are the award winners selected? 105.13 Section 105.13 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Selection Criteria § 105.13 How are the award winners...

40 CFR 105.14 - How are award winners notified?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are award winners notified? 105.14 Section 105.14 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.14 How are award winners notified? EPA...

40 CFR 105.14 - How are award winners notified?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How are award winners notified? 105.14 Section 105.14 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.14 How are award winners notified? EPA...

40 CFR 105.16 - How are award winners publicized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are award winners publicized? 105.16 Section 105.16 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS RECOGNITION AWARDS UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT Awards Recognition § 105.16 How are award winners...

Characteristics of Korean International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) Winners and Various Developmental Influences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Kyong Mi

2009-01-01

This study investigated characteristics of five IMO winners and influences from their formal and informal educational experiences. In particular, this study provides in-depth understanding of former Korean IMO winners' characteristics and environmental influences. Also, implications including education for parents of the gifted, professional…

Occupational Aspirations of State FFA Contest and Award Winners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Blannie E.; Doerfert, David L.

1989-01-01

A study explored the occupational aspirations of 300 (of 503) students with high levels of participation in Future Farmers of America's (FFA) Computers in Agriculture (CIA), Proficiency Award (PA), and Prepared and Extemporaneous Speaking (PES) contests. CIA and PES winners aspired to professional occupations more than PA winners. PES winners…

Who Should Pick the Winners of Climate Change?

PubMed

Webster, Michael S; Colton, Madhavi A; Darling, Emily S; Armstrong, Jonathan; Pinsky, Malin L; Knowlton, Nancy; Schindler, Daniel E

2017-03-01

Many conservation strategies identify a narrow subset of genotypes, species, or geographic locations that are predicted to be favored under different scenarios of future climate change. However, a focus on predicted winners, which might not prove to be correct, risks undervaluing the balance of biological diversity from which climate-change winners could otherwise emerge. Drawing on ecology, evolutionary biology, and portfolio theory, we propose a conservation approach designed to promote adaptation that is less dependent on uncertain predictions about the identity of winners and losers. By designing actions to facilitate numerous opportunities for selection across biological and environmental conditions, we can allow nature to pick the winners and increase the probability that ecosystems continue to provide services to humans and other species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuronal networks with NMDARs and lateral inhibition implement winner-takes-all

PubMed Central

Shoemaker, Patrick A.

2015-01-01

A neural circuit that relies on the electrical properties of NMDA synaptic receptors is shown by numerical and theoretical analysis to be capable of realizing the winner-takes-all function, a powerful computational primitive that is often attributed to biological nervous systems. This biophysically-plausible model employs global lateral inhibition in a simple feedback arrangement. As its inputs increase, high-gain and then bi- or multi-stable equilibrium states may be assumed in which there is significant depolarization of a single neuron and hyperpolarization or very weak depolarization of other neurons in the network. The state of the winning neuron conveys analog information about its input. The winner-takes-all characteristic depends on the nonmonotonic current-voltage relation of NMDA receptor ion channels, as well as neural thresholding, and the gain and nature of the inhibitory feedback. Dynamical regimes vary with input strength. Fixed points may become unstable as the network enters a winner-takes-all regime, which can lead to entrained oscillations. Under some conditions, oscillatory behavior can be interpreted as winner-takes-all in nature. Stable winner-takes-all behavior is typically recovered as inputs increase further, but with still larger inputs, the winner-takes-all characteristic is ultimately lost. Network stability may be enhanced by biologically plausible mechanisms. PMID:25741276

What's the Cube Quest Challenge?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cockrell, Jim

2016-01-01

Cube Quest Challenge, sponsored by Space Technology Mission Directorates Centennial Challenges program, is NASAs first in-space prize competition. Cube Quest is open to any U.S.-based, non-government CubeSat developer. Entrants will compete for one of three available 6U CubeSat dispenser slots on the EM-1 mission the first un-crewed lunar flyby of the Orion spacecraft launched by the Space Launch System in early 2018. The Cube Quest Challenge will award up to $5M in prizes. The advanced CubeSat technologies demonstrated by Cube Quest winners will enable NASA, universities, and industry to more quickly and affordably accomplish science and exploration objectives. This paper describes the teams, their novel CubeSat designs, and the emerging technologies for CubeSat operations in deep space environment.

Search is on for most outstanding family planning workers and clinics.

PubMed

1994-01-01

The JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc, sponsored a national wide search in the Philippines commencing March 15, 1994, and ending July 7, 1994, for commendable family planning workers. The winners of the competition were selected from five categories: the best family planning volunteer worker, government family planning service worker, nongovernment family planning service worker, a government family planning clinic or center, and a nongovernment family planning clinic or center. Winners in each category were selected at the provincial or chartered city level, regional level, and national level. Nomination forms were made available in Provincial Health Offices or City Health Offices. Nomination criteria involved a worker who must have worked for at least 18 months for a family planning service agency and a volunteer who must have worked at least a year a family planning service agency in referring cases. Clinics or centers must have been in operation for at least 18 months and preferably accredited by the government. Winner selection criteria was based on the number of clients served, the commitment to family planning, and the quality of their work. Nominations were disqualified if workers were involved with performing abortions, coercing clients to practice family planning, or discriminating against any legally acceptable methods of contraception. Provincial selection of the winner occurred on July 15, 1994, and these winners were entered in the regional competition, which was set for August 1 and September 15, 1994. Regional winners competed in the national competition in November 1994. The award for each provincial winner will be a certificate, an aneroid sphygmomanometer, and a stethoscope. Provincial clinics will receive a certificate and a wall clock. Regional winners will receive a certificate and wrist watches. Regional clinics will receive a certificate and an examining table or karaoke sound system. The five national winners will receive a plaque of appreciation, a three day stay in Manila, and a round trip ticket to award ceremonies. Personnel will receive a complete medical kit, while the center will get a refrigerator. An opportunity to visit a family planning program in an Asian country will be provided to national winners.

Incorporating a Wheeled Vehicle Model in a New Monocular Visual Odometry Algorithm for Dynamic Outdoor Environments

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yanhua; Xiong, Guangming; Chen, Huiyan; Lee, Dah-Jye

2014-01-01

This paper presents a monocular visual odometry algorithm that incorporates a wheeled vehicle model for ground vehicles. The main innovation of this algorithm is to use the single-track bicycle model to interpret the relationship between the yaw rate and side slip angle, which are the two most important parameters that describe the motion of a wheeled vehicle. Additionally, the pitch angle is also considered since the planar-motion hypothesis often fails due to the dynamic characteristics of wheel suspensions and tires in real-world environments. Linearization is used to calculate a closed-form solution of the motion parameters that works as a hypothesis generator in a RAndom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) scheme to reduce the complexity in solving equations involving trigonometric. All inliers found are used to refine the winner solution through minimizing the reprojection error. Finally, the algorithm is applied to real-time on-board visual localization applications. Its performance is evaluated by comparing against the state-of-the-art monocular visual odometry methods using both synthetic data and publicly available datasets over several kilometers in dynamic outdoor environments. PMID:25256109

Mentoring, Self-Awareness, and Collaboration. The 2012 EDUCAUSE Award Winners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blythe, Earving L.; Swartz, David; Woo, Melissa

2013-01-01

The EDUCAUSE Awards Program, under the guidance of the EDUCAUSE Recognition Committee, has announced the three 2012 winners who are recognized for their peer endorsement and distinction to professional accomplishments in higher education information technology. Winner Melissa Woo is recognized as a strong leader and one who is expected to achieve…

Meet the 2008 Cliff Weiss Memorial Essay Contest Winners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers (J3), 2008

2008-01-01

This article presents the winners of the 2008 Cliff Weiss Memorial Essay Contest and their winning essays. The winners are Spencer Terry of Tulsa, Oklahoma (secondary), and Carrie Snyder-Renfro of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (postsecondary). The topic for secondary students is "How would you communicate the impact and importance of CTE related to your…

School-to-Careers Company of the Year: 2000 Award Winners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Employer Leadership Council, Washington, DC.

This booklet profiles the four School-to-Careers Company of the Year Award winners judged to be demonstrating clearly the value and importance of these three key employer activities: working directly with students and teachers, building a school-to-careers system in the community, and strengthening company practice. The four winners and their…

IAQ Tools for Schools Awards, 2000-2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

This document provides descriptions of the 2000, 2001, and 2002 winners of the Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Excellence Awards. The winners are considered to be national leaders in improving indoor air quality in schools. Also included are case studies for selected 2000 winners and a press release for the…

1984 Winners of the Cost Reduction Incentive Awards. NACUBO/USSF.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of College and University Business Officers, Washington, DC.

Abstracts of college projects that were winners of the ninth annual Cost Reduction Incentive Awards Program are presented, including 47 programs that received monetary awards and 11 that received honorable mentions. One of the three top winners was Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, which used an ultrasound device to detect…

Competition with and without priority control: linking rivalry to attention through winner-take-all networks with memory

PubMed Central

Marx, Svenja; Gruenhage, Gina; Walper, Daniel; Rutishauser, Ueli; Einhäuser, Wolfgang

2015-01-01

Competition is ubiquitous in perception. For example, items in the visual field compete for processing resources, and attention controls their priority (biased competition). The inevitable ambiguity in the interpretation of sensory signals yields another form of competition: distinct perceptual interpretations compete for access to awareness. Rivalry, where two equally likely percepts compete for dominance, explicates the latter form of competition. Building upon the similarity between attention and rivalry, we propose to model rivalry by a generic competitive circuit that is widely used in the attention literature—a winner-take-all (WTA) network. Specifically, we show that a network of two coupled WTA circuits replicates three common hallmarks of rivalry: the distribution of dominance durations, their dependence on input strength (“Levelt's propositions”), and the effects of stimulus removal (blanking). This model introduces a form of memory by forming discrete states and explains experimental data better than competitive models of rivalry without memory. This result supports the crucial role of memory in rivalry specifically and in competitive processes in general. Our approach unifies the seemingly distinct phenomena of rivalry, memory, and attention in a single model with competition as the common underlying principle. PMID:25581077

Elijah Watt Sells Award: A Study of Previous Winners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Husted, Susan; Pinto, Joann; Romero, Silvia

2013-01-01

This paper reports the results of a survey of winners of the Elijah Watt Sells award. We ask them about the determinants of their success, which might be useful to other students preparing for the CPA exam. The winners graduated from different universities, not necessarily the ones ranked top, and almost all of them participated in a review…

NASA's CubeQuest Challenge - From Ground Tournaments to Lunar and Deep Space Derby

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hyde, Elizabeth Lee; Cockrell, James J.

2017-01-01

The First Flight of NASA's Space Launch System will feature 13 CubeSats that will launch into cis-lunar space. Three of these CubeSats are winners of the CubeQuest Challenge, part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Centennial Challenge Program. In order to qualify for launch on EM-1, the winning teams needed to win a series of Ground Tournaments, periodically held since 2015. The final Ground Tournament, GT-4, was held in May 2017, and resulted in the Top 3 selection for the EM-1 launch opportunity. The Challenge now proceeds to the in-space Derbies, where teams must build and test their spacecraft before launch on EM-1. Once in space, they will compete for a variety of Communications and Propulsion-based challenges. This is the first Centennial Challenge to compete in space and is a springboard for future in-space Challenges. In addition, the technologies gained from this challenge will also propel development of deep space CubeSats.

Review and Assessment of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Travel Awards Program, 1991–2010

PubMed Central

Le Duc, James W.; DeAcetis, Judy

2011-01-01

During 1991–2010, 456 persons from 62 countries were provided financial support to attend the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Winners came from 17 African, 16 Asia-Pacific, 14 Latin American and Caribbean, and 13 European and Middle Eastern countries, and from Canada and the United States. Virtually equal numbers of awards were offered to women and men. Winners were selected from U.S. academic centers (30%), foreign universities (26%), international centers, institutes or research units (30%), and approximately 5% from U.S. government agencies. Almost all winners (73 of 76, 96%) had scientific publications subsequent to receiving the travel award. Less than 10% of award winners continued their membership in the Society after their one-year complementary membership. Winners indicated that the travel awards program facilitated international exchange and fostered collaborations between Society members and international scientists. PMID:21896796

Winner-take-all in a phase oscillator system with adaptation.

PubMed

Burylko, Oleksandr; Kazanovich, Yakov; Borisyuk, Roman

2018-01-11

We consider a system of generalized phase oscillators with a central element and radial connections. In contrast to conventional phase oscillators of the Kuramoto type, the dynamic variables in our system include not only the phase of each oscillator but also the natural frequency of the central oscillator, and the connection strengths from the peripheral oscillators to the central oscillator. With appropriate parameter values the system demonstrates winner-take-all behavior in terms of the competition between peripheral oscillators for the synchronization with the central oscillator. Conditions for the winner-take-all regime are derived for stationary and non-stationary types of system dynamics. Bifurcation analysis of the transition from stationary to non-stationary winner-take-all dynamics is presented. A new bifurcation type called a Saddle Node on Invariant Torus (SNIT) bifurcation was observed and is described in detail. Computer simulations of the system allow an optimal choice of parameters for winner-take-all implementation.

The Evolution of Creativity, Giftedness, and Multiple Intelligences: An Interview with Ellen Winner and Howard Gardner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henshon, Suzanna E.

2006-01-01

This article presents an interview with Ellen Winner and Howard Gardner. Winner is Professor of Psychology at Boston College, and Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on learning and cognition in the arts in typical and gifted children. She is the author of over 100 articles and…

Learning and memory associated with aggression in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Yurkovic, Alexandra; Wang, Oulu; Basu, Alo C.; Kravitz, Edward A.

2006-01-01

Male Drosophila melanogaster (Canton-S strain) exhibit aggression in competition for resources, to defend territory, and for access to mates. In the study reported here, we asked: (i) how long flies fight; (ii) whether flies adopt distinct winning and losing strategies as hierarchical relationships are established; (iii) whether flies exhibit experience-dependent changes in fighting strategies in later fights; and (iv) whether flies fight differently in second fights against familiar or unfamiliar opponents. The results showed that flies fought for up to 5 h. As hierarchical relationships were established, behavioral strategies changed: winners progressively lunged more and retreated less, whereas losers progressively lunged less and retreated more. Encounters between flies were frequent during the first 10 min of pairing and then dropped significantly. To ask whether flies remembered previous fights, they were re-paired with familiar or unfamiliar opponents after 30 min of separation. In familiar pairings, there were fewer encounters during the first 10 min of fighting than in unfamiliar pairings, and former losers fought differently against familiar winners than unfamiliar winners. Former losers lost or no decision was reached in all second fights in pairings with familiar or unfamiliar winners or with naive flies. Winner/winner, loser/loser, and naive/naive pairings revealed that losers used low-intensity strategies in later fights and were unlikely to form new hierarchical relationships, compared with winners or socially naive flies. These results strongly support the idea that learning and memory accompany the changes in social status that result from fruit fly fights. PMID:17088536

Bites and B-Roll: Announcments of the Architecture Contest Winners

ScienceCinema

None

2017-12-09

Broadcast-quality downloads of this video are available free and unrestricted at http://stratacomm.net/solar-decathlon... Video contains announcements of the architecture awards announcement at the 2009 Solar Decathlon. Includes announcement and house b-roll of 1st place winner Team California and 2nd place winner Rice University's houses, general Solar Village b-roll, and bites from students and architecture experts

Skylab student project.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kleinknecht, K. S.; Powers, J. E., Jr.

1972-01-01

Review of the Skylab student project conceived to stimulate interest in science and technology by directly involving students in a major research program. Under this project, over 4000 students, ranging in age from 11 to 19 years, submitted proposals from which 301 regional winners and, then, 25 national winners were selected on the basis of their scientific and technical merits. Descriptions are presented of the proposal of these 25 national winners.

Wrestling with risk. Risk-management award winners find that a little effort can lead to big rewards.

PubMed

Hallam, K

1998-10-26

It can cut costs, improve care and even create a bond between caregivers and patients. In other words, a little risk management can go a long way. That's the experience of the winners in the annual risk-management awards. This year's winners are the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, and Phoenix-based Arizona Physicians IPA. Two other organizations won honorable mentions.

Infrared dim target detection based on visual attention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin; Lv, Guofang; Xu, Lizhong

2012-11-01

Accurate and fast detection of infrared (IR) dim target has very important meaning for infrared precise guidance, early warning, video surveillance, etc. Based on human visual attention mechanisms, an automatic detection algorithm for infrared dim target is presented. After analyzing the characteristics of infrared dim target images, the method firstly designs Difference of Gaussians (DoG) filters to compute the saliency map. Then the salient regions where the potential targets exist in are extracted by searching through the saliency map with a control mechanism of winner-take-all (WTA) competition and inhibition-of-return (IOR). At last, these regions are identified by the characteristics of the dim IR targets, so the true targets are detected, and the spurious objects are rejected. The experiments are performed for some real-life IR images, and the results prove that the proposed method has satisfying detection effectiveness and robustness. Meanwhile, it has high detection efficiency and can be used for real-time detection.

Cooperate! A paradigm shift for health equity.

PubMed

Chang, Wei-Ching; Fraser, Joy H

2017-02-21

The role of competition and cooperation in relation to the goal of health equity is examined in this paper. The authors explain why the win-lose mentality associated with avoidable competition is ethically questionable and less effective than cooperation in achieving positive outcomes, particularly as it relates to health and health equity. Competition, which differentiates winners from losers, often with the winner-takes-all reward system, inevitably leads to a few winners and many losers, resulting in social inequality, which, in turn, engenders and perpetuates health inequity.Competitive market-driven approaches to healthcare-brought about by capitalism, neo-liberalization, and globalization, based primarily on a competitive framework-are shown to have contributed to growing inequities with respect to the social determinants of health, and have undermined equal opportunity to access health care and achieve health equity. It is possible to redistribute income and wealth to reduce social inequality, but globalization poses increasing challenges to policy makers. John Stuart Mill provided a passionate, philosophical defense of cooperatives, followed by Karl Polanyi who offered an insightful critique of both state socialism and especially the self-regulating market, thereby opening up the cooperative way of shaping the future. We cite Hannah Arendt's "the banality of evil" to characterize the tragic concept of "ethical fading" witnessed in business and everyday life all over the world, often committed (without thinking and reflecting) by ordinary people under competitive pressures.To promote equity in health for all, we recommend the adoption of a radically new cooperation paradigm, applied whenever possible, to everything in our daily lives.

Automatic detection of protected health information from clinic narratives.

PubMed

Yang, Hui; Garibaldi, Jonathan M

2015-12-01

This paper presents a natural language processing (NLP) system that was designed to participate in the 2014 i2b2 de-identification challenge. The challenge task aims to identify and classify seven main Protected Health Information (PHI) categories and 25 associated sub-categories. A hybrid model was proposed which combines machine learning techniques with keyword-based and rule-based approaches to deal with the complexity inherent in PHI categories. Our proposed approaches exploit a rich set of linguistic features, both syntactic and word surface-oriented, which are further enriched by task-specific features and regular expression template patterns to characterize the semantics of various PHI categories. Our system achieved promising accuracy on the challenge test data with an overall micro-averaged F-measure of 93.6%, which was the winner of this de-identification challenge. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NREL: News - Winner of Solar Decathlon to be Announced

Science.gov Websites

Winner of Solar Decathlon to be Announced Friday, October 4, 2002 Washington, D.C.- The winner of National Gallery of Art Note: All houses competing in the Solar Decathlon will be open to the public from 9 the U.S. Department of Energy's first Solar Decathlon will be announced noon, Saturday, October 6 in

Winners of student essay contest receive awards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

George Meguiar (left) presents a scholarship award to Kyla Davis Horn, of Cocoa Beach, one of the winners of an essay contest related to the 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11. Meguiar and George English (second from right) head the Apollo 11 Commemoration Association who sponsored the contest in conjunction with Florida Today newspaper. The other scholarship winner is Kyle Rukaczewski, of Satellite Beach (far right). A third winner, Jason Gagnon, of Viera, was unable to attend. The presentation was made at the Apollo/Saturn V Center during an anniversary banquet that honored all the people who made the Apollo Program possible. Special guests included former Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, Gene Cernan and Walt Cunningham, who shared their experiences with the audience.

Open NASA Earth Exchange (OpenNEX): A Public-Private Partnership for Climate Change Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemani, R. R.; Lee, T. J.; Michaelis, A.; Ganguly, S.; Votava, P.

2014-12-01

NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) is a data, computing and knowledge collaborative that houses satellite, climate and ancillary data where a community of researchers can come together to share modeling and analysis codes, scientific results, knowledge and expertise on a centralized platform with access to large supercomputing resources. As a part of broadening the community beyond NASA-funded researchers, NASA through an agreement with Amazon Inc. made available to the public a large collection of Climate and Earth Sciences satellite data. The data, available through the Open NASA Earth Exchange (OpenNEX) platform hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud, consists of large amounts of global land surface imaging, vegetation conditions, climate observations and climate projections. In addition to the data, users of OpenNEX platform can also watch lectures from leading experts, learn basic access and use of the available data sets. In order to advance White House initiatives such as Open Data, Big Data and Climate Data and the Climate Action Plan, NASA over the past six months conducted the OpenNEX Challenge. The two-part challenge was designed to engage the public in creating innovative ways to use NASA data and address climate change impacts on economic growth, health and livelihood. Our intention was that the challenges allow citizen scientists to realize the value of NASA data assets and offers NASA new ideas on how to share and use that data. The first "ideation" challenge, closed on July 31st attracted over 450 participants consisting of climate scientists, hobbyists, citizen scientists, IT experts and App developers. Winning ideas from the first challenge will be incorporated into the second "builder" challenge currently targeted to launch mid-August and close by mid-November. The winner(s) will be formally announced at AGU in December of 2014. We will share our experiences and lessons learned over the past year from OpenNEX, a public-private partnership for engaging and enabling a large community of citizen scientists to better understand global climate changes and in creating climate resilience.

Light Matters (A "Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research" contest entry from the 2011 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum)

ScienceCinema

Atwater, Harry (Director, Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI), California Institute of Technology); LMI Staff

2017-12-09

'Light Matters' was submitted by the Center for Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI) to the 'Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research' video contest at the 2011 Science for Our Nation's Energy Future: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum. Twenty-six EFRCs created short videos to highlight their mission and their work. This video was selected as one of five winners by a distinguished panel of judges for its 'striking photography and visual impact'. LMI, an EFRC directed by Harry Atwater at the California Institute of Technology is a partnership of scientists from three institutions: CalTech (lead), University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science established the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) in 2009. These collaboratively-organized centers conduct fundamental research focused on 'grand challenges' and use-inspired 'basic research needs' recently identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community. The overall purpose is to accelerate scientific progress toward meeting the nation's critical energy challenges. The mission of Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion is 'to tailor the morphology, complex dielectric structure, and electronic properties of matter to sculpt the flow of sunlight, enabling light conversion to electrical and chemical energy with unprecedented efficiency.' Research topics are: catalysis (imines hydrocarbons), solar photovoltaic, solar fuels, photonic, solid state lighting, metamaterial, optics, phonons, thermal conductivity, solar electrodes, photsynthesis, CO{sub 2} (convert), greenhouse gas, and matter by design.

The influence of playing a non-reward game on motor ability and executive function in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Araújo Lima, Alisson Menezes; Cordeiro Hirata, Fabiana de Campos; Sales de Bruin, Gabriela; Salani Mota, Rosa Maria; Bruin, Veralice Meireles Sales de

2012-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the acute effect of playing games on executive function and motor ability in Parkinson's disease (PD). Consecutive cases with PD were studied with the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Mini-Mental State examination (MMSE), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Stroop test, finger tapping and 14-meter walk test. After randomization, patients performed a game of dominoes and were tested before and after experiment being further categorized as control, winners or non-winners. Forty patients, 27 male (67.5%), aged 48 to 84 years (63.2 ± 8.5), Hoehn & Yahr I to III were included. Twenty-eight (70%) presented depressive symptoms (BDI > 10). Groups (Control N = 13; Winners = 14 and Non-winners = 13) were not different regarding age, disease duration, age at onset, BMI, MMSE scores, depressive symptoms, levodopa dose, and previous practice of games. Winners presented significantly better results on executive function (Stroop test, p = 0.002) and on motor activity (Finger tapping, p = 0.01). Non-winners showed a trend of better performance in the 14-meter-walk test. This study shows that the practice of a non-reward game acutely improved memory and motor skills in PD. Our results suggest a role for the reward system in the modulation of the dopaminergic function of the basal ganglia in these patients.

Shocking Behavior: Random Wealth in Antebellum Georgia and Human Capital Across Generations

PubMed Central

Bleakley, Hoyt; Ferrie, Joseph

2017-01-01

Does the lack of wealth constrain parents’ investments in the human capital of their descendants? We conduct a nearly fifty-year followup of an episode in which such constraints would have been plausibly relaxed by a random allocation of substantial wealth to families. We track descendants of participants in Georgia’s Cherokee Land Lottery of 1832, in which nearly every adult white male in Georgia took part. Winners received close to the median level of wealth – a large financial windfall orthogonal to participants’ underlying characteristics that might have also affected their children’s human capital. Although winners had slightly more children than non-winners, they did not send them to school more. Sons of winners have no better adult outcomes (wealth, income, literacy) than the sons of non-winners, and winners’ grandchildren do not have higher literacy or school attendance than non-winners’ grandchildren. This suggests only a limited role for family financial resources in the formation of human capital in the next generations in this environment and a potentially more important role for other factors that persist through family lines. PMID:28529385

PEYA Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The President's Environmental Youth Award is a recognition program for K-12 students who conduct an environmental stewardship and community service project. One winner or group is recognized from each of EPA's 10 regions.

Using all of the Energy from the Sun to Make Power

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

Dapkus, P. Daniel; Povinelli, Michelle

Representing the Center for Energy Nanoscience (CEN), this document is one of the entries in the Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge and was awarded "Overall Winner Runner-up." As part of the challenge, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers were invited to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE: energy. The mission of the CEN is to explore the light absorptionmore » and emission in organic and nanostructure materials and their hybrids for solar energy conversion and solid state lighting.« less

Best Practices of Multiple-Time SmartWay Award Winners

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EPA presentations focus is on the SmartWay Excellence Awards multiple winners, their best practices in protecting the environment, incorporating sustainability and reducing carbon pollution, along with benefits of being a partner.

Next-Generation Entrepreneurs Ready to Advance Breast Cancer Research Innovations | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Michele Newton and Thomas Stackhouse, Contributing Writers, and Rosemarie Truman, Guest Writer Editor’s note: In May 2014, the Breast Cancer Start-Up Challenge was named one of six finalists in the HHS Innovates Award Competition. This award celebrates innovations developed by employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the mission of HHS. In the final phase of the competition, the public will be invited to help select “The People’s Choice” winner; public voting takes place May 29 through June 6, 2014.

New Poster Puzzler | Poster

Cancer.gov

Your challenge is to correctly identify the item and its location from the picture. Clue: It’s somewhere at the NCI campus at Frederick or Fort Detrick. Win a framed photograph of the Poster Puzzler and have your photo featured on the Poster website by e-mailing your guess, along with your name, e-mail address, and daytime phone number, to poster@mail.nih.gov. All entries must be received by Friday, February 12, 2016, and the winner will be drawn from all correct answers received by that date. Good luck and good hunting!

A Winner Determination Algorithm for Combinatorial Auctions Based on Hybrid Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Genrang; Lin, ZhengChun

The problem of winner determination in combinatorial auctions is a hotspot electronic business, and a NP hard problem. A Hybrid Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm(HAFSA), which is combined with First Suite Heuristic Algorithm (FSHA) and Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (AFSA), is proposed to solve the problem after probing it base on the theories of AFSA. Experiment results show that the HAFSA is a rapidly and efficient algorithm for The problem of winner determining. Compared with Ant colony Optimization Algorithm, it has a good performance with broad and prosperous application.

CMA Announces the 1996 Responsible Care Catalyst Awards Winners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1996-06-01

Eighteen exceptional teachers of science, chemical technology, chemistry, and chemical engineering have been selected to receive a Responsible Care Chemical Manufacturers Association's 1996 Catalyst Award. The Responsible Care Catalyst Awards Program honors individuals who have the ability to inspire students toward careers in chemistry and science-related fields through their excellent teaching ability in and out of the classroom. The program also seeks to draw public attention to the importance of quality chemistry and science teaching at the undergraduate level. Since the award was established in 1957, 502 teachers of science, chemistry, and chemical engineering have been honored. Winners are selected from a wide range of nominations submitted by colleagues, friends, and administrators. All pre-high school, high school, two and four-year college, or university teachers in the United States and Canada are eligible. Each award winner will be presented with a medal and citation. National award winners receive 5,000; regional award winners receive 2,500. National Winners. Martin N. Ackermann, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH Kenneth R. Jolls, Iowa State University, Ames, IA Suzanne Zobrist Kelly, Warren H. Meeker Elementary School, Ames, IA John V. Kenkel, Southeast Community College, Lincoln, NE George C. Lisensky, Beloit College, Beloit, WI James M. McBride, Yale University, New Haven, CT Marie C. Sherman, Ursuline Academy, St. Louis, MO Dwight D. Sieggreen, Cooke Middle School, Northville, MI Regional Winners Two-Year College. East-Georgianna Whipple-VanPatter, Central Community College, Hastings, NE West-David N. Barkan, Northwest College, Powell, WY High School. East-John Hnatow, Jr., Emmaus High School, Northampton, PA South-Carole Bennett, Gaither High School, Tampa, FL Midwest-Kenneth J. Spengler, Palatine High School, Palatine, IL West-Ruth Rand, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM Middle School. East-Thomas P. Kelly, Grandville Public Schools, Grandville, NH West-Denise McCarthy, Ben Franklin Junior High School, Fargo, ND Elementary School. East-Margaret Sadeghpur-Kramer, North Cedar Middle School, Martelle, IA West-Michelle Marie Barone, Fulton Elementary School, Aurora, CO

KSC-2013-2211

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The winning students of the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition show off their awards after a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left are Junior Division first runner-up Gaurav Garg of Beckendorff Junior High in Katy, Texas Senior Division grand prize winner Jacob Yoshitake of Marshall Middle School in San Diego, Calif. Senior Division first runner-up Laura Herman of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Senior Division grand prize awardee Hugo Yen of Troy High in Fullerton, Calif. and Marc Doyle, Dupont's global marketing and product director. The challenge, now in its 27th year, reaches out to students from grades seven through 12 from all 50 states and Canada. More than 200,000 students entered the competition. The DuPont Challenge aims to inspire students to excel and achieve in scientific writing and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM. The challenge honors space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew members who gave their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. For more information on the challenge, go to http://thechallenge.dupont.com/sponsors/nasa.php.

A Follow-up on the USAMO Winners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Nura D.

1985-01-01

Provides information about 79 winners of United States of America Mathematics Olympiad (USAMO). Data about family background, career plans, performance in the Putnam competition, changes in careers, undergraduate and graduate degrees, and about females are included. (JN)

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The 1989 Malcolm Baldrige award winners - Milliken and Company; and Xerox Business Products and Services are highlighted in this video. Their strategies for producing quality products are discussed, along with their applications and importance in today's competitive workplace.

Top STS Winners Chosen.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Science News, 1988

1988-01-01

Discusses the first, second, and third place winners in the 47th annual Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Describes student research projects dealing with electromagnetic and gravitational fields, cryptosporidiosis (a chronic diarrhea), and genetic factors of a nitrogen-fixing bacterium. (TW)

Fighting experience affects fruit fly behavior in a mating context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teseo, Serafino; Veerus, Liisa; Mery, Frédéric

2016-06-01

In animals, correlations exist among behaviors within individuals, but it is unclear whether experience in a specific functional context can affect behavior across different contexts. Here, we use Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the effects of conflict-induced behavioral modifications on male mating behavior. In D. melanogaster, males fight for territories and experience a strong winner-loser effect, meaning that winners become more likely to win subsequent fights compared to losers, who continue to lose. In our protocol, males were tested for courtship intensity before and after fighting against other males. We show that male motivation to copulate before fights cannot predict the fight outcomes, but that, afterwards, losers mate less than before and less than winner and control males. Contrarily, winners show no differences between pre- and post-fight courtship intensity, and do not differ from control males. This suggests that the physiological modifications resulting from fight outcomes indirectly affect male reproductive behavior.

KSC-2014-2068

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceWear team members Keith Hargett, left, and Alejandro Velasco participate in the International Space Apps Challenge in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Kennedy Space Center hosted one of the over 90 locations around the world where participants congregated for the attempt to design innovative solutions for global challenges over a 48-hour period. This year's development marathon focused on five NASA mission areas: Asteroids, Earth Watch, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Technology in Space. Three of this year’s challenges were developed by KSC employees: Space Wearables: Fashion Designer to Astronauts, Growing Food for a Martian Table, and Asteroid Prospector. The winners selected in 2014 at Kennedy were Astronaut Resource Managing System, or ARMS, for Best Use of Data and SpaceWear for Best Use of Hardware. ARMS also took the People's Choice Award. For more information, visit https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Naked regulators: moral pluralism, deliberative democracy and authoritative regulation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research.

PubMed

Parker, Malcolm

2009-02-01

Bioethical issues pose challenges for pluralist, democratic societies due to the need to arbitrate between incompatible views over fundamental beliefs. The legitimacy of public policy is increasingly seen to depend on taking public consultation seriously, and subsequently regulating contested activities such as therapeutic cloning and hESC research. In December 2006, the Australian Federal Parliament lifted the ban on therapeutic cloning, following recommendations of the Legislation Review Committee (Lockhart Committee), which recently reported on its approach and methods in this journal. This column analyses recent accounts of democratic deliberative processes, authoritative regulation and the committee's own account. Authoritative regulation turns out to be largely an appeasement strategy, directed towards the losers of the contest, in this case the opponents of therapeutic cloning and hESC research. This is because regulation fails to minimise harm as perceived by the losers, and fails to meaningfully limit what it is the winners wish to do. Moreover, regulation adds an unnecessary layer of red tape to the work of the winners. Committees of inquiry in bioethical matters should be more open about their processes and their normative recommendations, at the risk of eroding trust in parts of their processes.

Is your residency program ready for Generation Y?

PubMed

Schlitzkus, Lisa L; Schenarts, Kimberly D; Schenarts, Paul J

2010-01-01

Current residency applicants are members of Generation Y and are significantly different from previous generations of trainees as well as the faculty who attract, recruit, and manage them. Generation Y has been affected by globalization, diversification, terrorism, and international crisis. They are products of the self-esteem movement in child rearing, education, and extracurricular activities where they were all declared winners. Children's activities no longer had winners and losers or first, second, and third place; every child received a participation trophy. Even though they were raised to be a team player, their parents always told them they are special. Technology is ingrained into their daily lives, and they expect its use to be effective and efficient. Generation Y-ers desire to impact the world and give back to their communities and demand immediate access to leadership. This generation poses a challenge to residency programs that will need to attract, recruit, and manage them effectively. This article will provide an overview of Generation Y, contrast Generation Y with Generation X, and discuss how to use generation-specific strategies to attract, recruit, and manage a Generation Y resident. Copyright 2010 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Profitability of Contrarian Strategies in the Chinese Stock Market

PubMed Central

Shi, Huai-Long; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2015-01-01

This paper reexamines the profitability of loser, winner and contrarian portfolios in the Chinese stock market using monthly data of all stocks traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange covering the period from January 1997 to December 2012. We find evidence of short-term and long-term contrarian profitability in the whole sample period when the estimation and holding horizons are 1 month or longer than 12 months and the annualized return of contrarian portfolios increases with the estimation and holding horizons. We perform subperiod analysis and find that the long-term contrarian effect is significant in both bullish and bearish states, while the short-term contrarian effect disappears in bullish states. We compare the performance of contrarian portfolios based on different grouping manners in the estimation period and unveil that decile grouping outperforms quintile grouping and tertile grouping, which is more evident and robust in the long run. Generally, loser portfolios and winner portfolios have positive returns and loser portfolios perform much better than winner portfolios. Both loser and winner portfolios in bullish states perform better than those in the whole sample period. In contrast, loser and winner portfolios have smaller returns in bearish states, in which loser portfolio returns are significant only in the long term and winner portfolio returns become insignificant. These results are robust to the one-month skipping between the estimation and holding periods and for the two stock exchanges. Our findings show that the Chinese stock market is not efficient in the weak form. These findings also have obvious practical implications for financial practitioners. PMID:26368537

Profitability of Contrarian Strategies in the Chinese Stock Market.

PubMed

Shi, Huai-Long; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2015-01-01

This paper reexamines the profitability of loser, winner and contrarian portfolios in the Chinese stock market using monthly data of all stocks traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange covering the period from January 1997 to December 2012. We find evidence of short-term and long-term contrarian profitability in the whole sample period when the estimation and holding horizons are 1 month or longer than 12 months and the annualized return of contrarian portfolios increases with the estimation and holding horizons. We perform subperiod analysis and find that the long-term contrarian effect is significant in both bullish and bearish states, while the short-term contrarian effect disappears in bullish states. We compare the performance of contrarian portfolios based on different grouping manners in the estimation period and unveil that decile grouping outperforms quintile grouping and tertile grouping, which is more evident and robust in the long run. Generally, loser portfolios and winner portfolios have positive returns and loser portfolios perform much better than winner portfolios. Both loser and winner portfolios in bullish states perform better than those in the whole sample period. In contrast, loser and winner portfolios have smaller returns in bearish states, in which loser portfolio returns are significant only in the long term and winner portfolio returns become insignificant. These results are robust to the one-month skipping between the estimation and holding periods and for the two stock exchanges. Our findings show that the Chinese stock market is not efficient in the weak form. These findings also have obvious practical implications for financial practitioners.

2007 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement Booklet

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2007 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement Booklet displays the winners of the 2007 Smart Growth Report displays the winners of the 2007 Smart Growth Achievement Awards along with their projects and accomplishments that earned them this recognition.

Magnocellular pathway for rotation invariant Neocognitron.

PubMed

Ting, C H

1993-03-01

In the mammalian visual system, magnocellular pathway and parvocellular pathway cooperatively process visual information in parallel. The magnocellular pathway is more global and less particular about the details while the parvocellular pathway recognizes objects based on the local features. In many aspects, Neocognitron may be regarded as the artificial analogue of the parvocellular pathway. It is interesting then to model the magnocellular pathway. In order to achieve "rotation invariance" for Neocognitron, we propose a neural network model after the magnocellular pathway and expand its roles to include surmising the orientation of the input pattern prior to recognition. With the incorporation of the magnocellular pathway, a basic shift in the original paradigm has taken place. A pattern is now said to be recognized when and only when one of the winners of the magnocellular pathway is validified by the parvocellular pathway. We have implemented the magnocellular pathway coupled with Neocognitron parallel on transputers; our simulation programme is now able to recognize numerals in arbitrary orientation.

Competition with and without priority control: linking rivalry to attention through winner-take-all networks with memory.

PubMed

Marx, Svenja; Gruenhage, Gina; Walper, Daniel; Rutishauser, Ueli; Einhäuser, Wolfgang

2015-03-01

Competition is ubiquitous in perception. For example, items in the visual field compete for processing resources, and attention controls their priority (biased competition). The inevitable ambiguity in the interpretation of sensory signals yields another form of competition: distinct perceptual interpretations compete for access to awareness. Rivalry, where two equally likely percepts compete for dominance, explicates the latter form of competition. Building upon the similarity between attention and rivalry, we propose to model rivalry by a generic competitive circuit that is widely used in the attention literature-a winner-take-all (WTA) network. Specifically, we show that a network of two coupled WTA circuits replicates three common hallmarks of rivalry: the distribution of dominance durations, their dependence on input strength ("Levelt's propositions"), and the effects of stimulus removal (blanking). This model introduces a form of memory by forming discrete states and explains experimental data better than competitive models of rivalry without memory. This result supports the crucial role of memory in rivalry specifically and in competitive processes in general. Our approach unifies the seemingly distinct phenomena of rivalry, memory, and attention in a single model with competition as the common underlying principle. © 2015 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.

Heart of the Solution - Energy Frontiers (A "Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research" contest entry from the 2011 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum)

ScienceCinema

Green, Peter F. (Director, Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion, University of Michigan); CSTEC Staff

2017-12-09

'Heart of the Solution - Energy Frontiers' was submitted by the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion (CSTEC) to the 'Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research' video contest at the 2011 Science for Our Nation's Energy Future: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum. Twenty-six EFRCs created short videos to highlight their mission and their work. This video was both the People's Choice Award winner and selected as one of five winners by a distinguished panel of judges for its 'exemplary explanation of the role of an Energy Frontier Research Center'. The Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion is directed by Peter F. Green at the University of Michigan. The Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science established the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) in 2009. These collaboratively-organized centers conduct fundamental research focused on 'grand challenges' and use-inspired 'basic research needs' recently identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community. The overall purpose is to accelerate scientific progress toward meeting the nation's critical energy challenges. The mission of the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion is 'to study complex material structures on the nanoscale to identify key features for their potential use as materials to convert solar energy and heat to electricity.' Research topics are: solar photovoltaic, photonic, optics, solar thermal, thermoelectric, phonons, thermal conductivity, solar electrodes, defects, ultrafast physics, interfacial characterization, matter by design, novel materials synthesis, charge transport, and self-assembly.

2007 Campus Technology Innovators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campus Technology, 2007

2007-01-01

This article profiles the winners of this year's competition for outstanding technology innovation on US college and university campuses. The winners are: (1) Rice University, Texas (virtualized networks); (2) Drexel University, Pennsylvania (rich media); (3) Harvard Business School, Massachusetts (network management); (4) Louisiana State…

Interview With the 2002 Caldecott Medal Winner, David Wiesner.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giorgis, Cyndi; Johnson, Nancy J.

2003-01-01

Discusses David Wiesner, the 2002 Caldecott Medal Winner, and includes excerpts of an interview with him. Notes that Wiesner's books appeal to the imagination and often use art elements such as scale. Details the winning book, "The Three Pigs." (PM)

Is boldness a resource-holding potential trait? Fighting prowess and changes in startle response in the sea anemone, Actinia equina.

PubMed

Rudin, Fabian S; Briffa, Mark

2012-05-22

Contest theory predicts the evolution of a stable mixture of different strategies for fighting. Here, we investigate the possibility that stable between-individual differences in startle-response durations influence fighting ability or 'resource-holding potential' (RHP) in the beadlet sea anemone, Actinia equina. Both winners and losers showed significant repeatability of pre-fight startle-response durations but mean pre-fight startle-response durations were greater for eventual losers than for eventual winners, indicating that RHP varies with boldness. In particular, individuals with short startle responses inflicted more attacks on their opponent. Both repeatability and mean-level responses were changed by the experience of fighting, and these changes varied with outcome. In losers, repeatability was disrupted to a greater extent and the mean startle-response durations were subject to a greater increase than in winners. Thus, following a fight, this behavioural correlate of RHP behaves in a way similar to post-fight changes in physiological status, which can also vary between winners and losers. Understanding the links between aggression and boldness therefore has the potential to enhance our understanding of both the evolution of animal personality and the 'winner and loser effects' of post-fight changes in RHP.

Powering your car with sun light

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

Cosgrove, Daniel; Brown, Nicole; Kiemle, Sarah

Representing the Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation (CLSF), this document is one of the entries in the Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge and was awarded "Overall Winner." As part of the challenge, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers were invited to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE: energy. The mission of the CLSF is to dramatically increase ourmore » fundamental knowledge of the formation and physical interactions of bio-polymer networks in plant cell walls to provide a basis for improved methods for converting biomass into fuels.« less

A Truthful Incentive Mechanism for Online Recruitment in Mobile Crowd Sensing System.

PubMed

Chen, Xiao; Liu, Min; Zhou, Yaqin; Li, Zhongcheng; Chen, Shuang; He, Xiangnan

2017-01-01

We investigate emerging mobile crowd sensing (MCS) systems, in which new cloud-based platforms sequentially allocate homogenous sensing jobs to dynamically-arriving users with uncertain service qualities. Given that human beings are selfish in nature, it is crucial yet challenging to design an efficient and truthful incentive mechanism to encourage users to participate. To address the challenge, we propose a novel truthful online auction mechanism that can efficiently learn to make irreversible online decisions on winner selections for new MCS systems without requiring previous knowledge of users. Moreover, we theoretically prove that our incentive possesses truthfulness, individual rationality and computational efficiency. Extensive simulation results under both real and synthetic traces demonstrate that our incentive mechanism can reduce the payment of the platform, increase the utility of the platform and social welfare.

2006 Campus Technology Innovators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campus Technology, 2006

2006-01-01

This article features the winners of this year's "Campus Technology Innovator" competition. The winners are: (1) Drexel University, Pennsylvania (outsourcing); (2) Darton College, Georgia (3D); (3) Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (ePortfolios); (4) University of Michigan (the Web); (5) University of Tennessee College of…

Impact on Learning Award, 2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Planning & Management, 2002

2002-01-01

Describes winners of the title award, K-12 school facilities that have solved real-world problems through design, engineering, and technology solutions. Winners were named in the following categories: accessibility, accommodating technology, energy efficient/hi-performance buildings, furniture and equipment for learning, historic preservation,…

Fans, Football and Federal Elections: A Real-World Example of Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cramer, Kenneth M.; Jackson, Dennis L.

2006-01-01

This article evaluates and explores the correlation (+0.892) between the United States federal election winner and the most recent Washington Redskin home-game winner, a relation perfectly linked for 17 of 18 elections since franchise inception in 1936.

Hormonal, Physiological, and Physical Performance During Simulated Kickboxing Combat: Differences Between Winners and Losers.

PubMed

Ouergui, Ibrahim; Davis, Philip; Houcine, Nizar; Marzouki, Hamza; Zaouali, Monia; Franchini, Emerson; Gmada, Nabil; Bouhlel, Ezzedine

2016-05-01

The aim of the current study was to investigate the hormonal, physiological, and physical responses of simulated kickboxing competition and evaluate if there was a difference between winners and losers. Twenty athletes of regional and national level participated in the study (mean ± SD age 21.3 ± 2.7 y, height 170.0 ± 5.0 cm). Hormone (cortisol, testosterone, growth hormone), blood lactate [La], and glucose concentrations, as well as upper-body Wingate test and countermovement-jump (CMJ) performances, were measured before and after combats. Heart rate (HR) was measured throughout rounds 1, 2, and 3 and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was taken after each round. All combats were recorded and analyzed to determine the length of different activity phases (high-intensity, low-intensity, and referee pause) and the frequency of techniques. Hormones, glucose, [La], HR, and RPE increased (all P < .001) precombat to postcombat, while a decrease was observed for CMJ, Wingate test performance, body mass (all P < .001), and time of high-intensity activities (P = .005). There was no difference between winners and losers for hormonal, physiological, and physical variables (P > .05). However, winners executed more jab cross, total punches, roundhouse kicks, total kicks, and total attacking techniques (all P < .042) than losers. Kickboxing is an intermittent physically demanding sport that induces changes in the stress-related hormones soliciting the anaerobic lactic system. Training should be oriented to enhance kickboxers' anaerobic lactic fitness and their ability to strike at a sufficient rate. Further investigation is needed to identify possible differences in tactical and mental abilities that offer some insight into what makes winners winners.

Declines in marathon performance: Sex differences in elite and recreational athletes.

PubMed

Zavorsky, Gerald S; Tomko, Kelly A; Smoliga, James M

2017-01-01

The first aim of this study was to determine the age group at which marathon performance declines in top male and female runners and to compare that to the runners of average ability. Another aim of this of this study was to examine the age-related yearly decline in marathon performance between age group winners and the average marathon finisher. Data from the New York (NYC), Boston, and Chicago marathons from 2001-2016 were analyzed. Age, sex, and location were used in multiple linear regression models to determine the rate of decline in marathon times. Winners of each age group were assessed in 5-year increments from 16 through 74 years old (n = 47 per age group). The fastest times were between 25-34 years old, with overall champion males at 28.3 years old, and overall champion females at 30.8 years old (p = 0.004). At 35 years of age up to 74 years of age, female age group winners had a faster yearly decline in marathon finishing times compared to male age group winners, irrespective of marathon location [women = (min:sec) 2:33 per year, n = 336; men = 2:06 per year, n = 373, p < 0.01]. The median times between each age group only slowed beginning at 50 years old, thereafter the decline was similar between both men and women (women = 2:36, n = 140; men = 2:57, n = 150, p = 0.11). The median times were fastest at Boston and similar between Chicago and NYC. In conclusion, the rate of decline at 35 years old up to 74 years old is roughly linear (adjusted r2 = 0.88, p < 0.001) with female age group winners demonstrating 27 s per year greater decline per year compared to male age group winners.

Declines in marathon performance: Sex differences in elite and recreational athletes

PubMed Central

Tomko, Kelly A.; Smoliga, James M.

2017-01-01

The first aim of this study was to determine the age group at which marathon performance declines in top male and female runners and to compare that to the runners of average ability. Another aim of this of this study was to examine the age-related yearly decline in marathon performance between age group winners and the average marathon finisher. Data from the New York (NYC), Boston, and Chicago marathons from 2001–2016 were analyzed. Age, sex, and location were used in multiple linear regression models to determine the rate of decline in marathon times. Winners of each age group were assessed in 5-year increments from 16 through 74 years old (n = 47 per age group). The fastest times were between 25–34 years old, with overall champion males at 28.3 years old, and overall champion females at 30.8 years old (p = 0.004). At 35 years of age up to 74 years of age, female age group winners had a faster yearly decline in marathon finishing times compared to male age group winners, irrespective of marathon location [women = (min:sec) 2:33 per year, n = 336; men = 2:06 per year, n = 373, p < 0.01]. The median times between each age group only slowed beginning at 50 years old, thereafter the decline was similar between both men and women (women = 2:36, n = 140; men = 2:57, n = 150, p = 0.11). The median times were fastest at Boston and similar between Chicago and NYC. In conclusion, the rate of decline at 35 years old up to 74 years old is roughly linear (adjusted r2 = 0.88, p < 0.001) with female age group winners demonstrating 27 s per year greater decline per year compared to male age group winners. PMID:28187185

Superhydrophobic coating (2008 R&D 100 winner)

ScienceCinema

Jeff Brinker

2017-12-09

A transparent coating that is not just impermeable to water, but actually makes it bounce off a surface to help prevent corrosion, protect electronic and antiquities, or provide a new, more efficient surface to collect pure water. 2008 R&D 100 winner (SAND2008-2215W)

2008 Campus Technology Innovators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campus Technology, 2008

2008-01-01

This article features the 14 winners of the 2008 Campus Technology Innovators. This article offers an insider's view of the winners' campus technology initiatives, their project leads, and vendor partners jointly recognized for a unique ability to advance teaching, learning, administration, and operation on North American college and university…

40 CFR 105.15 - How are award winners recognized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How are award winners recognized? 105.15 Section 105.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER... ceremony as recognition for an outstanding technological achievement or an innovative process, method or...

40 CFR 105.15 - How are award winners recognized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are award winners recognized? 105.15 Section 105.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER... ceremony as recognition for an outstanding technological achievement or an innovative process, method or...

40 CFR 105.15 - How are award winners recognized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true How are award winners recognized? 105.15 Section 105.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER... ceremony as recognition for an outstanding technological achievement or an innovative process, method or...

40 CFR 105.15 - How are award winners recognized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false How are award winners recognized? 105.15 Section 105.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER... ceremony as recognition for an outstanding technological achievement or an innovative process, method or...

40 CFR 105.15 - How are award winners recognized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are award winners recognized? 105.15 Section 105.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER... ceremony as recognition for an outstanding technological achievement or an innovative process, method or...

Volatility, house edge and prize structure of gambling games.

PubMed

Turner, Nigel E

2011-12-01

This study used simulations to examine the effect of prize structure on the outcome volatility and the number of winners of various game configurations. The two most common prize structures found in gambling games are even money payoff games (bet $1; win $2) found on most table games and multilevel prizes structures found in gambling machine games. Simulations were set up to examine the effect of prize structure on the long-term outcomes of these games. Eight different prize structures were compared in terms of the number of winners and volatility. It was found that the standard table game and commercial gambling machines produced fairly high numbers of short term winners (1 h), but few long term winners (50 h). It was found that the typical even money game set up produced the lowest level of volatility. Of the multilevel prize structures examined, the three simulations based on commercial gambling machines were the least volatile. The results are examined in terms of the pragmatics of game design.

Winners love winning and losers love money.

PubMed

Kassam, Karim S; Morewedge, Carey K; Gilbert, Daniel T; Wilson, Timothy D

2011-05-01

Salience and satisfaction are important factors in determining the comparisons that people make. We hypothesized that people make salient comparisons first, and then make satisfying comparisons only if salient comparisons leave them unsatisfied. This hypothesis suggests an asymmetry between winning and losing. For winners, comparison with a salient alternative (i.e., losing) brings satisfaction. Therefore, winners should be sensitive only to the relative value of their outcomes. For losers, comparison with a salient alternative (i.e., winning) brings little satisfaction. Therefore, losers should be drawn to compare outcomes with additional standards, which should make them sensitive to both relative and absolute values of their outcomes. In Experiment 1, participants won one of two cash prizes on a scratch-off ticket. Winners were sensitive to the relative value of their prizes, whereas losers were sensitive to both the relative and the absolute values of their prizes. In Experiment 2, losers were sensitive to the absolute value of their prize only when they had sufficient cognitive resources to engage in effortful comparison.

Winning a competition predicts dishonest behavior

PubMed Central

Schurr, Amos; Ritov, Ilana

2016-01-01

Winning a competition engenders subsequent unrelated unethical behavior. Five studies reveal that after a competition has taken place winners behave more dishonestly than competition losers. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that winning a competition increases the likelihood of winners to steal money from their counterparts in a subsequent unrelated task. Studies 3a and 3b demonstrate that the effect holds only when winning means performing better than others (i.e., determined in reference to others) but not when success is determined by chance or in reference to a personal goal. Finally, study 4 demonstrates that a possible mechanism underlying the effect is an enhanced sense of entitlement among competition winners. PMID:26831083

Winning a competition predicts dishonest behavior.

PubMed

Schurr, Amos; Ritov, Ilana

2016-02-16

Winning a competition engenders subsequent unrelated unethical behavior. Five studies reveal that after a competition has taken place winners behave more dishonestly than competition losers. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that winning a competition increases the likelihood of winners to steal money from their counterparts in a subsequent unrelated task. Studies 3a and 3b demonstrate that the effect holds only when winning means performing better than others (i.e., determined in reference to others) but not when success is determined by chance or in reference to a personal goal. Finally, study 4 demonstrates that a possible mechanism underlying the effect is an enhanced sense of entitlement among competition winners.

2009 National Caring Awards Youth Winners.

PubMed

2009-11-01

Each year, the Caring Institute invites nominations of persons age 18 or younger for consideration as Young Adult Caring Award recipients. From the numerous applicants, the Caring Institute's prestigious Board of Trustees selects five award winners by secret ballot. This year's awardees are truly inspirational. Their accomplishments in caring for others are but a prologue of things to come. A short profile of each of these young people can be found on the following pages. Reading about them will give anyone confidence that the future of America is in good hands. To nominate a potential Caring Award Winner or to make a tax deductible donation, go to www.caring.org

2008 National Caring Awards youth winners.

PubMed

2008-05-01

Each year, the Caring Institute invites nominations of persons age 18 or younger for consideration as Young Adult Caring Award recipients. From the numerous applicants, the Caring Institute's prestigious Board of Trustees selects five award winners by secret ballot. This year's awardees are truly inspirational. Their accomplishments in caring for others are but a prologue of things to come. A short profile of each of these young people can be found on the following pages. Reading about them will give anyone confidence that the future of America is in good hands. To nominate a potential Caring Award Winner or to make a tax deductible donation, go to www.caring.org.

Marginal capacity: the dilemmas faced in assessment and declaration.

PubMed Central

Ho, V

1995-01-01

Ontario is adopting informed-consent legislation that reflects increasing emphasis on patient autonomy and self-determination. Capacity assessment and declaration by physicians and other health care professionals are pivotal under the new legislation. While grossly capable or incapable patients provide few management difficulties, marginally capable patients provide a challenge for physicians who must assess capacity, and decisions concerning them emphasize the ethical dilemma involved in any declaration of incapacity. Our 1994 Logie Medical Ethics Essay first-prize winner, Vincent Ho, examines the issues that clinicians must consider when assessing marginally capable patients. Images p260-a PMID:7820810

John W. Thoburn: International Humanitarian Award

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's International Humanitarian Award. The 2012 winner, John W. Thoburn, is an extraordinary psychologist who devotes himself consistently to service to underserved populations, especially in the aftermath of natural or human-induced disasters. He exemplifies a genuine…

Pegasus5 is Co-Winner of NASA's 2016 Software of the Year Award

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-11-04

Shareable video highlighting the Pegasus5 software, which was the co-winner of the NASA's 2016 Software of the Year award. Developed at NASA Ames, it helps in the simulation of air flow around space vehicles during launch and re-entry.

The Way Ahead For Maritime UAVS

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-23

of possible contract winners including Scan Eagle, Silver Fox, Wasp, Coyote and the USMC Tier I winner Dragon Eye. Technical data for these UAVs are...Neptune’s engine and avionics are placed above the waterline and the airframe is sealed for flotation as well as providing corrosion/water intrusion

Assessment through the Student's Eyes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stiggins, Rick

2007-01-01

Traditional assessments--which detect and highlight differences in student learning and rank students according to their achievement--inevitably produce winners and losers. Because today's schools cannot afford to leave any child behind, educators need to embrace a new vision of assessment--one that enables all students to become winners. The…

Michael E. Barnes: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Institutional Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography on the winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Institutional Practice. The 2012 winner is Michael E. Barnes for his pioneering leadership, dedication, and distinguished contributions to juvenile justice. As chief psychologist of the Superior Court of the…

PEOPLE IN PHYSICS: Nobel prize winners in physics from 1901 to 1990: simple statistics for physics teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Weijia; Fuller, Robert G.

1998-05-01

A demographic database for the 139 Nobel prize winners in physics from 1901 to 1990 has been created from a variety of sources. The results of our statistical study are discussed in the light of the implications for physics teaching.

2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Katherine

2009-01-01

This paper features the winners of this year's National Medals for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor for libraries and museums. The award celebrates libraries and museums that make a difference for individuals, families, and communities. Medal winners are selected from nationwide nominations for institutions that demonstrate…

Winners & Sinners: What's Hot and What's Not in Alumni Merchandising.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Wendy Ann

1990-01-01

A large part of any merchandising program is picking products that will sell. Sixty alumni professionals were asked about their ideas. Some of the winners included a watch with the institution's seal, a windsock, and athletic shoes. Some of the losers included a sweater and a commemorative plate. (MLW)

Sandra L. Shullman: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice. The 2012 winner is Sandra L. Shullman for her outstanding contributions and leadership as an independent practitioner in the fields of counseling and consulting psychology. Through her…

TEAMS Award Winners Honored at AASL in Reno, Nevada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Carol

2008-01-01

At the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) conference in Reno, Linworth Publishing and Thomson/Gale announced the winners of the third annual TEAMS awards. TEAMS stands for TEachers And Media Specialists influencing student achievement. The award recognizes the critical collaboration between teachers and media specialists in promoting…

Bethany Ann Teachman: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The 2012 winner is Bethany Ann Teachman for transformative, translational research integrating social cognition, life-span, and perceptual approaches to investigating clinical…

Smoot Cosmology Group

Science.gov Websites

annually at Nasa Ames Research Center, in the heart of Silicon Valley, for 10 weeks of discussions on how _____________________________________________________________________________________ Hawking, NASA Head, Nobel Winners Visit The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) AIMS Stephen Hawking, the NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, and the winners of the 2004 and 2006 Nobel Prizes

Friederike Range: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The 2012 winner is Friederike Range for outstanding contributions to the understanding of the complex social minds of nonhuman animals. Through ingenious experimental approaches,…

Thirty Years After: The Lives of Former Winners of Mathematical Olympiads.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karp, Alexander

2002-01-01

This follow-up study surveyed earlier winners of the St. Petersburg (Russia) mathematical Olympiad in 1991 (n=58) and 2001 (n=30). Findings are detailed concerning respondents' academic degrees, employment, publications, schools attended, and perceived quality of mathematical education. Respondents' views about education were conservative and…

KSC-2013-2212

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The winning students and their teachers of the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition show off their awards after a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left are sponsoring teacher Angela Weeks and Junior Division first runner-up Gaurav Garg of Beckendorff Junior High in Katy, Texas sponsoring teacher Elaine Gillum and Senior Division grand prize winner Jacob Yoshitake of Marshall Middle School in San Diego, Calif. Senior Division first runner-up Laura Herman and sponsoring teacher Jennifer Gordinier of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Senior Division grand prize awardee Hugo Yen and sponsoring teacher Nga Ngo of Troy High in Fullerton, Calif. The challenge, now in its 27th year, reaches out to students from grades seven through 12 from all 50 states and Canada. More than 200,000 students entered the competition. The DuPont Challenge aims to inspire students to excel and achieve in scientific writing and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM. The challenge honors space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew members who gave their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. For more information on the challenge, go to http://thechallenge.dupont.com/sponsors/nasa.php.

Cassini Scientist for a Day: a tactile experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canas, L.; Altobelli, N.

2012-09-01

In September 2011, the Cassini spacecraft took images of three targets and a challenge was launched to all students: to choose the one target they thought would provide the best science and to write an essay explaining their reasons (more information on the "Cassini Scientist for a Day" essay contest official webpage in: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientistforaday10thedition/, run by NASA/JPL) The three targets presented were: Hyperion, Rhea and Titan, and Saturn. The idea behind "Cassini Scientist for a Day: a tactile experience" was to transform each of these images into schematic tactile images, highlighting relevant features apprehended through a tactile key, accompanied by a small text in Braille with some additional information. This initial approach would allow reach a broader community of students, more specifically those with visual impairment disabilities. Through proper implementation and careful study cases the adapted images associated with an explanatory key provide more resources in tactile astronomy. As the 2012 edition approaches a new set of targeted objet images will be once again transformed and adapted to visually impaired students and will aim to reach more students into participate in this international competition and to engage them in a quest to expand their knowledge in the amazing Cassini discoveries and the wonders of Saturn and its moons. As the winning essays will be published on the Cassini website and contest winners invited to participate in a dedicated teleconference with Cassini scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this initiative presents a great chance to all visually impaired students and teachers to participate in an exciting experience. These initiatives must be complemented with further information to strengthen the learning experience. However they stand as a good starting point to tackle further astronomical concepts in the classroom, especially this field that sometimes lacks the resources. Although the images are ready, any feedback received is paramount. With this initiative we would like to make a call to all interested in participating in the implementation of this project in their country. All interested parties will have the images provided in their native languages by sending the text on your native language translated from the English version.

Winning and losing: an evolutionary approach to mood disorders and their therapy.

PubMed

Sloman, Leon; Sturman, Edward D; Price, John S

2011-06-01

To advance a new evolutionary model that examines the effects of winning and losing on mood and physiological variables. Previous studies have focused on the involuntary defeat strategy in de-escalating conflict. Here, we propose that there also exists an involuntary winning strategy (IWS) that is triggered by success and characterized by euphoria and increased self-confidence. It motivates efforts to challenge, and promotes reconciliation. Previous studies are presented, including data on student athletes, demonstrating the impact of winning and losing on mood. Winning is consistently shown to be related to physiological changes such as increased testosterone and serotonin levels in primates. It reliably leads to mood changes that serve to motivate winners to continue their competitive efforts. When the IWS functions optimally, success leads to success in an adaptive cycle. Over time, the initial differences between the winners and losers of agonistic encounters become magnified in a process known as difference amplification. As a result of assortative mating, the children of people who have entered into an adaptive cycle will inherit traits from both parents that will, in turn, give them an increased competitive advantage. In this manner, difference amplification could have accelerated human evolution by natural selection. Vignettes of clinical interventions are also used to illustrate therapeutic strategies designed to disrupt maladaptive cycles and promote adaptive behaviour.

Backing the winners and the research infrastructure.

PubMed

Leliveld, H

1985-04-26

The industrial policy of the Dutch government is a priority area policy, that backs the winners of today and, even more, the potential winners of tomorrow. Important elements of this policy are the selection of high-chance activities, setting up new and informal relationships, promoting co-operation and supporting industrial research and development. To this end the government has set up Innovative Research Programmes and an Innovation Stimulation Scheme. Co-operation of universities and industry is essential for these programmes to succeed. Also international co-operation is a precondition to a firm position of European industry. The establishment of the Center for Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences is entirely in line with the objectives of this policy.

Glooveth: healthy living, fun and serious gaming.

PubMed

Macías, Enric; García, Oscar; Moreno, Pau; Presno, Maria Montserrat; Forrest, Tallulah

2012-01-01

Serious Games and Gamification deliver powerful and truthful experiences by providing the user with goals, challenges, problem solving and rules, besides a clear internal value and an interactive experience. In fact, Serious Games can be considered memorable experiences that deliver intense moments with the support of different platforms and social networks while ensuring high degrees of motivation, efficiency and performance. Here, we describe Glooveth, an educational game for children ages 6 to 12 years, which was the winner of the Silver Award in the Global eHealth Challenge 2010. Glooveth is a platform computer game that teaches healthy living. We developed a game to be used by three different peripherals: a mouse and two special gloves. These peripherals provide the user with a more intense gameplaying and learning experience. The paper explains the project, from concept to application to usability testing.

A Truthful Incentive Mechanism for Online Recruitment in Mobile Crowd Sensing System

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiao; Liu, Min; Zhou, Yaqin; Li, Zhongcheng; Chen, Shuang; He, Xiangnan

2017-01-01

We investigate emerging mobile crowd sensing (MCS) systems, in which new cloud-based platforms sequentially allocate homogenous sensing jobs to dynamically-arriving users with uncertain service qualities. Given that human beings are selfish in nature, it is crucial yet challenging to design an efficient and truthful incentive mechanism to encourage users to participate. To address the challenge, we propose a novel truthful online auction mechanism that can efficiently learn to make irreversible online decisions on winner selections for new MCS systems without requiring previous knowledge of users. Moreover, we theoretically prove that our incentive possesses truthfulness, individual rationality and computational efficiency. Extensive simulation results under both real and synthetic traces demonstrate that our incentive mechanism can reduce the payment of the platform, increase the utility of the platform and social welfare. PMID:28045441

VAST Challenge 2016: Streaming Visual Analytics

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-25

understand rapidly evolving situations. To support such tasks, visual analytics solutions must move well beyond systems that simply provide real-time...received. Mini-Challenge 1: Design Challenge Mini-Challenge 1 focused on systems to support security and operational analytics at the Euybia...Challenge 1 was to solicit novel approaches for streaming visual analytics that push the boundaries for what constitutes a visual analytics system , and to

Heart of the Solution - Energy Frontiers (A "Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research" contest entry from the 2011 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum)

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

Green, Peter F.

"Heart of the Solution- Energy Frontiers" was submitted by the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion (CSTEC) to the "Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research" video contest at the 2011 Science for Our Nation's Energy Future: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) Summit and Forum. Twenty-six EFRCs created short videos to highlight their mission and their work. This video was both the People's Choice Award winner and selected as one of five winners by a distinguished panel of judges for its "exemplary explanation of the role of an Energy Frontier Research Center". The Center for Solar and Thermal Energymore » Conversion is directed by Peter F. Green at the University of Michigan. The Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science established the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) in 2009. These collaboratively-organized centers conduct fundamental research focused on 'grand challenges' and use-inspired 'basic research needs' recently identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community. The overall purpose is to accelerate scientific progress toward meeting the nation's critical energy challenges. The mission of the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion is 'to study complex material structures on the nanoscale to identify key features for their potential use as materials to convert solar energy and heat to electricity.' Research topics are: solar photovoltaic, photonic, optics, solar thermal, thermoelectric, phonons, thermal conductivity, solar electrodes, defects, ultrafast physics, interfacial characterization, matter by design, novel materials synthesis, charge transport, and self-assembly.« less

Global Power Play--Competition Winners Light Up the World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tech Directions, 2012

2012-01-01

This year's "Tech Directions" Inventors Competition asked students to come up with ways to provide electricity to remote villages that traditional electrical utilities have not yet reached. This article presents the results of the judging by inventor/electrical engineer Harry T. Roman. The winners are: (1) First Place--Scott Hulver,…

Cynthia J. Najdowski: Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award. The 2012 winner is Cynthia J. Najdowski for an outstanding research paper that examines how jurors' judgments are influenced by a juvenile defendant's confession and status as intellectually disabled. Through…

Angela J. Grippo: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The 2012 winner is Angela J. Grippo for her creative contributions in investigating the association between depression and cardiovascular disease in preclinical animal models.…

Laurie R. Santos: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The 2012 winner is Laurie R. Santos for creative and insightful investigations of cognition across a broad range of species and psychological domains, illuminating cognitive…

Marguerita Lightfoot: Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. The 2012 winner is Marguerita Lightfoot for her leadership, innovation, and commitment to applying psychological principles to develop behavioral health interventions for…

A Vision of Excellence. The National Search for Excellence Awards in Rehabilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

J.M. Foundation, New York, NY.

This publication provides information on 1989 winners of the Search for Excellence award for outstanding vocational service programs for people with disabilities. A history and description of the search appears first. A winner and two finalists are described in each of four categories. An introduction to each category discusses typical applicant…

Chapter Innovators Guide, 2000: Models of Innovation Award Winners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National FFA Organization, Indianapolis, IN.

This guide presents the Future Farmers of America (FFA) 2000 Model of Innovation award winners' projects. Chapters demonstrated abilities to identify goals and objectives, create a workable plan of action, attain and evaluate results, and identify items learned and ways to improve. Chapter 1 discusses the FFA National Chapter Award program that…

Suspense at the Ballot Box

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kell, Nat; Kretchmar, Matt

2013-01-01

In the popular television show "Survivor", the winner of a million-dollar prize is determined in a final election, where the votes are read aloud as the winner is announced. We hypothesize that the show's producers purposely alter the order of the ballots in order to build audience suspense. We test our hypothesis using the Poisson binomial…

Winners of the First 1960 Televised Presidential Debate between Kennedy and Nixon.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraus, Sidney

1996-01-01

Reviews the events, studies, and comments (from 1960 to the present) regarding the controversial question of who won the first 1960 televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. Supports the view that, for television viewers, Kennedy was the winner, whereas radio listeners gave Nixon the edge. (SR)

Ages of Oscar-Winning Best Actors and Actresses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Richard; Davis, Gretchen

1990-01-01

Presents an activity considering whether a difference exists in the age of Oscar winners. Describes how to draw a stem plot and a box plot as an example of implementing the recommendations of the NCTM Standards. Provides tables showing the name, movie titles, and ages of the Oscar winners since 1928. (YP)

Dan Olweus: Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy. The 2012 winner is Dan Olweus for his rigorous scientific research on bullying among children and youth and his early and tireless attention to its public policy implications. Dan Olweus's…

"You're a Guaranteed Winner": Composing "You" in a Consumer Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ewald, Helen Rothschild; Vann, Roberta

2003-01-01

Examines direct mailing included in a nationally publicized court case. Articulates how the use of particular genre-based, rhetorical and linguistic strategies in these mailing construct reader identity. Argues that the documents use you-attitude to construct the identity of the reader as winner and to establish the reader's identity as the…

KSC-2014-2071

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Members of the winning teams in the International Space Apps Challenge display their Galactic Problem Solver certificates. From left are SpaceWear team members Keith Hargett and Alejandro Velasco, and Astronaut Resource Managing System team members Roberto Ricci, Sam Neblett, and James Brucato. Caley Burke, the NASA event organizer lead, is at right. Kennedy Space Center hosted one of the over 90 locations around the world where participants congregated for the attempt to design innovative solutions for global challenges over a 48-hour period. This year's development marathon focused on five NASA mission areas: Asteroids, Earth Watch, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Technology in Space. Three of this year’s challenges were developed by KSC employees: Space Wearables: Fashion Designer to Astronauts, Growing Food for a Martian Table, and Asteroid Prospector. The winners selected in 2014 at Kennedy were Astronaut Resource Managing System, or ARMS, for Best Use of Data and SpaceWear for Best Use of Hardware. ARMS also took the People's Choice Award. For more information, visit https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2014-2067

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronaut Resource Managing System team members Sam Neblett of KSC Technik Inc., left, and Roberto Ricci participate in the International Space Apps Challenge in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Kennedy Space Center hosted one of the over 90 locations around the world where participants congregated for the attempt to design innovative solutions for global challenges over a 48-hour period. This year's development marathon focused on five NASA mission areas: Asteroids, Earth Watch, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Technology in Space. Three of this year’s challenges were developed by KSC employees: Space Wearables: Fashion Designer to Astronauts, Growing Food for a Martian Table, and Asteroid Prospector. The winners selected in 2014 at Kennedy were Astronaut Resource Managing System, or ARMS, for Best Use of Data and SpaceWear for Best Use of Hardware. ARMS also took the People's Choice Award. For more information, visit https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2014-2070

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceWear team members Keith Hargett, left, and Alejandro Velasco demonstrate their entry in the International Space Apps Challenge to NASA Ground Systems Development and Operation Program Manager Michael Bolger and NASA's Lisa Singleton in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Kennedy Space Center hosted one of the over 90 locations around the world where participants congregated for the attempt to design innovative solutions for global challenges over a 48-hour period. This year's development marathon focused on five NASA mission areas: Asteroids, Earth Watch, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Technology in Space. Three of this year’s challenges were developed by KSC employees: Space Wearables: Fashion Designer to Astronauts, Growing Food for a Martian Table, and Asteroid Prospector. The winners selected in 2014 at Kennedy were Astronaut Resource Managing System, or ARMS, for Best Use of Data and SpaceWear for Best Use of Hardware. ARMS also took the People's Choice Award. For more information, visit https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2012-1545

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-23

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The winners of NASA’s Quality and Safety Achievement Recognition, or QASAR, awards for 2011 pose for a group portrait during NASA’s ninth annual Project Management Challenge. From left are Teri Hamlin, Johnson Space Center Joseph B. Hamilton, Kennedy Space Center Francis “Frank” Merceret, Kennedy Space Center and Venki Venkat, Langley Research Center. Kennedy retiree Humberto "Bert" T. Garrido, not pictured, also received the award. NASA's QASAR award recognizes individual government and contractor employees who have demonstrated exemplary performance in contributing to the quality or safety of products, services, processes, or management programs and activities. PM Challenge 2012 was held at the Caribe Royale Hotel and Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., on February 22-23, to provide a forum for all stakeholders in the project management community to meet and share stories, lessons learned and new uses of technology in the industry. The PM Challenge is sponsored by NASA's Office of the Chief Engineer. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/pmchallenge/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Cue competition affects temporal dynamics of edge-assignment in human visual cortex.

PubMed

Brooks, Joseph L; Palmer, Stephen E

2011-03-01

Edge-assignment determines the perception of relative depth across an edge and the shape of the closer side. Many cues determine edge-assignment, but relatively little is known about the neural mechanisms involved in combining these cues. Here, we manipulated extremal edge and attention cues to bias edge-assignment such that these two cues either cooperated or competed. To index their neural representations, we flickered figure and ground regions at different frequencies and measured the corresponding steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEPs). Figural regions had stronger SSVEP responses than ground regions, independent of whether they were attended or unattended. In addition, competition and cooperation between the two edge-assignment cues significantly affected the temporal dynamics of edge-assignment processes. The figural SSVEP response peaked earlier when the cues causing it cooperated than when they competed, but sustained edge-assignment effects were equivalent for cooperating and competing cues, consistent with a winner-take-all outcome. These results provide physiological evidence that figure-ground organization involves competitive processes that can affect the latency of figural assignment.

Spring Research Festival and NICBR Collaboration Winners Announced | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer, and Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer The winners of the 2014 Spring Research Festival (SRF), held May 7 and 8, were recognized on July 2, and included 20 NCI at Frederick researchers: Matthew Anderson, Victor Ayala, Matt Bess, Cristina Bergamaschi, Charlotte Choi, Rami Doueiri, Laura Guasch Pamies, Diana Haines, Saadia Iftikhar, Maria

Bernice Lott: Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. The 2012 winner is Bernice Lott. Lott's commitment to the public interest has always guided her career, as her groundbreaking research on gender, ethnicity, and race…

Will the XQ "Super Schools" Live Up to Their Name?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo, Alexander

2017-01-01

Halfway through September 2016--roughly a year after the contest was launched--"XQ: The Super School Project" announced its 10 high school design-team winners at a "Facebook Live" event in Washington, D.C. Originally intended to result in just five winners, the XQ project was open to anyone who thought that they could…

Institute of Museum and Library Services National Award for Museum Service, 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, DC.

This document announces the winners of the 2000 National Award for Museum Service. The award winners demonstrate the kind of influence and impact museums can bring to community life. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, New York) enjoys an international reputation for its collection of modern and contemporary art and its innovative special…

The Nobel Peace Prizes as Teaching Tools. Educational Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrams, Irwin

1994-01-01

Asserts that the Nobel Peace Prize provides a gateway for teaching the critical issue of peace in history courses. Presents an overview of the origin, development, and history of the Nobel Peace Prize, with special focus on U.S. winners. Includes six suggested student projects and a list of U.S. Nobel Peace Prize winners. (CFR)

Chapter Innovators Guide, 2001: Models of Innovation Award Winners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National FFA Organization, Indianapolis, IN.

This document presents the activities that received Future Farmers of America's (FFA's) Model of Innovation awards in 2001. The booklet begins with an overview of the FFA National Chapter Award program and a list of the 2001 Models of Innovation Winners. The next three sections profile award-winning activities in the following areas of the three…

An Interview with Toni Watt, 2004 Award Winner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Chemical Education, 2004

2004-01-01

Toni Austin Watt, the winner of the 2004 James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching says that she was always an average student and had to invest more time in improving her skills and getting experiences, thus she is exhilarated that her efforts have received such acclaim and is honored that people thought her efforts were…

National Academic Award Winners over Time: Their Family Situation, Education and Interpersonal Relations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sekowski, Andrzej; Siekanska, Malgorzata

2008-01-01

The article presents the results of a study focusing on the family situation, education and interpersonal relations of adults (26-35 years old) who in their adolescence (16-19 years old) displayed exceptional giftedness. One group of those surveyed were national academic award winners (90). The control group consisted of 90 people of no…

Steven MacCall: Winner of LJ's 2010 Teaching Award

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, John N., III

2010-01-01

This article profiles Steven L. MacCall, winner of "Library Journal's" 2010 Teaching Award. An associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, MacCall was nominated by Kathie Popadin, known as "Kpop" to the members of her cohort in the online MLIS program at SLIS. Sixteen of…

Mrs. Chandrasekhar poses with contest winners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Mrs. Lalitha Chandrasekhar (left), wife of the late Indian- American Nobel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, poses with a model of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the winners of the contest to rename the telescope in the TRW Media Hospitality Tent at the NASA Press Site at KSC. The winners of the contest are Jatila van der Veen (center), academic coordinator and lecturer, Physics Dept., University of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Tyrel Johnson (right), high school student, Laclede, Idaho. The name 'Chandra,' a shortened version of Chandrasekhar's name which he preferred among friends and colleagues, was chosen to honor the Nobel Laureate. 'Chandra' also means 'Moon' or 'luminous' in Sanskrit. The observatory is scheduled to be launched aboard Columbia on Space Shuttle mission STS-93.

KSC-99pp0939

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-07-16

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- George Meguiar (left) presents a scholarship award to Kyla Davis Horn, of Cocoa Beach, one of the winners of an essay contest related to the 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11. Meguiar and George English (second from right) head the Apollo 11 Commemoration Association who sponsored the contest in conjunction with Florida Today newspaper. The other scholarship winner is Kyle Rukaczewski, of Satellite Beach (far right). A third winner, Jason Gagnon, of Viera, was unable to attend. The presentation was made at the Apollo/Saturn V Center during an anniversary banquet that honored all the people who made the Apollo Program possible. Special guests included former Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Gene Cernan and Walt Cunningham, who shared their experiences with the audience

Data Visualization Challenges and Opportunities in User-Oriented Application Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilone, D.; Quinn, P.; Mitchell, A. E.; Baynes, K.; Shum, D.

2015-12-01

This talk introduces the audience to some of the very real challenges associated with visualizing data from disparate data sources as encountered during the development of real world applications. In addition to the fundamental challenges of dealing with the data and imagery, this talk discusses usability problems encountered while trying to provide interactive and user-friendly visualization tools. At the end of this talk the audience will be aware of some of the pitfalls of data visualization along with tools and techniques to help mitigate them. There are many sources of variable resolution visualizations of science data available to application developers including NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), however integrating and leveraging visualizations in modern applications faces a number of challenges, including: - Varying visualized Earth "tile sizes" resulting in challenges merging disparate sources - Multiple visualization frameworks and toolkits with varying strengths and weaknesses - Global composite imagery vs. imagery matching EOSDIS granule distribution - Challenges visualizing geographically overlapping data with different temporal bounds - User interaction with overlapping or collocated data - Complex data boundaries and shapes combined with multi-orbit data and polar projections - Discovering the availability of visualizations and the specific parameters, color palettes, and configurations used to produce them In addition to discussing the challenges and approaches involved in visualizing disparate data, we will discuss solutions and components we'll be making available as open source to encourage reuse and accelerate application development.

Researcher Supported by Atomic Energy Commission and U.S. Department of

Science.gov Websites

Energy is Co-Winner Of 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics October 7, 2008 Researcher Supported by Atomic Energy Commission and U.S. Department of Energy is Co-Winner Of 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics -winning the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for their theoretical insights that provide a deeper understanding

Society News: RAS Fellows are honoured with awards; Patrick Moore Medal; Best theses win prizes; New Fellows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-08-01

Congratulations to several Fellows of the RAS who have received prestigious awards this year. Congratulations to the winners of the annual prizes for the best PhD theses in astronomy and geophysics, awarded by the RAS and sponsored by Wiley-Blackwell. Winners receive a cheque for £1000, runners-up £50.

In the Hunger Games, the Winner Takes Everything.

PubMed

Püschel, Franziska; Muñoz-Pinedo, Cristina

2017-10-01

Entosis is an atypical form of cell death that occurs when a cell engulfs and kills another cell. A recent article by Overholtzer and colleagues indicates that glucose deprivation promotes entosis. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in the loser cells triggers their engulfment and elimination by winner cells, which endure starvation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Excellence in Workplace Literacy, Large Business Winner, 2001: The North West Company. Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Alison

The North West Company (NWC), which is the leading retailer of food and everyday products and services to remote communities across northern Canada and Alaska, was the large business winner of the Excellence in Workplace Literacy award in 2001. NWC's workplace literacy program was selected for an award because of the improvements it brought, not…

The Great Unknown: Daniel Handler Interviews National Book Award-Winner Judy Blundell

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handler, Daniel

2009-01-01

This article presents an interview with National Book Award-winner Judy Blundell. For nearly 20 years, Blundell has toiled in anonymity, turning out more than 100 mysteries, romances, and media tie-ins under various pen names, such as Jude Watson. But in mid-November, the writer-for-hire was suddenly shoved into the spotlight. That's when "What I…

Coretta Scott King Award Winner Javaka Steptoe Stands Tall "In Daddy's Arms."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peck, Jackie; Hendershot, Judy

1999-01-01

Offers an interview with artist and author Javaka Steptoe, winner of the Coretta Scott King award for his book "In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers." Discusses his background in the arts, the variety of media he uses, how he begins thinking about his illustrations, his work with children's art, and aspects of his work.…

Does the Integration of Haptic and Visual Cues Reduce the Effect of a Biased Visual Reference Frame on the Subjective Head Orientation?

PubMed Central

Gueguen, Marc; Vuillerme, Nicolas; Isableu, Brice

2012-01-01

Background The selection of appropriate frames of reference (FOR) is a key factor in the elaboration of spatial perception and the production of robust interaction with our environment. The extent to which we perceive the head axis orientation (subjective head orientation, SHO) with both accuracy and precision likely contributes to the efficiency of these spatial interactions. A first goal of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of both the visual and egocentric FOR (centre-of-mass) in the SHO processing. A second goal was to investigate humans' ability to process SHO in various sensory response modalities (visual, haptic and visuo-haptic), and the way they modify the reliance to either the visual or egocentric FORs. A third goal was to question whether subjects combined visual and haptic cues optimally to increase SHO certainty and to decrease the FORs disruption effect. Methodology/Principal Findings Thirteen subjects were asked to indicate their SHO while the visual and/or egocentric FORs were deviated. Four results emerged from our study. First, visual rod settings to SHO were altered by the tilted visual frame but not by the egocentric FOR alteration, whereas no haptic settings alteration was observed whether due to the egocentric FOR alteration or the tilted visual frame. These results are modulated by individual analysis. Second, visual and egocentric FOR dependency appear to be negatively correlated. Third, the response modality enrichment appears to improve SHO. Fourth, several combination rules of the visuo-haptic cues such as the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), Winner-Take-All (WTA) or Unweighted Mean (UWM) rule seem to account for SHO improvements. However, the UWM rule seems to best account for the improvement of visuo-haptic estimates, especially in situations with high FOR incongruence. Finally, the data also indicated that FOR reliance resulted from the application of UWM rule. This was observed more particularly, in the visual dependent subject. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings emphasize the importance of identifying individual spatial FOR preferences to assess the efficiency of our interaction with the environment whilst performing spatial tasks. PMID:22509295

Winners of student essay contest receive awards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

At the Apollo/Saturn V Center, George Meguiar (center left) and George English (center right) present scholarships to two students who entered an essay contest in conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11. The winners shown are Kyla Davis Horn, of Cocoa Beach, and Kyle Rukaczewski, of Satellite Beach. A third winner, Jason Gagnon, of Viera, was unable to attend. Meguiar and English head the Apollo 11 Commemoration Association which sponsored the contest in conjunction with Florida Today newspaper. The presentation was made at the Apollo/Saturn V Center during an anniversary banquet that honored all the people who made the Apollo Program possible. Special guests included former Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, Gene Cernan and Walt Cunningham, who shared their experiences with the audience.

77 FR 64851 - Announcement Date Postponed for the Grand Prize Winner Announcement for the America COMPETES...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-23

...On March 22, 2012, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a notice in the Federal Register (77 FR 16895) to announce the launch of VA's Project REACH Homelessness Mobile App Contest, authorized under section 105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2011. Project REACH leadership has decided to postpone announcement of the Grand Prize Winner until no later than 11 p.m. on December 31, 2012. Postponing the announcement will provide participants with a greater opportunity to receive recognition for their dedication and efforts to end Veteran homelessness. This notice serves as an update to the original notice affecting only the announcement date for the Grand Prize Winner. All rules and requirements outlined in the March 22, 2012, Federal Register notice will remain in effect.

KSC-2013-2213

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The winning students and their teachers of the 2013 DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition show off their awards after a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left are, Kelvin Manning, the center's associate deputy director sponsoring teacher Angela Weeks and Junior Division first runner-up Gaurav Garg of Beckendorff Junior High in Katy, Texas sponsoring teacher Elaine Gillum and Senior Division grand prize winner Jacob Yoshitake of Marshall Middle School in San Diego, Calif. Senior Division first runner-up Laura Herman and sponsoring teacher Jennifer Gordinier of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Senior Division grand prize awardee Hugo Yen and sponsoring teacher Nga Ngo of Troy High in Fullerton, Calif. The challenge, now in its 27th year, reaches out to students from grades seven through 12 from all 50 states and Canada. More than 200,000 students entered the competition. The DuPont Challenge aims to inspire students to excel and achieve in scientific writing and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM. The challenge honors space shuttle Challenger's STS-51L crew members who gave their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. For more information on the challenge, go to http://thechallenge.dupont.com/sponsors/nasa.php.

Acquisition and Retention of Team Coordination in Command-and-Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

Pedersen Jennifer Winner Jasmine Duran Amanda Taylor Polemnia G. Amazeen Dee H. Andrews Leah Rowe Cognitive Engineering Research Institute 5810 S...Winner, Jasmine Duran, Amanda Taylor, Polemnia G. Amazeen, Dee H. Andrews, and Leah Rowe 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 1123AM02 7. PERFORMING...Psychology, ASU Polytechnic Consultant Nia Amazeen, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Psychology, ASU Graduate Students Jasmine Duran, CERI & ASU Jamie C

Forum Futures: Exploring the Future of Higher Education, 2000 Papers. Forum Strategy Series, Volume 3. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devlin, Maureen E., Ed.; Meyerson, Joel W., Ed.

This book summarizes presentations and discussions from the Fall 1999 symposium of the Forum for the Future of Higher Education. Part 1, "Winner-Take-All Markets," includes: (1) "Higher Education: The Ultimate Winner-Take-All Market?" (Robert H. Frank); (2) "The Return to Attending a More Selective College: 1960 to the…

Winners and losers. Corporate tax overhaul would have very different effects for various healthcare sectors.

PubMed

Kutscher, Beth

2013-04-15

Washington is in the mood for a corporate tax overhaul, but not every segment of healthcare will like the result. One proposed change cracks down on opportunities for companies to shift profits on intellectual property to countries with lower tax rates---a tactic frequently deployed by the pharmaceutical industry. Providers and insurers would be winners under the proposals.

ACCE/ACS National Educator and Leader of the Year Winners: AEC Congratulates These Outstanding Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Australian Educational Computing, 2012

2012-01-01

This article presents the ACCE/ACS National Educator and Leader of the Year winners. Anne Mirtschin is the recipient of the ACCE/ACS 2012 Educator of the Year Award. Mirtschin is an innovative teacher at Hawkesdale P-12 College a small rural school that is isolated culturally and geographically. She uses online tools and technology to create…

The Newbery/Printz Companion: Booktalk and Related Materials for Award Winners and Honor Books, Third Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillespie, John T.; Naden, Corinne J.

2006-01-01

This comprehensive and practical guide to the influential Newbery and Printz awards for children's and young adult literature provides information on each year's winners and honor books, as well as on the awards themselves and the librarians for whom they are named. For each award-winning book, there is a plot summary, list of characters and…

The effects of national cash awards for science teaching on recipients and their peers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weld, Jeffrey Donn

Cash teaching awards available to science teachers in the U.S. have goals to improve science teaching. This study assessed the effectiveness of five national cash award programs at identifying exemplars and inspiring better science teaching. Award winning secondary science teachers provided their perceptions of the effects of an award on their own teaching and on the profession as a whole. Randomly selected secondary science teachers across the U.S. reported their perceptions of the effects of the existence of awards on their own teaching and on the profession. Program directors for the five national cash awards were interviewed to determine the intentions and strategies of their award programs. The criteria that guide the selection of award winners were found to align with research-supported exemplar characteristics, but the methods used for identifying outstanding teachers were found to be inadequate for that purpose. Award winning science teachers perceive awards to result from, rather than to inspire, good teaching. Their motivation derives from student achievement and a job well done. The valued effects of winning an award are the recognition and increased respect that follow. Award winners perceive awards as difficult to win, minimally motivating, and frequently causing of dissension among peers. In most respects award winners perceive increased intrinsic rewards to accompany recognition through cash awards. Randomly selected U.S. science teachers who have not won cash awards perceive them as poor motivational incentives because too few awards exist, the basis for recognition is unclear, and the award itself is not a valued outcome. Most science teachers consider themselves good teachers and would apply for an award despite doubts that they would win. Direct comparisons reveal that winners and nonwinners have widely divergent opinions of awards. Winners of lesser cash amounts have the same perceptions of awards as winners of greater cash amounts. Effective award programs, or other incentives for teacher improvement should: (1) publicize widely; (2) require minimal applications; (3) employ expert, trained evaluators; (4) use clear and consistent guidelines; (5) facilitate expert pedagogy; and (6) award all teachers who attain a standard of excellence.

The effects of competition and implicit power motive on men's testosterone, emotion recognition, and aggression.

PubMed

Vongas, John G; Al Hajj, Raghid

2017-06-01

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition. We investigated the effects of competition on men's testosterone levels and assessed whether androgen reactivity was associated with subsequent emotion recognition and reactive and proactive aggression. We also explored whether personalized power (p Power) moderated these relationships. In Study 1, 84 males competed on a number tracing task and interpreted emotions from facial expressions. In Study 2, 72 males competed on the same task and were assessed on proactive and reactive aggression. In both studies, contrary to the biosocial model of status (Mazur, 1985), winners' testosterone levels decreased significantly while losers' levels increased, albeit not significantly. Personalized power moderated the effect of competition outcome on testosterone change in both studies. Using the aggregate sample, we found that the effect of decreased testosterone levels among winners (compared to losers) was significant for individuals low in p Power but not for those with medium or high p Power. Testosterone change was positively related to emotion recognition, but unrelated to either aggression subtype. The testosterone-mediated relationship between winning and losing and emotion recognition was moderated by p Power. In addition, p Power moderated the direct (i.e., non-testosterone mediated) path between competition outcome and emotion recognition and both types of aggression: high p-Power winners were more accurate at deciphering others' emotions than high p-Power losers. Finally, among high p-Power men, winners aggressed more proactively than losers, whereas losers aggressed more reactively than winners. Collectively, these studies highlight the importance of implicit power motivation in modulating hormonal, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes arising from human competition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Stock Performance of C. Everett Koop Award Winners Compared With the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

PubMed

Goetzel, Ron Z; Fabius, Raymond; Fabius, Dan; Roemer, Enid C; Thornton, Nicole; Kelly, Rebecca K; Pelletier, Kenneth R

2016-01-01

To explore the link between companies investing in the health and well-being programs of their employees and stock market performance. Stock performance of C. Everett Koop National Health Award winners (n = 26) was measured over time and compared with the average performance of companies comprising the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 Index. The Koop Award portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 Index. In the 14-year period tracked (2000-2014), Koop Award winners' stock values appreciated by 325% compared with the market average appreciation of 105%. This study supports prior and ongoing research demonstrating a higher market valuation--an affirmation of business success by Wall Street investors--of socially responsible companies that invest in the health and well-being of their workers when compared with other publicly traded firms.

The Challenges of Educating the Visually Impaired and Quality Assurance in Tertiary Institutions of Learning in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Omede, Andrew A.

2015-01-01

This paper focused on the challenges in educating the visually impaired and modalities for ensuring quality assurance in tertiary institutions of learning in Nigeria. It examined the global challenges in the higher educational system and made it clear that the visually impaired are those with visual problems be it partial, low vision, or total…

7 Key Challenges for Visualization in Cyber Network Defense

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

Best, Daniel M.; Endert, Alexander; Kidwell, Dan

In this paper we present seven challenges, informed by two user studies, to be considered when developing a visualization for cyber security purposes. Cyber security visualizations must go beyond isolated solutions and “pretty picture” visualizations in order to make impact to users. We provide an example prototype that addresses the challenges with a description of how they are met. Our aim is to assist in increasing utility and adoption rates for visualization capabilities in cyber security.

Near Real Time Integration of Satellite and Radar Data for Probabilistic Nearcasting of Severe Weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilone, D.; Quinn, P.; Mitchell, A. E.; Baynes, K.; Shum, D.

2014-12-01

This talk introduces the audience to some of the very real challenges associated with visualizing data from disparate data sources as encountered during the development of real world applications. In addition to the fundamental challenges of dealing with the data and imagery, this talk discusses usability problems encountered while trying to provide interactive and user-friendly visualization tools. At the end of this talk the audience will be aware of some of the pitfalls of data visualization along with tools and techniques to help mitigate them. There are many sources of variable resolution visualizations of science data available to application developers including NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), however integrating and leveraging visualizations in modern applications faces a number of challenges, including: - Varying visualized Earth "tile sizes" resulting in challenges merging disparate sources - Multiple visualization frameworks and toolkits with varying strengths and weaknesses - Global composite imagery vs. imagery matching EOSDIS granule distribution - Challenges visualizing geographically overlapping data with different temporal bounds - User interaction with overlapping or collocated data - Complex data boundaries and shapes combined with multi-orbit data and polar projections - Discovering the availability of visualizations and the specific parameters, color palettes, and configurations used to produce them In addition to discussing the challenges and approaches involved in visualizing disparate data, we will discuss solutions and components we'll be making available as open source to encourage reuse and accelerate application development.

Pulse-firing winner-take-all networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meador, Jack L.

1991-01-01

Winner-take-all (WTA) neural networks using pulse-firing processing elements are introduced. In the pulse-firing WTA (PWTA) networks described, input and activation signal shunting is controlled by one shared lateral inhibition signal. This organization yields an O(n) area complexity that is convenient for integrated circuit implementation. Appropriately specified network parameters allow for the accurate continuous evaluation of inputs using a signal representation compatible with established pulse-firing neural network implementations.

Making the Year 2000 a Sure Winner. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Atlantic Coast Business and Marketing Education Conference (16th, Raleigh, North Carolina, February 19-20, 1999).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stallings, Patricia, Ed.

This document contains 21 presentations from a conference on business and marketing education. The following papers are included: "Business and Marketing Education: In Tune with the Times" (Clarice P. Brantley); "Portfolio Assessment--A Sure Winner" (Ann Bullock); "The Effect of the Year 2000 on Web Page Maintenance"…

Stull Repeats as Chili Champ | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Ken Michaels, Staff Writer Jim Stull, winner of the ninth annual Protective Services Chili Cookoff in January of last year, proved that he’s no one-trick pony; he brought a brand new recipe to the 2013 event and won again! And he did it decisively. His Black Bean ‘n Pumpkin Chili garnered 107 points; the second place winner netted less than half that with 52. “For me, a

Continuous Competition as an Approach to Maximize Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

for an entire program life-cycle often endows the winner with a very strong monopolistic power that lasts for decades. This paper describes...entrenched practice of one-time competition for an entire program life-cycle often endows the winner with a very strong monopolistic power that lasts for...contract award. Instead, the winning contractor often establishes monopolistic advantages and gains “vendor lock.” As a result, programs can experience

Widening Disparity and its Suppression in a Stochastic Replicator Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakaguchi, Hidetsugu

2016-04-01

Winner-take-all phenomena are observed in various competitive systems. We find similar phenomena in replicator models with randomly fluctuating growth rates. The disparity between winners and losers increases indefinitely, even if all elements are statistically equivalent. A lognormal distribution describes well the nonstationary time evolution. If a nonlinear load corresponding to progressive taxation is introduced, a stationary distribution is obtained and disparity widening is suppressed.

The activity profile of elite male amateur boxing.

PubMed

Davis, Philip; Benson, Peter R; Pitty, James D; Connorton, Andrew J; Waldock, Robert

2015-01-01

An activity profile of competitive 3 × 3-min elite-level amateur boxing was created from video footage of 29 Olympic final and semifinal bouts in 39 male boxers (mean ± SD) age 25.1 ± 3.6 y, height 178.3 ± 10.4 cm, and body mass 69.7 ± 16.5 kg. Boxing at this level requires the ability to maintain an activity rate of ~1.4 actions/s, consisting of ~20 punches, ~2.5 defensive movements, and ~47 vertical hip movements, all per minute, over 3 subsequent rounds lasting ~200 s each. Winners had higher total punches landed (P = .041) and a lower ratio of punches thrown to landed (P = .027) than losers in round 3. The hook rear-hand landed was also higher for winners than losers in round 2 (P = .038) and round 3 (P = .016), and defensive movements were used less by winners (P = .036). However, the results suggest that technical discrimination between winners and losers is difficult; bout outcome may be more dependent on which punch is "lucky" enough to be scored by the judges or who appears to be dominant on the day. This study gives both boxers and coaches a good idea of where subelite boxers need to aim if they want to become among the best amateur boxers in the world.

Better Pictures in a Snap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Retinex Imaging Processing, winner of NASA's 1999 Space Act Award, is commercially available through TruView Imaging Company. With this technology, amateur photographers use their personal computers to improve the brightness, scene contrast, detail, and overall sharpness of images with increased ease. The process was originally developed for remote sensing of the Earth by researchers at Langley Research Center and Science and Technology Corporation (STC). It automatically enhances a digital image in terms of dynamic range compression, color independence from the spectral distribution of the scene illuminant, and color/lightness rendition. As a result, the enhanced digital image is much closer to the scene perceived by the human visual system, under all kinds and levels of lighting variations. TruView believes there are other applications for the software in medical imaging, forensics, security, recognizance, mining, assembly, and other industrial areas.

KSC-2014-2069

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceWear team members Keith Hargett, left, and Alejandro Velasco explain their entry in the International Space Apps Challenge to an audience in the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. In the audience at left is NASA Ground Systems Development and Operations Program Manager Michael Bolger. Caley Burke, the NASA event organizer lead, is at right. Kennedy Space Center hosted one of the over 90 locations around the world where participants congregated for the attempt to design innovative solutions for global challenges over a 48-hour period. This year's development marathon focused on five NASA mission areas: Asteroids, Earth Watch, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Technology in Space. Three of this year’s challenges were developed by KSC employees: Space Wearables: Fashion Designer to Astronauts, Growing Food for a Martian Table, and Asteroid Prospector. The winners selected in 2014 at Kennedy were Astronaut Resource Managing System, or ARMS, for Best Use of Data and SpaceWear for Best Use of Hardware. ARMS also took the People's Choice Award. For more information, visit https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

ESO's Hidden Treasures Brought to Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-01-01

ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 astrophotography competition attracted nearly 100 entries, and ESO is delighted to announce the winners. Hidden Treasures gave amateur astronomers the opportunity to search ESO's vast archives of astronomical data for a well-hidden cosmic gem. Astronomy enthusiast Igor Chekalin from Russia won the first prize in this difficult but rewarding challenge - the trip of a lifetime to ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile. The pictures of the Universe that can be seen in ESO's releases are impressive. However, many hours of skilful work are required to assemble the raw greyscale data captured by the telescopes into these colourful images, correcting them for distortions and unwanted signatures of the instrument, and enhancing them so as to bring out the details contained in the astronomical data. ESO has a team of professional image processors, but for the ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 competition, the experts decided to give astronomy and photography enthusiasts the opportunity to show the world what they could do with the mammoth amount of data contained in ESO's archives. The enthusiasts who responded to the call submitted nearly 100 entries in total - far exceeding initial expectations, given the difficult nature of the challenge. "We were completely taken aback both by the quantity and the quality of the images that were submitted. This was not a challenge for the faint-hearted, requiring both an advanced knowledge of data processing and an artistic eye. We are thrilled to have discovered so many talented people," said Lars Lindberg Christensen, Head of ESO's education and Public Outreach Department. Digging through many terabytes of professional astronomical data, the entrants had to identify a series of greyscale images of a celestial object that would reveal the hidden beauty of our Universe. The chance of a great reward for the lucky winner was enough to spur on the competitors; the first prize being a trip to ESO's Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile, with guided tours and the opportunity to participate in a night's observations. Runner-up prizes included an iPod, books and DVDs. Furthermore, the highest ranked images will be released for the world to see on www.eso.org as Photo Releases or Pictures of the Week, co-crediting the winners. The jury evaluated the entries based on the quality of the data processing, the originality of the image and the overall aesthetic feel. As several of the highest ranked images were submitted by the same people, the jury decided to make awards to the ten most talented participants, so as to give more people the opportunity to win a prize and reward their hard work and talent. The ten winners of the competition are: * First prize, a trip to Paranal + goodies: Igor Chekalin (Russia). * Second prize, an iPod Touch + goodies: Sergey Stepanenko (Ukraine). * Third Prize, VLT laser cube model + goodies: Andy Strappazzon (Belgium). * Fourth to tenth prizes, Eyes on the Skies Book + DVD + goodies: Joseph (Joe) DePasquale (USA), Manuel (Manu) Mejias (Argentina), Alberto Milani (Italy), Joshua (Josh) Barrington (USA), Oleg Maliy (Ukraine), Adam Kiil (United Kingdom), Javier Fuentes (Chile). The ten winners submitted the twenty highest ranked images: 1. M78 by Igor Chekalin. 2. NGC3169 & NGC3166 and SN 2003cg by Igor Chekalin. 3. NGC6729 by Sergey Stepanenko. 4. The Moon by Andy Strappazzon. 5. NGC 3621 by Joseph (Joe) DePasquale. 6. NGC 371 by Manuel (Manu) Mejias. 7. Dust of Orion Nebula (ESO 2.2m telescope) by Igor Chekalin. 8. NGC1850 EMMI by Sergey Stepanenko. 9. Abell 1060 by Manuel (Manu) Mejias. 10. Celestial Prominences NGC3582 by Joseph DePasquale. 11. Globular Cluster NGC288 by Alberto Milani. 12. Antennae Galaxies by Alberto Milani. 13. Sakurai's Object by Joshua (Josh) Barrington. 14. NGC 1929, N44 Superbubble by Manuel (Manu) Mejias. 15. NGC 3521 by Oleg Maliy. 16. NGC 6744 by Andy Strappazzon. 17. NGC 2217 by Oleg Maliy. 18. VIMOS.2008-01-31T07_16_47j by Adam Kiil. 19. NGC 2467 - number 2 by Josh Barrington. 20. Haffner 18 and 19 by Javier Fuentes. Igor Chekalin, winner of the trip to Paranal, says: "It was a great experience and pleasure to work with such amazing data. As an amateur astrophotographer, this was the most difficult processing and post-processing job I have ever done. My participation in the Hidden Treasures competition gave me a range of challenges, from installing new software to studying techniques and even operating systems that I did not know before." The success of the ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 competition and the enthusiasm of the skilled participants made it easy to decide to run a follow-up to the competition. Stay tuned and check www.eso.org for news about ESO's Hidden Treasures 2011. More information ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Acquisition and Retention of Team Coordination in Command-and-Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-15

Pedersen, Jennifer Winner, Jasmine Duran, Amanda Taylor, Polemnia G. Amazeen, So. TASK NUMBER Dee Andrews, Leah Rowe 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING...and- Control Nancy J. Cooke, Jamie C. Gorman, Harry K. Pedersen, Jennifer Winner, Jasmine Duran, Amanda Taylor, Nia Amazeen, Dee Andrews, and Leah Rowe...Psychology, ASU Graduate Students Jasmine Duran, CERI & ASU Jamie C. Gorman, Ph.D., CERI & NMSU * (Ph.D. obtained Dec. 2006) Harry K. Pedersen, CERI

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat: spontaneous expressions of medal winners of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

PubMed

Matsumoto, David; Willingham, Bob

2006-09-01

Facial behaviors of medal winners of the judo competition at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games were coded with P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen's (1978) Facial Affect Coding System (FACS) and interpreted using their Emotion FACS dictionary. Winners' spontaneous expressions were captured immediately when they completed medal matches, when they received their medal from a dignitary, and when they posed on the podium. The 84 athletes who contributed expressions came from 35 countries. The findings strongly supported the notion that expressions occur in relation to emotionally evocative contexts in people of all cultures, that these expressions correspond to the facial expressions of emotion considered to be universal, that expressions provide information that can reliably differentiate the antecedent situations that produced them, and that expressions that occur without inhibition are different than those that occur in social and interactive settings. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Forecasting a winner for Malaysian Cup 2013 using soccer simulation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusof, Muhammad Mat; Fauzee, Mohd Soffian Omar; Latif, Rozita Abdul

2014-07-01

This paper investigates through soccer simulation the calculation of the probability for each team winning Malaysia Cup 2013. Our methodology used here is we predict the outcomes of individual matches and then we simulate the Malaysia Cup 2013 tournament 5000 times. As match outcomes are always a matter of uncertainty, statistical model, in particular a double Poisson model is used to predict the number of goals scored and conceded for each team. Maximum likelihood estimation is use to measure the attacking strength and defensive weakness for each team. Based on our simulation result, LionXII has a higher probability in becoming the winner, followed by Selangor, ATM, JDT and Kelantan. Meanwhile, T-Team, Negeri Sembilan and Felda United have lower probabilities to win Malaysia Cup 2013. In summary, we find that the probability for each team becominga winner is small, indicating that the level of competitive balance in Malaysia Cup 2013 is quite high.

Selective attention in an insect visual neuron.

PubMed

Wiederman, Steven D; O'Carroll, David C

2013-01-21

Animals need attention to focus on one target amid alternative distracters. Dragonflies, for example, capture flies in swarms comprising prey and conspecifics, a feat that requires neurons to select one moving target from competing alternatives. Diverse evidence, from functional imaging and physiology to psychophysics, highlights the importance of such "competitive selection" in attention for vertebrates. Analogous mechanisms have been proposed in artificial intelligence and even in invertebrates, yet direct neural correlates of attention are scarce from all animal groups. Here, we demonstrate responses from an identified dragonfly visual neuron that perfectly match a model for competitive selection within limits of neuronal variability (r(2) = 0.83). Responses to individual targets moving at different locations within the receptive field differ in both magnitude and time course. However, responses to two simultaneous targets exclusively track those for one target alone rather than any combination of the pair. Irrespective of target size, contrast, or separation, this neuron selects one target from the pair and perfectly preserves the response, regardless of whether the "winner" is the stronger stimulus if presented alone. This neuron is amenable to electrophysiological recordings, providing neuroscientists with a new model system for studying selective attention. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recurrent network dynamics reconciles visual motion segmentation and integration.

PubMed

Medathati, N V Kartheek; Rankin, James; Meso, Andrew I; Kornprobst, Pierre; Masson, Guillaume S

2017-09-12

In sensory systems, a range of computational rules are presumed to be implemented by neuronal subpopulations with different tuning functions. For instance, in primate cortical area MT, different classes of direction-selective cells have been identified and related either to motion integration, segmentation or transparency. Still, how such different tuning properties are constructed is unclear. The dominant theoretical viewpoint based on a linear-nonlinear feed-forward cascade does not account for their complex temporal dynamics and their versatility when facing different input statistics. Here, we demonstrate that a recurrent network model of visual motion processing can reconcile these different properties. Using a ring network, we show how excitatory and inhibitory interactions can implement different computational rules such as vector averaging, winner-take-all or superposition. The model also captures ordered temporal transitions between these behaviors. In particular, depending on the inhibition regime the network can switch from motion integration to segmentation, thus being able to compute either a single pattern motion or to superpose multiple inputs as in motion transparency. We thus demonstrate that recurrent architectures can adaptively give rise to different cortical computational regimes depending upon the input statistics, from sensory flow integration to segmentation.

Multidimensional brain activity dictated by winner-take-all mechanisms.

PubMed

Tozzi, Arturo; Peters, James F

2018-06-21

A novel demon-based architecture is introduced to elucidate brain functions such as pattern recognition during human perception and mental interpretation of visual scenes. Starting from the topological concepts of invariance and persistence, we introduce a Selfridge pandemonium variant of brain activity that takes into account a novel feature, namely, demons that recognize short straight-line segments, curved lines and scene shapes, such as shape interior, density and texture. Low-level representations of objects can be mapped to higher-level views (our mental interpretations): a series of transformations can be gradually applied to a pattern in a visual scene, without affecting its invariant properties. This makes it possible to construct a symbolic multi-dimensional representation of the environment. These representations can be projected continuously to an object that we have seen and continue to see, thanks to the mapping from shapes in our memory to shapes in Euclidean space. Although perceived shapes are 3-dimensional (plus time), the evaluation of shape features (volume, color, contour, closeness, texture, and so on) leads to n-dimensional brain landscapes. Here we discuss the advantages of our parallel, hierarchical model in pattern recognition, computer vision and biological nervous system's evolution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of touch and feel (TAF) technique on first aid measures for visually challenged.

PubMed

Mary, Helen; Sasikalaz, D; Venkatesan, Latha

2013-01-01

There is a common perception that a blind person cannot even help his own self. In order to challenge that view, a workshop for visually-impaired people to develop the skills to be independent and productive members of society was conceived. An experimental study was conducted at National Institute of Visually Handicapped, Chennai with the objective to assess the effectiveness of Touch and Feel (TAF) technique on first aid measures for the visually challenged. Total 25 visually challenged people were selected by non-probability purposive sampling technique and data was collected using demographic variable and structured knowledge questionnaire. The score obtained was categorised into three levels: inadequate (0-8), moderately adequate (8 - 17), adequate (17 -25). The study revealed that most of the visually challenged (40%) had inadequate knowledge, and 56 percent had moderately adequate and only few (4%) had adequate knowledge in the pre-test, whereas most (68%) of them had adequate knowledge in the post-test which is statistically significant at p < 0.000 with t-value 6.779. This proves that TAF technique was effective for the visually challenged. There was no association between the demographic variables and their level of knowledge regarding first aid.

A benchmark for comparison of cell tracking algorithms

PubMed Central

Maška, Martin; Ulman, Vladimír; Svoboda, David; Matula, Pavel; Matula, Petr; Ederra, Cristina; Urbiola, Ainhoa; España, Tomás; Venkatesan, Subramanian; Balak, Deepak M.W.; Karas, Pavel; Bolcková, Tereza; Štreitová, Markéta; Carthel, Craig; Coraluppi, Stefano; Harder, Nathalie; Rohr, Karl; Magnusson, Klas E. G.; Jaldén, Joakim; Blau, Helen M.; Dzyubachyk, Oleh; Křížek, Pavel; Hagen, Guy M.; Pastor-Escuredo, David; Jimenez-Carretero, Daniel; Ledesma-Carbayo, Maria J.; Muñoz-Barrutia, Arrate; Meijering, Erik; Kozubek, Michal; Ortiz-de-Solorzano, Carlos

2014-01-01

Motivation: Automatic tracking of cells in multidimensional time-lapse fluorescence microscopy is an important task in many biomedical applications. A novel framework for objective evaluation of cell tracking algorithms has been established under the auspices of the IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2013 Cell Tracking Challenge. In this article, we present the logistics, datasets, methods and results of the challenge and lay down the principles for future uses of this benchmark. Results: The main contributions of the challenge include the creation of a comprehensive video dataset repository and the definition of objective measures for comparison and ranking of the algorithms. With this benchmark, six algorithms covering a variety of segmentation and tracking paradigms have been compared and ranked based on their performance on both synthetic and real datasets. Given the diversity of the datasets, we do not declare a single winner of the challenge. Instead, we present and discuss the results for each individual dataset separately. Availability and implementation: The challenge Web site (http://www.codesolorzano.com/celltrackingchallenge) provides access to the training and competition datasets, along with the ground truth of the training videos. It also provides access to Windows and Linux executable files of the evaluation software and most of the algorithms that competed in the challenge. Contact: codesolorzano@unav.es Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:24526711

Defense Styles Influencing Career Choice of Visually Challenged Students at Undergraduate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, S. Raja

2016-01-01

Visually challenged students' career choice is influenced by many factors, including life context, personal aptitudes, and educational attainment. This study focuses the defense styles of visually challenged students and also study about their career choice. Survey method has been adopted in this investigation. Totally 77 samples were collected…

Total Quality Management and Applications to the Construction Industry

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

own total quality management process. The Ritz - Carlton Hotel Company, a 1992 Malcolm Baldrige Award winner, already categorizes its suppliers based on...to spend time away from work. The Ritz - Carlton Hotel Company, a 1992 Baldrige Award winner (see Appendix B), requires its employees to receive 126...W0e ned h7es%’ * 75 _ APPENDIX B * How Ritz - Carlton Won THE BALDRIGE AWARD An unswerving focus on continuous improvement helped this luxury hotel

PREFACE: 9th International Conference on X-Ray Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quitmann, Christoph; David, Christian; Nolting, Frithjof; Pfeiffer, Franz; Stampanoni, Marco

2009-09-01

Conference logo This volume compiles the contributions to the International Conference on X-Ray Microscopy (XRM2008) held on 20-25 July 2008 in Zurich, Switzerland. The conference was the ninth in a series which started in Göttingen in 1984. Over the years the XRM conference series has served as a forum bringing together all relevant players working on the development of methods, building instrumentation, and applying x-ray microscopy to challenging issues in materials science, condensed matter research, environmental science and biology. XRM2008 was attended by about 300 participants who followed 44 oral presentations and presented 220 posters. Conference photograph Figure 1: Participants of the XRM2008 conference gathered in front of the main building of the ETH-Zurich. The conference showed that x-ray microscopy has become a mature field resting on three pillars. The first are workhorse instruments available even to non-specialist users. These exist at synchrotron sources world-wide as well as in laboratories. They allow the application of established microscopy methods to solve scientific projects in areas as diverse as soil science, the investigation of cometary dust particles, magnetic materials, and the analysis of ancient parchments. Examples of all of these projects can be found in this volume. These instruments have become so well understood that now they are also commercially available. The second pillar is the continued development of methods. Methods like stroboscopic imaging, wet cells or high and low temperature environments add versatility to the experiments. Methods like phase retrieval and ptychographic imaging allow the retrieval of information which hitero was thought to be inaccessible. The third pillar is the extension of such instruments and methods to new photon sources. With x-ray free electron lasers on the horizon the XRM community is working to transfer their know-how to these novel sources which will offer unprecedented brightness and time structure, but which at the same time require unprecedented effort to perform the experiment and to extract meaningful information from the data. Resting on these three pillars, the XRM community seems well prepared to solve the scientific questions of today and to help solve even more challenging scientific questions in the future. Many people contributed to the success of XRM2008, first and foremost were the participants with their excellent contributions and through their lively discussions. Organizing the event was made possible due to many helping hands and brains at the organizing institution, the Paul Scherrer Institut. It is our pleasure to thank all of these people. Financial support was given by the Gold Sponsor, XRADIA, by the European Round Table for Synchrotrons and Free Electron Lasers, the Center for Imaging Science and Technology at Zurich, and by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The conference was kindly hosted by ETH Zurich which provided a perfect setting for this venue. We thank all the participants of XRM2008, everybody who helped in the organization and all financial supporters and are looking forward to hearing about further progress during XRM2010 which will be organized by Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. C Quitmann, C David, F Nolting, F Pfeiffer and M Stampanoni Proceedings Editors Conference photograph Figure 2 View over Zurich and into the alps from the terrace of the ETHZ main building during the XRM2008 reception. Conference photograph Figure 3 Flag tosser and Alphorn blowers in front of the ETH Zurich main building during the XRM2008 opening reception. Conference photograph Figure 4 Industry exhibition in the entrance hall of the ETHZ main building. Conference photograph Figure 5 Lively discussions amongst the conference participants took place during the two poster sessions. Conference photograph Figure 6 Lecture hall with the participants busily discussing between talks. Conference photograph Figure 7 Past and present winners of the Werner Meyer-Ilse Award are joined by Andrea Meyer-Ilse, the wife of the deceased x-ray microscopy pioneer Werner Meyer-Ilse. From left to right: Weilun Chao (winner 2005), Ann Sakdinawat (winner 2008), Piere Thibault (winner 2008), Andrea Meyer-Ilse and M Feser (winner 2002). Conference photograph Figure 8 Reception in the court of Schloss Rapperswil during the XRM2008 conference excursion. Conference photograph Figure 9 Conference participants walking towards the castle of Rapperswil during the conference excursion. Conference photograph Figure 10 Accompanying persons group gathered in the port of Lucerne.

Evolutionary Dynamics of Biological Auctions

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Krishnendu; Reiter, Johannes G.; Nowak, Martin A.

2011-01-01

Many scenarios in the living world, where individual organisms compete for winning positions (or resources), have properties of auctions. Here we study the evolution of bids in biological auctions. For each auction n individuals are drawn at random from a population of size N. Each individual makes a bid which entails a cost. The winner obtains a benefit of a certain value. Costs and benefits are translated into reproductive success (fitness). Therefore, successful bidding strategies spread in the population. We compare two types of auctions. In “biological all-pay auctions” the costs are the bid for every participating individual. In “biological second price all-pay auctions” the cost for everyone other than the winner is the bid, but the cost for the winner is the second highest bid. Second price all-pay auctions are generalizations of the “war of attrition” introduced by Maynard Smith. We study evolutionary dynamics in both types of auctions. We calculate pairwise invasion plots and evolutionarily stable distributions over the continuous strategy space. We find that the average bid in second price all-pay auctions is higher than in all-pay auctions, but the average cost for the winner is similar in both auctions. In both cases the average bid is a declining function of the number of participants, n. The more individuals participate in an auction the smaller is the chance of winning, and thus expensive bids must be avoided. PMID:22120126

Losing a winner: thermal stress and local pressures outweigh the positive effects of ocean acidification for tropical seagrasses.

PubMed

Collier, Catherine J; Langlois, Lucas; Ow, Yan; Johansson, Charlotte; Giammusso, Manuela; Adams, Matthew P; O'Brien, Katherine R; Uthicke, Sven

2018-06-01

Seagrasses are globally important coastal habitat-forming species, yet it is unknown how seagrasses respond to the combined pressures of ocean acidification and warming of sea surface temperature. We exposed three tropical species of seagrass (Cymodocea serrulata, Halodule uninervis, and Zostera muelleri) to increasing temperature (21, 25, 30, and 35°C) and pCO 2 (401, 1014, and 1949 μatm) for 7 wk in mesocosms using a controlled factorial design. Shoot density and leaf extension rates were recorded, and plant productivity and respiration were measured at increasing light levels (photosynthesis-irradiance curves) using oxygen optodes. Shoot density, growth, photosynthetic rates, and plant-scale net productivity occurred at 25°C or 30°C under saturating light levels. High pCO 2 enhanced maximum net productivity for Z. muelleri, but not in other species. Z. muelleri was the most thermally tolerant as it maintained positive net production to 35°C, yet for the other species there was a sharp decline in productivity, growth, and shoot density at 35°C, which was exacerbated by pCO 2 . These results suggest that thermal stress will not be offset by ocean acidification during future extreme heat events and challenges the current hypothesis that tropical seagrass will be a 'winner' under future climate change conditions. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

David Bowie and the Art of Slow Innovation: A Fast-Second Winner Strategy for Biotechnology and Precision Medicine Global Development.

PubMed

Özdemir, Vural; Patrinos, George P

2017-11-01

Original ideas and innovation cannot always be ordered like a courier service and delivered fresh to our desk at 9 am. Yet, most creativity-based organizations, careers, and professions, science and biotechnology innovation included, emphasize the speed as the prevailing ideology. But a narrow focus on speed has several and overlooked shortcomings. For example, it does not offer the opportunity to draw from, and stitch together disparate concepts and practices for truly disruptive innovation. Preventing false starts, learning from others' or our own mistakes, and customizing innovations for local community needs are difficult in a speed-hungry innovation ecosystem. We introduce a new strategy, the Fast-Second Winner, specifically in relation to global development of biotechnologies and precision medicine. This à la carte global development strategy envisions a midstream entry into the innovation ecosystem. Moreover, we draw from the works of the late David Bowie who defied rigid classifications as an artist and prolific innovator, and introduce the concept and practice of slow innovation that bodes well with the Fast-Second Winner strategy. A type of slow innovation, the Fast-Second Winner is actually fast and sustainable in the long term, and efficient by reducing false starts in new precision medicine application contexts and geographies, learning from other innovators' failures, and shaping innovations for the local community needs. The establishment of Centers for Fast-Second Innovation (CFSIs), and their funding, for example, by crowdfunding and other innovative mechanisms, could be timely for omics and precision medicine global development. If precision medicine is about tailoring drug treatments and various health interventions to individuals, we suggest to start from tailoring new ideas, and focus not only on how much we innovate but also what and how we innovate. In principle, the Fast-Second Winner can be applied to omics and other biotechnology responsible development in medical practice or any field of applied innovation.

Is it possible to predict long-term success with k-NN? Case study of four market indices (FTSE100, DAX, HANGSENG, NASDAQ)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Y.; Gorban, A. N.; Y Yang, T.

2014-03-01

This case study tests the possibility of prediction for 'success' (or 'winner') components of four stock & shares market indices in a time period of three years from 02-Jul-2009 to 29-Jun-2012.We compare their performance ain two time frames: initial frame three months at the beginning (02/06/2009-30/09/2009) and the final three month frame (02/04/2012-29/06/2012).To label the components, average price ratio between two time frames in descending order is computed. The average price ratio is defined as the ratio between the mean prices of the beginning and final time period. The 'winner' components are referred to the top one third of total components in the same order as average price ratio it means the mean price of final time period is relatively higher than the beginning time period. The 'loser' components are referred to the last one third of total components in the same order as they have higher mean prices of beginning time period. We analyse, is there any information about the winner-looser separation in the initial fragments of the daily closing prices log-returns time series.The Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation with k-NN algorithm is applied on the daily log-return of components using a distance and proximity in the experiment. By looking at the error analysis, it shows that for HANGSENG and DAX index, there are clear signs of possibility to evaluate the probability of long-term success. The correlation distance matrix histograms and 2-D/3-D elastic maps generated from ViDaExpert show that the 'winner' components are closer to each other and 'winner'/'loser' components are separable on elastic maps for HANGSENG and DAX index while for the negative possibility indices, there is no sign of separation.

KSC-2014-3543

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Spaceperson poses for a photo with Carver Middle School students and their teacher from Orlando, Florida, during the Zero Robotics finals competition at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility in Florida. The team, members of the After School All-Stars, were regional winners and advanced to the final competition. For the competition, students designed software to control Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES, and competed with other teams locally. The Zero Robotics is a robotics programming competition where the robots are SPHERES. The competition starts online, where teams program the SPHERES to solve an annual challenge. After several phases of virtual competition in a simulation environment that mimics the real SPHERES, finalists are selected to compete in a live championship aboard the space station. Students compete to win a technically challenging game by programming their strategies into the SPHERES satellites. The programs are autonomous and the students cannot control the satellites during the test. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Competition-strength-dependent ground suppression in figure-ground perception.

PubMed

Salvagio, Elizabeth; Cacciamani, Laura; Peterson, Mary A

2012-07-01

Figure-ground segregation is modeled as inhibitory competition between objects that might be perceived on opposite sides of borders. The winner is the figure; the loser is suppressed, and its location is perceived as shapeless ground. Evidence of ground suppression would support inhibitory competition models and would contribute to explaining why grounds are shapeless near borders shared with figures, yet such evidence is scarce. We manipulated whether competition from potential objects on the ground side of figures was high (i.e., portions of familiar objects were potentially present there) or low (novel objects were potentially present). We predicted that greater competition would produce more ground suppression. The results of two experiments in which suppression was assessed via judgments of the orientation of target bars confirmed this prediction; a third experiment showed that ground suppression is short-lived. Our findings support inhibitory competition models of figure assignment, in particular, and models of visual perception entailing feedback, in general.

Tell Me about Your Lemonade Stand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tibbitts, Scott

2004-01-01

At STARSYS, we execute many Firm Fixed Price (FFP) programs for the development of mechanical systems for spacecraft. Contracting this way pre-suppose that we have the ability to establish and hold scope for a system that has yet to be defined. To do FFP, it is critical that we have program managers who are masters at cost control. Fortunately, we have some "masters" in our company. They just seem to have a knack for driving to a financial target. Doesn't matter if the program has contingency or not. Doesn't seem to matter if they use MS Project, Excel spread-sheets, or the back of an envelope. Doesn't even seem to matter whether the program is set up as a financial challenge or a winner.

From Ship to Shuttle: NASA Orbiter Naming Program, September 1988 - May 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

By congressional action in 1987, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was authorized to provide an opportunity for American school students to name the new Space Shuttle orbiter being built to replace the Challenger. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), an education organization representing the chief education officials of the nation, was asked by NASA to assist in the development and administration of this exciting and important educational activity. A selection of interdisciplinary activities related to the Space Shuttle that were designed by students for the NASA Orbiter-Naming Program are presented. The national winner's project is first followed by other projects listed in alphabetical order by state, and a bibliography compiled from suggestions by the state-level winning teams.

Acquisition and Competition Strategy Options for the DD(X): The U.S. Navy’s 21st Century Destroyer

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

5e . TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Rand Corporation,National Defense Research Institute,1776...In April 2002, one of those teams, led by Nor- throp Grumman Ship Systems ( NGSS ), was selected winner of the competition and awarded a $2.9 billion...Northrop Grumman Ship Systems ( NGSS ) and including Raytheon Systems Co. was selected as winner of that competition and placed under contract to

Is the Chinese Army the Real Winner in PLA Reforms

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

44 Commentary / The Chinese Army and PLA Reforms JFQ 83, 4th Quarter 2016 Is the Chinese Army the Real Winner in PLA Reforms? By Phillip C. Saunders...and John Chen G round force officers run China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army ( PLA ). About 70 percent of PLA soldiers serve in the PLA ...Saunders and Chen 45 services and arms of the PLA ” has meant reductions in “technologically backward” PLAA units and personnel increases for the other

Unforced errors and error reduction in tennis

PubMed Central

Brody, H

2006-01-01

Only at the highest level of tennis is the number of winners comparable to the number of unforced errors. As the average player loses many more points due to unforced errors than due to winners by an opponent, if the rate of unforced errors can be reduced, it should lead to an increase in points won. This article shows how players can improve their game by understanding and applying the laws of physics to reduce the number of unforced errors. PMID:16632568

Spring Research Festival and NICBR Collaboration Winners Announced | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer, and Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer The winners of the 2014 Spring Research Festival (SRF), held May 7 and 8, were recognized on July 2, and included 20 NCI at Frederick researchers: Matthew Anderson, Victor Ayala, Matt Bess, Cristina Bergamaschi, Charlotte Choi, Rami Doueiri, Laura Guasch Pamies, Diana Haines, Saadia Iftikhar, Maria Kaltcheva, Wojciech Kasprzak, Balamurugan Kuppusamy, James Lautenberger, George Lountos, Megan Mounts, Uma Mudunuri, Martha Sklavos, Gloriana Shelton, Alex Sorum, and Shea Wright.

The challenges of studying visual expertise in medical image diagnosis.

PubMed

Gegenfurtner, Andreas; Kok, Ellen; van Geel, Koos; de Bruin, Anique; Jarodzka, Halszka; Szulewski, Adam; van Merriënboer, Jeroen Jg

2017-01-01

Visual expertise is the superior visual skill shown when executing domain-specific visual tasks. Understanding visual expertise is important in order to understand how the interpretation of medical images may be best learned and taught. In the context of this article, we focus on the visual skill of medical image diagnosis and, more specifically, on the methodological set-ups routinely used in visual expertise research. We offer a critique of commonly used methods and propose three challenges for future research to open up new avenues for studying characteristics of visual expertise in medical image diagnosis. The first challenge addresses theory development. Novel prospects in modelling visual expertise can emerge when we reflect on cognitive and socio-cultural epistemologies in visual expertise research, when we engage in statistical validations of existing theoretical assumptions and when we include social and socio-cultural processes in expertise development. The second challenge addresses the recording and analysis of longitudinal data. If we assume that the development of expertise is a long-term phenomenon, then it follows that future research can engage in advanced statistical modelling of longitudinal expertise data that extends the routine use of cross-sectional material through, for example, animations and dynamic visualisations of developmental data. The third challenge addresses the combination of methods. Alternatives to current practices can integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches in mixed-method designs, embrace relevant yet underused data sources and understand the need for multidisciplinary research teams. Embracing alternative epistemological and methodological approaches for studying visual expertise can lead to a more balanced and robust future for understanding superior visual skills in medical image diagnosis as well as other medical fields. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Young persons with visual impairment: challenges of participation.

PubMed

Salminen, Anna-Liisa; Karhula, Maarit E

2014-07-01

To describe the challenges to activity and participation faced by young people with visual impairment within the framework of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). 14 young persons (aged 16-22 years) with visual impairment and their parents (n = 22) participated in the study. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to describe challenges of participation as perceived by the young persons themselves. Individual interviews with the young persons and their parents were used to investigate in more depth the challenges the young persons face with regard to participation. Young persons with visual impairment face challenges to participation most frequently with regard to mobility, domestic life, interpersonal interaction and relationships, major life areas, and leisure activities. The environment in which they live has a central role as a barrier or facilitator of participation. The challenges related to activities and participation that young persons with visual impairment face are diverse. It is important that these challenges are assessed individually and with the help of subjective measures. Serving as a broad framework for classifying the data, the ICF proved to be a useful tool, but used strictly at category level it may limit the coding of data and narrow interpretation.

PEOPLE IN PHYSICS: Interview with Stuart Leadstone, a winner of the Institute of Physics Teacher of Physics Awards, 1998

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobson, Ken

1998-09-01

Stuart Leadstone was an outstanding winner in a vintage year of six secondary school teachers who gained an award for 1998. There were also four primary teachers. It is fair to say that many of these didn't know how good they were - they were just doing their `ordinary job'. If you can identify such a teacher in a school near you, ask Catherine Wilson at the Institute of Physics HQ how you can send in a nomination.

They are smaller, but these systems produce mighty reports.

PubMed

Botvin, Judith D

2004-01-01

The first place winner, Commonwealth Health Corporation, Bowling Green, Ky., has a successful cost-saving story. Designed in-house, with donated printing, it cost a mere 54 cents per unit. Little Company of Mary Hospital, Evergreen Park, Ill., wins second place with a publication that enlisted the help of many personnel. University Health Care System, Augusta, Ga., third place winner, uses dramatic graphics to observe its 185th anniversary. Princeton HealthCare System, Princeton, N.J., receives special recognition for the clarity and effectiveness of its four-page report.

Making the right moves: promoting smart growth and active aging in communities.

PubMed

Sykes, Kathleen E; Robinson, Kristen N

2014-01-01

This article describes an award program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for excellence in smart growth and active aging. Having examined qualitative and quantitative data, we suggest that any community can foster changes to improve the health and well-being of its aging population. Diverse winners took unique paths to change their built environments and encourage physical activity. The policy changes undertaken by the award winners have both short- and long-term benefits that are important for persons of all ages, but especially for an aging society.

Stull Repeats as Chili Champ | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Ken Michaels, Staff Writer Jim Stull, winner of the ninth annual Protective Services Chili Cookoff in January of last year, proved that he’s no one-trick pony; he brought a brand new recipe to the 2013 event and won again! And he did it decisively. His Black Bean ‘n Pumpkin Chili garnered 107 points; the second place winner netted less than half that with 52. “For me, a good chili is just not hot and spicy. It has to have a distinctive flavor that makes you want to come back for more.”

Trade-offs between competition and defense specialists among unicellular planktonic organisms: the "killing the winner" hypothesis revisited.

PubMed

Winter, Christian; Bouvier, Thierry; Weinbauer, Markus G; Thingstad, T Frede

2010-03-01

A trade-off between strategies maximizing growth and minimizing losses appears to be a fundamental property of evolving biological entities existing in environments with limited resources. In the special case of unicellular planktonic organisms, the theoretical framework describing the trade-offs between competition and defense specialists is known as the "killing the winner" hypothesis (KtW). KtW describes how the availability of resources and the actions of predators (e.g., heterotrophic flagellates) and parasites (e.g., viruses) determine the composition and biogeochemical impact of such organisms. We extend KtW conceptually by introducing size- or shape-selective grazing of protozoans on prokaryotes into an idealized food web composed of prokaryotes, lytic viruses infecting prokaryotes, and protozoans. This results in a hierarchy analogous to a Russian doll, where KtW principles are at work on a lower level due to selective viral infection and on an upper level due to size- or shape-selective grazing by protozoans. Additionally, we critically discuss predictions and limitations of KtW in light of the recent literature, with particular focus on typically neglected aspects of KtW. Many aspects of KtW have been corroborated by in situ and experimental studies of isolates and natural communities. However, a thorough test of KtW is still hampered by current methodological limitations. In particular, the quantification of nutrient uptake rates of the competing prokaryotic populations and virus population-specific adsorption and decay rates appears to be the most daunting challenge for the years to come.

Biotechnology stock prices before public announcements: evidence of insider trading?

PubMed

Overgaard, C B; van den Broek, R A; Kim, J H; Detsky, A S

2000-03-01

Unique financial challenges faced by biotechnology companies developing therapeutics have contributed to the creation of a highly sensitive market, where stock prices are capable of great fluctuation. The potential for significant financial reward and the nature of the scientific review process make this industry susceptible to illegal share trading on nonpublic information. We examined stock prices of biotechnology products before and after announcement of Phase III clinical trial and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Panel results for indirect evidence of insider trading. Biotechnology stock prices were recorded for 98 products undergoing Phase III clinical trials and 49 products undergoing FDA Advisory Panel review between 1990 and 1998. Prices were recorded for 120 consecutive trading days before and after public announcement of these two events. We compared the average change in stock price of successful products ('winners') with unsuccessful products ('losers') before the public announcement of results for both critical events. The difference between average stock price change from 120 to 3 days before public announcement of results of Phase III clinical trial winners (+27%) and losers (-4%) was highly significant (P = 0.0007). A similar but non-significant difference was observed between the average stock price of winning (+27%) and losing products (+13%) before FDA Advisory Panel review announcements (P = 0.25). Our results provide indirect evidence that insider trading may be common in the biotechnology industry. Clinical investigators may wish to consider this issue before participating in any equity position in the biotechnology industry, especially if they are going to perform research for those companies.

Preferred Women’s Waist-to-Hip Ratio Variation over the Last 2,500 Years

PubMed Central

Bovet, Jeanne; Raymond, Michel

2015-01-01

The ratio between the body circumference at the waist and the hips (or WHR) is a secondary sexual trait that is unique to humans and is well known to influence men’s mate preferences. Because a woman's WHR also provides information about her age, health and fertility, men's preference concerning this physical feature may possibly be a cognitive adaptation selected in the human lineage. However, it is unclear whether the preferred WHR in western countries reflects a universal ideal, as geographic variation in non-western areas has been found, and discordances about its temporal consistency remain in the literature. We analyzed the WHR of women considered as ideally beautiful who were depicted in western artworks from 500 BCE to the present. These vestiges of the past feminine ideal were then compared to more recent symbols of beauty: Playboy models and winners of several Miss pageants from 1920 to 2014. We found that the ideal WHR has changed over time in western societies: it was constant during almost a millennium in antiquity (from 500 BCE to 400 CE) and has decreased from the 15th century to the present. Then, based on Playboy models and Miss pageants winners, this decrease appears to slow down or even reverse during the second half of the 20th century. The universality of an ideal WHR is thus challenged, and historical changes in western societies could have caused these variations in men’s preferences. The potential adaptive explanations for these results are discussed. PMID:25886537

"That's Not Quite the Way We See It": The Epistemological Challenge of Visual Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Kate; Higgins, Steve; Hall, Elaine; Woolner, Pam

2013-01-01

In research textbooks, and much of the research practice, they describe, qualitative processes and interpretivist epistemologies tend to dominate visual methodology. This article challenges the assumptions behind this dominance. Using exemplification from three existing visual data sets produced through one large education research project, this…

Regain in Body Mass After Weigh-In is Linked to Success in Real Life Judo Competition.

PubMed

Reale, Reid; Cox, Gregory R; Slater, Gary; Burke, Louise M

2016-12-01

We examined the relationship between the regain of body mass (BM) after weigh-in and success in real-life judo competition. Eighty-six (36 females, 50 males) senior judoka volunteered for this observational study of an international judo competition. Subjects were weighed at the official weigh-in and one hour before their first competition fight (15-20 hr later). Regain in BM after weigh-in was compared between medal winners and nonmedalists, winners and losers of each fight, males and females and across weight divisions. Heavyweights were excluded from analysis. Prefight BM was greater than BM at official weigh-in for both males and females, with % BM gains of 2.3 ± 2.0 (p ≤ .0001; ES= 1.59; CI95% [1.63, 2.98]) and 3.1 ± 2.2 (p ≤ .0001; ES = 2.03; CI95% [2.30, 3.89]), respectively. No significant differences were found between weight divisions for post weigh-in BM regain. Differences in post weigh-in BM regain were significantly higher in medal winners than nonmedalists for males and females combined (1.4 ± 0.4% BM; p = .0026; ES= 0.69; CI95% [0.05, 2.34]) and for males alone (1.5 ± 0.6% BM; p = .017; ES= 0.74; CI95% [0.02, 2.64]), but not for females (1.2 ± 0.7% BM; p = .096; ES = 0.58; CI95% [-0.02, 2.31]). Differences in BM regain after weigh-in between winners and losers were significant across all fights (0.9 ± 0.3% BM; p = .0021; ES= 0.43; CI95% [0.31, 1.41]) but not for first round fights (0.8 ± 0.5% BM; p = .1386, ES = 0.38; CI95% [-0.26, 1.86]). Winners showed a greater regain in BM post weigh-in than losers. This may reflect the greater magnitude of the BM loss needed to achieve weigh-in targets which also relates to the experience level of successful athletes.

Human Factors in Streaming Data Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities for Information Visualization: Human Factors in Streaming Data Analysis

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

Dasgupta, Aritra; Arendt, Dustin L.; Franklin, Lyndsey R.

Real-world systems change continuously and across domains like traffic monitoring, cyber security, etc., such changes occur within short time scales. This leads to a streaming data problem and produces unique challenges for the human in the loop, as analysts have to ingest and make sense of dynamic patterns in real time. In this paper, our goal is to study how the state-of-the-art in streaming data visualization handles these challenges and reflect on the gaps and opportunities. To this end, we have three contributions: i) problem characterization for identifying domain-specific goals and challenges for handling streaming data, ii) a survey andmore » analysis of the state-of-the-art in streaming data visualization research with a focus on the visualization design space, and iii) reflections on the perceptually motivated design challenges and potential research directions for addressing them.« less

An adaptable neuromorphic model of orientation selectivity based on floating gate dynamics

PubMed Central

Gupta, Priti; Markan, C. M.

2014-01-01

The biggest challenge that the neuromorphic community faces today is to build systems that can be considered truly cognitive. Adaptation and self-organization are the two basic principles that underlie any cognitive function that the brain performs. If we can replicate this behavior in hardware, we move a step closer to our goal of having cognitive neuromorphic systems. Adaptive feature selectivity is a mechanism by which nature optimizes resources so as to have greater acuity for more abundant features. Developing neuromorphic feature maps can help design generic machines that can emulate this adaptive behavior. Most neuromorphic models that have attempted to build self-organizing systems, follow the approach of modeling abstract theoretical frameworks in hardware. While this is good from a modeling and analysis perspective, it may not lead to the most efficient hardware. On the other hand, exploiting hardware dynamics to build adaptive systems rather than forcing the hardware to behave like mathematical equations, seems to be a more robust methodology when it comes to developing actual hardware for real world applications. In this paper we use a novel time-staggered Winner Take All circuit, that exploits the adaptation dynamics of floating gate transistors, to model an adaptive cortical cell that demonstrates Orientation Selectivity, a well-known biological phenomenon observed in the visual cortex. The cell performs competitive learning, refining its weights in response to input patterns resembling different oriented bars, becoming selective to a particular oriented pattern. Different analysis performed on the cell such as orientation tuning, application of abnormal inputs, response to spatial frequency and periodic patterns reveal close similarity between our cell and its biological counterpart. Embedded in a RC grid, these cells interact diffusively exhibiting cluster formation, making way for adaptively building orientation selective maps in silicon. PMID:24765062

Effects of competition outcome on testosterone concentrations in humans: An updated meta-analysis.

PubMed

Geniole, Shawn N; Bird, Brian M; Ruddick, Erika L; Carré, Justin M

2017-06-01

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition. Since Archer's (2006) influential meta-analysis, there has been a major increase in the number of studies investigating the effect of competition outcome on testosterone reactivity patterns in humans. Despite this increased research output, there remains debate as to whether competition outcome modulates testosterone concentrations. The present paper examines this question using a meta-analytic approach including papers published over the last 35years. Moreover, it provides the first meta-analytic estimate of the effect of competition outcome on testosterone concentrations in women. Results from a meta-analysis involving 60 effect sizes and >2500 participants indicated that winners of a competition demonstrated a larger increase in testosterone concentrations relative to losers (D=0.20)-an effect that was highly heterogeneous. This 'winner-loser' effect was most robust in studies conducted outside the lab (e.g., in sport venues) (D=0.43); for studies conducted in the lab, the effect of competition outcome on testosterone reactivity patterns was relatively weak (D=0.08), and only found in studies of men (D=0.15; in women: D=-0.04). Further, the 'winner-loser' effect was stronger among studies in which pre-competition testosterone was sampled earlier than (D=0.38, after trim and fill correction) rather than within (D=0.09) 10min of the start of the competition. Therefore, these results also provide important insight regarding study design and methodology, and will be a valuable resource for researchers conducting subsequent studies on the 'winner loser' effect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Imitating winner or sympathizing loser? Quadratic effects on cooperative behavior in prisoners' dilemma games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Peng

2015-10-01

Cooperation is vital in human societies and therefore is widely investigated in the evolutionary game theory. Varieties of mechanisms have been proposed to overcome temptation and promote cooperation. Existing studies usually believe that agents are rational, but irrationalism such as emotions and feelings matters as well. Winner and loser are defined by their payoffs. In addition to admiring and imitating winners, the mechanism of sympathizing and imitating losers is introduced into the model as an alternative action rule, and each one plays the prisoners' dilemma game with eight neighbors under the influence of both irrationalism and rationalism. Rationalism refers to imitating winner to get highest payoff, and irrationalism means that people sympathize and adopt the actions of losers. As it is widely recognized that temptation reduces cooperation, this study focuses on the effect of sympathy on cooperation within a certain group or society. If it overcomes temptation that leads to defection, sympathy will be a powerful mechanism to promote cooperative behavior. Simulation results indicate that sympathy and temptation shares similar quadratic relationships with cooperation. Both sympathy and temptation undermine cooperation below their thresholds, and they both promote cooperation above their thresholds. Temptation not only reduces cooperation but also promote it as temptation goes beyond the threshold. Although sympathy is a good merit or human nature that is beneficial to society, a crisis or collapse of cooperation is inevitable when the sympathy propensity is relatively smaller. After cooperation reaches a minimal bottom, it then rises increasingly and dramatically, which brings a much brighter future of the society.

Association Between Neuromuscular Tests and Kumite Performance on The Brazilian Karate National Team

PubMed Central

Roschel, Hamilton; Batista, Mauro; Monteiro, Rodrigo; Bertuzzi, Romulo C.; Barroso, Renato; Loturco, Irineu; Ugrinowitsch, Carlos; Tricoli, Valmor; Franchini, Emerson

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to verify the relationship of strength and power with performance on an international level karate team during official kumite simulations. Fourteen male black belt karate athletes were submitted to anthropometric data collection and then performed the following tests on two different days: vertical jump test, bench press and squat maximum dynamic strength (1RM) tests. We also tested power production for both exercises at 30 and 60%1RM and performed a kumite match simulation. Blood samples were obtained at rest and immediately after the kumite matches to measure blood lactate concentration. Karate players were separated by performance (winners vs. defeated) on the kumite matches. We found no significant differences between winners and defeated for strength, vertical jump height, anthropometric data and blood lactate concentration. Interestingly, winners were more powerful in the bench press and squat exercises at 30% 1RM. Maximum strength was correlated with absolute (30% 1RM r = 0.92; 60% 1RM r = 0.63) and relative power (30% 1RM r = 0.74; 60% 1RM r = 0.11, p > 0.05) for the bench press exercise. We concluded that international level karate players’ kumite match performance are influenced by higher levels of upper and lower limbs power production. Key Points Muscle power at low workloads seems to be a reasonable predictor of karate performance. There are differences in neuromuscular characteristics between winners and defeated karate players among an international level karate team. Karate players rely more on muscle power, rather than on muscle strength. PMID:24474882

Illustrating, Quantifying, and Correcting for Bias in Post-hoc Analysis of Gene-Based Rare Variant Tests of Association

PubMed Central

Grinde, Kelsey E.; Arbet, Jaron; Green, Alden; O'Connell, Michael; Valcarcel, Alessandra; Westra, Jason; Tintle, Nathan

2017-01-01

To date, gene-based rare variant testing approaches have focused on aggregating information across sets of variants to maximize statistical power in identifying genes showing significant association with diseases. Beyond identifying genes that are associated with diseases, the identification of causal variant(s) in those genes and estimation of their effect is crucial for planning replication studies and characterizing the genetic architecture of the locus. However, we illustrate that straightforward single-marker association statistics can suffer from substantial bias introduced by conditioning on gene-based test significance, due to the phenomenon often referred to as “winner's curse.” We illustrate the ramifications of this bias on variant effect size estimation and variant prioritization/ranking approaches, outline parameters of genetic architecture that affect this bias, and propose a bootstrap resampling method to correct for this bias. We find that our correction method significantly reduces the bias due to winner's curse (average two-fold decrease in bias, p < 2.2 × 10−6) and, consequently, substantially improves mean squared error and variant prioritization/ranking. The method is particularly helpful in adjustment for winner's curse effects when the initial gene-based test has low power and for relatively more common, non-causal variants. Adjustment for winner's curse is recommended for all post-hoc estimation and ranking of variants after a gene-based test. Further work is necessary to continue seeking ways to reduce bias and improve inference in post-hoc analysis of gene-based tests under a wide variety of genetic architectures. PMID:28959274

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

McDermott, Christa; Malone, Elizabeth L.

This report assesses the use of institutional change principles and the institutional impact of award-winning projects through interviews with 22 Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program (DOE FEMP) award winners. Award winners identified institutional facilitators and barriers in their projects and programs as well as factors in their implementation processes, thus providing information that can guide other efforts. We found that award winners do use strategies based on eight principles of institutional change, most frequently in terms of making changes to infrastructure, engaging leadership, and capitalizing on multiple motivations for making an energy efficiency improvement. The principles drawn onmore » the least often were commitment and social empowerment. Award winners also faced five major types of obstacles that were institutional in nature: lack of resources, constraints of rules, psychological barriers, lack of information, and communication problems. We also used the seven categories of Energy Management Excellence (EME) as a lens to interpret the interview data and assess whether these categories relate to established institutional change principles. We found that the eight principles reflect strategies that have been found to be useful in improving energy efficiency in organizations, whereas the EME categories capture more of a blend of social contextual factors and strategies. The EME categories fill in some of the social context gaps that facilitate institutional change and energy management excellence, for example, personal persistence, a culture that supports creativity and innovation, regular engagement with tenants, contractors, and staff at all levels. Taking together the use of principles, EME criteria, and obstacles faced by interviewees, we make recommendations for how FEMP can better foster institutional change in federal agencies.« less

A Software Developer’s Guide to Informal Evaluation of Visual Analytics Environments Using VAST Challenge Information

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

Cook, Kristin A.; Scholtz, Jean; Whiting, Mark A.

The VAST Challenge has been a popular venue for academic and industry participants for over ten years. Many participants comment that the majority of their time in preparing VAST Challenge entries is discovering elements in their software environments that need to be redesigned in order to solve the given task. Fortunately, there is no need to wait until the VAST Challenge is announced to test out software systems. The Visual Analytics Benchmark Repository contains all past VAST Challenge tasks, data, solutions and submissions. This paper details the various types of evaluations that may be conducted using the Repository information. Inmore » this paper we describe how developers can do informal evaluations of various aspects of their visual analytics environments using VAST Challenge information. Aspects that can be evaluated include the appropriateness of the software for various tasks, the various data types and formats that can be accommodated, the effectiveness and efficiency of the process supported by the software, and the intuitiveness of the visualizations and interactions. Researchers can compare their visualizations and interactions to those submitted to determine novelty. In addition, the paper provides pointers to various guidelines that software teams can use to evaluate the usability of their software. While these evaluations are not a replacement for formal evaluation methods, this information can be extremely useful during the development of visual analytics environments.« less

Post-conflict affiliation as conflict management in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

PubMed Central

Yamamoto, Chisato; Morisaka, Tadamichi; Furuta, Keisuke; Ishibashi, Toshiaki; Yoshida, Akihiko; Taki, Michihiro; Mori, Yoshihisa; Amano, Masao

2015-01-01

Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents or between one of the former opponents and bystanders might have the function of conflict management, which reduces the costs associated with aggressions. One of the suggested functions of post-conflict affiliation is decreased renewed aggressions directed from aggressors to victims. However, the effect of post-conflict affiliation on renewed aggressions by victims has not been investigated. We examined whether post-conflict affiliations decreased the number of renewed aggressions initiated by winners or losers in captive bottlenose dolphins. Both winners and losers initiated renewed aggressions. However, these aggressions decreased after post-conflict affiliation between former opponents, initiated by bystanders to winners, initiated by losers to bystanders, and initiated by bystanders to losers. Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents is suggested to function as reconciliation. Post–conflict affiliation initiated by losers to bystanders is suggested to function as the protection of losers. Post-conflict affiliations initiated by bystanders to one of former opponents are suggested to function as both appeasement and protection of the opponent who affiliates with bystanders. PMID:26392064

Post-conflict affiliation as conflict management in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

PubMed

Yamamoto, Chisato; Morisaka, Tadamichi; Furuta, Keisuke; Ishibashi, Toshiaki; Yoshida, Akihiko; Taki, Michihiro; Mori, Yoshihisa; Amano, Masao

2015-09-22

Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents or between one of the former opponents and bystanders might have the function of conflict management, which reduces the costs associated with aggressions. One of the suggested functions of post-conflict affiliation is decreased renewed aggressions directed from aggressors to victims. However, the effect of post-conflict affiliation on renewed aggressions by victims has not been investigated. We examined whether post-conflict affiliations decreased the number of renewed aggressions initiated by winners or losers in captive bottlenose dolphins. Both winners and losers initiated renewed aggressions. However, these aggressions decreased after post-conflict affiliation between former opponents, initiated by bystanders to winners, initiated by losers to bystanders, and initiated by bystanders to losers. Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents is suggested to function as reconciliation. Post-conflict affiliation initiated by losers to bystanders is suggested to function as the protection of losers. Post-conflict affiliations initiated by bystanders to one of former opponents are suggested to function as both appeasement and protection of the opponent who affiliates with bystanders.

Human Factors in Streaming Data Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities for Information Visualization

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

Dasgupta, Aritra; Arendt, Dustin L.; Franklin, Lyndsey

State-of-the-art visual analytics models and frameworks mostly assume a static snapshot of the data, while in many cases it is a stream with constant updates and changes. Exploration of streaming data poses unique challenges as machine-level computations and abstractions need to be synchronized with the visual representation of the data and the temporally evolving human insights. In the visual analytics literature, we lack a thorough characterization of streaming data and analysis of the challenges associated with task abstraction, visualization design, and adaptation of the role of human-in-the-loop for exploration of data streams. We aim to fill this gap by conductingmore » a survey of the state-of-the-art in visual analytics of streaming data for systematically describing the contributions and shortcomings of current techniques and analyzing the research gaps that need to be addressed in the future. Our contributions are: i) problem characterization for identifying challenges that are unique to streaming data analysis tasks, ii) a survey and analysis of the state-of-the-art in streaming data visualization research with a focus on the visualization design space for dynamic data and the role of the human-in-the-loop, and iii) reflections on the design-trade-offs for streaming visual analytics techniques and their practical applicability in real-world application scenarios.« less

Improved Monkey-King Genetic Algorithm for Solving Large Winner Determination in Combinatorial Auction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yuzhong

Using GA solve the winner determination problem (WDP) with large bids and items, run under different distribution, because the search space is large, constraint complex and it may easy to produce infeasible solution, would affect the efficiency and quality of algorithm. This paper present improved MKGA, including three operator: preprocessing, insert bid and exchange recombination, and use Monkey-king elite preservation strategy. Experimental results show that improved MKGA is better than SGA in population size and computation. The problem that traditional branch and bound algorithm hard to solve, improved MKGA can solve and achieve better effect.

Special issue: Culham Thesis Prize winners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, C. J.

2015-01-01

The Culham Thesis Prize is awarded annually to the nominee who has displayed an excellence in the execution of the scientific method as witnessed by the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Plasma Science from a UK or Irish university. The thesis content should exhibit significant new work and originality, clearly driven by the nominee, be well explained and demonstrate a good understanding of the subject. The prize is awarded at the Institute of Physics Plasma Physics Group Spring Conference and the prize winner gives an invited talk about their thesis work. The prize is sponsored by Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.

Real-time scalable visual analysis on mobile devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattath, Avin; Ebert, David S.; May, Richard A.; Collins, Timothy F.; Pike, William

2008-02-01

Interactive visual presentation of information can help an analyst gain faster and better insight from data. When combined with situational or context information, visualization on mobile devices is invaluable to in-field responders and investigators. However, several challenges are posed by the form-factor of mobile devices in developing such systems. In this paper, we classify these challenges into two broad categories - issues in general mobile computing and issues specific to visual analysis on mobile devices. Using NetworkVis and Infostar as example systems, we illustrate some of the techniques that we employed to overcome many of the identified challenges. NetworkVis is an OpenVG-based real-time network monitoring and visualization system developed for Windows Mobile devices. Infostar is a flash-based interactive, real-time visualization application intended to provide attendees access to conference information. Linked time-synchronous visualization, stylus/button-based interactivity, vector graphics, overview-context techniques, details-on-demand and statistical information display are some of the highlights of these applications.

AFRICOM: An Effective Organization or a Military Hurdle?

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

challenges that impact their effectiveness and therefore success. These challenges are not easy to visualize, thus making it more difficult to derive and...BLANK v ABSTRACT Many organizations face challenges that impact their effectiveness and therefore success. These challenges are not easy to visualize...examination of the variables that have the potential to adversely impact AFRICOM’s effectiveness. First, throughout the literature there are no specific

Experience-Driven Formation of Parts-Based Representations in a Model of Layered Visual Memory

PubMed Central

Jitsev, Jenia; von der Malsburg, Christoph

2009-01-01

Growing neuropsychological and neurophysiological evidence suggests that the visual cortex uses parts-based representations to encode, store and retrieve relevant objects. In such a scheme, objects are represented as a set of spatially distributed local features, or parts, arranged in stereotypical fashion. To encode the local appearance and to represent the relations between the constituent parts, there has to be an appropriate memory structure formed by previous experience with visual objects. Here, we propose a model how a hierarchical memory structure supporting efficient storage and rapid recall of parts-based representations can be established by an experience-driven process of self-organization. The process is based on the collaboration of slow bidirectional synaptic plasticity and homeostatic unit activity regulation, both running at the top of fast activity dynamics with winner-take-all character modulated by an oscillatory rhythm. These neural mechanisms lay down the basis for cooperation and competition between the distributed units and their synaptic connections. Choosing human face recognition as a test task, we show that, under the condition of open-ended, unsupervised incremental learning, the system is able to form memory traces for individual faces in a parts-based fashion. On a lower memory layer the synaptic structure is developed to represent local facial features and their interrelations, while the identities of different persons are captured explicitly on a higher layer. An additional property of the resulting representations is the sparseness of both the activity during the recall and the synaptic patterns comprising the memory traces. PMID:19862345

Ocular-following responses to white noise stimuli in humans reveal a novel nonlinearity that results from temporal sampling

PubMed Central

Sheliga, Boris M.; Quaia, Christian; FitzGibbon, Edmond J.; Cumming, Bruce G.

2016-01-01

White noise stimuli are frequently used to study the visual processing of broadband images in the laboratory. A common goal is to describe how responses are derived from Fourier components in the image. We investigated this issue by recording the ocular-following responses (OFRs) to white noise stimuli in human subjects. For a given speed we compared OFRs to unfiltered white noise with those to noise filtered with band-pass filters and notch filters. Removing components with low spatial frequency (SF) reduced OFR magnitudes, and the SF associated with the greatest reduction matched the SF that produced the maximal response when presented alone. This reduction declined rapidly with SF, compatible with a winner-take-all operation. Removing higher SF components increased OFR magnitudes. For higher speeds this effect became larger and propagated toward lower SFs. All of these effects were quantitatively well described by a model that combined two factors: (a) an excitatory drive that reflected the OFRs to individual Fourier components and (b) a suppression by higher SF channels where the temporal sampling of the display led to flicker. This nonlinear interaction has an important practical implication: Even with high refresh rates (150 Hz), the temporal sampling introduced by visual displays has a significant impact on visual processing. For instance, we show that this distorts speed tuning curves, shifting the peak to lower speeds. Careful attention to spectral content, in the light of this nonlinearity, is necessary to minimize the resulting artifact when using white noise patterns undergoing apparent motion. PMID:26762277

School, Family and Other Influences on Assistive Technology Use: Access and Challenges for Students with Visual Impairment in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Meng Ee; Cohen, Libby

2011-01-01

Assistive technologies are essential enablers for individuals with visual impairments, but although Singapore is technologically advanced, students with visual impairments are not yet full participants in this technological society. This study investigates the barriers and challenges to the use of assistive technologies by students with visual…

The Effect of an Attachment-Based Behaviour Therapy for Children with Visual and Severe Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sterkenburg, P. S.; Janssen, C. G. C.; Schuengel, C.

2008-01-01

Background: A combination of an attachment-based therapy and behaviour modification was investigated for children with persistent challenging behaviour. Method: Six clients with visual and severe intellectual disabilities, severe challenging behaviour and with a background of pathogenic care were treated. Challenging behaviour was recorded…

Deep sleep after social stress: NREM sleep slow-wave activity is enhanced in both winners and losers of a conflict.

PubMed

Kamphuis, Jeanine; Lancel, Marike; Koolhaas, Jaap M; Meerlo, Peter

2015-07-01

Sleep is considered to be a recovery process of prior wakefulness. Not only duration of the waking period affects sleep architecture and sleep EEG, the quality of wakefulness is also highly important. Studies in rats have shown that social defeat stress, in which experimental animals are attacked and defeated by a dominant conspecific, is followed by an acute increase in NREM sleep EEG slow wave activity (SWA). However, it is not known whether this effect is specific for the stress of social defeat or a result of the conflict per se. In the present experiment, we examined how sleep is affected in both the winners and losers of a social conflict. Sleep-wake patterns and sleep EEG were recorded in male wild-type Groningen rats that were subjected to 1h of social conflict in the middle of the light phase. All animals were confronted with a conspecific of similar aggression level and the conflict took place in a neutral arena where both individuals had an equal chance to either win or lose the conflict. NREM sleep SWA was significantly increased after the social conflict compared to baseline values and a gentle stimulation control condition. REM sleep was significantly suppressed in the first hours after the conflict. Winners and losers did not differ significantly in NREM sleep time, NREM sleep SWA and REM sleep time immediately after the conflict. Losers tended to have slightly more NREM sleep later in the recovery period. This study shows that in rats a social conflict with an unpredictable outcome has quantitatively and qualitatively largely similar acute effects on subsequent sleep in winners and losers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aggressive Encounters Alter the Activation of Serotonergic Neurons and the Expression of 5-HT1A mRNA in the Hamster Dorsal Raphe Nucleus

PubMed Central

Cooper, Matthew A.; Grober, Matthew S.; Nicholas, Christopher; Huhman, Kim L.

2009-01-01

Serotonergic (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) have been implicated in stress-induced changes in behavior. Previous research indicates that stressful stimuli activate 5-HT neurons in select subregions of the DRN. Uncontrollable stress is thought to sensitize 5-HT neurons in the DRN and allow for an exaggerated 5-HT response to future stimuli. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that following aggressive encounters, losing male Syrian hamsters would exhibit increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in 5-HT DRN neurons compared to winners or controls. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that losers would have decreased 5-HT1A mRNA levels in the DRN compared to winners or controls. We found that a single 15-min aggressive encounter increased c-Fos expression in 5-HT and non-5-HT neurons in losers compared to winners and controls. The increased c-Fos expression in losers was restricted to ventral regions of the rostral DRN. We also found that four 5-min aggressive encounters reduced total 5-HT1A mRNA levels in the DRN in losers compared to winners and controls, and that differences in mRNA levels were not restricted to specific DRN subregions. These results suggest that social defeat activates neurons in select subregions of the DRN and reduces message for DRN 5-HT1A autoreceptors. Our results support the hypothesis that social stress can activate 5-HT neurons in the DRN, reduce 5-HT1A autoreceptor-mediated inhibition, and lead to hyperactivity of 5-HT neurons. PMID:19362123

Size, skills, and suffrage: Motivated distortions in perceived formidability of political leaders

PubMed Central

Blaker, Nancy M.; Pollet, Thomas V.

2017-01-01

Research shows that perception of physical size and status are positively associated. The current study was developed to replicate and extend earlier research on height perceptions of political leaders, indicating that supporters perceive their leaders as taller than non-supporters do, and winners are perceived as taller after the elections, while losers are perceived as shorter after the elections (winner/loser effects). Individuals use greater height and strength as indications of greater physical formidability. We hypothesized that in-group leaders’ height and strength, but not weight, would be overestimated more compared to out-group leaders’, and that this status-size association is not only driven by dominance, but also by prestige. We also tested whether previously found gender effects in estimates were due to using one’s own height as an anchor, and we used an improved methodological approach by relying on multiple measurements of physical formidability and a within-subject design for testing winner/loser effects. The results of a two-part longitudinal study (self-selected sample via voting advice website; NWave1 = 2,011; NWave2 = 322) suggest that estimated physical formidability of political leaders is affected by motivated perception, as prestige was positively associated with estimated formidability, and in-group leaders were estimated more formidable than out-group leaders. We conclude that distortions in judged formidability related to social status are the result of motivated social perception in order to promote group functioning and leadership. Although we did not replicate a winner-effect (greater estimations of formidability after winning the elections), we did find some evidence for a loser-effect. Earlier suggestions that men make larger estimations than women because of their own larger body size are not supported. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. PMID:29267275

Cross-modal extinction in a boy with severely autistic behaviour and high verbal intelligence.

PubMed

Bonneh, Yoram S; Belmonte, Matthew K; Pei, Francesca; Iversen, Portia E; Kenet, Tal; Akshoomoff, Natacha; Adini, Yael; Simon, Helen J; Moore, Christopher I; Houde, John F; Merzenich, Michael M

2008-07-01

Anecdotal reports from individuals with autism suggest a loss of awareness to stimuli from one modality in the presence of stimuli from another. Here we document such a case in a detailed study of A.M., a 13-year-old boy with autism in whom significant autistic behaviours are combined with an uneven IQ profile of superior verbal and low performance abilities. Although A.M.'s speech is often unintelligible, and his behaviour is dominated by motor stereotypies and impulsivity, he can communicate by typing or pointing independently within a letter board. A series of experiments using simple and highly salient visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli demonstrated a hierarchy of cross-modal extinction, in which auditory information extinguished other modalities at various levels of processing. A.M. also showed deficits in shifting and sustaining attention. These results provide evidence for monochannel perception in autism and suggest a general pattern of winner-takes-all processing in which a stronger stimulus-driven representation dominates behaviour, extinguishing weaker representations.

New endoscopy advances to refine adenoma detection rate for colorectal cancer screening: None is the winner.

PubMed

Maida, Marcello; Camilleri, Salvatore; Manganaro, Michele; Garufi, Serena; Scarpulla, Giuseppe

2017-10-15

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in males and second in females, and globally the fourth cause for cancer death worldwide. Oncological screening of CRC has a major role in the management of the disease and it is mostly performed by colonoscopy. Anyway, effectiveness of endoscopic screening for CRC strictly depends on adequate detection and removal of potentially precancerous lesions, and accuracy of colonoscopy in detection of adenomas is still suboptimal. For this reason, several technological advances have been implemented in order to improve the diagnostic sensitivity of colonoscopy in adenoma detection. Among these: (1) Visual technologies such as chromoendoscopy and narrow band imaging; (2) optical innovation as high definition endoscopy, full-spectrum endoscopy or Third Eye Retroscope; and (3) mechanical advances as Cap assisted colonoscopy, Endocuff, Endoring and G-Eye endoscope. All these technologies advances have been tested over time by clinical studies with mixed results. Which of them is more likely to be successful in the next future?

KSC-2014-2072

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Members of the winning Astronaut Resource Managing System and SpaceWear teams in the International Space Apps Challenge pose for a group portrait with the NASA volunteers, judges and event organizers. From left are Alejandro Velasco, NASA's Justin Treptow, Sam Neblett, Roberto Ricci, James Brucato, NASA's Suzanne Plantec, Keith Hargett, NASA's Cynthia Duffaut, NASA's Launa Maier, event organizer James Wood, event organizer lead Caley Burke, NASA's Lisa Singleton, event organizer David Miranda, NASA Ground Systems Development and Operation Program Manager Michael Bolger and NASA intern Brandi Burse. Kennedy Space Center hosted one of the over 90 locations around the world where participants congregated for the attempt to design innovative solutions for global challenges over a 48-hour period. This year's development marathon focused on five NASA mission areas: Asteroids, Earth Watch, Human Spaceflight, Robotics, and Technology in Space. Three of this year’s challenges were developed by KSC employees: Space Wearables: Fashion Designer to Astronauts, Growing Food for a Martian Table, and Asteroid Prospector. The winners selected in 2014 at Kennedy were Astronaut Resource Managing System, or ARMS, for Best Use of Data and SpaceWear for Best Use of Hardware. ARMS also took the People's Choice Award. For more information, visit https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Role of Enhancing Visual Effects Education Delivery to Encounter Career Challenges in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Lynn-Sze

2017-01-01

Problem-based Learning (PBL) is one of the most effective methods of instruction that helps Visual Effects (VFX) students to be more adaptable at encountering career challenges in Malaysia. These challenges are; lack of several important requirements such as, the basic and fundamental knowledge of VFX concepts, the ability to understand real-world…

Into the black. 1993 Hospital Turnaround Contest winners.

PubMed

Cerne, F; Bergman, R

1993-07-20

Turning a hospital around takes a lot more than adjusting the financials, as the winners and finalists in the Great Comebacks 1993: The Hospital Turnaround Contest demonstrate. In every case we report on, the hospital being recognized has worked intensively with its community to reassess the services needed by its patients, build support for major management and delivery changes, and articulate the reasons for the strategies being used. Each of the eight hospital organizations we profile, which are spread across the country from Texas to Wisconsin to Maine to North Carolina--has put together its own version of success--in other words, eight lessons in innovation and progress.

NASA SAVE Award Winner

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-09

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Financial Manager and White House 2011 SAVE award winner Matthew Ritsko is seen during a television interview at NASA Headquarters shortly after meeting with President Obama at the White House on Monday, Jan. 9, 2011, in Washington. The Presidential Securing Americans' Value and Efficiency (SAVE) program gives front-line federal workers the chance to submit their ideas on how their agencies can save money and work more efficiently. Matthew's proposal calls for NASA to create a "lending library" where specialized space tools and hardware purchased by one NASA organization will be made available to other NASA programs and projects. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Skylab

NASA Image and Video Library

1972-05-01

One of the most successful of the Skylab educational efforts was the Skylab Student Project. This was a nationwide contest in which secondary school students submitted proposals for experiments to fly on Skylab. After the official announcement of this project, over 4,000 students responded with 3,409 proposals from which 25 winners were selected. In the subsequent evaluation of these 25 proposed experiments in terms of their suitability for flight, the Marshall Space Flight Center, the lead center for Skylab, selected 19. This photograph is a group shot of the 25 winners in the Skylab student program when they met for the first time at the Marshall Space Flight Center in May 1972.

Sex, Sport, IGF-1 and the Community Effect in Height Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Bogin, Barry; Hermanussen, Michael; Blum, Werner F.; Aßmann, Christian

2015-01-01

We test the hypothesis that differences in social status between groups of people within a population may induce variation in insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) levels and, by extension, growth in height. This is called the community effect in height hypothesis. The relationship between IGF-1, assessed via finger-prick dried blood spot, and elite level sport competition outcomes were analysed for a sample of 116 undergraduate men and women. There was a statistically significant difference between winners and losers of a competition. Winners, as a group, had higher average pre-game and post-game IGF-1 levels than losers. We proposed this type of difference as a proxy for social dominance. We found no evidence that winners increased in IGF-1 levels over losers or that members of the same team were more similar in IGF-1 levels than they were to players from other teams. These findings provide limited support toward the community effect in height hypothesis. The findings are discussed in relation to the action of the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis as a transducer of multiple bio-social influences into a coherent signal which allows the growing human to adjust and adapt to local ecological conditions. PMID:25946190

Sex, Sport, IGF-1 and the Community Effect in Height Hypothesis.

PubMed

Bogin, Barry; Hermanussen, Michael; Blum, Werner F; Aßmann, Christian

2015-05-04

We test the hypothesis that differences in social status between groups of people within a population may induce variation in insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) levels and, by extension, growth in height. This is called the community effect in height hypothesis. The relationship between IGF-1, assessed via finger-prick dried blood spot, and elite level sport competition outcomes were analysed for a sample of 116 undergraduate men and women. There was a statistically significant difference between winners and losers of a competition. Winners, as a group, had higher average pre-game and post-game IGF-1 levels than losers. We proposed this type of difference as a proxy for social dominance. We found no evidence that winners increased in IGF-1 levels over losers or that members of the same team were more similar in IGF-1 levels than they were to players from other teams. These findings provide limited support toward the community effect in height hypothesis. The findings are discussed in relation to the action of the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis as a transducer of multiple bio-social influences into a coherent signal which allows the growing human to adjust and adapt to local ecological conditions.

The Role of Awards Programs in Stimulating Energy Efficient Behavior: A Study of Award Winners

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

McDermott, Christa; Malone, Elizabeth L.

The value of formal awards programs may be principally in gaining wider recognition for achievements in energy efficiency. But how do these programs contribute to the goal that is presumably behind this value, i.e., stimulating further energy efficient behavior, beyond publicizing the awards ceremonies and describing the projects via websites, posters, and the like? Interviews with 22 individuals and teams of award winners under the Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program (DOE FEMP) yield insights on the roles that awards programs can play in stimulating energy efficient behavior, especially with regard to institutional dimensions of such behavior. Award winnersmore » identified institutional facilitators and barriers in their projects and programs as well as factors in their implementation processes, thus providing information that can guide other efforts. Although only one of the interviewees affirmed that winning an award was a motivating factor, awards do validate often-hard-won achievements through recognition and, in some cases, additional resources, thus stimulating both the winners themselves and those who see the achievements to further energy-saving activities. Finally, award winners’ responses demonstrated the importance of behavioral and institutional change in energy efficiency.« less

Hebbian based learning with winner-take-all for spiking neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Ankur; Long, Lyle

2009-03-01

Learning methods for spiking neural networks are not as well developed as the traditional neural networks that widely use back-propagation training. We propose and implement a Hebbian based learning method with winner-take-all competition for spiking neural networks. This approach is spike time dependent which makes it naturally well suited for a network of spiking neurons. Homeostasis with Hebbian learning is implemented which ensures stability and quicker learning. Homeostasis implies that the net sum of incoming weights associated with a neuron remains the same. Winner-take-all is also implemented for competitive learning between output neurons. We implemented this learning rule on a biologically based vision processing system that we are developing, and use layers of leaky integrate and fire neurons. The network when presented with 4 bars (or Gabor filters) of different orientation learns to recognize the bar orientations (or Gabor filters). After training, each output neuron learns to recognize a bar at specific orientation and responds by firing more vigorously to that bar and less vigorously to others. These neurons are found to have bell shaped tuning curves and are similar to the simple cells experimentally observed by Hubel and Wiesel in the striate cortex of cat and monkey.

Winners and losers as mangrove, coral and seagrass ecosystems respond to sea-level rise in Solomon Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albert, Simon; Saunders, Megan I.; Roelfsema, Chris M.; Leon, Javier X.; Johnstone, Elizabeth; Mackenzie, Jock R.; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove; Grinham, Alistair R.; Phinn, Stuart R.; Duke, Norman C.; Mumby, Peter J.; Kovacs, Eva; Woodroffe, Colin D.

2017-09-01

A 2007 earthquake in the western Solomon Islands resulted in a localised subsidence event in which sea level (relative to the previous coastal settings) rose approximately 30-70 cm, providing insight into impacts of future rapid changes to sea level on coastal ecosystems. Here, we show that increasing sea level by 30-70 cm can have contrasting impacts on mangrove, seagrass and coral reef ecosystems. Coral reef habitats were the clear winners with a steady lateral growth from 2006-2014, yielding a 157% increase in areal coverage over seven years. Mangrove ecosystems, on the other hand, suffered the largest impact through a rapid dieback of 35% (130 ha) of mangrove forest in the study area after subsidence. These forests, however, had partially recovered seven years after the earthquake albeit with a different community structure. The shallow seagrass ecosystems demonstrated the most dynamic response to relative shifts in sea level with both losses and gains in areal extent at small scales of 10-100 m. The results of this study emphasize the importance of considering the impacts of sea-level rise within a complex landscape in which winners and losers may vary over time and space.

Wins, winning and winners: the commercial advertising of lottery gambling.

PubMed

McMullan, John L; Miller, Delthia

2009-09-01

This study analyzed a sample of 920 lottery ads that were placed or played in Atlantic Canada from January 2005 to December 2006. A content analysis, involving quantitative and qualitative techniques, was conducted to examine the design features, exposure profiles and focal messages of these ads and to explore the connections between lottery advertising and consumer culture. We found that there was an "ethos of winning" in these commercials that provided the embedded words, signs, myths, and symbols surrounding lottery gambling and conveyed a powerful imagery of plentitude and certitude in a world of potential loss where there was little reference to the actual odds of winning. The tangible and emotional qualities in the ads were especially inviting to young people creating a positive orientation to wins, winning and winners, and lottery products that, in turn, reinforced this form of gambling as part of youthful consumption practices. We concluded that enticing people with the prospects of huge jackpots, attractive consumer goods and easy wins, showcasing top prize winners, and providing dubious depictions that winning is life-changing was narrow and misleading and exploited some of the factors associated with at-risk gambling.

Short and long-lasting behavioral consequences of agonistic encounters between male Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Trannoy, Séverine; Penn, Jill; Lucey, Kenia; Popovic, David; Kravitz, Edward A

2016-04-26

In many animal species, learning and memory have been found to play important roles in regulating intra- and interspecific behavioral interactions in varying environments. In such contexts, aggression is commonly used to obtain desired resources. Previous defeats or victories during aggressive interactions have been shown to influence the outcome of later contests, revealing loser and winner effects. In this study, we asked whether short- and/or long-term behavioral consequences accompany victories and defeats in dyadic pairings between male Drosophila melanogaster and how long those effects remain. The results demonstrated that single fights induced important behavioral changes in both combatants and resulted in the formation of short-term loser and winner effects. These decayed over several hours, with the duration depending on the level of familiarity of the opponents. Repeated defeats induced a long-lasting loser effect that was dependent on de novo protein synthesis, whereas repeated victories had no long-term behavioral consequences. This suggests that separate mechanisms govern the formation of loser and winner effects. These studies aim to lay a foundation for future investigations exploring the molecular mechanisms and circuitry underlying the nervous system changes induced by winning and losing bouts during agonistic encounters.

Olfactory signaling of aggressive intent in male-male contests of cave crickets (Troglophilus neglectus; Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)

PubMed Central

Žunič Kosi, Alenka

2017-01-01

In animal contests, communicating aggressive motivation is most often mediated by visual or acoustic signals, while chemical signals are not expected to serve such a function since they are less able to be modulated by the sender during the changing behavioral context. We describe a rare example of ephemeral olfactory signals in terrestrial animals, signals that are emitted via protrusive scent glands in male cave crickets Troglophilus neglectus (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae) to reflect the state of the signaler’s aggression. We correlate the intensity of behaviorally expressed aggression of the individuals in dyadic contests with the frequency and extent of their gland tissue protrusion, the latter serving as an indication of the amount of released odor. We detected large amounts of odor release during brief gland protrusions, and the absence of its release during gland retraction. Males protruded the glands during and after encountering a rival, with the degree of protrusion increasing with the intensity of the signalers’ aggression. During the encounters, the degree of gland protrusion increased most strongly with the occurrence of the elevated body posture, directly preceding the attack. This degree was significantly higher in encounter winners than in losers displaying such posture, suggesting the highly important role of the released odor for contest resolution. After the encounters, glands were protruded almost exclusively by winners, apparently announcing victory. We tested for the function of the olfactory signals also directly, by preventing gland tissue protrusion in symmetric and asymmetric treatments of the contestants. Treating only the dominant individuals decreased the percentage of encounters they won by over 60%, while treating both contestants elicited a significant increase in the frequency and duration of fights. During contests, the olfactory signals of T. neglectus apparently function as a highly effective threat, which prevents maximal contest escalation and decreases the conflict-related costs. PMID:29112984

Olfactory signaling of aggressive intent in male-male contests of cave crickets (Troglophilus neglectus; Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae).

PubMed

Stritih, Nataša; Žunič Kosi, Alenka

2017-01-01

In animal contests, communicating aggressive motivation is most often mediated by visual or acoustic signals, while chemical signals are not expected to serve such a function since they are less able to be modulated by the sender during the changing behavioral context. We describe a rare example of ephemeral olfactory signals in terrestrial animals, signals that are emitted via protrusive scent glands in male cave crickets Troglophilus neglectus (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae) to reflect the state of the signaler's aggression. We correlate the intensity of behaviorally expressed aggression of the individuals in dyadic contests with the frequency and extent of their gland tissue protrusion, the latter serving as an indication of the amount of released odor. We detected large amounts of odor release during brief gland protrusions, and the absence of its release during gland retraction. Males protruded the glands during and after encountering a rival, with the degree of protrusion increasing with the intensity of the signalers' aggression. During the encounters, the degree of gland protrusion increased most strongly with the occurrence of the elevated body posture, directly preceding the attack. This degree was significantly higher in encounter winners than in losers displaying such posture, suggesting the highly important role of the released odor for contest resolution. After the encounters, glands were protruded almost exclusively by winners, apparently announcing victory. We tested for the function of the olfactory signals also directly, by preventing gland tissue protrusion in symmetric and asymmetric treatments of the contestants. Treating only the dominant individuals decreased the percentage of encounters they won by over 60%, while treating both contestants elicited a significant increase in the frequency and duration of fights. During contests, the olfactory signals of T. neglectus apparently function as a highly effective threat, which prevents maximal contest escalation and decreases the conflict-related costs.

Interactive Visualization of Large-Scale Hydrological Data using Emerging Technologies in Web Systems and Parallel Programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demir, I.; Krajewski, W. F.

2013-12-01

As geoscientists are confronted with increasingly massive datasets from environmental observations to simulations, one of the biggest challenges is having the right tools to gain scientific insight from the data and communicate the understanding to stakeholders. Recent developments in web technologies make it easy to manage, visualize and share large data sets with general public. Novel visualization techniques and dynamic user interfaces allow users to interact with data, and modify the parameters to create custom views of the data to gain insight from simulations and environmental observations. This requires developing new data models and intelligent knowledge discovery techniques to explore and extract information from complex computational simulations or large data repositories. Scientific visualization will be an increasingly important component to build comprehensive environmental information platforms. This presentation provides an overview of the trends and challenges in the field of scientific visualization, and demonstrates information visualization and communication tools developed within the light of these challenges.

Visualization and Enabling Science at PO.DAAC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tauer, E.; To, C.

2017-12-01

Facilitating the identification of appropriate data for scientific inquiry is important for efficient progress, but mechanisms for that identification vary, as does the effectiveness of those mechanisms. Appropriately crafted visualizations provide the means to quickly assess science data and scientific features, but providing the right visualization to the right application can present challenges. Even greater is the challenge of generating and/or re-constituting visualizations on the fly, particularly for large datasets. One avenue to mitigate the challenge is to arrive at an optimized intermediate data format that is tuned for rapid processing without sacrificing the provenance trace back to the original source data. This presentation will discuss the results of trading several current approaches towards an intermediate data format, and suggest a list of key attributes that will facilitate rapid visualization, and in the process, facilitate the identification of the right data for a given application.

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

Cook, Kris A.; Scholtz, Jean; Whiting, Mark A.

The VAST Challenge has been a popular venue for academic and industry participants for over ten years. Many participants comment that the majority of their time in preparing VAST Challenge entries is discovering elements in their software environments that need to be redesigned in order to solve the given task. Fortunately, there is no need to wait until the VAST Challenge is announced to test out software systems. The Visual Analytics Benchmark Repository contains all past VAST Challenge tasks, data, solutions and submissions. This paper details the various types of evaluations that may be conducted using the Repository information. Inmore » this paper we describe how developers can do informal evaluations of various aspects of their visual analytics environments using VAST Challenge information. Aspects that can be evaluated include the appropriateness of the software for various tasks, the various data types and formats that can be accommodated, the effectiveness and efficiency of the process supported by the software, and the intuitiveness of the visualizations and interactions. Researchers can compare their visualizations and interactions to those submitted to determine novelty. In addition, the paper provides pointers to various guidelines that software teams can use to evaluate the usability of their software. While these evaluations are not a replacement for formal evaluation methods, this information can be extremely useful during the development of visual analytics environments.« less

Using Visual Activity Schedules for Young Children with Challenging Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Kathleen N.; Ledford, Jennifer R.; Barton, Erin E.

2017-01-01

Young children with challenging behavior may require individualized interventions to facilitate improved outcomes. Visual activity schedules (VAS) have been well documented for improving engagement, transition, and recreation behaviors with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID). However, children…

Capacity Development of Youth in Geospatial Tools for Addressing Climate Change in Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mubea, K.; Kasera, K.; Maina, C.

2017-12-01

SERVIR E&SA builds on the institutional partnerships and networks in Eastern and Southern Africa together with the network and partnerships associated with USAID country missions in the region. The RCMRD Space Challenge was meant to equip students from high/secondary schools and primary schools within Kenya and beyond with the necessary skills and awareness in relation to environmental degradation, climate change and its drivers. Furthermore, this contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developing the youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and ultimately contributing to capacity building of the youth with the objective of promoting sustainable development. RCMRD partnered with GLOBE Program Kenya, 4-H Kenya and Esri Eastern Africa in this endeavor. The challenge involved students from seven schools analyzing data from automatic weather stations and plotting the results against other location of schools. The students were required to use TAHMO Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) normalized atmospheric data provided by GLOBE, TAHMO and RCMRD. The three parameters, humidity, precipitation and temperature were found to be very closely related. The students generated graphs that were obtained from the normalized data for the five climatic zones in Kenya. Nasokol Girls School located at Kishaunet in West Pokot County (Kenya) emerged the winners followed by St. Scholastica Catholic Primary School in Nairobi, and Moi Forces Academy Nairobi. The students were urged to utilize the knowledge acquired to address challenges related to climate change. RCMRD Space Challenge will be held annually in Kenya in collaboration with partners.

Competitive Dynamics in MSTd: A Mechanism for Robust Heading Perception Based on Optic Flow

PubMed Central

Layton, Oliver W.; Fajen, Brett R.

2016-01-01

Human heading perception based on optic flow is not only accurate, it is also remarkably robust and stable. These qualities are especially apparent when observers move through environments containing other moving objects, which introduce optic flow that is inconsistent with observer self-motion and therefore uninformative about heading direction. Moving objects may also occupy large portions of the visual field and occlude regions of the background optic flow that are most informative about heading perception. The fact that heading perception is biased by no more than a few degrees under such conditions attests to the robustness of the visual system and warrants further investigation. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether recurrent, competitive dynamics among MSTd neurons that serve to reduce uncertainty about heading over time offer a plausible mechanism for capturing the robustness of human heading perception. Simulations of existing heading models that do not contain competitive dynamics yield heading estimates that are far more erratic and unstable than human judgments. We present a dynamical model of primate visual areas V1, MT, and MSTd based on that of Layton, Mingolla, and Browning that is similar to the other models, except that the model includes recurrent interactions among model MSTd neurons. Competitive dynamics stabilize the model’s heading estimate over time, even when a moving object crosses the future path. Soft winner-take-all dynamics enhance units that code a heading direction consistent with the time history and suppress responses to transient changes to the optic flow field. Our findings support recurrent competitive temporal dynamics as a crucial mechanism underlying the robustness and stability of perception of heading. PMID:27341686

Workforce and Leader Development: Learning From the Baldrige Winners in Health Care.

PubMed

Arnold, Edwin W; Goodson, Jane R; Duarte, Neville T

2015-01-01

It is ironic that perhaps the only constant in health care organizations today is change. To compete successfully in health care and position an organization for high performance amid continuous change, it is very important for managers to have knowledge of the best learning and development practices of high-performing organizations in their industry. The rapid increases in the rate of technological change and geometric increases in knowledge make it virtually imperative that human resources are developed effectively. This article discusses the best learning and development practices among the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners in the health care industry since 2002 when the industry had its first award-winning organization.

Reengineering the corporate culture of hospitals.

PubMed

Johnson, J; Billingsley, M

1997-01-01

As we move closer to the turn of the century, the American health care system continues to provide management experts with a wealth of case studies describing the winners and losers in today's business environment. Winners in this cost-conscious era of institutional reengineering, said Senge in his best-selling book The Fifth Discipline (1990), are those organizations that bind together around a common identity, a sense of destiny, and a shared commitment to reconciling the existing threats to their survival. Senge suggests that the organizations that are able to tap people's commitment and capacity to learn at all levels of the structure will overcome the type of maladaptation to business threats so commonly seen in corporate failures today.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 43 crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-15

ISS043E194350 (05/15/2015) --- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on the International Space Station tweeted this image out of an Earth observation image as part of his Space Geo trivia contest. Scott tweeted this comment and clue: "#SpaceGeo Four international borders in one photo from the International @Space_Station. Name them"! Two winners! Congrats to @TeacherWithTuba & @PC101!. The correct answer is :#SpaceGeo A: #Denmark #Norway #Sweden #Germany & #Poland. The winners will receive an autographed copy of this image when Scott returns to Earth in March 2016. Learn more about #SpaceGeo and play along every Wednesday for your chance to win: www.nasa.gov/feature/where-over-the-world-is-astronaut-sc...

2017 First Nations Launch Competition Winners visit Kennedy Spac

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-02

A group of 19 college students recently visited NASA's Kennedy Space Center as winners of the First Nations Launch competition in Wisconsin. They were part of teams that successfully flew high-powered rockets, earning them an opportunity to visit the Florida spaceport. During their visit, they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Control Center and the Kennedy visitor complex. The competition is supported by NASA and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium. It provides an opportunity for students attending tribal colleges or universities, or who are members of a campus American Indian Science and Engineering Society, or AISES, chapter to design, build and launch a rocket at a competition in Kansasville, Wisconsin.

Location memory biases reveal the challenges of coordinating visual and kinesthetic reference frames

PubMed Central

Simmering, Vanessa R.; Peterson, Clayton; Darling, Warren; Spencer, John P.

2008-01-01

Five experiments explored the influence of visual and kinesthetic/proprioceptive reference frames on location memory. Experiments 1 and 2 compared visual and kinesthetic reference frames in a memory task using visually-specified locations and a visually-guided response. When the environment was visible, results replicated previous findings of biases away from the midline symmetry axis of the task space, with stability for targets aligned with this axis. When the environment was not visible, results showed some evidence of bias away from a kinesthetically-specified midline (trunk anterior–posterior [a–p] axis), but there was little evidence of stability when targets were aligned with body midline. This lack of stability may reflect the challenges of coordinating visual and kinesthetic information in the absence of an environmental reference frame. Thus, Experiments 3–5 examined kinesthetic guidance of hand movement to kinesthetically-defined targets. Performance in these experiments was generally accurate with no evidence of consistent biases away from the trunk a–p axis. We discuss these results in the context of the challenges of coordinating reference frames within versus between multiple sensori-motor systems. PMID:17703284

2008 ALCF annual report.

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

Drugan, C.

2009-12-07

The word 'breakthrough' aptly describes the transformational science and milestones achieved at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) throughout 2008. The number of research endeavors undertaken at the ALCF through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program grew from 9 in 2007 to 20 in 2008. The allocation of computer time awarded to researchers on the Blue Gene/P also spiked significantly - from nearly 10 million processor hours in 2007 to 111 million in 2008. To support this research, we expanded the capabilities of Intrepid, an IBM Blue Gene/P systemmore » at the ALCF, to 557 teraflops (TF) for production use. Furthermore, we enabled breakthrough levels of productivity and capability in visualization and data analysis with Eureka, a powerful installation of NVIDIA Quadro Plex S4 external graphics processing units. Eureka delivered a quantum leap in visual compute density, providing more than 111 TF and more than 3.2 terabytes of RAM. On April 21, 2008, the dedication of the ALCF realized DOE's vision to bring the power of the Department's high performance computing to open scientific research. In June, the IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer at the ALCF debuted as the world's fastest for open science and third fastest overall. No question that the science benefited from this growth and system improvement. Four research projects spearheaded by Argonne National Laboratory computer scientists and ALCF users were named to the list of top ten scientific accomplishments supported by DOE's Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program. Three of the top ten projects used extensive grants of computing time on the ALCF's Blue Gene/P to model the molecular basis of Parkinson's disease, design proteins at atomic scale, and create enzymes. As the year came to a close, the ALCF was recognized with several prestigious awards at SC08 in November. We provided resources for Linear Scaling Divide-and-Conquer Electronic Structure Calculations for Thousand Atom Nanostructures, a collaborative effort between Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory that received the ACM Gordon Bell Prize Special Award for Algorithmic Innovation. The ALCF also was named a winner in two of the four categories in the HPC Challenge best performance benchmark competition.« less

A process-based approach to characterizing the effect of acute alprazolam challenge on visual paired associate learning and memory in healthy older adults.

PubMed

Pietrzak, Robert H; Scott, James Cobb; Harel, Brian T; Lim, Yen Ying; Snyder, Peter J; Maruff, Paul

2012-11-01

Alprazolam is a benzodiazepine that, when administered acutely, results in impairments in several aspects of cognition, including attention, learning, and memory. However, the profile (i.e., component processes) that underlie alprazolam-related decrements in visual paired associate learning has not been fully explored. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized cross-over study of healthy older adults, we used a novel, "process-based" computerized measure of visual paired associate learning to examine the effect of a single, acute 1-mg dose of alprazolam on component processes of visual paired associate learning and memory. Acute alprazolam challenge was associated with a large magnitude reduction in visual paired associate learning and memory performance (d = 1.05). Process-based analyses revealed significant increases in distractor, exploratory, between-search, and within-search error types. Analyses of percentages of each error type suggested that, relative to placebo, alprazolam challenge resulted in a decrease in the percentage of exploratory errors and an increase in the percentage of distractor errors, both of which reflect memory processes. Results of this study suggest that acute alprazolam challenge decreases visual paired associate learning and memory performance by reducing the strength of the association between pattern and location, which may reflect a general breakdown in memory consolidation, with less evidence of reductions in executive processes (e.g., working memory) that facilitate visual paired associate learning and memory. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The competitive advantage of sanctioning institutions.

PubMed

Gürerk, Ozgür; Irlenbusch, Bernd; Rockenbach, Bettina

2006-04-07

Understanding the fundamental patterns and determinants of human cooperation and the maintenance of social order in human societies is a challenge across disciplines. The existing empirical evidence for the higher levels of cooperation when altruistic punishment is present versus when it is absent systematically ignores the institutional competition inherent in human societies. Whether punishment would be deliberately adopted and would similarly enhance cooperation when directly competing with nonpunishment institutions is highly controversial in light of recent findings on the detrimental effects of punishment. We show experimentally that a sanctioning institution is the undisputed winner in a competition with a sanction-free institution. Despite initial aversion, the entire population migrates successively to the sanctioning institution and strongly cooperates, whereas the sanction-free society becomes fully depopulated. The findings demonstrate the competitive advantage of sanctioning institutions and exemplify the emergence and manifestation of social order driven by institutional selection.

Architectural Visualization of C/C++ Source Code for Program Comprehension

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

Panas, T; Epperly, T W; Quinlan, D

2006-09-01

Structural and behavioral visualization of large-scale legacy systems to aid program comprehension is still a major challenge. The challenge is even greater when applications are implemented in flexible and expressive languages such as C and C++. In this paper, we consider visualization of static and dynamic aspects of large-scale scientific C/C++ applications. For our investigation, we reuse and integrate specialized analysis and visualization tools. Furthermore, we present a novel layout algorithm that permits a compressive architectural view of a large-scale software system. Our layout is unique in that it allows traditional program visualizations, i.e., graph structures, to be seen inmore » relation to the application's file structure.« less

Technical-tactical analysis of youth olympic taekwondo combat.

PubMed

Tornello, Francesco; Capranica, Laura; Minganti, Carlo; Chiodo, Salvatore; Condello, Giancarlo; Tessitore, Antonio

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study was to define the technical and tactical profiles of official youth taekwondo competitions played under the most recent rules of the International Taekwondo Federation. Tactical actions (i.e., attack, defense, and block), technical executions (from 1- to 4-point scores), kicking legs (i.e., front/rear and right/left), and overall technical effectiveness were investigated in relation to match outcome of semifinal and final competitions (n = 50) of youth (aged 13-14 years) black belt athletes during the Italian Taekwondo Cadet Championship. Differences (p < 0.001) were found among all action typologies (Attack: 50.9 ± 2.2%; Defense: 27.7 ± 1.5%; Block: 21.3 ± 1.6%), with winners showing fewer (p = 0.005) offensive actions and more (p = 0.001) defensive actions with respect to non-winners. Independently from match outcome, technical exchanges showed differences (p < 0.001) for technical executions. Winners resulted more efficient (p < 0.001) for both technical and tactical variables. In general, these findings showed that Cadets tend to adopt an offensive strategy. In considering that the adoption of the new electronic system requires athletes to execute correct technical actions to have a score assigned, coaches should emphasize the effectiveness of scoring techniques and help athletes to effectively improve their defense and counterattack capabilities.

Can outcomes of dyadic interactions be consistent across contexts among wild zebrafish?

PubMed Central

Roy, Tamal; Bhat, Anuradha

2015-01-01

Winner–loser relations among group-living individuals are often measured by the levels of aggressive interactions between them. These interactions are typically driven by competition for resources such as food and mates. It has been observed in recent studies on zebrafish that dominant males generally have higher total reproductive success than their less aggressive subordinate counterparts. This study aimed to test whether males who monopolized a food resource (winners) also displayed higher levels of aggression than the males who were unsuccessful (losers). Further, the study also tested whether the same ‘winner’ males were also able to monopolize interactions with females during courtship. The results from these experiments showed that while males monopolizing food resources (winners) demonstrated higher levels of agonistic interactions than the losers, the average number of courtship interactions initiated by either of the males (i.e. winners/losers) with a female was not significantly different. A significant relationship was obtained between the number of aggressive interactions and feeding latencies of males in the context of food monopolization. This indicated that there could be a linkage between boldness defined by feeding latency in a novel environment and agonistic responses. The probable role of nature of resources, resource availability and distribution in determining the outcomes of dyadic contests is discussed. PMID:26715992

Changes in heart rate associated with contest outcome in agonistic encounters in lobsters.

PubMed

Hernáindez-Falcón, Jesús; Basu, Alo C; Govindasamy, Siddhartan; Kravitz, Edward A

2005-03-01

Agonistic contests between lobsters housed together in a confined space progress through encounters of increasing intensity until a dominance relationship is established. Once this relationship is established, losing animals continually retreat from the advances of winners. These encounters are likely to consume much energy in both winning and losing animals. Therefore, one might expect involvement of many physiological systems before, during and after fights. Here, we report effects of agonistic encounters on cardiac frequency in winning and losing adult lobsters involved in dyadic interactions. The results show that: (i) small but significant increases in heart rate are observed upon chemical detection of a conspecific; (ii) during agonistic interactions, further increases in heart rate are seen; and (iii) ultimate winners exhibit greater increases in heart rate lasting longer periods of time compared to ultimate losers. Heart rate in winners remains elevated for at least 15 min after the contests have ended and animals have been returned to their home tanks. Reduced effects are seen in second and third pairings between familiar opponents. The sustained changes in heart rate that we observe in winning lobsters may result from hormonal modulation of cardiac function related to the change in social status brought about by contest outcome.

A reversal of fortunes: climate change 'winners' and 'losers' in Antarctic Peninsula penguins.

PubMed

Clucas, Gemma V; Dunn, Michael J; Dyke, Gareth; Emslie, Steven D; Naveen, Ron; Polito, Michael J; Pybus, Oliver G; Rogers, Alex D; Hart, Tom

2014-06-12

Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity. Antarctic ecosystems are no exception. Investigating past species responses to climatic events can distinguish natural from anthropogenic impacts. Climate change produces 'winners', species that benefit from these events and 'losers', species that decline or become extinct. Using molecular techniques, we assess the demographic history and population structure of Pygoscelis penguins in the Scotia Arc related to climate warming after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). All three pygoscelid penguins responded positively to post-LGM warming by expanding from glacial refugia, with those breeding at higher latitudes expanding most. Northern (Pygoscelis papua papua) and Southern (Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii) gentoo sub-species likely diverged during the LGM. Comparing historical responses with the literature on current trends, we see Southern gentoo penguins are responding to current warming as they did during post-LGM warming, expanding their range southwards. Conversely, Adélie and chinstrap penguins are experiencing a 'reversal of fortunes' as they are now declining in the Antarctic Peninsula, the opposite of their response to post-LGM warming. This suggests current climate warming has decoupled historic population responses in the Antarctic Peninsula, favoring generalist gentoo penguins as climate change 'winners', while Adélie and chinstrap penguins have become climate change 'losers'.

Market Efficiency and the Risks and Returns of Dynamic Trading Strategies with Commodity Futures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Switzer, Lorne N.; Jiang, Hui

This paper investigates relationships between profits from dynamic trading strategies, risk premium, convenience yields, and net hedging pressures for commodity futures. As a market efficiency study, it crosses a number of disciplines, including traditional finance, behavioral finance, and behavioral psychology. The term structure of oil, gold, copper and soybeans futures markets contains predictive power for the corresponding term premium. However, only oil futures and soybean futures lead their spot premium. Significant momentum profits are identified in both outright futures and spread trading strategies when the spot premium and the term premium are used to form winner and loser portfolios. Profits from active strategies based on winner and loser portfolios are conditioned on market structure and net hedging pressure effects. Dynamic trading strategies based on contracts with extreme backwardation, extreme contango, and extreme hedging pressures are also tested. On average, spread trading outperforms outright futures trading in capturing the term structure risk and hedging pressure risk. For such strategies, long-short the long-term spread offers the greatest and most significant return and it offers the only exploitable trading profits built on the past hedging pressure. The existence of profits from active trading strategies based on winners is consistent with behavioral finance and behavioral psychology models in which market participants irrationally overreact to information and trends.

TOPICAL REVIEW: Prosthetic interfaces with the visual system: biological issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Ethan D.

2007-06-01

The design of effective visual prostheses for the blind represents a challenge for biomedical engineers and neuroscientists. Significant progress has been made in the miniaturization and processing power of prosthesis electronics; however development lags in the design and construction of effective machine brain interfaces with visual system neurons. This review summarizes what has been learned about stimulating neurons in the human and primate retina, lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex. Each level of the visual system presents unique challenges for neural interface design. Blind patients with the retinal degenerative disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are a common population in clinical trials of visual prostheses. The visual performance abilities of normals and RP patients are compared. To generate pattern vision in blind patients, the visual prosthetic interface must effectively stimulate the retinotopically organized neurons in the central visual field to elicit patterned visual percepts. The development of more biologically compatible methods of stimulating visual system neurons is critical to the development of finer spatial percepts. Prosthesis electrode arrays need to adapt to different optimal stimulus locations, stimulus patterns, and patient disease states.

Comparisons: Technical-Tactical and Time-Motion Analysis of Mixed Martial Arts by Outcomes.

PubMed

Miarka, Bianca; Vecchio, Fabrício B D; Camey, Suzi; Amtmann, John A

2016-07-01

Miarka, B, Vecchio, FBD, Camey, S, and Amtmann, JA. Comparisons: technical-tactical and time-motion analysis of mixed martial arts by outcomes. J Strength Cond Res 30(7): 1975-1984, 2016-The aim of this study was to compare time-motion and technical-tactical analysis between paired outcomes and rounds of mixed martial arts (MMA) matches. The sample consisted of 645 rounds of MMA competition paired by outcomes (first round, winners n = 215 and losers n = 215; second round, winners n = 215 and losers n = 215; third round, winners n = 215 and losers n = 215). The time-motion variables were categorized into low-intensity or high-intensity, stand-up or groundwork situations. Stand-up techniques were analyzed by observing total strikes to the head and body, and takedowns. The actions on the ground were analyzed by observing submission activity, including successful choking and joint locking actions, and also positional improvements, including advances to the mount, half guard, and side and back positions. Chi-squared and Wilcoxon tests were conducted with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results showed that winners had higher values for total strikes and submissions in all rounds, and also positional improvements, over losers. The standing combat with low-intensity comparisons presented differences between the rounds first, with a median of 2:33.5 (P25-P75%: 1:20-3:56) minute, second, with 2:37 (1:24-3:59) minute, and third, with 2:07 (1:06-3:39.2) minute. These data suggest a focus on the intermittent demand presented in combat phases with a special attention to the strike and ground technical-tactical skills; strength and conditioning coaches could emphasize the effort pause ratios for both standing and ground combat that mimic the requirements of MMA, especially during the third round.

The VAST Challenge: History, Scope, and Outcomes: An introduction to the Special Issue

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

Cook, Kristin A.; Grinstein, Georges; Whiting, Mark A.

2014-10-01

Visual analytics aims to facilitate human insight from complex data via a combination of visual representations, interaction techniques, and supporting algorithms. To create new tools and techniques that achieve this goal requires that researchers have an understanding of analytical questions to be addressed, data that illustrates the complexities and ambiguities found in realistic analytic settings, and methods for evaluating whether the plausible insights are gained through use of the new methods. However, researchers do not, generally speaking, have access to analysts who can articulate their problems or operational data that is used for analysis. To fill this gap, the Visualmore » Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) Challenge has been held annually since 2006. The VAST Challenge provides an opportunity for researchers to experiment with realistic but not real problems, using realistic synthetic data with known events embedded. Since its inception, the VAST Challenge has evolved along with the visual analytics research community to pose more complex challenges, ranging from text analysis to video analysis to large scale network log analysis. The seven years of the VAST Challenge have seen advancements in research and development, education, evaluation, and in the challenge process itself. This special issue of Information Visualization highlights some of the noteworthy advancements in each of these areas. Some of these papers focus on important research questions related to the challenge itself, and other papers focus on innovative research that has been shaped by participation in the challenge. This paper describes the VAST Challenge process and benefits in detail. It also provides an introduction to and context for the remaining papers in the issue.« less

2011 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers: the PECASE Awards Ceremony

ScienceCinema

Poneman, Daniel

2018-05-31

The winners for 2011 of the DOE PECASE Awards were recognized in a ceremony held August 01, 2012. Dr. Bill Brinkman, Director of the Office of Science introduced the main speaker, DOE Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman. Leaders from across the Department and the fields of energy research and technology presented the 2011 winners. They are: Dr. Stanley Atcitty (SNL); Dr. Jeffrey W. Banks (LLNL); Dr. Amy J. Clarke (LANL); Derek R. Gaston (INL); Dr. Christopher Hirata (California Institute of Technology); Dr. Heileen Hsu-Kim (Duke University); Dr. Thomas Francisco (Jaramillo Stanford University); Dr.Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (MIT); Dr. Peter Mueller (ANL); Dr. Daniel B. Sinars (SNL); Dr. Jesse Thaler (MIT); and Dr. Heather Whitley (LLNL).

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Awards Ceremony for 2011 Award Winners (Presentations, including remarks by Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu)

ScienceCinema

Chu, Steven [U.S. Energy Secretary

2018-01-12

The winners for 2011 of the Department of Energy's Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award were recognized in a ceremony held May 21, 2012. Dr. Steven Chu and others spoke of the importance of the accomplishments and the prestigious history of the award. The recipients of the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for 2011 are: Riccardo Betti (University of Rochester); Paul C. Canfield (Ames Laboratory); Mark B. Chadwick (Los Alamos National Laboratory); David E. Chavez (Los Alamos National Laboratory); Amit Goyal (Oak Ridge National Laboratory); Thomas P. Guilderson (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory); Lois Curfman McInnes (Argonne National Laboratory); Bernard Matthew Poelker (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility); and Barry F. Smith (Argonne National Laboratory).

2011 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers: the PECASE Awards Ceremony

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

Poneman, Daniel

2012-08-01

The winners for 2011 of the DOE PECASE Awards were recognized in a ceremony held August 01, 2012. Dr. Bill Brinkman, Director of the Office of Science introduced the main speaker, DOE Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman. Leaders from across the Department and the fields of energy research and technology presented the 2011 winners. They are: Dr. Stanley Atcitty (SNL); Dr. Jeffrey W. Banks (LLNL); Dr. Amy J. Clarke (LANL); Derek R. Gaston (INL); Dr. Christopher Hirata (California Institute of Technology); Dr. Heileen Hsu-Kim (Duke University); Dr. Thomas Francisco (Jaramillo Stanford University); Dr.Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (MIT); Dr. Peter Mueller (ANL); Dr.more » Daniel B. Sinars (SNL); Dr. Jesse Thaler (MIT); and Dr. Heather Whitley (LLNL).« less

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Awards Ceremony for 2011 Award Winners (Presentations, including remarks by Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu)

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

Chu, Steven

The winners for 2011 of the Department of Energy's Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award were recognized in a ceremony held May 21, 2012. Dr. Steven Chu and others spoke of the importance of the accomplishments and the prestigious history of the award. The recipients of the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for 2011 are: Riccardo Betti (University of Rochester); Paul C. Canfield (Ames Laboratory); Mark B. Chadwick (Los Alamos National Laboratory); David E. Chavez (Los Alamos National Laboratory); Amit Goyal (Oak Ridge National Laboratory); Thomas P. Guilderson (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory); Lois Curfman McInnes (Argonne National Laboratory); Bernard Matthew Poelker (Thomas Jeffersonmore » National Accelerator Facility); and Barry F. Smith (Argonne National Laboratory).« less

KSC-99pp0975

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-07-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Mrs. Lalitha Chandrasekhar (left), wife of the late Indian-American Nobel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, poses with a model of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the winners of the contest to rename the telescope in the TRW Media Hospitality Tent at the NASA Press Site at KSC. The winners of the contest are Jatila van der Veen (center), academic coordinator and lecturer, Physics Dept., University of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Tyrel Johnson (right), high school student, Laclede, Idaho. The name "Chandra," a shortened version of Chandrasekhar's name which he preferred among friends and colleagues, was chosen to honor the Nobel Laureate. "Chandra" also means "Moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit. The observatory is scheduled to be launched aboard Columbia on Space Shuttle mission STS-93

77 FR 64521 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for “Health Design Challenge”

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-22

... it with visuals and a better layout. Innovators will be invited to submit their best designs for a... a sample CCD. Challenge entrants will submit a design that: [ssquf] Improves the visual layout and... Design Challenge'' AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS...

Writing through Big Data: New Challenges and Possibilities for Data-Driven Arguments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beveridge, Aaron

2017-01-01

As multimodal writing continues to shift and expand in the era of Big Data, writing studies must confront the new challenges and possibilities emerging from data mining, data visualization, and data-driven arguments. Often collected under the broad banner of "data literacy," students' experiences of data visualization and data-driven…

The Top 10 Challenges in Extreme-Scale Visual Analytics

PubMed Central

Wong, Pak Chung; Shen, Han-Wei; Johnson, Christopher R.; Chen, Chaomei; Ross, Robert B.

2013-01-01

In this issue of CG&A, researchers share their R&D findings and results on applying visual analytics (VA) to extreme-scale data. Having surveyed these articles and other R&D in this field, we’ve identified what we consider the top challenges of extreme-scale VA. To cater to the magazine’s diverse readership, our discussion evaluates challenges in all areas of the field, including algorithms, hardware, software, engineering, and social issues. PMID:24489426

When epilepsy may have changed history: Antônio Moreira César as the commander of the third expedition in the war of Canudos.

PubMed

Yacubian, Elza Márcia Targas

2003-06-01

Colonel Antônio Moreira César, the Commander of the third Expedition against Canudos (1896-1897), nicknamed "head-chopper", was considered an implacable military man, a synonym of ferocity and extreme brutality against his adversaries. Therefore, he was nominated the Commander of an expedition considered almost invincible. Since his 30's he presented epileptic seizures, which increased in frequency and severity on his way to Canudos. After several well-documented episodes and probably considering himself the winner in anticipation, he ordered a premature and almost ingenuous attack against Canudos. His misjudging is attributed to the effect of successive seizures. He was shot and killed on the very first day of that battle and his expedition had a horrible and unexpected end. Based on the descriptions of his biographer we discuss the nature of his disease probably characterized by focal seizures with elementary and complex visual hallucinations followed by language deficits and episodes of complex partial seizures and secondary generalization and its role in this episode of Brazilian history.

[David H. Hubel, Torsten N. Wiesel, Nigel W. Daw: the creators of modern visual neurophysiology].

PubMed

Czepita, D

1999-01-01

Curriculum vitae as well as scientifical out-put of the Nobel Price winners--David Hunter Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel, and the Friedenwald Memorial Award laureate--Nigel Warwick Daw are described. D.H. Hubel was born in 1926 in Windsor, Canada. In 1951 he received a medical degree from McGill University. From 1955-1958 he worked at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, from 1958-1959 at Johns Hopkins University, and since 1959 at Harvard University. T.N. Wiesel was born in 1924 in Uppsala, Sweden. In 1954 he received a medical degree from Karolinska Institute. From 1955-1959 he worked at Johns Hopkins University, from 1959-1982 at Harvard University, and since 1983 at the Rockefeller University, New York. N.W. Daw was born in 1933 in London, England. In 1961 he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Trinity College. In 1967 he became a doctor of philosophy in biophysics at Johns Hopkins University. From 1967-1969 he worked at Harvard University, from 1969-1992 at Washington University, and since 1992 at Yale University.

Critical Assessment of Small Molecule Identification 2016: automated methods.

PubMed

Schymanski, Emma L; Ruttkies, Christoph; Krauss, Martin; Brouard, Céline; Kind, Tobias; Dührkop, Kai; Allen, Felicity; Vaniya, Arpana; Verdegem, Dries; Böcker, Sebastian; Rousu, Juho; Shen, Huibin; Tsugawa, Hiroshi; Sajed, Tanvir; Fiehn, Oliver; Ghesquière, Bart; Neumann, Steffen

2017-03-27

The fourth round of the Critical Assessment of Small Molecule Identification (CASMI) Contest ( www.casmi-contest.org ) was held in 2016, with two new categories for automated methods. This article covers the 208 challenges in Categories 2 and 3, without and with metadata, from organization, participation, results and post-contest evaluation of CASMI 2016 through to perspectives for future contests and small molecule annotation/identification. The Input Output Kernel Regression (CSI:IOKR) machine learning approach performed best in "Category 2: Best Automatic Structural Identification-In Silico Fragmentation Only", won by Team Brouard with 41% challenge wins. The winner of "Category 3: Best Automatic Structural Identification-Full Information" was Team Kind (MS-FINDER), with 76% challenge wins. The best methods were able to achieve over 30% Top 1 ranks in Category 2, with all methods ranking the correct candidate in the Top 10 in around 50% of challenges. This success rate rose to 70% Top 1 ranks in Category 3, with candidates in the Top 10 in over 80% of the challenges. The machine learning and chemistry-based approaches are shown to perform in complementary ways. The improvement in (semi-)automated fragmentation methods for small molecule identification has been substantial. The achieved high rates of correct candidates in the Top 1 and Top 10, despite large candidate numbers, open up great possibilities for high-throughput annotation of untargeted analysis for "known unknowns". As more high quality training data becomes available, the improvements in machine learning methods will likely continue, but the alternative approaches still provide valuable complementary information. Improved integration of experimental context will also improve identification success further for "real life" annotations. The true "unknown unknowns" remain to be evaluated in future CASMI contests. Graphical abstract .

Developing Guidelines for Assessing Visual Analytics Environments

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

Scholtz, Jean

2011-07-01

In this paper, we develop guidelines for evaluating visual analytic environments based on a synthesis of reviews for the entries to the 2009 Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) Symposium Challenge and from a user study with professional intelligence analysts. By analyzing the 2009 VAST Challenge reviews we gained a better understanding of what is important to our reviewers, both visualization researchers and professional analysts. We also report on a small user study with professional analysts to determine the important factors that they use in evaluating visual analysis systems. We then looked at guidelines developed by researchers in various domainsmore » and synthesized these into an initial set for use by others in the community. In a second part of the user study, we looked at guidelines for a new aspect of visual analytic systems – the generation of reports. Future visual analytic systems have been challenged to help analysts generate their reports. In our study we worked with analysts to understand the criteria they used to evaluate the quality of analytic reports. We propose that this knowledge will be useful as researchers look at systems to automate some of the report generation.1 Based on these efforts, we produced some initial guidelines for evaluating visual analytic environment and for evaluation of analytic reports. It is important to understand that these guidelines are initial drafts and are limited in scope because of the type of tasks for which the visual analytic systems used in the studies in this paper were designed. More research and refinement is needed by the Visual Analytics Community to provide additional evaluation guidelines for different types of visual analytic environments.« less

[Hugo von Ziemssen poster award 2015].

PubMed

2015-12-01

Prize winner: Herr Dr. Stefano Bordignon, for the poster presentation "The SCAR-AF study: electroanatomial scar distribution and left atrial conduction delay in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation".

Space Traveler Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Instructor, 1981

1981-01-01

Describes the winners of the Space Traveler Project, a contest jointly sponsored by Rockwell International, NASA, and this magazine to identify worthwhile elementary science programs relating to the Space Shuttle. (SJL)

Exploring challenges to telehealth communication by specialists in poison information.

PubMed

Rothwell, Erin; Ellington, Lee; Planalp, Sally; Crouch, Barbara

2012-01-01

The use of the telephone for providing health care is growing. A significant amount of social meaning is derived from visual information, and the absence of visual stimuli provides unique barriers to communication and increases the risks for misunderstandings and distractions. Understanding challenges to telephone communication can provide insight into training opportunities for overcoming these difficulties and improving patient care. The purpose of this research was to explore through focus groups the challenges of phone communication perceived by specialists in poison information. General types of challenges to effective phone communication included developing new communication skills to compensate for lack of visual information, difficulty assessing caller understanding, difficulty managing caller misunderstandings, maintaining distinctive assessments for routine calls, and managing the multifaceted aspects of job stress. The desire for training to enhance telehealth and cultural competency skills was also mentioned, and these findings might provide guidance for the development of training opportunities for telehealth professionals.