Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buskirk, E. Drannon, Jr.

Presented is the instructor's manual for a one-hour presentation on cost-effectiveness analysis. Topics covered are the scope of cost-effectiveness analysis, basic assessment procedures, and the role of citizens in the analysis of alternatives. A supplementary audiovisual program is available. These materials are part of the Working for Clean…

Decision Tree Phytoremediation

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-01

aromatic hydrocarbons, and landfill leachates . Phytoremediation has been used for point and nonpoint source hazardous waste control. 1.2 Types of... Phytoremediation Prepared by Interstate Technology and Regulatory Cooperation Work Group Phytoremediation Work Team December 1999 Decision Tree...1999 2. REPORT TYPE N/A 3. DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Phytoremediation Decision Tree 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c

Report on the EPA Work Group on VSL Meta-Analyses (2006)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The following report contains an analysis of the use of meta-analytic procedures to determine an estimate of VSL. Many detailed issues are covered in this report, but several general comments are also highlighted.

Feeding the Preschool Child: Documents Issued by PAG Ad Hoc Working Group Meetings (1969-1975).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Vienna (Austria).

This document contains six papers prepared between 1969 and 1975 by the Protein-Calorie Advisory Group (PAG) of the United Nations on topics related to the feeding of preschool children in underdeveloped countries. Among the topics covered: (1) nutrition in utero; (2) nutritional aspects of breastfeeding; (3) infant mortality rates as indicators…

Urban Stormwater Runoff. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simko, Robert A.

Urban stormwater runoff collects pollutants from many parts of a city and is an important consideration in water quality planning. Presented is an instructor's guide for a learning session covering various aspects of urban runoff including pollutant sources, management practices, and regulatory programs. Intended for citizen advisory groups, this…

Wastewater Facilities Operation and Management. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, David A.

Local communities must be willing to spend funds to assure the proper operation and management of wastewater treatment facilities. Designed for citizen advisory groups, the one-hour learning session described in this instructor's manual covers problem areas, federal requirements, and responsibilities for wastewater plant operations and management.…

Software Development Group. Software Review Center. Microcomputing Working Paper Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkey, Nadine; Smith, Shirley C.

Two papers describe the roles of the Software Development Group (SDG) and the Software Review Center (SRC) at Drexel University. The first paper covers the primary role of the SDG, which is designed to assist Drexel faculty with the technical design and programming of courseware for the Apple Macintosh microcomputer; the relationship of the SDG…

Art & Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shmulsky, Lucinda

2009-01-01

In July 2004, The National Endowment for the Arts released the results of a survey entitled "Reading at Risk." The survey covered a 20-year period from 1982 to 2002 and documented a dramatic decline in the reading of literary works by all age groups during that period. The steepest decline of 28 percent was found among the youngest age group of…

Model Attitude and Deformation Measurements at the NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woike, Mark R.

2008-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center is currently participating in an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) sponsored Model Attitude and Deformation Working Group. This working group is chartered to develop a best practices document dealing with the measurement of two primary areas of wind tunnel measurements, 1) model attitude including alpha, beta and roll angle, and 2) model deformation. Model attitude is a principle variable in making aerodynamic and force measurements in a wind tunnel. Model deformation affects measured forces, moments and other measured aerodynamic parameters. The working group comprises of membership from industry, academia, and the Department of Defense (DoD). Each member of the working group gave a presentation on the methods and techniques that they are using to make model attitude and deformation measurements. This presentation covers the NASA Glenn Research Center s approach in making model attitude and deformation measurements.

Cover crops as a gateway to greater conservation in Iowa?: Integrating crop models, field trials, economics and farmer perspectives regarding soil resilience in light of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roesch-McNally, G. E.; Basche, A.; Tyndall, J.; Arbuckle, J. G.; Miguez, F.; Bowman, T.

2014-12-01

Scientists predict a number of climate changes for the US Midwest with expected declines in crop productivity as well as eco-hydrological impacts. More frequent extreme rain events particularly in the spring may well increase saturated soils thus complicating agronomic interests and also exacerbate watershed scale impairments (e.g., sediment, nutrient loss). In order to build more resilient production systems in light of climate change, farmers will increasingly need to implement conservation practices (singularly or more likely in combination) that enable farmers to manage profitable businesses yet mitigate consequential environmental impacts that have both in-field and off-farm implications. Cover crops are empirically known to promote many aspects of soil and water health yet even the most aggressive recent estimates show that only 1-2% of the total acreage in Iowa have been planted to cover crops. In order to better understand why farmers are reluctant to adopt cover crops across Iowa we combined agronomic and financial data from long-term field trials, working farm trials and model simulations so as to present comprehensive data-driven information to farmers in focus group discussions in order to understand existing barriers, perceived benefits and responses to the information presented. Four focus groups (n=29) were conducted across Iowa in four geographic regions. Focus group discussions help explore the nuance of farmers' responses to modeling outputs and their real-life agronomic realities, thus shedding light on the social and psychological barriers with cover crop utilization. Among the key insights gained, comprehensive data-driven research can influence farmer perspectives on potential cover crop impacts to cash crop yields, experienced costs are potentially quite variable, and having field/farm benefits articulated in economic terms are extremely important when farmers weigh the opportunity costs associated with adopting new practices. Our work represents multidisciplinary collaboration necessary to gain greater understanding of what it will take for farmers to cover the ground to prevent erosion and nutrient losses in the context of a changing climate.

Summary of Sessions: Ionosphere - Thermosphere - Mesosphere Working Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spann, J. F.; Bhattacharyya, A.

2006-01-01

The topics covered by the sessions under the working group on Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere dealt with various aspects of the response of the ionosphere-thermosphere coupled system and the middle atmosphere to solar variability. There were four plenary talks related to the theme of this working group, thirteen oral presentations in three sessions and six poster presentations. A number of issues related to effects of solar variability on the ionosphere-thermosphere, observed using satellite and ground-based data including ground magnetometer observations, radio beacon studies of equatorial spread F, and modeling of some of these effects, were discussed. Radar observations of the mesosphere-lower thermosphere region and a future mission to study the coupling of thunderstorm processes to this region, the ionosphere, and magnetosphere were also presented.

Global land-cover and land-use change of the last 6000 years for climate modelling studies: the PAGES LandCover6k initiative and its first achievements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaillard, Marie-Jose; Morrison, Kathleen; Madella, Marco; Whitehouse, Nicki J.; Pages Landcover6k Sub-Coordinators

2016-04-01

The goal of the PAGES LandCover6k initiative is to provide relevant, empirical data on past anthropogenic land-cover change (land-use change) to climate modellers (e.g. the CMIP5 initiative). Land-use change is one of many climate forcings and its effect on climate is still badly understood. Among the effects of land-cover change on climate, the best known are the biogeochemical effects, and in particular the influence on the exchange of CO2 between the land surface and the atmosphere. The biogeophysical effects are less well understood, i.e. the net effect of changes in the albedo and evapotranspiration is complex. Moreover, the net effect of both biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes due to land-use change is still a matter of debate. The LandCover6k working group infers land-use data from fossil pollen records from lake sediments and peat deposits, and from historical archives and archaeological records (including pollen and other palaeoecological records such as wood and plant micro/macroremains). The working group is divided into two activities, i) pollen-based reconstructions of past land cover using pollen-vegetation modelling approaches, and mapping of pollen-based land-cover change using spatial statistics (e.g. Trondman et al., 2015; Pirzimanbein et al., 2014), and ii) upscaling and summarizing historical and archaeological data into maps of major land-use categories linked to quantitative attributes. Studies on pollen productivity of major plant taxa are an essential part of activity i). Pollen productivity estimates are available for a large number of the northern hemisphere, major plant taxa, but are still missing for large parts of the tropics for which research is currently in progress. The results of both activities are then used to revise existing Anthropogenic Land-Cover Change (ALCC) scenarios, the HYDE database (Klein-Goldewijk et al.,) and KK (Kaplan et al.,). Climate modellers (e.g. the CMIP5 initiative) can use the LandCover6k products as such (i and ii above), and/or the revised HYDE and KK ALCCs. The LandCover6k working group focuses on regions of the world where humans have had a significant impact on land cover during the last 6000 (6k) calendar years (in some regions earlier than 6k ago) through deforestation and diverse agricultural practices, i.e. the Americas, Western and Eastern Africa, Europe, and Asia. In Asia, the emphasis has been placed so far on China, India and Japan. References: Kaplan JO et al. (2009) Quaternary Science Reviews 28(27-28): 3016-3034. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev. 2009.09.028; Klein Goldewijk K et al. (2011) Global Ecology and Biogeography 20: 73-86. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00587.x; Pirzamanbein B et al. (2014) Ecol Complex 20:127-141; Trondman A-K et al. (2015) Glob Chang Biol 21:676-697. doi:10.1111/gcb.12737.

Restructuring the HMLA to Optimize Support to the MAGTF

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-25

REPORT  DATE  (DD-­‐MM-­‐YYYY)   05-01-2012 2.  REPORT  TYPE   Master of Military Studies Research Paper 3.  DATES  COVERED...research, special, group study , etc. 3.  DATES  COVERED. Indicate the time during which the work was performed and the report was written...Development Command Quantico, Virginia 22134-5068 MASTER OF MILITARY STUDIES TITLE: RESTRUCTURING THE HMLA TO OPTIMIZE SUPPORT TO THE MAGTF

Slow Neutron Velocity Spectrometer Transmission Studies Of Pu

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Havens, W. W. Jr.; Melkonian, E.; Rainwater, L. J.; Levin, M.

1951-05-28

The slow neutron transmission of several samples of Pu has been investigated with the Columbia Neutron Velocity Spectrometer. Data are presented in two groups, those covering the energy region from 0 to 6 ev, and those covering the region above 6 ev. Below 6 ev the resolution was relatively good, and a detailed study of the cross section variation was made. Work above 6 ev consisted of merely locating levels and obtaining a rough idea of their strengths.

Collaboration between specialties for respiratory allergies in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11.

PubMed

Tanno, Luciana Kase; Calderon, Moises; Linzer, Jeffrey F; Chalmers, Robert J G; Demoly, Pascal

2017-02-10

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been grouping the allergic and hypersensitivity disorders involving the respiratory tract under topographic distribution, regardless of the underlying mechanisms, triggers or concepts currently in use for allergic and hypersensitivity conditions. In order to strengthen awareness and deliberate the creation of the new "Allergic or hypersensitivity disorders involving the respiratory tract" section of the ICD-11, we here propose make the building process public. The new frame has been constructed to cover the gaps previously identified and was based on consensus academic reports and ICD-11 principles. Constant and bilateral discussion was kept with relevant groups representing specialties and resulted in proposals submission into the ICD-11 online platform. The "Allergic or hypersensitivity disorders involving the respiratory tract" section covers 64 entities distributed across five main categories. All the 79 proposals submitted resulted from an intensive collaboration of the Allergy working group, relevant Expert working groups and the WHO ICD governance. The establishment of the ICD-11 "Allergic or hypersensitivity disorders involving the respiratory tract" section will allow the dissemination of the updated concepts to be used in clinical practice by many different specialties and health professionals.

A model parent group for enhancing aggressive children's social competence in Taiwan.

PubMed

Li, Ming-Hui

2009-07-01

This paper presents a semi-structured psychoeducational model of group work for parents of aggressive children based on concepts of co-parenting and bidirectionality. The group was developed for enhancing five Taiwanese aggressive children's social competence by promoting positive interactions within family. Topics covered in the group included identifying parenting styles, forming parental alliances, fostering parent-child mutual initiations/mutual compliances, establishing parent-child co-regulation, and responding to aggressive children's negative emotions. Pre- and post-group comparisons suggested the effectiveness of the group model.

Land-cover observations as part of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS): Progress, activities, and prospects

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herold, M.; Woodcock, C.E.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Townshend, J.; Brady, M.; Steenmans, C.; Schmullius, C. C.

2008-01-01

The international land-cover community has been working with GEO since 2005 to build the foundations for land-cover observations as an integral part of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The Group on Earth Observation (GEO) has provided the platform to elevate the societal relevance of land cover monitoring and helped to link a diverse set of global, regional, and national activities. A dedicated 2007-2009 GEO work plan task has resulted in achievements on the strategic and implementation levels. Integrated Global Observations of the Land (IGOL), the land theme of the Integrated Global Observation Strategy (IGOS), has been approved and is now in the process of transition into GEO implementation. New global land-cover maps at moderate spatial resolutions (i.e., GLOBCOVER) are being produced using guidelines and standards of the international community. The Middecadal Global Landsat Survey for 2005-2006 is extending previous 1990 and 2000 efforts for global, high-quality Landsat data. Despite this progress, essential challenges for building a sustained global land-cover-observing system remain, including: international cooperation on the continuity of global observations; ensuring consistency in land monitoring approaches; community engagement and country participation in mapping activities; commitment to ongoing quality assurance and validation; and regional networking and capacity building.

Socio-economic status of workers of building construction industry.

PubMed

Tiwary, Guddi; Gangopadhyay, P K; Biswas, S; Nayak, K; Chatterjee, M K; Chakraborty, D; Mukherjee, S

2012-05-01

Informal/unorganised sector covers 92% of the total work force in India. About 50% of the construction industrial workers belonged to informal/unorganised sector. The present study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of construction worker and availing of the social security measures by this working group. The study covered 150 subjects with an average age of 32 years and mean duration of work was nine years. They were poorly paid with an average income of Rs. 4956/-per month. Though the literacy rate was high (79%) yet most of them were addicted to different habits like drinking alcohol, smoking bidi, tobacco chewing etc., Abusing the family members were noted in (30%) of the cases. Their regular intake of food, usually inadequate in quantity and was mainly consisted of rice, pulses, vegetables. Though most of the subjects (73%) were living in kacha houses yet the latrine facilities were available to 62% of total covered houses. Majority of them were unaware of the different social security schemes/measures. The details have been discussed here.

Socio-economic status of workers of building construction industry

PubMed Central

Tiwary, Guddi; Gangopadhyay, P. K.; Biswas, S.; Nayak, K.; Chatterjee, M. K.; Chakraborty, D.; Mukherjee, S.

2012-01-01

Background: Informal/unorganised sector covers 92% of the total work force in India. About 50% of the construction industrial workers belonged to informal/unorganised sector. Material and Methods: The present study was undertaken to know the socio-economic status of construction worker and availing of the social security measures by this working group. Results and Conclusion: The study covered 150 subjects with an average age of 32 years and mean duration of work was nine years. They were poorly paid with an average income of Rs. 4956/-per month. Though the literacy rate was high (79%) yet most of them were addicted to different habits like drinking alcohol, smoking bidi, tobacco chewing etc., Abusing the family members were noted in (30%) of the cases. Their regular intake of food, usually inadequate in quantity and was mainly consisted of rice, pulses, vegetables. Though most of the subjects (73%) were living in kacha houses yet the latrine facilities were available to 62% of total covered houses. Majority of them were unaware of the different social security schemes/measures. The details have been discussed here. PMID:23580836

Aerospace Software Engineering for Advanced Systems Architectures (L’Ingenierie des Logiciels Pour les Architectures des Systemes Aerospatiaux)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-11-01

Eliezer N. Solomon Steve Sedrel Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group P.O. Box 746, MS 432, Baltimore, Maryland 21203-0746, USA SUMMARY The United States...subset of the Joint Intergrated Avionics NewAgentCollection which has four Working Group (JIAWG), Performance parameters: Acceptor, of type Task._D...Published Noember 1993 Distribution and Availability on Back Cover SAGARD-CP54 ADVISORY GROUP FOR AERSACE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT 7 RUE ANCELLE 92200

Proceedings of the Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) (16th, Durham, NH, August 6-11, 1992). Volumes I-III.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geeslin, William, Ed.; Graham, Karen, Ed.

The Proceedings of PME-XVI has been published in three volumes because of the large number of papers presented at the conference. Volume 1 contains: (1) brief reports from each of the 11 standing Working Groups on their respective roles in organizing PME-XVI; (2) brief reports from 6 Discussion Groups; and (3) 35 research reports covering authors…

The Land Use and Land Cover Dichotomy: A Comparison of Two Land Classification Systems in Support of Urban Earth Science Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McAllister, William K.

2003-01-01

One is likely to read the terms 'land use' and 'land cover' in the same sentence, yet these concepts have different origins and different applications. Land cover is typically analyzed by earth scientists working with remotely sensed images. Land use is typically studied by urban planners who must prescribe solutions that could prevent future problems. This apparent dichotomy has led to different classification systems for land-based data. The works of earth scientists and urban planning practitioners are beginning to come together in the field of spatial analysis and in their common use of new spatial analysis technology. In this context, the technology can stimulate a common 'language' that allows a broader sharing of ideas. The increasing amount of land use and land cover change challenges the various efforts to classify in ways that are efficient, effective, and agreeable to all groups of users. If land cover and land uses can be identified by remote methods using aerial photography and satellites, then these ways are more efficient than field surveys of the same area. New technology, such as high-resolution satellite sensors, and new methods, such as more refined algorithms for image interpretation, are providing refined data to better identify the actual cover and apparent use of land, thus effectiveness is improved. However, the closer together and the more vertical the land uses are, the more difficult the task of identification is, and the greater is the need to supplement remotely sensed data with field study (in situ). Thus, a number of land classification methods were developed in order to organize the greatly expanding volume of data on land characteristics in ways useful to different groups. This paper distinguishes two land based classification systems, one developed primarily for remotely sensed data, and the other, a more comprehensive system requiring in situ collection methods. The intent is to look at how the two systems developed and how they can work together so that land based information can be shared among different users and compared over time.

REPORT OF THE SNOWMASS M6 WORKING GROUP ON HIGH INTENSITY PROTON SOURCES.

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

CHOU,W.; WEI,J.

The M6 working group had more than 40 active participants (listed in Section 4). During the three weeks at Snowmass, there were about 50 presentations, covering a wide range of topics associated with high intensity proton sources. The talks are listed in Section 5. This group also had joint sessions with a number of other working groups, including E1 (Neutrino Factories and Muon Colliders), E5 (Fixed-Target Experiments), M1 (Muon Based Systems), T4 (Particle Sources), T5 (Beam dynamics), T7 (High Performance Computing) and T9 (Diagnostics). The M6 group performed a survey of the beam parameters of existing and proposed high intensitymore » proton sources, in particular, of the proton drivers. The results are listed in Table 1. These parameters are compared with the requirements of high-energy physics users of secondary beams in Working Groups E1 and E5. According to the consensus reached in the E1 and E5 groups, the U.S. HEP program requires an intense proton source, a 1-4 MW Proton Driver, by the end of this decade.« less

Protecting the Local Dark-Sky Areas around the International Observatories in Chile.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. G.

2001-12-01

This report covers efforts by IAU Commission 50's new Working Group on Light Pollution to slow or halt the spread of incipient light pollution near the VLT, the Magellan 6.5m telescopes, Gemini South, SOAR, Blanco and many smaller telescopes in Chile. An effort has just begun to protect the ALMA site in Northern Chile from RFI. Such work includes extensive outreach programs to the local population, schools and industry as well as to local, regional and national levels of government in Chile. The group is working internationally with such organizations as the IDA; one member has recently led the production of "The first world atlas of the artificial night-sky brightness". These efforts have resulted in the first national-level environmental legislation covering dark skies as part of a government effort to protect the environment. Chilean manufacturers are now producing competitive, full-cut-off, street lighting designed specifically to comply with the new legislation. The Chilean national tourism agency is supporting "Astronomical Tourism" based on the dark, clear skies of Chile. An international conference on Controlling Light Pollution and RFI will be held in La Serena, Chile on 5-7 March, 2002, backed up by a parallel meeting of Chilean amateur astronomers. Much work remains to be done. Most of this work is supported by funding from the US National Science Foundation through CTIO, and from ESO, OCIW and CONAMA.

Catalyst and Fuel Interactions to Optimize Endothermic Cooling

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-30

research , special, group study, etc. 3. DATES COVERED. Indicate the time during which the work was performed and the report was written, e.g., Jun 1997...information from the experimental measurements. In close collaboration with experimental group of Anderson, we completed theoretical studies on the effect...observed shifts. 3. Methane Activation by Controlling s- and d-states in Iron-based Single Site Catalysts In a recent experimental finding Guo et

ETF Work Programme, 2003.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

European Training Foundation, Turin (Italy).

This document describes the proposed 2003 activities of the European Training Foundation (ETF) to support vocational education and training reform in non-European Union (EU) countries in the context of the EU's external relations program. The activities listed cover these four main groups of countries across three continents: the Mediterranean…

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's limits on residents' work hours and patient safety. A study of resident experiences and perceptions before and after hours reductions.

PubMed

Jagsi, Reshma; Weinstein, Debra F; Shapiro, Jo; Kitch, Barrett T; Dorer, David; Weissman, Joel S

2008-03-10

Limiting resident work hours may improve patient safety, but unintended adverse effects are also possible. We sought to assess the impact of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident work hour limits implemented on July 1, 2003, on resident experiences and perceptions regarding patient safety. All trainees in 76 accredited programs at 2 teaching hospitals were surveyed in 2003 (preimplementation) and 2004 (postimplementation) regarding their work hours and patient load; perceived relation of work hours, patient load, and fatigue to patient safety; and experiences with adverse events and medical errors. Based on reported weekly duty hours, 13 programs experiencing substantial hours reductions were classified into a "reduced-hours" group. Change scores in outcome measures before and after policy implementation in the reduced-hours programs were compared with those in "other programs" to control for temporal trends, using 2-way analysis of variance with interaction. A total of 1770 responses were obtained (response rate, 60.0%). Analysis was restricted to 1498 responses from respondents in clinical years of training. Residents in the reduced-hours group reported significant reductions in mean weekly duty hours (from 76.6 to 68.0 hours, P < .001), and the percentage working more than 80 hours per week decreased from 44.0% to 16.6% (P < .001). No significant increases in patient load while on call (patients admitted, covered, or cross covered) were observed. Between 2003 and 2004, there was a decrease in the proportion of residents in the reduced-hours programs indicating that working too many hours (63.2% vs 44.0%; P < .001) or cross covering too many patients (65.9% vs 46.9%; P = .001) contributed to mistakes in patient care. There were no significant reductions in these 2 measures in the other group, and the differences in differences were significant (P = .03 and P = .02, respectively). The number of residents in reduced-hours programs who reported committing at least 1 medical error within the past week remained high in both study years (32.9% in 2003 and 26.3% in 2004, P = .27). It is possible to reduce residents' hours without increasing patient load. Doing so may reduce the extent to which fatigue affects patient safety as perceived by these frontline providers.

Recommendations of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Heart and Lung Xenotransplantation Working Group.

PubMed

Platt, Jeffrey; DiSesa, Verdi; Gail, Dorothy; Massicot-Fisher, Judith

2002-08-27

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently convened the Heart and Lung Xenotransplantation Working Group to identify hurdles to the clinical application of xenotransplantation, defined as the use of animal organs or tissue for transplantation, and to recommend possible solutions to these problems. The group consisted of experts in xenotransplantation from academia, industry, and federal agencies, and the discussions focused on those areas within the mission of the NHLBI. The areas covered included immunologic and physiological barriers to xenotransplantation, the limitations of the current animal models, the need for collaboration among groups, the high costs of studies using nonhuman primates and genetic engineering of pigs, and the unique problems of lung xenotransplantation. This report is a summary of those discussions.

Current activities in the ICRP concerning estimation of radiation doses to patients from radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattsson, S.; Johansson, L.; Leide-Svegborn, S.; Liniecki, J.; Nosske, D.; Riklund, K.; Stabin, M.; Taylor, D.

2011-09-01

A Task Group within the ICRP Committees 2 and 3 is continuously working to improve absorbed dose estimates to patients investigated with radiopharmaceuticals. The work deals with reviews of the literature, initiation of new or complementary studies of the biokinetics of a compound and dose estimates. Absorbed dose calculations for organs and tissues have up to now been carried out using the MIRD formalism. There is still a lack of necessary biokinetic data from measurements in humans. More time series obtained by nuclear medicine imaging techniques such as whole-body planar gamma-camera imaging, SPECT or PET are highly desirable for this purpose. In 2008, a new addendum to ICRP Publication 53 was published under the name of ICRP Publication 106 containing biokinetic data and absorbed dose information to organs and tissues of patients of various ages for radiopharmaceuticals in common use. That report also covers a number of generic models and realistic maximum models covering other large groups of substances (e.g. "123I-brain receptor substances"). Together with ICRP Publication 80, most radiopharmaceuticals in clinical use at the time of publication were covered except the radioiodine labeled compounds for which the ICRP dose estimates are still found in Publication 53. There is an increasing use of new radiopharmaceuticals, especially PET-tracers and the TG has recently finished its work with biokinetic and dosimetric data for 18F-FET, 18F-FLT and 18F-choline. The work continues now with new data for 11C-raclopride, 11C-PiB and 123I-ioflupan as well as re-evaluation of published data for 82Rb-chloride, 18F-fluoride and radioiodide. This paper summarises published ICRP-information on dose to patients from radiopharmaceuticals and gives some preliminary data for substances under review.

Le Septieme Art: An Introduction to Foreign Films for Sixth-Formers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaton, Richard

1977-01-01

A foreign film course covering two days is described. A variety of films were available for students' choice, and all involved a particular theme. Films for French, German, and Spanish courses are listed. A schedule for individual, group and whole course work and discussion is presented. (CHK)

Invasive Species Working Group: Research Summary and Expertise Directory

Treesearch

Jack Butler; Dean Pearson; Mee-Sook Kim

2009-01-01

Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) personnel have scientific expertise in widely ranging disciplines and conduct multidisciplinary research on invasive species issues with emphasis in terrestrial and aquatic habitats throughout the Interior West, Great Plains, and related areas (fig. 1; Expertise Directory; appendix). RMRS invasive species research covers an array...

Everyday Mathematics. Revised. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

2007-01-01

"Everyday Mathematics," published by Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, is a core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 6 covering numeration and order, operations, functions and sequences, data and chance, algebra, geometry and spatial sense, measures and measurement, reference frames, and patterns. At each grade level, the…

When Words Are Bars. A Guide to Literacy Programming in Correctional Institutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paul, Marianne

This five-chapter guide for coordinators of community-based literacy groups working with prisoners is illustrated with prisoners' drawings. The first chapter examines issues affecting learning behind bars. Topics covered include similarities to and differences from other programs, respecting the learner's culture, links between poverty and…

Everyday Mathematics. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2006

2006-01-01

"Everyday Mathematics," published by Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, is a core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 6 covering numeration and order, operations, functions and sequences, data and chance, algebra, geometry and spatial sense, measures and measurement, reference frames, and patterns. At each grade level, the "Everyday…

Development and Implementation of Joint Programs in Laser Ranging and Other Space Geodetic Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearlman, Michael R.; Carter, David (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

On-going activities of the NASA special consultant to WEGENER (Working group of European Geoscientists for the Establishment of Networks for Earth-science Research) program are reported. Topics cover include: the WEGENER 2002 conference in Greece and the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS).

Geometry in Nature: Patterns. Environmental Module for Use in a Mathematics Laboratory Setting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trojan, Arthur; And Others

This module, designed to help students find and identify various geometric shapes and solids, contains 26 worksheets. Topics covered by these worksheets include: identification and grouping of objects with particular patterns, work with pentagons, hexagons, spirals, and symmetry. Teaching suggestions are included. (MK)

Dependable Emergency-Response Networking Based on Retaskable Network Infrastructures

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-01

a Focus Group for the National Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC VII), which has helped to suggest a list of possible types of agents...APR 2008 2. REPORT TYPE N/A 3. DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Dependable Emergency-Response Networking Based on Retaskable Network...of his network op- timization algorithms. We would like to thank the TCIP Center team for their feed- back on this work. This work was supported in

Pink triangles: antecedents and consequences of perceived workplace discrimination against gay and lesbian employees.

PubMed

Ragins, B R; Cornwell, J M

2001-12-01

A model of perceived sexual orientation discrimination was tested in a national sample of 534 gay and lesbian employees. The effects of legislation, organizational policies and practices, and work group composition on perceived sexual orientation discrimination were examined, as well as the attitudinal and organizational outcomes associated with discrimination. Gay employees were more likely to report discrimination when employed in groups that were primarily heterosexual and in organizations that lacked supportive policies and were not covered by protective legislation. Disclosure of sexual orientation at work was related to discrimination and antecedent variables. Perceived discrimination was associated with negative work attitudes and fewer promotions. Organizational policies and practices had the strongest impact on perceived discrimination and were directly related to outcomes.

Health governance--its introduction in Lanarkshire Health Board.

PubMed

Wrench, J G; Moir, D C

2002-01-01

To describe an approach to implementing the principles of clinical governance in a Health Board setting. Using guidance from the Scottish Executive and The Faculty of Public Health Medicine to set up a health governance structure at Health Board level. Auditing current work to identify areas that required to be progressed. Lanarkshire Health Board. A Health Governance Committee and a Health Governance Advisory Group, to support the work of the main committee, were set up at Board level. The Scottish Executive Governance Monitoring Template has been adapted to cover the main public health functions. Topics considered in the first year include qualifications, registration and CPD activity of Consultants in Public Health Medicine, audit of public health advice on gastro-intestinal illness, audit of DPH Annual Report and audit of items of business on Health Board agenda. The model developed in Lanarkshire has a Health Governance Advisory Group which works in support of the main Health Governance Committee. This model works well in practice with much of the routine work being done by the Advisory Group. This has streamlined the work of the Health Governance Committee and facilitated its introduction.

Culture and the Contagion of Conflict: Social Science and Computational Approaches

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-05

research , special, group study, etc. 3. DATES COVERED. Indicate the time during which the work was performed and the report was written, e.g., Jun 1997...to the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology for review. Our other research (Shytenberg et al., under revision, European Journal of Social... experimental trios that comprise various combinations of group membership. For example, for some trios, Persons B and C were friends who came to the

Division B Commission 14 Working Group: Molecular Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Federman, Steven R.; Bernath, Peter F.; Müller, Holger S. P.

2016-04-01

The current report covers the period from the second half of 2011 to late 2014. It is divided into three areas covering rotational, vibrational, and electronic spectroscopy. A signifcant amount of experimental and theoretical work has been accomplished over the past three years, leading to the development and expansion of a number of databases whose links are provided below. Two notable publications have appeared recently: An issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A in 2013 honoring the many contributions of Takeshi Oka (J. Phys. Chem. A, 117, pp. 9305-10143); and IAU Symposium 297 on Diffuse Interstellar Bands (Cami & Cox 2014). A number of the relevant papers from these volumes are cited in what follows. Related research on collisions, reactions on grain surfaces, and astrochemistry are not included here.

A 12 years brazilian space education activity experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stancato, Fernando; Gustavo Catalani Racca, João; Ballarotti, MaurícioG.

2001-03-01

A multidisciplinary group of students from the university and latter also from the high school was formed in 1988 with the objective to make them put in practice their knowledge in physics, chemistry and mathematics and engineering fields in experimental rocketry. The group was called "Grupo de Foguetes Experimentais", GFE. Since that time more than 150 students passed throw the group and now many of them are in the space arena. The benefits for students in a space hands-on project are many: More interest in their school subjects is gotten as they see an application for them; Interrelation attitudes are learned as space projects is a team activity; Responsibility is gained as each is responsible for a part of a critical mission project; Multidisciplinary and international experience is gotten as these are space project characteristics; Learn how to work in a high stress environment as use to be a project launch. This paper will cover the educational experiences gotten during these years and how some structured groups work. It is explained the objectives and how the group was formed. The group structure and the different phases that at each year the new team passes are described. It is shown the different activities that the group uses to do from scientific seminars, scientific club and international meetings to technical tours and assistance to rocket activities in regional schools. It is also explained the group outreach activities as some launches were covered by the media in more then 6 articles in newspaper and 7 television news. In 1999 as formed an official group called NATA, Núcleo de Atividades Aerospaciais within the Universidade Estadual de Londrina, UEL, by some GFE members and teachers from university. It is explained the first group project results.

Declining rates of work-related overexertion back injuries among union drywall installers in Washington State, 1989-2008: Improved work safety or shifting of care?

PubMed

Schoenfisch, Ashley L; Lipscomb, Hester J; Marshall, Stephen W; Casteel, Carri; Richardson, David B; Brookhart, M Alan; Cameron, Wilfrid

2014-02-01

Construction workers are at high risk of work-related musculoskeletal back disorders, and research suggests medical care and costs associated with these conditions may be covered by sources other than workers' compensation (WC). Little is known about the back injury experience and care seeking behavior among drywall installers, a high-risk workgroup regularly exposed to repetitive activities, awkward postures, and handling heavy building materials. Among a cohort of 24,830 Washington State union carpenters (1989-2008), including 5,073 drywall installers, we identified WC claims, visits for health care covered through union-provided health insurance and time at risk. Rates of work-related overexertion back injuries (defined using WC claims data) and health care utilization for musculoskeletal back disorders covered by private health insurance were examined and contrasted over time and by worker characteristics, stratified by type of work (drywall installation, other carpentry). Drywall installers' work-related overexertion back injury rates exceeded those of other carpenters (adjusted IRR 1.63, 95% CI 1.48-1.78). For both carpentry groups, rates declined significantly over time. In contrast, rates of private healthcare utilization for musculoskeletal back disorders were similar for drywall installers compared to other carpenters; they increased over time (after the mid-1990s), with increasing years in the union, and with increasing numbers of work-related overexertion back injuries. Observed declines over time in the rate of work-related overexertion back injury, as based on WC claims data, is encouraging. However, results add to the growing literature suggesting care for work-related conditions may be being sought outside of the WC system. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Workdays, in-between workdays and the weekend: a diary study on effort and recovery.

PubMed

van Hooff, Madelon L M; Geurts, Sabine A E; Kompier, Michiel A J; Taris, Toon W

2007-07-01

Effort-recovery theory (Meijman and Mulder in Handbook of work and organizational psychology, Psychology Press/Erlbaum, Hove, pp 5-33, 1998) proposes that effort expenditure may have adverse consequences for health in the absence of sufficient recovery opportunities. Thus, insight in the relationships between effort and recovery is imperative to understand work-related health. This study therefore focused on the relation between work-related effort and recovery (1) during workdays, (2) in-between workdays and (3) in the weekend. For these three time periods, we compared a group of employees reporting relatively low levels of work-related effort ("low-effort group") and a group of employees reporting relatively high levels of work-related effort ("high-effort group") with respect to (1) activity patterns, (2) the experience of these activity patterns, and (3) health and well-being indicators. Data were collected among university staff members. Participants (N(high-effort group) = 24 and N(low-effort group) = 27) completed a general questionnaire and took part in a 7-day daily diary study covering five weekdays and the following weekend. Differences between the two effort-groups were examined by means of analysis of variance. Compared to the low-effort group, the high-effort group (1) engaged less often in active leisure activities during the week and worked more overtime in the weekend, (2) considered both work and home activities as more effortful, but not as less pleasurable, and (3) reported higher levels of sleep complaints (weekdays only) and fatigue, more preoccupation with work (weekdays only) and lower motivation to start the next workweek during the weekend. Work-related effort is associated with various aspects of work time and (potential) recovery time in-between workdays and in the weekend. High levels of work-related effort are associated with activity patterns that are less beneficial in terms of recovery, with higher effort expenditure during and after work time, and with diminished health and well-being.

Proceedings of the Space Shuttle Sortie Workshop. Volume 2: Working group reports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Details are presented on the mission planning progress in each of the working paper reports. The general topics covered are the following: space technology; materials processing and space manufacturing; communications and navigation; earth and ocean physics; oceanography; earth resources and surface environmental quality; meteorology and atmospheric environmental quality; life sciences; atmospheric and space physics; solar physics; high energy cosmic rays; X-ray and gamma ray astronomy; ultraviolet-optical astronomy; planetary astronomy; and infrared astronomy.

Type of employment relationship and mortality: prospective study among Finnish employees in 1984-2000.

PubMed

Nätti, Jouko; Kinnunen, Ulla; Mäkikangas, Anne; Mauno, Saija

2009-04-01

The study investigated the relationship between the type of employment (permanent/temporary) contract and mortality. Factors through which temporary employment was expected to be associated with increased mortality were the degree of satisfaction with the uncertainty related to temporary work situation (Study 1) and the voluntary/involuntary basis for temporary work (Study 2). In Study 1 the data consisted of representative survey on Finnish employees in 1984 (n = 4502), which was merged with register-based follow-up data in Statistics Finland covering years 1985-2000. In Study 2 the data consisted of representative survey on Finnish employees in 1990 (n = 3502) with register-based follow-up data covering years 1991-2000. The relative risk of death was examined by conducting Cox proportional hazards analyses for the permanent and the two temporary employment groups, respectively. In Study 1 temporary employees feeling the insecure situation unsatisfactory had a 1.95-fold higher risk of mortality than permanent employees (95% CI 1.13-3.35) after adjusted for background, health- and work-related factors. In Study 2 employees in the position of having a temporary job on the involuntarily basis had a 2.59-fold higher risk of mortality than permanent employees (95% CI 1.16-5.80). The present study confirmed that temporary employees are not a homogeneous group, which holds true even for mortality. Those temporary employees, who either felt the insecure situation unsatisfactory or who worked in temporary work involuntarily, had higher risk of mortality than permanent employees.

1900 America: Historical Voices, Poetic Visions. Learning Page Lesson Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckmann, Chris; Gehler, David

To better understand the turn-of-the-century United States, this interdisciplinary lesson (covering 6-8 weeks) integrates use of primary resources with historical and literary analysis. Students work in groups and express themselves creatively through a multi-media epic poem. The artistic models for the students' multi-media epic poem are Walt…

Electronics. Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) Item Bank.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Diane, Ed.

This document contains 519 criterion-referenced multiple choice and true or false test items for a course in electronics. The test item bank is designed to work with both the Vocational Instructional Management System (VIMS) and the Vocational Administrative Management System (VAMS) in Missouri. The items are grouped into 15 units covering the…

Auto Mechanics. Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) Item Bank.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tannehill, Dana, Ed.

This document contains 546 criterion-referenced multiple choice and true or false test items for a course in auto mechanics. The test item bank is designed to work with both the Vocational Instructional Management System (VIMS) and Vocational Administrative Management System (VAMS) in Missouri. The items are grouped into 35 units covering the…

A Bibliography of the Literature on Optical Storage Technology. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, James R.

Compiled to serve as a working tool for those involved in optical storage research, planning, and development, this bibliography contains nearly 700 references related to the optical storage and retrieval of digital computer data. Citations are divided into two major groups covering the general and patent literatures. Each citation includes the…

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

McDermott, Jason

This piece was requested from the editor of Science Careers after a press release from our communications group on a poster I recently presented that is entirely in comic form. The piece covers why I draw scientific comics and how I see it fitting in with my science career. I worked closely with Tom Rickey and Corydon Ireland on this piece

Group Theory with Applications in Chemical Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, Patrick

2005-10-01

Group Theory is an indispensable mathematical tool in many branches of chemistry and physics. This book provides a self-contained and rigorous account on the fundamentals and applications of the subject to chemical physics, assuming no prior knowledge of group theory. The first half of the book focuses on elementary topics, such as molecular and crystal symmetry, whilst the latter half is more advanced in nature. Discussions on more complex material such as space groups, projective representations, magnetic crystals and spinor bases, often omitted from introductory texts, are expertly dealt with. With the inclusion of numerous exercises and worked examples, this book will appeal to advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students studying physical sciences and is an ideal text for use on a two-semester course. An introductory and advanced text that comprehensively covers fundamentals and applications of group theory in detail Suitable for a two-semester course with numerous worked examples and problems Includes several topics often omitted from introductory texts, such as rotation group, space groups and spinor bases

Focusing on Concepts by Covering Them Simultaneously

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Pete

2017-05-01

"Parallel" pedagogy covers the four mechanics concepts of momentum, energy, forces, and kinematics simultaneously instead of building each concept on an understanding of the previous one. Course content is delivered through interactive videos, allowing class time for group work and student-centered activities. We start with simple examples, building complexity throughout the course with the introduction of springs, two dimensions, vectors, energy diagrams, universal gravitation, and rotation. Success means that students ponder underlying physics concepts rather than hunt for formulas. Surveys indicate that students accept this learning model well and have considerable improvement in applied conceptual understanding.

The design of a medical school social justice curriculum.

PubMed

Coria, Alexandra; McKelvey, T Greg; Charlton, Paul; Woodworth, Michael; Lahey, Timothy

2013-10-01

The acquisition of skills to recognize and redress adverse social determinants of disease is an important component of undergraduate medical education. In this article, the authors justify and define "social justice curriculum" and then describe the medical school social justice curriculum designed by the multidisciplinary Social Justice Vertical Integration Group (SJVIG) at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. The SJVIG addressed five goals: (1) to define core competencies in social justice education, (2) to identify key topics that a social justice curriculum should cover, (3) to assess social justice curricula at other institutions, (4) to catalog institutionally affiliated community outreach sites at which teaching could be paired with hands-on service work, and (5) to provide examples of the integration of social justice teaching into the core (i.e., basic science) curriculum. The SJVIG felt a social justice curriculum should cover the scope of health disparities, reasons to address health disparities, and means of addressing these disparities. The group recommended competency-based student evaluations and advocated assessing the impact of medical students' social justice work on communities. The group identified the use of class discussion of physicians' obligation to participate in social justice work as an educational tool, and they emphasized the importance of a mandatory, longitudinal, immersive, mentored community outreach practicum. Faculty and administrators are implementing these changes as part of an overall curriculum redesign (2012-2015). A well-designed medical school social justice curriculum should improve student recognition and rectification of adverse social determinants of disease.

SETI science working group report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, F.; Wolfe, J. H.; Seeger, C. L.

1984-01-01

This report covers the initial activities and deliberations of a continuing working group asked to assist the SETI Program Office at NASA. Seven chapters present the group's consensus on objectives, strategies, and plans for instrumental R&D and for a microwave search for extraterrestrial in intelligence (SETI) projected for the end of this decade. Thirteen appendixes reflect the views of their individual authors. Included are discussions of the 8-million-channel spectrum analyzer architecture and the proof-of-concept device under development; signal detection, recognition, and identification on-line in the presence of noise and radio interference; the 1-10 GHz sky survey and the 1-3 GHz targeted search envisaged; and the mutual interests of SETI and radio astronomy. The report ends with a selective, annotated SETI reading list of pro and contra SETI publications.

Journalists and trauma: a brief overview.

PubMed

Czech, Ted

2004-01-01

In the past decade, journalism experts realized what those in the fields of emergency response and management have known for much longer: That journalists could be psychologically affected by the traumatic events they covered. Although a fledging field of study, groups such as the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, based at the University of Washington, in Seattle, WA, have dedicated themselves to advocating the ethical and thorough reporting of trauma, educating working journalists about trauma and serving as a forum for journalists to discuss topics related to covering traumatic events. The three major studies conducted on the subject--focusing on print journalists, photojournalists, and war journalists--have discovered that journalists can suffer sleeplessness, flashbacks, and in most extreme cases, posttraumatic stress disorder. According to Dr. Roger Simpson, director of the Dart Center, there is much work still to be done on the subject.

An Assessment of Talent Management Practices Targeting GS-12/13 Level Members of the Army Acquisition Corps Workforce

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE MAY 2010 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE An... Control , Strategy or Vision, Challenging Work, Collaboration or Teamwork, Work Culture, Shared Gains, Communication, Concern for People, Technology...As show in Figure 5, the top recruiting strategy, selected by both groups, was an emphasis on flex telework or telecommute programs (Holtshouse, 2009

Sea Surface Temperature Products and Research Associated with GHRSST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaiser-Weiss, Andrea K.; Minnett, Peter J.; Kaplan, Alexey; Wick, Gary A.; Castro, Sandra; Llewellyn-Jones, David; Merchant, Chris; LeBorgne, Pierre; Beggs, Helen; Donlon, Craig J.

2012-03-01

GHRSST serves its user community through the specification of operational Sea Surface Temperature (SST) products (Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4) based on international consensus. Providers of SST data from individual satellites create and deliver GHRSST-compliant near-real time products to a global GHRSST data assembly centre and a long-term stewardship facility. The GHRSST-compliant data include error estimates and supporting data for interpretation. Groups organised within GHRSST perform research on issues relevant to applying SST for air-sea exchange, for instance the Diurnal Variability Working Group (DVWG) analyses the evolution of the skin temperature. Other GHRSST groups concentrate on improving the SST estimate (Estimation and Retrievals Working Group EARWiG) and on improving the error characterization, (Satellite SST Validation Group, ST-VAL) and on improving the methods for SST analysis (Inter-Comparison Technical Advisory Group, IC-TAG). In this presentation we cover the data products and the scientific activities associated with GHRSST which might be relevant for investigating ocean-atmosphere interactions.

Using time management to achieve balance.

PubMed

Schroeder, R E

1998-01-01

A recent MGMA survey showed work-life balance as the number one issue facing group practice managers. This article explains techniques from the field of time management that will enable group practice managers to gain control of their schedules, reduce time pressures and stress and increase productivity. The article covers: goal setting, daily lists, handling paperwork, delegating and limiting involvement, socializing, communicating, overachieving, planning, writing, telephone calling, attending meetings, reading, financial planning, developing a philosophy, involving family, evaluating skills and teaching time management to employees.

The Delivery of Mental Health Services to Black Children. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gary, Lawrence E.; And Others

This study was designed to start a data base on black mental health practitioners working with black clients. The sample group consisted of 177 (57 men, 120 women) black school counselors and 36 (5 men, 31 women) psychologists in seven predominantly black, urban public schools. The information gathered covered the following areas: (1) demographics…

RICIS Symposium 1992: Mission and Safety Critical Systems Research and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This conference deals with computer systems which control systems whose failure to operate correctly could produce the loss of life and or property, mission and safety critical systems. Topics covered are: the work of standards groups, computer systems design and architecture, software reliability, process control systems, knowledge based expert systems, and computer and telecommunication protocols.

Innovative and Alternative Technologies. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Charles A.

Innovative and alternative methods of wastewater treatment can improve the efficiency and lower the cost of waste treatment procedures. Described in this instructor's guide is a one-hour learning session for citizens interested in improving water quality planning and decision making. Among the topics covered are the need for alternative wastewater…

Municipal Wastewater Processes. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoltzfus, Lorna

Described is a one-hour overview of the unit processes which comprise a municipal wastewater treatment system. Topics covered in this instructor's guide include types of pollutants encountered, treatment methods, and procedures by which wastewater treatment processes are selected. A slide-tape program is available to supplement this component of…

Procedures in child deaths in The Netherlands: a comparison with child death review.

PubMed

Gijzen, Sandra; Petter, Jessica; L'Hoir, Monique P; Boere-Boonekamp, Magda M; Need, Ariana

2017-01-01

Child Death Review (CDR) is a method in which every child death is systematically and multidisciplinary examined to (1) improve death statistics, (2) identify factors that give direction for prevention, (3) translate the results into possible interventions, and (4) support families. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent procedures of organizations involved in the (health) care for children in The Netherlands cover these four objectives of CDR. Organizations in the Eastern part of The Netherlands and Dutch umbrella organizations involved in child (health) care were asked to provide their protocols, guidelines or other working agreements that describe their activities and responsibilities in case of a child's death. Eighteen documents and nine interview reports were made available. For the analyses we used scorecards for each CDR objective. The procedures of Perined, the National Cot Death Study Group, Dutch Cot Death Foundation and Child Protection Service cover the largest part of the objectives of CDR. Organizations pay most attention to the translation of results into possible interventions. Family support gets the least attention in protocols, guidelines and other working agreements. Dutch organizations separately cover parts of CDR. When the procedures of organizations are combined, all CDR objectives are covered in the response to only specific groups of child deaths, i.e., perinatal deaths, Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infants and fatal child abuse cases. Further research into the conditions that are needed for an optimal implementation of CDR in The Netherlands is necessary. This research should also evaluate the recently implemented NODOK procedure (Further Examination of the Causes of death in Children), directed to investigate unexplained deaths in minors 0-18 years old.

Advanced hierarchical distance sampling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Royle, Andy

2016-01-01

In this chapter, we cover a number of important extensions of the basic hierarchical distance-sampling (HDS) framework from Chapter 8. First, we discuss the inclusion of “individual covariates,” such as group size, in the HDS model. This is important in many surveys where animals form natural groups that are the primary observation unit, with the size of the group expected to have some influence on detectability. We also discuss HDS integrated with time-removal and double-observer or capture-recapture sampling. These “combined protocols” can be formulated as HDS models with individual covariates, and thus they have a commonality with HDS models involving group structure (group size being just another individual covariate). We cover several varieties of open-population HDS models that accommodate population dynamics. On one end of the spectrum, we cover models that allow replicate distance sampling surveys within a year, which estimate abundance relative to availability and temporary emigration through time. We consider a robust design version of that model. We then consider models with explicit dynamics based on the Dail and Madsen (2011) model and the work of Sollmann et al. (2015). The final major theme of this chapter is relatively newly developed spatial distance sampling models that accommodate explicit models describing the spatial distribution of individuals known as Point Process models. We provide novel formulations of spatial DS and HDS models in this chapter, including implementations of those models in the unmarked package using a hack of the pcount function for N-mixture models.

Sea Ice Kinematics and Thickness from RGPS: Observations and Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, Harry; Lindsay, Ron; Yu, Yan-Ling; Moritz, Richard; Rothrock, Drew

2005-01-01

The RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS) has produced a wealth of data on Arctic sea ice motion, deformation, and thickness with broad geographical coverage and good temporal resolution. These data provide unprecedented spatial detail of the structure and evolution of the sea ice cover. The broad purpose of this study was to take advantage of the strengths of the RGPS data set to investigate sea ice kinematics and thickness, which affect the climate through their influence on ice production, ridging, and transport (i.e. mass balance); heat flux to the atmosphere; and structure of the upper ocean mixed layer. The objectives of this study were to: (1) Explain the relationship between the discontinuous motion of the ice cover and the large-scale, smooth wind field that drives the ice; (2) Characterize the sea ice deformation in the Arctic at different temporal and spatial scales, and compare it with deformation predicted by a state-of-theart ice/ocean model; and (3) Compare RGPS-derived sea ice thickness with other data, and investigate the thinning of the Arctic sea ice cover as seen in ULS data obtained by U.S. Navy submarines. We briefly review the results of our work below, separated into the topics of sea ice deformation and sea ice thickness. This is followed by a list of publications, meetings and presentations, and other activities supported under this grant. We are attaching to this report copies of all the listed publications. Finally, we would like to point out our community service to NASA through our involvement with the ASF User Working Group and the RGPS Science Working Group, as evidenced in the list of meetings and presentations below.

[Molluscicidal effect of film on ditches in mountainous schistosomiasis endemic regions].

PubMed

Zhu, Hong-Qing; Zhong, Bo; Zhang, Gui-Rong; Tang, Shu-Gui; Cao, Chun-Li; Zhang, Xu-Dong; Jia, Bin; Zhang, Yi; Li, Jian-Guo; Fu, Tao; Chen, Lin; Lu, Ding; Bao, Zi-Ping

2011-04-01

To evaluate the molluscicidal effect of film on ditches in mountainous schistosomiasis endemic regions. A ditch with Oncomelania hupensis snails was selected as experimental field. The ditch was divided into 3 parts (groups): a niclosamide plus film covering group (film covering after spraying by wettable powder of 50% niclosamide ethanolamine salt upon 2 g/m2), a film covering group (film covering directly without niclosamide spraying), and a control group (no molluscicidal measures). The snail investigation was performed 7, 10, 40, 60 d and 90 d after film covering. The temperatures outside and inside film were determined twice a day during the experiment. The temperature inside the film was significantly higher than that outside the film (t = 4.12, P < 0.01). Compared with the densities of living snails before the experiment, the densities of living snails decreased by 99. 01% and 67.71% seven days post-film in the niclosamide plus film covering group and film covering group respectively; 96.58% and 93.06% ten days post-film respectively; both 100% forty days post-film. The multi-factor regression model indicated that covering film with niclosamide applying, extending film covering time, and increasing cumulate temperature inside film could enhance the molluscicidal effect. The film covering has well molluscicidal effect. The molluscicidal effect of covering film with niclosamide is better than that of covering film alone in short time. However, the covering film alone also has good molluscicidal effect when increasing covering time.

Stay on Your Feet Safety Walks Group.

PubMed

Powell, J; Wilkins, D; Leiper, J; Gillam, C

2000-05-01

The Safety Walks Group is an initiative that evolved from the Stay on Your Feet Program. The strategies used in this program target both behavioural and environmental change and are based on the five areas for action under the Ottawa Charter (WHO, 1986) and Jakarta Declaration (WHO, 1997). The Safety Walks Group addresses the issue of public hazards via the use of a standard checklist covering pedestrian areas, business houses and accommodation. The project provided a forum for seniors to be proactive, working with the authorities to address the issue of public hazards and make the environment safer.

Plant functional group responses to fire frequency and tree canopy cover gradients in oak savannas and woodlands.

Treesearch

D.W. Peterson; P.B. Reich; K.J. Wrage

2007-01-01

We measured plant functional group cover and tree canopy cover on permanent plots within a long-term prescribed fire frequency experiment and used hierarchical linear modeling to assess plant functional group responses to fire frequency and tree canopy cover. Understory woody plant cover was highest in unburned woodlands and was negatively correlated with fire...

Exposure assessment in different occupational groups at a hospital using Quick Exposure Check (QEC) - a pilot study.

PubMed

Ericsson, Pernilla; Björklund, Martin; Wahlström, Jens

2012-01-01

In order to test the feasibility and sensitivity of the ergonomic exposure assessment tool Quick Exposure Check (QEC), a pilot-study was conducted. The aim was to test QEC in different occupational groups to compare the exposure in the most common work task with the exposure in the work task perceived as the most strenuous for the neck/shoulder region, and to test intra-observer reliability. One experienced ergonomist observed 23 workers. The mean observation time was 45 minutes, waiting time and time for complementary questions included. The exposure scores varied between the different occupational groups as well as between workers within the occupational groups. Eighteen workers rated their most common work task as also being the most strenuous for the neck/shoulder region. For the remaining five workers, the mean exposure score were higher both for the neck and shoulder/arm in the most common work task. Intra-observer reliability shows agreement in 86% of the exposure interactions in the neck and in 71% in the shoulder/arm. QEC seems to fulfill the expectations of being a quick, sensible and practical exposure assessment tool that covers physical risk factors in the neck, upper extremities and low back.

International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA) recommendations for the construction of multilingual speech tests. ICRA Working Group on Multilingual Speech Tests.

PubMed

Akeroyd, Michael A; Arlinger, Stig; Bentler, Ruth A; Boothroyd, Arthur; Dillier, Norbert; Dreschler, Wouter A; Gagné, Jean-Pierre; Lutman, Mark; Wouters, Jan; Wong, Lena; Kollmeier, Birger

2015-01-01

To provide guidelines for the development of two types of closed-set speech-perception tests that can be applied and interpreted in the same way across languages. The guidelines cover the digit triplet and the matrix sentence tests that are most commonly used to test speech recognition in noise. They were developed by a working group on Multilingual Speech Tests of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA). The recommendations are based on reviews of existing evaluations of the digit triplet and matrix tests as well as on the research experience of members of the ICRA Working Group. They represent the results of a consensus process. The resulting recommendations deal with: Test design and word selection; Talker characteristics; Audio recording and stimulus preparation; Masking noise; Test administration; and Test validation. By following these guidelines for the development of any new test of this kind, clinicians and researchers working in any language will be able to perform tests whose results can be compared and combined in cross-language studies.

State-of-the-Art of (Bio)Chemical Sensor Developments in Analytical Spanish Groups

PubMed Central

Plata, María Reyes; Contento, Ana María; Ríos, Angel

2010-01-01

(Bio)chemical sensors are one of the most exciting fields in analytical chemistry today. The development of these analytical devices simplifies and miniaturizes the whole analytical process. Although the initial expectation of the massive incorporation of sensors in routine analytical work has been truncated to some extent, in many other cases analytical methods based on sensor technology have solved important analytical problems. Many research groups are working in this field world-wide, reporting interesting results so far. Modestly, Spanish researchers have contributed to these recent developments. In this review, we summarize the more representative achievements carried out for these groups. They cover a wide variety of sensors, including optical, electrochemical, piezoelectric or electro-mechanical devices, used for laboratory or field analyses. The capabilities to be used in different applied areas are also critically discussed. PMID:22319260

20 CFR 404.1217 - Continuation of coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... employees continues as follows: (a) Absolute coverage group. Generally, the services of an employee covered as a part of an absolute coverage group (see § 404.1205) continue to be covered indefinitely. A position covered as a part of an absolute coverage group continues to be covered even if the position later...

20 CFR 404.1217 - Continuation of coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... employees continues as follows: (a) Absolute coverage group. Generally, the services of an employee covered as a part of an absolute coverage group (see § 404.1205) continue to be covered indefinitely. A position covered as a part of an absolute coverage group continues to be covered even if the position later...

Report from the MPP Working Group to the NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, James R.; Grosch, Chester; Mcanulty, Michael; Odonnell, John; Storey, Owen

1987-01-01

NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) gave a select group of scientists the opportunity to test and implement their computational algorithms on the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) located at Goddard Space Flight Center, beginning in late 1985. One year later, the Working Group presented its report, which addressed the following: algorithms, programming languages, architecture, programming environments, the way theory relates, and performance measured. The findings point to a number of demonstrated computational techniques for which the MPP architecture is ideally suited. For example, besides executing much faster on the MPP than on conventional computers, systolic VLSI simulation (where distances are short), lattice simulation, neural network simulation, and image problems were found to be easier to program on the MPP's architecture than on a CYBER 205 or even a VAX. The report also makes technical recommendations covering all aspects of MPP use, and recommendations concerning the future of the MPP and machines based on similar architectures, expansion of the Working Group, and study of the role of future parallel processors for space station, EOS, and the Great Observatories era.

Subseabed Disposal Project annual report, FY85 to termination of project: Physical Oceanography and Water Column Geochemistry Studies, October 1984 through May 1986

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

Kupferman, S.L.

This report covers the work of the Physical Oceanography and Water Column Geochemistry (POWCG) Studies Group of the Subseabed Disposal Project (SDP) from October 1984 to termination of the project in May 1986. The overview of the work includes an introduction, general descriptions of the activities, and a summary. Detailed discussions are included as appendices. During the period of this report the POWCG Studies Group held a meeting to develop a long-term research plan for the Nares Abyssal Plain, which was recently designated as a study area for the Environmental Study Group of the SDP. The POWCG Studies Group hasmore » also planned and participated in two interdisciplinary oceanographic missions to the Nares which have resulted in the acquisition of data and samples which can be used to begin to understand the workings of the ecosystem at the site, and for developing a preliminary site assessment. The papers in the appendices have been processed for inclusion in the Energy Data Base.« less

Conformable covered versus uncovered self-expandable metallic stents for palliation of malignant gastroduodenal obstruction: a randomized prospective study.

PubMed

Lim, Sun Gyo; Kim, Jin Hong; Lee, Kee Myung; Shin, Sung Jae; Kim, Chan Gyoo; Kim, Kyung Ho; Kim, Ho Gak; Yang, Chang Heon

2014-07-01

A conformable self-expandable metallic stent was developed to overcome the limitation of previous self-expandable metallic stents. The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes after placement of conformable covered and uncovered self-expandable metallic stents for palliation of malignant gastroduodenal obstruction. A single-blind, randomized, parallel-group, prospective study were conducted in 4 medical centres between March 2009 and July 2012. 134 patients with unresectable malignant gastroduodenal obstruction were assigned to a covered double-layered (n=66) or uncovered unfixed-cell braided (n=68) stent placement group. Primary analysis was performed to compare re-intervention rates between two groups. 120 patients were analysed (59 in the covered group and 61 in the uncovered group). Overall rates of re-intervention were not significantly different between the two groups: 13/59 (22.0%) in the covered group vs. 13/61 (21.3%) in the uncovered group, p=0.999. Stent migration was more frequent in the covered group than in the uncovered group (p=0.003). The tumour ingrowth rate was higher in the uncovered group than in the covered group (p=0.016). The rates of re-intervention did not significantly differ between the two stents. Conformable covered double-layered and uncovered unfixed-cell braided stents were associated with different patterns of stent malfunction. Copyright © 2014 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 6437 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-month Finding on a Petition to List the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-09

... groups, vegetative cover, and species richness (Huntly 1987, p. 274; Roach et al. 2001, p. 315), and... resources on pika taxonomy until genetic work identified four major genetic units of the American pika in... IUCN Red List system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction for species, and to...

Enhancing the Popular Music Ensemble Workshop and Maximising Student Potential through the Integration of Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Richard

2015-01-01

Ensemble work is a key part of any performance-based popular music course and involves students replicating existing music or playing "covers". The creative process in popular music is a collaborative one and the ensemble workshop can be utilised to facilitate active learning and develop musical creativity within a group setting. This is…

Report of Library Services and Construction Act Project # 2842, July 1 - December 31, 1966.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Los Angeles Public Library, CA.

This report covers the second six months of the Los Angeles Public Library's project to extend library service to the disadvantaged. In the second period emphasis was placed on involvement with individuals as well as with community groups, on development of techniques, and on assembling a variety of materials for reaching and working with…

Paying for family planning.

PubMed

1998-09-12

Both houses of the US Congress have passed bills to require that all health plans for federal employees which pay for prescription medications also cover prescription contraceptives approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Of these, the five most commonly prescribed are contraceptive pills, implantable levonorgestrel (Norplant), long-acting injectable medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-provera), IUDs, and the diaphragm. Differences between the two bills are now being worked out by a joint House-Senate committee and passage seems almost certain. If a compromise joint bill is passed by both houses, it would cover plans which insure more than 1 million reproductive age women. However, the Equity in Prescription and Contraceptive Coverage (EPICC) Act requiring all US private health plans to cover contraceptive prescriptions is less certain to eventually become legislation. Currently, only 49% of traditional indemnity plans and 39% of health maintenance organizations cover the five most commonly prescribed reversible methods of contraception, while many health plans cover no form of contraception, other than sterilization. The passage of EPICC would expand contraceptive choice for another 45 million US women of childbearing age. Opposition to both bills has come mainly from health insurance and business groups, as well as conservative groups which oppose funding for family planning. Supporters of legislation to expand contraceptive choice for US women should understand that the right to reproductive health and contraceptive services extends beyond US borders, and pressure Congress to bolster US financial support for international population control programs.

Hybrid biobattery based on arylated carbon nanotubes and laccase.

PubMed

Stolarczyk, Krzysztof; Sepelowska, Małgorzata; Lyp, Dominika; Zelechowska, Kamila; Biernat, Jan F; Rogalski, Jerzy; Farmer, Kevin D; Roberts, Ken N; Bilewicz, Renata

2012-10-01

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) were covalently modified with anthracene and anthraquinone and used for the construction of cathodes for biocatalytic reduction of dioxygen. The nanotubes with aromatic groups casted onto the electrode increased the working surface of the electrode and enabled efficient direct electron transfer (DET) between the enzyme and the electrode. The aryl groups enter the hydrophobic pocket of the T1 center of laccase responsible for exchanging electrons with the substrate. Glassy carbon electrode covered with arylated SWCNT and coated with a layer of neutralized Nafion containing laccase was found to be a very efficient cathode in the hybrid battery. Zn wire covered with a Nafion film served as the anode. The cell parameters were determined: power density was 2 mW/cm(2) and the open circuit potential was 1.5 V. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optics outreach in Irish context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHugh, Emer; Smith, Arlene

2009-06-01

The Applied Optics Group, National University of Ireland Galway is a research centre involved in programmes that cover a wide variety of topics in applied optics and imaging science, including smart optics, adaptive optics, optical scattering and propagation, and engineering optics. The Group have also developed significant outreach programmes both in Primary and Post-Primary schools. It is recognised that there is a need for innovation in Science Education in Ireland and we are committed to working extensively with schools. The main aim of these outreach programmes is to increase awareness and interest in science with students and enhance the communication skills of the researchers working in the Group. The education outreach team works closely with the relevant teachers in both Primary and Post-Primary schools to design and develop learning initiatives to match the needs of the target group of students. The learning programmes are usually delivered in the participating schools during normal class time by a team of Applied Optics specialists. We are involved in running these programmes in both Primary and Post-Primary schools where the programmes are tailored to the curriculum and concentrating on optics and light. The students may also visit the Groups research centre where presentations and laboratory tours are arranged.

Integration of safety engineering into a cost optimized development program.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ball, L. W.

1972-01-01

A six-segment management model is presented, each segment of which represents a major area in a new product development program. The first segment of the model covers integration of specialist engineers into 'systems requirement definition' or the system engineering documentation process. The second covers preparation of five basic types of 'development program plans.' The third segment covers integration of system requirements, scheduling, and funding of specialist engineering activities into 'work breakdown structures,' 'cost accounts,' and 'work packages.' The fourth covers 'requirement communication' by line organizations. The fifth covers 'performance measurement' based on work package data. The sixth covers 'baseline requirements achievement tracking.'

20 CFR 404.1004 - What work is covered as employment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Employment § 404.1004 What work is covered as employment? (a) General requirements of employment. Unless otherwise... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false What work is covered as employment? 404.1004...

20 CFR 404.1004 - What work is covered as employment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Employment § 404.1004 What work is covered as employment? (a) General requirements of employment. Unless otherwise... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false What work is covered as employment? 404.1004...

20 CFR 404.1004 - What work is covered as employment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Employment § 404.1004 What work is covered as employment? (a) General requirements of employment. Unless otherwise... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false What work is covered as employment? 404.1004...

20 CFR 404.1004 - What work is covered as employment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Employment § 404.1004 What work is covered as employment? (a) General requirements of employment. Unless otherwise... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false What work is covered as employment? 404.1004...

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

Krokidis, Miltiadis, E-mail: mkrokidis@hotmail.com; Fanelli, Fabrizio; Orgera, Gianluigi

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical effectiveness of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene/fluorinated-ethylene-propylene (ePTFE/FEP)-covered stents with that of uncovered nitinol stents for the palliation of malignant jaundice caused by inoperable pancreatic head cancer. Eighty patients were enrolled in a prospective randomized study. Bare nitinol stents were used in half of the patients, and ePTFE/FEP-covered stents were used in the remaining patients. Patency, survival, complications, and mean cost were calculated in both groups. Mean patency was 166.0 {+-} 13.11 days for the bare-stent group and 234.0 {+-} 20.87 days for the covered-stent group (p = 0.007). Primary patency rates atmore » 3, 6, and 12 months were 77.5, 69.8, and 69.8% for the bare-stent group and 97.5, 92.2, and 87.6% for the covered-stent group, respectively. Mean secondary patency was 123.7 {+-} 22.5 days for the bare-stent group and 130.3 {+-} 21.4 days for the covered-stent group. Tumour ingrowth occurred exclusively in the bare-stent group in 27.5% of cases (p = 0.002). Median survival was 203.2 {+-} 11.8 days for the bare-stent group and 247.0 {+-} 20 days for the covered-stent group (p = 0.06). Complications and mean cost were similar in both groups. Regarding primary patency and ingrowth rate, ePTFE/FEP-covered stents have shown to be significantly superior to bare nitinol stents for the palliation of malignant jaundice caused by inoperable pancreatic head cancer and pose comparable cost and complications. Use of a covered stent does not significantly influence overall survival rate; nevertheless, the covered endoprosthesis seems to offer result in fewer reinterventions and better quality of patient life.« less

An Analysis of Opinion of the Impact of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Its Repeal, and the Proposed Plan to Implement the Repeal

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-05

progress, quarterly, research, special, group study , etc. 3. DATES COVERED. Indicate the time during which the work was performed and the report was...the General/Flag officers’ Study Group . Palm Center White Paper, University of California, 2008. Center for Military Readiness, Open Letter to...of Military Studies Research Paper September 2010- May 2011 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER An Analysis of Opinion of the Impact of Don’t

Supporting the Health of Low Socioeconomic Status Employees: Qualitative Perspectives from Employees and Large Companies.

PubMed

Parrish, Amanda T; Hammerback, Kristen; Hannon, Peggy A; Mason, Caitlin; Wilkie, Michelle N; Harris, Jeffrey R

2018-03-13

The aim of this study was to identify alignments between wellness offerings low socioeconomic status (SES) employees need and those large companies can provide. Focus groups (employees); telephone interviews (large companies). Employees were low-SES, insured through their employers, and employed by large Washington State companies. Focus groups covered perceived barriers to healthy behaviors at work and potential support from companies. Interviews focused on priorities for employee health and challenges reaching low-SES employees. Seventy-seven employees participated in eight focus groups; 12 companies completed interviews. Employees identified facilitators and barriers to healthier work environments; companies expressed care for employees, concerns about employee obesity, and reluctance to discuss SES. Our findings combine low-SES employee and large company perspectives and indicate three ways workplaces could most effectively support low-SES employee health: create healthier workplace food environments; prioritize onsite physical activity facilities; use clearer health communications.

Status report on the land processes aircraft science management operations working group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawless, James G.; Mann, Lisa J.

1991-01-01

Since its inception three years ago, the Land Processes Aircraft Science Management Operations Working Group (MOWG) provided recommendations on the optimal use of the Agency's aircraft in support of the Land Processes Science Program. Recommendations covered topics such as aircraft and sensor usage, development of long-range plans, Multisensor Airborne Campaigns (MAC), program balance, aircraft sensor databases, new technology and sensor development, and increased University scientist participation in the program. Impacts of these recommendations improved the efficiency of various procedures including the flight request process, tracking of flight hours, and aircraft usage. The group also created a bibliography focused on publications produced by Land Processes scientists from the use of the aircraft program, surveyed NASA funded PI's on their participation in the aircraft program, and developed a planning template for multi-sensor airborne campaigns. Benefits from these activities are summarized.

An Integrated Environment for Efficient Formal Design and Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The general goal of this project was to improve the practicality of formal methods by combining techniques from model checking and theorem proving. At the time the project was proposed, the model checking and theorem proving communities were applying different tools to similar problems, but there was not much cross-fertilization. This project involved a group from SRI that had substantial experience in the development and application of theorem-proving technology, and a group at Stanford that specialized in model checking techniques. Now, over five years after the proposal was submitted, there are many research groups working on combining theorem-proving and model checking techniques, and much more communication between the model checking and theorem proving research communities. This project contributed significantly to this research trend. The research work under this project covered a variety of topics: new theory and algorithms; prototype tools; verification methodology; and applications to problems in particular domains.

Proceedings of a Workshop Sponsored by the Texas Migrant Council on Child Abuse and Neglect in the Mexican American Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redlinger, Lawrence J.; Eller, Robin L.

The unique needs of migrant farmworkers concerning prevention of child abuse and neglect both at home and at work are presented as the focus of a group of nine workshops. Complex problems facing migrants and their families are discussed in depth in sessions covering services, for pre-school and school aged children, special children, emergency…

Establishing Teacher Competencies in Early Care and Education: A Review of Current Models and Options for California. Building California's Preschool for All Workforce. A Series of Policy Briefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bellm, Dan

2005-01-01

This policy brief provides guidelines grouped into five areas: personal and professional behavior; classroom environment; health, safety and nutrition; working with families and communities; and administration and management. The document discusses the topics that teacher competencies generally cover, options for how they might be developed and…

Mission Command and JC41: Managing Chaos in a Dynamic World

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-04-20

memorandum, master’s thesis , progress, quarterly, research, special, group study, etc. 3. DATES COVERED. Indicate the time during which the work was...Signature: __________________________ 20 April 2018 Thesis Advisor: Signature: __________________________ Bryon Greenwald, Ph.D., Professor...Jody Owens for their mentorship and critical feedback that proved to be instrumental in writing this thesis . I would be remiss if I failed to thank

Theoretical Astrophysics at Fermilab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The Theoretical Astrophysics Group works on a broad range of topics ranging from string theory to data analysis in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The group is motivated by the belief that a deep understanding of fundamental physics is necessary to explain a wide variety of phenomena in the universe. During the three years 2001-2003 of our previous NASA grant, over 120 papers were written; ten of our postdocs went on to faculty positions; and we hosted or organized many workshops and conferences. Kolb and collaborators focused on the early universe, in particular and models and ramifications of the theory of inflation. They also studied models with extra dimensions, new types of dark matter, and the second order effects of super-horizon perturbations. S tebbins, Frieman, Hui, and Dodelson worked on phenomenological cosmology, extracting cosmological constraints from surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. They also worked on theoretical topics such as weak lensing, reionization, and dark energy. This work has proved important to a number of experimental groups [including those at Fermilab] planning future observations. In general, the work of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group has served as a catalyst for experimental projects at Fennilab. An example of this is the Joint Dark Energy Mission. Fennilab is now a member of SNAP, and much of the work done here is by people formerly working on the accelerator. We have created an environment where many of these people made transition from physics to astronomy. We also worked on many other topics related to NASA s focus: cosmic rays, dark matter, the Sunyaev-Zel dovich effect, the galaxy distribution in the universe, and the Lyman alpha forest. The group organized and hosted a number of conferences and workshop over the years covered by the grant. Among them were:

Climatic and Catchment-Scale Predictors of Chinese Stream Insect Richness Differ between Taxonomic Groups

PubMed Central

Tonkin, Jonathan D.; Shah, Deep Narayan; Kuemmerlen, Mathias; Li, Fengqing; Cai, Qinghua; Haase, Peter; Jähnig, Sonja C.

2015-01-01

Little work has been done on large-scale patterns of stream insect richness in China. We explored the influence of climatic and catchment-scale factors on stream insect (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera; EPT) richness across mid-latitude China. We assessed the predictive ability of climatic, catchment land cover and physical structure variables on genus richness of EPT, both individually and combined, in 80 mid-latitude Chinese streams, spanning a 3899-m altitudinal gradient. We performed analyses using boosted regression trees and explored the nature of their influence on richness patterns. The relative importance of climate, land cover, and physical factors on stream insect richness varied considerably between the three orders, and while important for Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera, latitude did not improve model fit for any of the groups. EPT richness was linked with areas comprising high forest cover, elevation and slope, large catchments and low temperatures. Ephemeroptera favoured areas with high forest cover, medium-to-large catchment sizes, high temperature seasonality, and low potential evapotranspiration. Plecoptera richness was linked with low temperature seasonality and annual mean, and high slope, elevation and warm-season rainfall. Finally, Trichoptera favoured high elevation areas, with high forest cover, and low mean annual temperature, seasonality and aridity. Our findings highlight the variable role that catchment land cover, physical properties and climatic influences have on stream insect richness. This is one of the first studies of its kind in Chinese streams, thus we set the scene for more in-depth assessments of stream insect richness across broader spatial scales in China, but stress the importance of improving data availability and consistency through time. PMID:25909190

A prospective evaluation of open face masks for head and neck radiation therapy.

PubMed

Wiant, David; Squire, Sarah; Liu, Han; Maurer, Jacqueline; Lane Hayes, T; Sintay, Benjamin

Head and neck (HN) radiation therapy patients are typically immobilized with closed thermoplastic masks that cover the face and may cause discomfort. In this work, we examine the use of open masks for HN radiation therapy. Fifty HN patients were prospectively randomized into 2 groups (25 closed masks, 25 open masks). The open-mask group was monitored with surface imaging to evaluate intrafraction motion. Both groups underwent daily volumetric imaging. All daily images were rigidly registered to their respective planning images to evaluate spinal canal and mandible position as a check for interfraction posture change. Posture changes were determined by the amount the spinal canal and mandible contours from the planning images had to be expanded to cover the structures on each daily image set. The vector length (VL) of the intrafraction linear translations, spine, and mandible positions for each open-mask patient were checked for correlation with fraction number using the Pearson r value. All patients were given a weekly survey ranking anxiety and claustrophobia from 0 to 10 (0 = no issue, 10 = extreme issue). The mean VL for all open-mask patients was 0.9 ± 0.5 mm (1 standard deviation). Only 1 patient showed significant correlation between VL and fraction number. The mean contour expansions to cover the spine and mandible were 1.5 ± 0.9 mm and 1.8 ± 1.3 mm for the closed-mask group, and 1.6 ± 0.8 mm and 1.8 ± 1.1 mm for the open-mask group. Both groups showed similar behavior relative to fraction number. The mean anxiety and claustrophobia scores were 1.63 and 1.44 for the closed-mask group, and 0.81 and 0.63 for the open-mask group. The groups were not significantly different. Open masks provide comparable immobilization and posture preservation to closed masks for HN radiation therapy. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human Factors in Aeronautics at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mogford, Richard

2016-01-01

This is a briefing to a regularly meeting DoD group called the Human Systems Community of Interest: Mission Effectiveness. I was asked to address human factors in aeronautics at NASA. (Exploration (space) human factors has apparently already been covered.) The briefing describes human factors organizations at NASA Ames and Langley. It then summarizes some aeronautics tasks that involve the application of human factors in the development of specific tools and capabilities. The tasks covered include aircrew checklists, dispatch operations, Playbook, Dynamic Weather Routes, Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests, and Airplane State Awareness and Prediction Technologies. I mention that most of our aeronautics work involves human factors as embedded in development tasks rather than basic research.

48 CFR 52.222-23 - Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action To Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... aggregate workforce in each trade on all construction work in the covered area, are as follows: Goals for... all the Contractor's construction work performed in the covered area. If the Contractor performs construction work in a geographical area located outside of the covered area, the Contractor shall apply the...

48 CFR 52.222-23 - Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action To Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... aggregate workforce in each trade on all construction work in the covered area, are as follows: Goals for... all the Contractor's construction work performed in the covered area. If the Contractor performs construction work in a geographical area located outside of the covered area, the Contractor shall apply the...

The physical demands of Super 14 rugby union.

PubMed

Austin, Damien; Gabbett, Tim; Jenkins, David

2011-05-01

The purpose of the present study was to describe the match-play demands of professional rugby union players competing in Super 14 matches during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The movements of 20 players from Super 14 rugby union team during the 2008 and 2009 seasons were video recorded. Using time-motion analysis (TMA), five players from four positional groups (front-row forwards, back-row forwards, inside backs and outside backs) were assessed. Players covered between 4218 m and 6389 m during the games. The maximum distances covered in a game by the four groups were: front row forwards (5139 m), back row forwards, (5422 m), inside backs (6389 m) and outside backs (5489 m). The back row forwards spent the greatest amount of time in high-intensity exercise (1190 s), followed by the front row forwards (1015 s), the inside backs (876 s) and the outside backs (570 s). Average distances covered in individual sprint efforts were: front row forwards (16 m), back row forwards (14 m), inside backs (17 m) and outside backs (18 m). Work to rest ratios of 1:4, 1:4, 1:5, and 1:6 were found for the front row and back row forwards, and inside and outside backs respectively. The Super 14 competition during 2008 and 2009, have resulted in an increase in total high-intensity activities, sprint frequency, and work to rest ratios across all playing positions. For players and teams to remain competitive in Super 14 rugby, training (including recovery practices) should reflect these current demands. Copyright © 2011 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Street child work in Latin American capitals].

PubMed

Pinzón-Rondón, Angela Maria; Briceño-Ayala, Leonardo; Botero, Juan Carlos; Cabrera, Patricia; Rodríguez, María Nelcy

2006-01-01

To identify the age, sex, mobility, education, work activity, working hours, street dwelling, and social security coverage in a group of children working in the streets in capital cities in Latin America. Cross sectional study. A questionnaire was applied to 972 children working in the streets of Bogotá, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Quito and San Salvador. A total of 63.3% subjects were boys; 39% were children from displaced families; 18% lived in the streets; 62% worked more than 40 hours per week; 19% were covered by the social security system, and 32% were street vendors. The behavior of variables differed significantly by city. Child labor in the streets is a dangerous activity characterized by long working hours and exposure to risk factors. Child work has different characteristics in each of the cities studied, which suggests that the solution to the problem must be designed on a case by case basis.

Consideration of liners and covers in performance assessments

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

Phifer, Mark A.; Seitz, Robert R.; Suttora, Linda C.

2014-09-18

On-site disposal cells are in use and being considered at several United States Department of Energy (USDOE) sites as the final disposition for large amounts of waste associated with cleanup of contaminated areas and facilities. These disposal cells are typically regulated by States and/or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in addition to having to comply with requirements in DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management due to the radioactive waste. The USDOE-Environmental Management Office of Site Restoration formed a working group to foster improved communication and sharing of information for personnelmore » associated with these CERCLA disposal cells and work towards more consistent assumptions, as appropriate, for technical and policy considerations related to CERCLA risk assessments and DOE Order 435.1 performance assessments in support of a Record of Decision and Disposal Authorization Statement, respectively. One of the issues considered by the working group, which is addressed in this report, was how to appropriately consider the performance of covers and liners/leachate collections systems in the context of a DOE Order 435.1 performance assessment (PA). This same information may be appropriate for consideration within CERCLA risk assessments for these facilities. These OSDCs are generally developed to meet hazardous waste (HW) disposal design standards under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as well as the DOE Order 435.1 performance based standards for disposal of radioactive waste. To meet the standards for HW, the facilities typically include engineered covers and liner/leachate collection systems. Thus, when considering such facilities in the context of a DOE Order 435.1 PA, there is a need to address the evolution of performance of covers and liner/leachate collection systems in the context of meeting a performance standard considering time frames of 1,000 years for compliance and potentially thousands of years based on the wastes to test the robustness of the system. Experience has shown that there are a range of expectations and perspectives from the different regulators involved at different sites when reviewing assumptions related to cover and liner/leachate collection system performance. However for HW disposal alone under RCRA the design standards are typically considered sufficient by the regulators without a requirement to assess long-term performance thus avoiding the need to consider the details addressed in this report. This report provides suggestions for a general approach to address covers and liners/leachate collection systems in a DOE Order 435.1 PA and how to integrate assessments with defense-in-depth considerations such as design, operations, and waste acceptance criteria to address uncertainties. The emphasis is on water balances and management in such assessments. Specific information and references are provided for details needed to address the evolution of individual components of cover and liner/leachate collection systems. This information was then synthesized into suggestions for best practices for cover and liner system design and examples of approaches to address the performance of covers and liners as part of a performance assessment of the disposal system. Numerous references are provided for sources of information to help describe the basis for performance of individual components of cover and liner systems.« less

Post-accelerator issues at the IsoSpin Laboratory

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

Chattopadhyay, S.; Nitschke, J.M.

1994-05-01

The workshop on ``Post-Accelerator Issues at the Isospin Laboratory`` was held at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory from October 27--29, 1993. It was sponsored by the Center for Beam Physics in the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division and the ISL Studies Group in the Nuclear Science Division. About forty scientists from around the world participated vigorously in this two and a half day workshop, (c.f. Agenda, Appendix D). Following various invited review talks from leading practitioners in the field on the first day, the workshop focussed around two working groups: (1) the Ion Source and Separators working group and (2) themore » Radio Frequency Quadrupoles and Linacs working group. The workshop closed with the two working groups summarizing and outlining the tasks for the future. This report documents the proceedings of the workshop and includes the invited review talks, the two summary talks from the working groups and individual contributions from the participants. It is a complete assemblage of state-of-the-art thinking on ion sources, low-{beta}, low(q/A) accelerating structures, e.g. linacs and RFQS, isobar separators, phase-space matching, cyclotrons, etc., as relevant to radioactive beam facilities and the IsoSpin Laboratory. We regret to say that while the fascinating topic of superconducting low-velocity accelerator structure was covered by Dr. K. Shepard during the workshop, we can only reproduce the copies of the transparencies of his talk in the Appendix, since no written manuscript was available at the time of publication of this report. The individual report have been catologed separately elsewhere.« less

Blood pressure monitoring: theory and practice. European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability Teaching Course Proceedings.

PubMed

Stergiou, George S; Palatini, Paolo; Asmar, Roland; Bilo, Grzegorz; de la Sierra, Alejandro; Head, Geoff; Kario, Kazuomi; Mihailidou, Anastasia; Wang, Jiguang; Mancia, Giuseppe; O'Brien, Eoin; Parati, Gianfranco

2018-02-01

The European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Working Group on Blood Pressure (BP) Monitoring and Cardiovascular Variability organized a Teaching Course on 'Blood Pressure Monitoring: Theory and Practice' during the 2017 ESH Meeting in Milan, Italy. This course performed by 11 international BP monitoring experts covered key topics of BP monitoring, including office BP measurement, ambulatory BP monitoring, home BP monitoring, ambulatory versus home BP, white-coat and masked hypertension, cuff use, and BP variability. This article presents a summary of the proceedings of the ESH BP Monitoring Teaching Course, including essential information, practical issues, and recommendations on the clinical application of BP monitoring methods, aiming to the optimal management of patients with suspected or diagnosed hypertension.

HEP Software Foundation Community White Paper Working Group - Detector Simulation

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

Apostolakis, J.

A working group on detector simulation was formed as part of the high-energy physics (HEP) Software Foundation's initiative to prepare a Community White Paper that describes the main software challenges and opportunities to be faced in the HEP field over the next decade. The working group met over a period of several months in order to review the current status of the Full and Fast simulation applications of HEP experiments and the improvements that will need to be made in order to meet the goals of future HEP experimental programmes. The scope of the topics covered includes the main componentsmore » of a HEP simulation application, such as MC truth handling, geometry modeling, particle propagation in materials and fields, physics modeling of the interactions of particles with matter, the treatment of pileup and other backgrounds, as well as signal processing and digitisation. The resulting work programme described in this document focuses on the need to improve both the software performance and the physics of detector simulation. The goals are to increase the accuracy of the physics models and expand their applicability to future physics programmes, while achieving large factors in computing performance gains consistent with projections on available computing resources.« less

Health-related quality of life in patients with Burnout on sick leave: descriptive and comparative results from a clinical study.

PubMed

Grensman, Astrid; Acharya, Bikash Dev; Wändell, Per; Nilsson, Gunnar; Werner, Sigbritt

2016-02-01

To explore the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the cause of being ill, and the pharmacological treatment in patients on sick leave because of Burnout. The HRQoL among these patients was also compared with that of individuals who were working full time. HRQoL was measured using the SWED-QUAL questionnaire, comprising 67 items grouped into 13 subscales, scored from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) points, and covering aspects of physical and emotional well-being, cognitive function, sleep, general health, social, and sexual functioning. The Burnout group (n = 94), mean age 43 years, were on 50% sick leave or more. The comparison group consisted of healthy persons (n = 88) of similar age and educational level who were working full time. The Burnout group had markedly low scores in general. The cause of illness was mainly work-related. Psychotropic medication was prescribed for 55%. Significantly lower scores were found in the Burnout group than in the comparison group in all subscales, p < 0.001. The median differences in scores ranged from 10 to 56 points. Differences rated by effect size were large, 0.85-2.01. Patients on sick leave because of Burnout rated their HRQoL as very low in general, their cause of being ill was mainly work-related, and psychotropic medication was prescribed for a majority. Their scores were markedly lower in all subscales in comparison with healthy individuals working full time. The study adds to our understanding of the situation of patients with Burnout. The results can be useful in clinical work and future research.

A history of the working group to address Los Alamos community health concerns - A case study of community involvement and risk communication

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

Harry Otway; Jon Johnson

2000-01-01

In May 1991, at a Department of Energy (DOE) public hearing at Los Alamos, New Mexico, a local artist claimed there had been a recent brain tumor cluster in a small Los Alamos neighborhood. He suggested the cause was radiation from past operations of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Data from the Laboratory's extensive environmental monitoring program gave no reason to believe this charge to be true but also could not prove it false. These allegations, reported in the local and regional media, alarmed the community and revealed an unsuspected lack of trust in the Laboratory. Having no immediate and definitivemore » response, the Laboratory offered to collaborate with the community to address this concern. The Los Alamos community accepted this offer and a joint Community-Laboratory Working Group met for the first time 29 days later. The working group set as its primary goal the search for possible carcinogens in the local environment. Meanwhile, the DOE announced its intention to fund the New Mexico Department of Health to perform a separate and independent epidemiological study of all Los Alamos cancer rates. In early 1994, after commissioning 17 environmental studies and meeting 34 times, the working group decided that the public health concerns had been resolved to the satisfaction of the community and voted to disband. This paper tells the story of the artist and the working group, and how the media covered their story. It summarizes the environmental studies directed by the working group and briefly reviews the main findings of the epidemiology study. An epilogue records the present-day recollections of some of the key players in this environmental drama.« less

Lessons learned from recent geomagnetic disturbance model validation activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulkkinen, A. A.; Welling, D. T.

2017-12-01

Due to concerns pertaining to geomagnetically induced current impact on ground-based infrastructure, there has been significantly elevated interest in applying models for local geomagnetic disturbance or "delta-B" predictions. Correspondingly there has been elevated need for testing the quality of the delta-B predictions generated by the modern empirical and physics-based models. To address this need, community-wide activities were launched under the GEM Challenge framework and one culmination of the activities was the validation and selection of models that were transitioned into operations at NOAA SWPC. The community-wide delta-B action is continued under the CCMC-facilitated International Forum for Space Weather Capabilities Assessment and its "Ground Magnetic Perturbations: dBdt, delta-B, GICs, FACs" working group. The new delta-B working group builds on the past experiences and expands the collaborations to cover the entire international space weather community. In this paper, we discuss the key lessons learned from the past delta-B validation exercises and lay out the path forward for building on those experience under the new delta-B working group.

Family policies in OECD countries: a comparative analysis.

PubMed

Thévenon, Olivier

2011-01-01

This article discusses the diversity of family policy models in 28 OECD countries in terms of the balance between their different objectives and the mix of instruments adopted to implement the policies. Cross-country policy differences are investigated by applying a principal component analysis to comprehensive country-level data from the OECD Family database covering variables such as parental leave conditions, childcare service provision, and financial support to families. The results find persistent differences in the family policy patterns embedded in different contexts of work-family "outcomes." Country classifications of family policy packages only partially corroborate categorizations in earlier studies, owing to considerable within-group heterogeneity and the presence of group outliers. The Nordic countries outdistance the others with comprehensive support to working parents with very young children. Anglo-Saxon countries provide much less support for working parents with very young children, and financial support is targeted on low-income and large families and focuses on preschool and early elementary education. Continental and Eastern European countries form a more heterogeneous group, while the support received by families in Southern Europe and in Asian countries is much lower in all its dimensions.

Review on the importance of measurement technique in micromachine technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umeda, Akira

1996-09-01

In the beginning stage of MITI micromachine project, the committee on the standardization established in Micromachine Center recognized the importance of measurement technique for the promotion and the systemization of the micromachine technology. Micromachine Center is the organizing body for private sectors working in the MITI micromachine project which started in 1991. MITI stands for Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan. In order to known the requirements on the measurement technologies, the questionnaire was organized by the measurement working group in the committee. This talk covers the questionnaire and its results, and some research results obtained at National Research Laboratory of Metrology working as a member in the project.

Multi-way chemometric methodologies and applications: a central summary of our research work.

PubMed

Wu, Hai-Long; Nie, Jin-Fang; Yu, Yong-Jie; Yu, Ru-Qin

2009-09-14

Multi-way data analysis and tensorial calibration are gaining widespread acceptance with the rapid development of modern analytical instruments. In recent years, our group working in State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics in Hunan University has carried out exhaustive scientific research work in this area, such as building more canonical symbol systems, seeking the inner mathematical cyclic symmetry property for trilinear or multilinear decomposition, suggesting a series of multi-way calibration algorithms, exploring the rank estimation of three-way trilinear data array and analyzing different application systems. In this present paper, an overview from second-order data to third-order data covering about theories and applications in analytical chemistry has been presented.

Safety Performance of Small Lithium-Ion Cells in High Voltage Batteries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cowles, Philip R.; Darcy, Eric C.; Davies, Frank J.; Jeevarajan, Judith A.; Spurrett, Robert P.

2003-01-01

Topics covered include: Small-cell EAPU work done by NASA-JSC & COM DEV; Looking at safety features (short circuit protection - PTCs); Early tests showed that long strings do not withstand short circuit; a) Some PTCs experience large negative voltages; b) Destructive results. Solution: group cells into shorter substrings, with bypass diodes Work included: a) Tests with single cells shorted; b) Tests with single cells with imposed-negative voltages; c) 6s, 7s and 8s string shorts; and d) Tests with protection scheme in place, on 12s and 41s x 5p.

Mekong Land Cover Dasboard: Regional Land Cover Mointoring Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saah, D. S.; Towashiraporn, P.; Aekakkararungroj, A.; Phongsapan, K.; Triepke, J.; Maus, P.; Tenneson, K.; Cutter, P. G.; Ganz, D.; Anderson, E.

2016-12-01

SERVIR-Mekong, a USAID-NASA partnership, helps decision makers in the Lower Mekong Region utilize GIS and Remote Sensing information to inform climate related activities. In 2015, SERVIR-Mekong conducted a geospatial needs assessment for the Lower Mekong countries which included individual country consultations. The team found that many countries were dependent on land cover and land use maps for land resource planning, quantifying ecosystem services, including resilience to climate change, biodiversity conservation, and other critical social issues. Many of the Lower Mekong countries have developed national scale land cover maps derived in part from remote sensing products and geospatial technologies. However, updates are infrequent and classification systems do not always meet the needs of key user groups. In addition, data products stop at political boundaries and are often not accessible making the data unusable across country boundaries and with resource management partners. Many of these countries rely on global land cover products to fill the gaps of their national efforts, compromising consistency between data and policies. These gaps in national efforts can be filled by a flexible regional land cover monitoring system that is co-developed by regional partners with the specific intention of meeting national transboundary needs, for example including consistent forest definitions in transboundary watersheds. Based on these facts, key regional stakeholders identified a need for a land cover monitoring system that will produce frequent, high quality land cover maps using a consistent regional classification scheme that is compatible with national country needs. SERVIR-Mekong is currently developing a solution that leverages recent developments in remote sensing science and technology, such as Google Earth Engine (GEE), and working together with production partners to develop a system that will use a common set of input data sources to generate high-quality regional land cover maps on a regular basis that are consistent and continuous across the landscape. The system is being designed to facilitate improved policy, planning, and decision making by a wide range of users (such as government agencies, local community groups, non-profit organizations, and the private sector).

Deterrence Theory in the Contemporary Operating Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-12

violent non-state actors like terrorist organizations will be covered. Drug cartels, cyber criminals , arms dealers, money launderers , and others will...example, a money launderer may be willing to risk minor criminal prosecution for working with a low-level drug dealer due to the benefits associated...go-betweens, financiers, money launderers , etcetera, may have immediate needs that are much more important that the cause of the group. This means

UCM Meteor and Fireball Research group: Results 2012--2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ocaña, F.; Sánchez de Miguel, A.; Zamorano, J.; Izquierdo, J.; Pascual, S.; Palos, M. F.; Oré, S.; Rodríguez-Coira, G.; Zamora, S.; Lorenzo, C.; San Juan, R.; Muñoz-Ibáñez, B.; Vázquez, C.; Alonso-Moragón, A.; Gallego, J.; Trigo-Rodríguez, J. M.; Madiedo, J. M.

2015-05-01

Most of the activity of the group is based on the Fireball Detection Station located at the Observatorio UCM, a system consisting of 6 high-sensitivity videocameras covering the whole sky with wide-angle lenses during nighttime. Another 15 cameras have been placed by the researchers between 10 and 200 km away from Madrid for multiple station observations. It works as a node in the SPanish Meteor and Fireball Network (SPMN), a network of similar stations covering the atmosphere over Spain. Besides the continuous monitoring, the group has worked on the recording and analysis of some meteor showers. Most of the attention was focused on the Draconids 2011 campaign at Observatorio de Sierra Nevada (Trigo-Rodríguez, J. M., Madiedo, J. M., Williams, I. P., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 433, 560; Ocaña, F., Palos, M. F., Zamorano, J., et al. 2013, Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, 31st IMC, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, 2012, 70), and the 2012 Geminids balloon-borne mission over Spain (Sánchez de Miguel, A., Ocaña, F., Madiedo, J. M., et al. 2013, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 44, 2202). The products of the station have been used for undergraduate thesis projects at the Physics Faculty (Ocaña, F., 2011, UCM e-prints, 13292) and other undergraduate projects. In 2013 the station received new equipment thanks to the Certamen Arquímedes award, complementing the detection with spectroscopic and frame-integrating devices.

Do the socioeconomic impacts of antiretroviral therapy vary by gender? A longitudinal study of Kenyan agricultural worker employment outcomes.

PubMed

Larson, Bruce A; Fox, Mathew P; Rosen, Sydney; Bii, Margret; Sigei, Carolyne; Shaffer, Douglas; Sawe, Fredrick; McCoy, Kelly; Wasunna, Monique; Simon, Jonathan L

2009-07-15

As access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has grown in Africa, attention has turned to evaluating the socio-economic impacts of ART. One key issue is the extent to which improvements in health resulting from ART allows individuals to return to work and earn income. Improvements in health from ART may also be associated with reduced impaired presenteeism, which is the loss of productivity when an ill or disabled individual attends work but accomplishes less at his or her usual tasks or shifts to other, possibly less valuable, tasks. Longitudinal data for this analysis come from company payroll records for 97 HIV-infected tea estate workers (the index group, 56 women, 41 men) and a comparison group of all workers assigned to the same work teams (n = 2485, 1691 men, 794 women) for a 37-month period covering two years before and one year after initiating ART. We used nearest neighbour matching methods to estimate the impacts of HIV/AIDS and ART on three monthly employment outcomes for tea estate workers in Kenya--days plucking tea, days assigned to non-plucking assignments, and kilograms harvested when plucking. The female index group worked 30% fewer days plucking tea monthly than the matched female comparison group during the final 9 months pre-ART. They also worked 87% more days on non-plucking assignments. While the monthly gap between the two groups narrowed after beginning ART, the female index group worked 30% fewer days plucking tea and about 100% more days on non-plucking tasks than the comparison group after one year on ART. The male index group was able to maintain a similar pattern of work as their comparison group except during the initial five months on therapy. Significant impaired presenteeism continued to exist among the female index group after one year on ART. Future research needs to explore further the socio-economic implications of HIV-infected female workers on ART being less productive than the general female workforce over sustained periods of time.

75 FR 27121 - Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Dependent...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-13

... whom 3.1 million are uninsured) do not have a parent who has either ESI or non-group insurance, and... young adults whose parents are covered either by ESI or by non- group insurance: 3.44 million are currently uninsured, 2.42 million are covered by their own non-group insurance, 5.55 million are covered by...

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 3: Working Group Summary. 5: Propulsion (P-1). A. Summary Statement. B. Technology Needs (Form 1). C. Priority Assessments (Form 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

All themes require some form of advanced propulsion capabilities to achieve their stated objectives. Requirements cover a broad spectrum ranging from a new generation of heavy lift launch vehicles to low thrust, long lift system for on-orbit operations. The commonality extant between propulsive technologies was established and group technologies were grouped into vehicle classes by functional capability. The five classes of launch vehicles identified by the space transportation theme were augmented with a sixth class, encompassing planetary and on-orbit operations. Propulsion technologies in each class were then ranked, and assigned priority numbers. Prioritized technologies were matched to theme requirements.

Modified polyether-sulfone membrane: a mini review

PubMed Central

Alenazi, Noof A.; Hussein, Mahmoud A.; Alamry, Khalid A.; Asiri, Abdullah M.

2017-01-01

Abstract Polyethersulfone has been widely used as a promising material in medical applications and waste-treatment membranes since it provides excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Hydrophobicity of polyethersulfone is considered one main disadvantage of using this material because hydrophobic surface causes biofouling effects to the membrane which is always thought to be a serious limitation to the use of polyethersulfone in membrane technology. Chemical modification to the material is a promising solution to this problem. More specifically surface modification is an excellent technique to introduce hydrophilic properties and functional groups to the polyethersulfone membrane surface. This review covers chemical modifications of the polyethersulfone and covers different methods used to enhance the hydrophilicity of polyethersulfone membrane. In particular, the addition of amino functional groups to polyethersulfone is used as a fundamental method either to introduce hydrophilic properties or introduce nanomaterials to the surface of polyethersulfone membrane. This work reviews also previous research reports explored the use of amino functionalized polyethersulfone with different nanomaterials to induce biological activity and reduce fouling effects of the fabricated membrane. PMID:29491825

Microarc oxidation coating covered Ti implants with micro-scale gouges formed by a multi-step treatment for improving osseointegration.

PubMed

Bai, Yixin; Zhou, Rui; Cao, Jianyun; Wei, Daqing; Du, Qing; Li, Baoqiang; Wang, Yaming; Jia, Dechang; Zhou, Yu

2017-07-01

The sub-microporous microarc oxidation (MAO) coating covered Ti implant with micro-scale gouges has been fabricated via a multi-step MAO process to overcome the compromised bone-implant integration. The as-prepared implant has been further mediated by post-heat treatment to compare the effects of -OH functional group and the nano-scale orange peel-like morphology on osseointegration. The bone regeneration, bone-implant contact interface, and biomechanical push-out force of the modified Ti implant have been discussed thoroughly in this work. The greatly improved push-out force for the MAO coated Ti implants with micro-scale gouges could be attributed to the excellent mechanical interlocking effect between implants and biologically meshed bone tissues. Attributed to the -OH functional group which promotes synostosis between the biologically meshed bone and the gouge surface of implant, the multi-step MAO process could be an effective strategy to improve the osseointegration of Ti implant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electron counting and a large family of two-dimensional semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Maosheng; Botana, Jorge; Zurek, Eva; Liu, Jingyao; Yang, Wen

Two-dimensional semiconductors (2DSC) are currently the focus of many studies, thanks to their novel and superior transport properties that may greatly influence future electronic devices. The potential applications of 2DSCs range from low-dimensional electronics, topological insulators and vallytronics all the way to novel photolysis. However, compared with the conventional semiconductors that are comprised of main group elements and cover a large range of band gaps and lattice constants, the choice of 2D materials is very limited. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a large family of 2DSCs, all adopting the same structure and consisting of only main group elements. Using advanced density functional calculations, we demonstrate the attainability of these materials, and show that they cover a large range of lattice constants, band gaps and band edge states, making them good candidate materials for heterojunctions. This family of two dimensional materials may be instrumental in the fabrication of 2DSC devices that may rival the currently employed 3D semiconductors.

Modified polyether-sulfone membrane: a mini review.

PubMed

Alenazi, Noof A; Hussein, Mahmoud A; Alamry, Khalid A; Asiri, Abdullah M

2017-01-01

Polyethersulfone has been widely used as a promising material in medical applications and waste-treatment membranes since it provides excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Hydrophobicity of polyethersulfone is considered one main disadvantage of using this material because hydrophobic surface causes biofouling effects to the membrane which is always thought to be a serious limitation to the use of polyethersulfone in membrane technology. Chemical modification to the material is a promising solution to this problem. More specifically surface modification is an excellent technique to introduce hydrophilic properties and functional groups to the polyethersulfone membrane surface. This review covers chemical modifications of the polyethersulfone and covers different methods used to enhance the hydrophilicity of polyethersulfone membrane. In particular, the addition of amino functional groups to polyethersulfone is used as a fundamental method either to introduce hydrophilic properties or introduce nanomaterials to the surface of polyethersulfone membrane. This work reviews also previous research reports explored the use of amino functionalized polyethersulfone with different nanomaterials to induce biological activity and reduce fouling effects of the fabricated membrane.

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

Feldman, Hume A; Marfatia, Danny

This document is the final report on activity supported under DOE Grant Number DE-FG02-13ER42024. The report covers the period July 15, 2013 – March 31, 2014. Faculty supported by the grant during the period were Danny Marfatia (1.0 FTE) and Hume Feldman (1% FTE). The grant partly supported University of Hawaii students, David Yaylali and Keita Fukushima, who are supervised by Jason Kumar. Both students are expected to graduate with Ph.D. degrees in 2014. Yaylali will be joining the University of Arizona theory group in Fall 2014 with a 3-year postdoctoral appointment under Keith Dienes. The group’s research covered topicsmore » subsumed under the Energy Frontier, the Intensity Frontier, and the Cosmic Frontier. Many theoretical results related to the Standard Model and models of new physics were published during the reporting period. The report contains brief project descriptions in Section 1. Sections 2 and 3 lists published and submitted work, respectively. Sections 4 and 5 summarize group activity including conferences, workshops and professional presentations.« less

Covered self-expandable metal stents with an anti-migration system improve patency duration without increased complications compared with uncovered stents for distal biliary obstruction caused by pancreatic carcinoma: a randomized multicenter trial.

PubMed

Kitano, Masayuki; Yamashita, Yukitaka; Tanaka, Kiyohito; Konishi, Hideyuki; Yazumi, Shujiro; Nakai, Yoshitaka; Nishiyama, Osamu; Uehara, Hiroyuki; Mitoro, Akira; Sanuki, Tsuyoshi; Takaoka, Makoto; Koshitani, Tatsuya; Arisaka, Yoshifumi; Shiba, Masatsugu; Hoki, Noriyuki; Sato, Hideki; Sasaki, Yuichi; Sato, Masako; Hasegawa, Kazunori; Kawabata, Hideaki; Okabe, Yoshihiro; Mukai, Hidekazu

2013-11-01

The requirements of biliary stents used in the palliation of malignant biliary obstruction are a long duration of patency and minimal adverse effects. Covered self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) have been shown to prevent tumor ingrowth, which is the most frequent complication of uncovered SEMSs. However, because they are prone to migration, the superiority of covered SEMS has yet to be convincingly demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the superiority of covered over uncovered SEMSs in the palliation of distal biliary obstruction due to unresectable pancreatic carcinoma, using both stent types with relatively low axial force and uncovered flared ends to prevent their migration. From April 2009 to December 2010, 120 patients who were admitted to 22 tertiary-care centers because of distal biliary obstruction from unresectable pancreatic carcinomas were enrolled in this prospective randomized multicenter study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a covered or uncovered SEMS deployed at the site of the biliary stricture during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Stent patency time, patient survival time, patient survival time without stent dysfunction (time to stent dysfunction or patient death), cause of stent dysfunction (ingrowth, overgrowth, migration, or sludge formation), and serious adverse events were compared between covered and uncovered SEMS groups. Patient survival time in the two groups did not significantly differ (median: 285 and 223 days, respectively; P=0.68). Patient survival time without stent dysfunction was significantly longer in the covered than in the uncovered SEMS group (median: 187 vs. 132 days; P=0.043). Stent patency was also significantly longer in the covered than in the uncovered SEMS group (mean±s.d.: 219.3±159.1 vs. 166.9±124.9 days; P=0.047). Reintervention for stent dysfunction was performed in 14 of 60 patients with covered SEMSs (23%) and in 22 of 60 patients with uncovered SEMSs (37%; P=0.08). Stent dysfunction was caused by tumor ingrowth, tumor overgrowth, and sludge formation in 0 (0%), 3 (5%), and 11 (18%) patients in the covered SEMSs group, and in 15 (25%), 2 (3%), and 6 (10%) patients in the uncovered SEMSs group, respectively. Stent migration was not observed in either group. Rates of tumor overgrowth and sludge formation did not significantly differ between the two groups, whereas the rate of tumor ingrowth was significantly lower in the covered than in the uncovered SEMS group (P<0.01). Acute pancreatitis occurred in only one patient in the covered SEMS group. Acute cholecystitis occurred in one patient in the covered SEMS group and in two patients in the uncovered SEMS group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of serious adverse events. By preventing tumor ingrowth and migration, covered SEMSs with an anti-migration system had a longer duration of patency than uncovered SEMSs, which recommends their use in the palliative treatment of patients with biliary obstruction due to pancreatic carcinomas.

Mapping lichen color-groups in western Arctic Alaska using seasonal Landsat composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, P.; Macander, M. J.; Swingley, C. S.

2016-12-01

Mapping lichens at a landscape scale has received increased recent interest due to fears that terricolous lichen mats, primary winter caribou forage, may be decreasing across the arctic and boreal zones. However, previous efforts have produced taxonomically coarse, total lichen cover maps or have covered relatively small spatial extents. Here we attempt to map lichens of differing colors as species proxies across northwestern Alaska to produce the finest taxonomic and spatial- grained lichen maps covering the largest spatial extent to date. Lichen community sampling in five western Alaskan National Parks and Preserves from 2007-2012 generated 328 FIA-style 34.7 m radius plots on which species-level macrolichen community structure and abundance was estimated. Species were coded by color and plot lichen cover was aggregated by plot as the sum of the cover of each species in a color group. Ten different lichen color groupings were used for modeling to deduce which colors were most detectable. Reflectance signatures of each plot were extracted from a series of Landsat composites (circa 2000-2010) partitioned into two-week intervals from June 1 to Sept. 15. Median reflectance values for each band in each pixel were selected based on filtering criteria to reduce likelihood of snow cover. Lichen color group cover was regressed against plot reflectance plus additional abiotic predictors in two different data mining algorithms. Brown and grey lichens had the best models explaining approximately 40% of lichen cover in those color groups. Both data mining techniques produced similarly good fitting models. Spatial patterns of lichen color-group cover show distinctly different ecological patterns of these color-group species proxies.

Bridging education and training in ageing and disability: the European Care Certificate (ECC)

PubMed Central

Churchill, James; Gyorki, Eva

2009-01-01

Introduction There has been significant movement of workers between EU countries seeking work in the social care sector, causing problems for workers and employers who cannot easily evaluate the worth of qualifications gained abroad. The European Care Certificate (ECC) helps workers start work in the social care sector by defining basic knowledge and offering recognition for their learning. Development of product A LEONARDO project involving six countries (BE, UK, AT, DE, RO, PO) established a set of learning outcomes—the BESCLO (Basic European Social Care Learning Outcomes) covering eight key areas of knowledge (not competence). Existing awards and courses become ‘ECC compliant’ by demonstrating coverage of all the BESCLO. Students pass a multi-choice exam to gain the Certificate. There is a developing system of Lead and Delivery Partners spreading the ECC across Europe. Conclusion The BESCLO covers essential knowledge with a common set of values in social care. The ECC fits within existing training courses, is cheap and easy to operate, is at entry level, covers all client groups, can be made available in any language and is equally useful in recruitment, workplace induction training, or more formal college/university courses as an early achievement marker. Website: http://www.eclicence.eu

Magnesium alloy covered stent for treatment of a lateral aneurysm model in rabbit common carotid artery: An in vivo study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wu; Wang, Yong-Li; Chen, Mo; Chen, Liang; Zhang, Jian; Li, Yong-Dong; Li, Ming-Hua; Yuan, Guang-Yin

2016-11-01

Magnesium alloy covered stents have rarely been used in the common carotid artery (CCA). We evaluated the long-term efficacy of magnesium alloy covered stents in a lateral aneurysm model in rabbit CCA. Magnesium alloy covered stents (group A, n = 7) or Willis covered stents (group B, n = 5) were inserted in 12 New Zealand White rabbits and they were followed up for 12 months. The long-term feasibility for aneurysm occlusion was studied through angiograms; the changes in vessel area and lumen area were assessed with IVUS. Complete aneurysmal occlusion was achieved in all aneurysms. Angiography showed that the diameter of the stented CCA in group A at 6 and 12 months was significantly greater than the diameter immediately after stent placement. On intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examination, the mean lumen area of the stented CCA in group A was significantly greater at 6 and 12 months than that immediately after stent placement; the mean lumen area was also significantly greater in group A than in group B at the same time points. The magnesium alloy covered stents proved to be an effective approach for occlusion of lateral aneurysm in the rabbit CCA; it provides distinct advantages that are comparable to that obtained with the Willis covered stent.

Evaluation of the work of hospital districts' research ethics committees in Finland.

PubMed

Halila, Ritva

2014-12-01

The main task of research ethics committees (RECs) is to assess research studies before their start. In this study, 24 RECs that evaluate medical research were sent questionnaires about their structure and functions. The RECs were divided into two separate groups: those working in university hospital districts (uRECs) and those in central hospital districts (non-uRECs). The two groups were different in many respects: the uRECs were bigger in size, covered a wider range of disciplines (both medical and non-medical), had better resources and more frequent and regular meetings. After the survey was performed and analysed, the Medical Research Act was amended so that only hospital districts with a medical faculty in their region had a duty to establish ethics committees. After the amendment, the number of RECs evaluating medical research in Finland decreased from 25 to 9. The ethics committees that remained had wider expertise and were better equipped already by the time of this survey. Only one non-uREC was continuing its work, and this was being done under the governance of a university hospital district. Simple measures were used for qualitative analysis of the work of RECs that evaluate medical research. These showed differences between RECs. This may be helpful in establishing an ethics committee network in a research field or administrational area. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Research Highlights. Extending Health Care Insurance to Specific Populations: Profile of RAND Work

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, 1985), insured workers in firms with 20 or more employees can continue their health benefits at 102...approaches to providing coverage for these groups. to employees . Indeed, 60 percent of uninsured non-elderly workers are employed in small firms... workers . Employers would make regular, tax-deductible contributions to the MSA; an em- ployee could draw on the MSA to cover health care expenses

Liquid rocket booster integration study. Volume 4: Reviews and presentation material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Liquid rocket booster integration study is presented. Volume 4 contains materials presented at the MSFC/JSC/KSC Integrated Reviews and Working Group Sessions, and the Progress Reviews presented to the KSC Study Manager. The following subject areas are covered: initial impact assessment; conflicts with the on-going STS mission; access to the LRB at the PAD; the activation schedule; transition requirements; cost methodology; cost modelling approach; and initial life cycle cost.

Thermal Mechanisms for High Amplitude Aerodynamic Flow Control (YIP 2012)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-15

memorandum, master’s thesis, progress, quarterly, research , special, group study, etc. 3. DATES COVERED. Indicate the time during which the work...boundary layer ahead of the plasma. Since the ns-DBD flow control mechanism is primarily thermal, or least symmetric if associated with a quasi ...conditions with minimal experimental effort. The validity of probing a single location on the low speed side of the mixing layer to test for control

Primary prevention of ocular injury in agricultural workers with safety eyewear.

PubMed

Chatterjee, Samrat; Agrawal, Deepshikha

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of preventing eye injury with the use of safety eyewear in agriculture workers. A sample group of 575 agricultural workers (Group A) engaged in harvesting paddy were provided with goggles with side covers. Following harvesting, a questionnaire-based survey was carried out to determine the frequency of their eye injuries. Workers with goggles were asked about the duration for which they used the goggles and also list barriers or difficulties with the same. The frequency of eye injuries in this group was compared with another group of agriculture workers (Group B) who did not use any safety eyewear. The frequency of eye injuries in Group A was 4 (0.7%) and Group B was 61 (11.3%) which was highly significant (P = 0.0001). The relative risk calculated was 0.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.2). Agricultural workers in Group A had 94% less risk of ocular trauma compared to those in Group B. Injuries in both groups were caused by parts of the paddy plant. A significant number (76.2%) of workers used the goggles all or most of the time during work. Impaired vision when wearing goggles was the most frequent barrier reported by the workers. Other barriers were discomfort, shyness, forgetfulness, apathy, slowing of work pace, awkward appearance, and breakages. Safety eyewear conferred significant protection against work-related eye injuries in agriculture. Although safety eyewear was widely adopted by the workers, barriers reported by them will need to be addressed to make such programs more effective.

Primary prevention of ocular injury in agricultural workers with safety eyewear

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Samrat; Agrawal, Deepshikha

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of preventing eye injury with the use of safety eyewear in agriculture workers. Methods: A sample group of 575 agricultural workers (Group A) engaged in harvesting paddy were provided with goggles with side covers. Following harvesting, a questionnaire-based survey was carried out to determine the frequency of their eye injuries. Workers with goggles were asked about the duration for which they used the goggles and also list barriers or difficulties with the same. The frequency of eye injuries in this group was compared with another group of agriculture workers (Group B) who did not use any safety eyewear. Results: The frequency of eye injuries in Group A was 4 (0.7%) and Group B was 61 (11.3%) which was highly significant (P = 0.0001). The relative risk calculated was 0.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.02–0.2). Agricultural workers in Group A had 94% less risk of ocular trauma compared to those in Group B. Injuries in both groups were caused by parts of the paddy plant. A significant number (76.2%) of workers used the goggles all or most of the time during work. Impaired vision when wearing goggles was the most frequent barrier reported by the workers. Other barriers were discomfort, shyness, forgetfulness, apathy, slowing of work pace, awkward appearance, and breakages. Conclusion: Safety eyewear conferred significant protection against work-related eye injuries in agriculture. Although safety eyewear was widely adopted by the workers, barriers reported by them will need to be addressed to make such programs more effective. PMID:28905831

Prevalence and associated factors for thoracic spine pain in the adult working population: a literature review.

PubMed

Briggs, Andrew M; Bragge, Peter; Smith, Anne J; Govil, Dhruv; Straker, Leon M

2009-01-01

Spinal pain is a significant occupational health issue. Whilst neck pain and low back pain have received considerable attention, thoracic spinal pain (TSP) has not. The objective of this study was to systematically identify and report the evidence describing the prevalence and correlates of TSP within occupational groups. This literature review systematically searched for reports of TSP prevalence and associated factors for TSP in working adult cohorts using nine electronic databases. Studies were evaluated for level of evidence and epidemiologic data were narratively synthesised. 52 studies were identified describing 65 cohorts covering manual labourers, office workers, health professionals, manufacturing and industrial workers, drivers, military personnel and performing artists. Prevalence varied with occupational group and time period. One year prevalence of TSP ranged from 3.0-55.0%, with most occupational groups having medians around 30%. Significant odds ratios for individual (concurrent musculoskeletal disorders, exercising, pre-menstrual tension and female gender), general work-related (high work load, high work intensity, perceiving ergonomic problems in the workplace, working in some specialised areas, performing boring/tedious work tasks, certain year levels of study, employment duration, driving specialised vehicles, and a high number of flying hours), physical work-related (manual physiotherapy tasks, climbing stairs and high physical stress) and psychosocial work-related (perceived risk of injury and high mental pressure) factors were reported. The high median prevalence rates suggest TSP may be a significant occupational health problem. The multiple domains of associated factors point to the need for prospective research encompassing these domains to inform targeted occupational interventions.

A comparison of CH4, N2O and CO2 emissions from three different cover types in a municipal solid waste landfill.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaojun; Jia, Mingsheng; Lin, Xiangyu; Xu, Ying; Ye, Xin; Kao, Chih Ming; Chen, Shaohua

2017-04-01

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) membranes are commonly used as a cover component in sanitary landfills, although only limited evaluations of its effect on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been completed. In this study, field GHG emission were investigated at the Dongbu landfill, using three different cover systems: HDPE covering; no covering, on the working face; and a novel material-Oreezyme Waste Cover (OWC) material as a trial material. Results showed that the HDPE membrane achieved a high CH 4 retention, 99.8% (CH 4 mean flux of 12 mg C m -2 h -1 ) compared with the air-permeable OWC surface (CH4 mean flux of 5933 mg C m -2 h -1 ) of the same landfill age. Fresh waste at the working face emitted a large fraction of N 2 O, with average fluxes of 10 mg N m -2 h -2 , while N 2 O emissions were small at both the HDPE and the OWC sections. At the OWC section, CH 4 emissions were elevated under high air temperatures but decreased as landfill age increased. N 2 O emissions from the working face had a significant negative correlation with air temperature, with peak values in winter. A massive presence of CO 2 was observed at both the working face and the OWC sections. Most importantly, the annual GHG emissions were 4.9 Gg yr -1 in CO 2 equivalents for the landfill site, of which the OWC-covered section contributed the most CH 4 (41.9%), while the working face contributed the most N 2 O (97.2%). HDPE membrane is therefore, a recommended cover material for GHG control. Monitoring of GHG emissions at three different cover types in a municipal solid waste landfill during a 1-year period showed that the working face was a hotspot of N 2 O, which should draw attention. High CH 4 fluxes occurred on the permeable surface covering a 1- to 2-year-old landfill. In contrast, the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) membrane achieved high CH 4 retention, and therefore is a recommended cover material for GHG control.

Wavelengths, energy levels and hyperfine structure of Mn II and Sc II.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nave, Gillian; Pickering, Juliet C.; Townley-Smith, Keeley I. M.; Hala, .

2015-08-01

For many decades, the Atomic Spectroscopy Groups at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Imperial College London (ICL) have measured atomic data of astronomical interest. Our spectrometers include Fourier transform (FT) spectrometers at NIST and ICL covering the region 1350 Å to 5.5 μm and a 10.7-m grating spectrometer at NIST covering wavelengths from 300 - 5000 Å. Sources for these spectra include high-current continuous and pulsed hollow cathode (HCL) lamps, Penning discharges, and sliding spark discharges. Recent work has focused on the measurement and analysis of wavelengths, energy levels, and hyperfine structure (HFS) constants for iron-group elements. The analysis of FT spectra of Cr I, Mn I, and Mn II is being led by ICL and is described in a companion poster [1]. Current work being led by NIST includes the analysis of HFS in Mn II, analysis of Mn II in the vacuum ultraviolet, and a comprehensive analysis of Sc II.Comprehensive HFS constants for Mn II are needed for the interpretation of stellar spectra and incorrect abundances may be obtained when HFS is omitted. Holt et al. [2] have measured HFS constants for 59 levels of Mn II using laser spectroscopy. We used FT spectra of Mn/Ni and Mn/Cu HCLs covering wavelength ranges from 1350 Å to 5.4 μm to confirm 26 of the A constants of Holt et al. and obtain values for roughly 40 additional levels. We aim to obtain HFS constants for the majority of lines showing significant HFS that are observed in chemically-peculiar stars.Spectra of Sc HCLs have been recorded from 1800 - 6700 Å using a vacuum ultraviolet FT spectrometer at NIST. Additional measurements to cover wavelengths above 6700 Å and below 1800 Å are in progress. The spectra are being analyzed by NIST and Alighar Muslim University, India in order to derive improved wavelengths, energy levels, and hyperfine structure parameters.This work was partially supported by NASA, the STFC and PPARC (UK), the Royal Society of the UK, and the Leverhulme Trust.[1] J. C. Pickering, F. Liggins, C. Clear, M. Ruffoni, G. Nave, C. Sansonetti (this meeting)[2] R. A. Holt, T. J. Scholl & S. D. Rosner, MNRAS 306, 107 (1999)

Desk-based workers' perspectives on using sit-stand workstations: a qualitative analysis of the Stand@Work study.

PubMed

Chau, Josephine Y; Daley, Michelle; Srinivasan, Anu; Dunn, Scott; Bauman, Adrian E; van der Ploeg, Hidde P

2014-07-25

Prolonged sitting time has been identified as a health risk factor. Sit-stand workstations allow desk workers to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the working day, but not much is known about their acceptability and feasibility. Hence, the aim of this study was to qualitatively evaluate the acceptability, feasibility and perceptions of using sit-stand workstations in a group of desk-based office workers. This article describes the qualitative evaluation of the randomized controlled cross-over Stand@Work pilot trial. Participants were adult employees recruited from a non-government health agency in Sydney, Australia. The intervention involved using an Ergotron Workfit S sit-stand workstation for four weeks. After the four week intervention, participants shared their perceptions and experiences of using the sit-stand workstation in focus group interviews with 4-5 participants. Topics covered in the focus groups included patterns of workstation use, barriers and facilitators to standing while working, effects on work performance, physical impacts, and feasibility in the office. Focus group field notes and transcripts were analysed in an iterative process during and after the data collection period to identify the main concepts and themes. During nine 45-min focus groups, a total of 42 participants were interviewed. Participants were largely intrinsically motivated to try the sit-stand workstation, mostly because of curiosity to try something new, interest in potential health benefits, and the relevance to the participant's own and organisation's work. Most participants used the sit-stand workstation and three common usage patterns were identified: task-based routine, time-based routine, and no particular routine. Common barriers to sit-stand workstation use were working in an open plan office, and issues with sit-stand workstation design. Common facilitators of sit-stand workstation use were a supportive work environment conducive to standing, perceived physical health benefits, and perceived work benefits. When prompted, most participants indicated they were interested in using a sit-stand workstation in the future. The use of a sit-stand workstation in this group of desk-based office workers was generally perceived as acceptable and feasible. Future studies are needed to explore this in different desk-based work populations and settings.

Workgroup report: developing environmental health indicators for European children: World Health Organization Working Group.

PubMed

Pond, Kathy; Kim, Rokho; Carroquino, Maria-Jose; Pirard, Philippe; Gore, Fiona; Cucu, Alexandra; Nemer, Leda; MacKay, Morag; Smedje, Greta; Georgellis, Antonis; Dalbokova, Dafina; Krzyzanowski, Michal

2007-09-01

A working group coordinated by the World Health Organization developed a set of indicators to protect children's health from environmental risks and to support current and future European policy needs. On the basis of identified policy needs, the group developed a core set of 29 indicators for implementation plus an extended set of eight additional indicators for future development, focusing on exposure, health effects, and action. As far as possible, the indicators were designed to use existing information and are flexible enough to be developed further to meet the needs of policy makers and changing health priorities. These indicators cover most of the priority topic areas specified in the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) as adopted in the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in 2004, and will be used to monitor the implementation of CEHAPE. This effort can be viewed as an integral part of the Global Initiative on Children's Environmental Health Indicators, launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.

Effective oral presentations: speaking before groups as part of your job.

PubMed

McConnell, Charles R

2009-01-01

Fear of public speaking is a widespread phenomenon that afflicts a large percentage of the population. Some working people will go to great lengths to avoid having to speak before a group; however, inability or unwillingness to speak in public can contribute to limiting an individual's promotional possibilities and thus capping a career at a level beneath the individual's technical abilities. This can be especially true in an arena such as health care in which oral communication in group settings figures so strongly in work relations. Yet anyone can overcome speaking fear through thorough preparation and practice. It is necessary to research one's topic thoroughly, outline the points the intended talk will cover, study the composition of one's audience, and plan on targeting some specific level of understanding and remaining ever conscious of the few areas in which problems can occur. With conscientious preparation and plenty of practice, anyone can learn to speak before any group of people, although it may mean facing one's fear head-on a number of times before gaining a level of confidence sufficient to control the fear of speaking.

26 CFR 54.4980B-4 - Qualifying events.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... there is a decrease in the hours that a covered employee is required to work or actually works, but only... employment. For example, an absence from work due to disability, a temporary layoff, or any other reason..., such as the preceding month or quarter, and an employee covered under the plan fails to work the...

Partially covered metal stents have longer patency than uncovered and fully covered metal stents in the management of distal malignant biliary obstruction: a retrospective study.

PubMed

Yokota, Yudai; Fukasawa, Mitsuharu; Takano, Shinichi; Kadokura, Makoto; Shindo, Hiroko; Takahashi, Ei; Hirose, Sumio; Kawakami, Satoshi; Fukasawa, Yoshimitsu; Sato, Tadashi; Enomoto, Nobuyuki

2017-10-11

Self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) are widely used for malignant biliary obstructions. Nitinol-covered SEMSs have been developed to improve stent patency. Currently, SEMSs may be uncovered, partially covered, or fully covered; however, there is no consensus on the best stent type for the management of malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO). Patients with unresectable MDBO receiving SEMS (Wallflex™) were retrospectively analyzed. Time to recurrent biliary obstruction (TRBO) and survival time were compared among the three types of SEMSs. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for stent dysfunction. In total, 101 patients received SEMSs for unresectable MDBO (44 uncovered, 28 partially covered, and 29 fully covered SEMSs). Median survival time was 200, 168, and 276 days in the uncovered, partially covered, and fully covered SEMSs groups, respectively. There were no differences in survival among the three groups. Median TRBO was 199, 444, and 194 days in the uncovered, partially covered, and fully covered SEMSs groups, respectively. Partially covered SEMSs had longer TRBO than uncovered (p = 0.013) and fully covered (p = 0.010) SEMSs. Tumor ingrowth occurred only with uncovered SEMSs and stent migration occurred only with fully covered SEMSs. Multivariate analyses confirmed that partially covered SEMSs have lower risk of dysfunction. Partially covered SEMSs with a proximal uncovered flared end have longer patency than uncovered and fully covered SEMSs by preventing tumor ingrowth and stent migration.

Meta-Analysis of Land Use / Land Cover Change Factors in the Conterminous US and Prediction of Potential Working Timberlands in the US South from FIA Inventory Plots and NLCD Cover Maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeuck, James A.

This dissertation consists of research projects related to forest land use / land cover (LULC): (1) factors predicting LULC change and (2) methodology to predict particular forest use, or "potential working timberland" (PWT), from current forms of land data. The first project resulted in a published paper, a meta-analysis of 64 econometric models from 47 studies predicting forest land use changes. The response variables, representing some form of forest land change, were organized into four groups: forest conversion to agriculture (F2A), forestland to development (F2D), forestland to non-forested (F2NF) and undeveloped (including forestland) to developed (U2D) land. Over 250 independent econometric variables were identified, from 21 F2A models, 21 F2D models, 12 F2NF models, and 10 U2D models. These variables were organized into a hierarchy of 119 independent variable groups, 15 categories, and 4 econometric drivers suitable for conducting simple vote count statistics. Vote counts were summarized at the independent variable group level and formed into ratios estimating the predictive success of each variable group. Two ratio estimates were developed based on (1) proportion of times independent variables successfully achieved statistical significance (p ≤0.10), and (2) proportion of times independent variables successfully met the original researchers'expectations. In F2D models, popular independent variables such as population, income, and urban proximity often achieved statistical significance. In F2A models, popular independent variables such as forest and agricultural rents and costs, governmental programs, and site quality often achieved statistical significance. In U2D models, successful independent variables included urban rents and costs, zoning issues concerning forestland loss, site quality, urban proximity, population, and income. F2NF models high success variables were found to be agricultural rents, site quality, population, and income. This meta-analysis provides insight into the general success of econometric independent variables for future forest use or cover change research. The second part of this dissertation developed a method for predicting area estimates and spatial distribution of PWT in the US South. This technique determined land use from USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and land cover from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Three dependent variable forms (DV Forms) were derived from the FIA data: DV Form 1, timberland, other; DV Form 2, short timberland, tall timberland, agriculture, other; and DV Form 3, short hardwood (HW) timberland, tall HW timberland, short softwood (SW) timberland, tall SW timberland, agriculture, other. The prediction accuracy of each DV Form was investigated using both random forest model and logistic regression model specifications and data optimization techniques. Model verification employing a "leave-group-out" Monte Carlo simulation determined the selection of a stratified version of the random forest model using one-year NLCD observations with an overall accuracy of 0.53-0.94. The lower accuracy side of the range was when predictions were made from an aggregated NLCD land cover class "grass_shrub". The selected model specification was run using 2011 NLCD and the other predictor variables to produce three levels of timberland prediction and probability maps for the US South. Spatial masks removed areas unlikely to be working forests (protected and urbanized lands) resulting in PWT maps. The area of the resulting maps compared well with USFS area estimates and masked PWT maps and had an 8-11% reduction of the USFS timberland estimate for the US South compared to the DV Form. Change analysis of the 2011 NLCD to PWT showed (1) the majority of the short timberland came from NLCD grass_shrub; (2) the majority of NLCD grass_shrub predicted into tall timberland, and (3) NLCD grass_shrub was more strongly associated with timberland in the Coastal Plain. Resulting map products provide practical analytical tools for those interested in studying the area and distribution of PWT in the US South.

Microbiological and physicochemical characterization of dry-cured Halal goat meat. Effect of salting time and addition of olive oil and paprika covering.

PubMed

Cherroud, Sanâa; Cachaldora, Aida; Fonseca, Sonia; Laglaoui, Amin; Carballo, Javier; Franco, Inmaculada

2014-10-01

The objective of this work was to define a simple technological process for dry-cured Halal goat meat elaboration. The aims of this study were to analyze physicochemical parameters and to enumerate the microbial population at the end of the different manufacturing processes (two salting times and the addition of olive oil and paprika covering) on 36 units of meat product. A total of 532 strains were isolated from several selective culture media and then identified using classical and molecular methods. In general, salt effect and the addition of olive oil and paprika were significant for all the studied microbial groups as well as on NaCl content and water activity. Molecular analysis proves that staphylococci, especially Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus equorum, were the most common naturally occurring microbiota. The best manufacturing process would be obtained with a longer salting time and the addition of the olive oil and paprika covering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Comparison of molluscicidal effects of two snail control methods with plastic film covering in hilly regions].

PubMed

Zhou, Yun; Zhang, Biao; Wang, Zhi-Mei; Zhao, Jia-Huei; Mao, Shu; Xie, De-Bing; Mei, Zhi-Zhong; Zhang, Jun; Hong, Qing-Biao; Wang, Wei; Sun, Le-Ping

2013-12-01

To evaluate and compare the molluscicidal effects of colorless and black plastic film covering methods against Oncomelania hupensis snails in hilly regions. A hilly setting with high snail density was selected as the study area, and three groups including the colorless plastic film covering method, black plastic film covering method and control were designed. The snail surveys were conducted 1, 3, 7, 15 days and 30 days in each group following plastic film covering, and the mortality of snails and reduction of snail density were investigated. The air temperature, soil surface temperature in the control group, as well as the soil surface temperature and the temperatures 5 cm and 15 cm under the soil within the film were recorded. The mortality rates of snails were 36.84%, 78.94%, 95.92%, 100.00% and 99.45% 1, 3, 7, 15 days and 30 days following colorless plastic film covering, respectively, and the snail density after 30 days of covering reduced by 99.36% as compared to that before covering, while the mortality rates of snails were 10.08%, 8.94%, 6.11%, 26.15% and 49.32% 1, 3, 7, 15 days and 30 days following black plastic film covering, respectively, and the snail density after 30 days of covering reduced by 58.10% as compared to that before covering. There were significant differences in the 1-, 3-, 7-, 15-day and 30-day snail mortality rates between the colorless and black film covering groups (all P values <0.01), and a significant difference was detected in the snail density between the two groups 30 days after the film covering (P < 0.001). In addition, the speed, amplitude and duration of the rise in the soil surface temperature within the colorless film were all greater than those within the black film. The short-term molluscicidal effect of the colorless plastic film covering method is significantly superior to that of the black plastic film covering method in summer in hilly regions.

CEOS Committee on Earth Observations Satellites Consolidated Report, 1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

A concise overview of the committee on Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS) and its Working Groups, covering the history and purpose of the Committee and its accomplishments to date are provided. The report will be updated annually before each Plenary meeting, and as developments in the Working Groups warrant. The committee on Earth Observations Satellites (originally named the International Earth Observations Satellite committee, IEOS) was treated in 1984, in response to a recommendation from the Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations Working Group on Growth, Technology, and Employment's Panel of Experts on Satellite Remote Sensing. This group recognized the multidisciplinary nature of satellite Earth observations, and the value of coordinating across all proposed missions. Thus, CEOS combined the previously existing groups for coordination on Ocean Remote-Sensing Satellites (CORSS) and coordination on Land Remote-Sensing Satellites (CLRSS), and established a broad framework for coordination across all spaceborne Earth observations missions. The first three LEOS Plenary meetings focused on treating and guiding the Working Groups deemed necessary to carry out the objectives of the CEOS members. After the third meeting, it was agreed that a more active orientation was required by the Plenary, and additional issues were brought before the group at the fourth meeting. At the fifth Plenary, international scientific programs and relevant intergovernmental organizations accepted invitations and participated as affiliate members of CEOS. This enabled progress toward integrating satellite data users' requirements into the CEOS process. Data exchange principles for global change research were also adopted. An interim CEOS Plenary meeting was held in April 1992, in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Brief encapsulations of the Plenary sessions immediately follow the Terms of Reference that govern the activities of CEOS as a whole; Terms of Reference for the individual Working Groups are included as Appendix A. A complete listing of CEOS members is offered as Appendix B.

7 CFR 30.7 - Group.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Group. 30.7 Section 30.7 Agriculture Regulations of... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.7 Group. A group of grades, or a division of a type covering several closely related grades, based on the...

7 CFR 30.7 - Group.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Group. 30.7 Section 30.7 Agriculture Regulations of... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.7 Group. A group of grades, or a division of a type covering several closely related grades, based on the...

7 CFR 30.7 - Group.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Group. 30.7 Section 30.7 Agriculture Regulations of... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.7 Group. A group of grades, or a division of a type covering several closely related grades, based on the...

7 CFR 30.7 - Group.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Group. 30.7 Section 30.7 Agriculture Regulations of... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.7 Group. A group of grades, or a division of a type covering several closely related grades, based on the...

7 CFR 30.7 - Group.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Group. 30.7 Section 30.7 Agriculture Regulations of... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.7 Group. A group of grades, or a division of a type covering several closely related grades, based on the...

Geodynamics Branch research report, 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, W. D. (Editor); Cohen, S. C. (Editor)

1983-01-01

The research program of the Geodynamics Branch is summarized. The research activities cover a broad spectrum of geoscience disciplines including space geodesy, geopotential field modeling, tectonophysics, and dynamic oceanography. The NASA programs which are supported by the work described include the Geodynamics and Ocean Programs, the Crustal Dynamics Project, the proposed Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX) and Geopotential Research Mission. The individual papers are grouped into chapters on Crustal Movements, Global Earth Dynamics, Gravity Field Model Development, Sea Surface Topography, and Advanced Studies.

Geographic variation in risk factors for SFG rickettsial and leptospiral exposure in Colombia.

PubMed

Padmanabha, Harish; Hidalgo, Marylin; Valbuena, Gustavo; Castaneda, Elizabeth; Galeano, Armando; Puerta, Henry; Cantillo, Cesar; Mantilla, Gilma

2009-10-01

In order to characterize the patterns of human exposure to spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial and leptospiral infection, IgG surveys were conducted on 642 residents of ten different areas of the rural district of Necoclí, Colombia. Areas were selected based on forest cover and human settlement pattern, and individual risk factors were elucidated through multivariate logistic models, controlling for variance clustering within communities. Overall, prevalence of high antibody titers indicating previous exposure to SFG rickettsia and leptospira was 29.2% and 35.6%, respectively, and both were most prevalent in the same peri-urban neighborhood. Forest cover .10% demonstrated the strongest independent association with leptospiral exposure, followed by homes with outdoor storage sheds. Isolated rural housing was the only variable independently associated with SFG rickettsia exposure. Community-level variables significantly modified the effects of individual risk factors. For both pathogens the eldest quartile was less exposed in periurban areas although there was no age effect overall for either. Females living in population settlements were more exposed to SFG rickettsiae but there was no sex association in isolated rural houses. Similarly, in sites with forest cover .10%, individuals working at home had higher leptospira seroprevalence, but place of work was not a risk factor in areas of forest cover ,10%. These data suggest that the patterns of maintenance and/or exposure to leptospira and rickettsia vary across different human created landscapes and settlement patterns. While contrasting risk factors may reflect the unique transmission cycles of each pathogen, the observed patterns of geographic variation suggest that both diseases may respond similarly larger scale human-ecological dynamics.

Outcomes of shunt tube coverage with glycerol preserved cornea versus pericardium.

PubMed

Wigton, Eric; C Swanner, Jason; Joiner, Wade; Feldman, Alex; McGwin, Gerald; Huisingh, Carrie; Curcio, Christine A; Girkin, Christopher A

2014-01-01

Pericardium is a biomaterial widely used for covering the outflow tubes of glaucoma drainage devices. Recently, glycerol preserved cornea has been introduced as an alternative that offers durability and improved cosmesis because of its clarity. We retrospectively reviewed 262 patients in the University of Alabama Birmingham Glaucoma Service who underwent shunt procedures using either cornea tissue or pericardium to cover the tube. The primary outcome measure was the number of erosions of the covering material. Nine out of 101 (8.9%) patients in the pericardium covered group experienced an erosion compared with 3 out of 161 (1.9%) in the cornea covered group. A significant difference was reached with P=0.0125. Median follow-up was 440 days for the cornea group and 331 days for the pericardium group. The type of glaucoma (primary open-angle glaucoma vs. secondary glaucoma) was not associated with the risk of erosion (odds ratio, 0.501; 95% confidence interval, 0.204-1.234). The median time to exposure was 252 days in the pericardium group and 440 days in the cornea group (P=0.0017).

The Intermediate Neutrino Program

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

Adams, C.; Alonso, J. R.; Ankowski, A. M.

2017-04-03

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program (WINP) at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topicsmore » on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summarizes discussion and conclusions from the workshop.« less

Priorities for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research: A Report of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Centers for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Working Group.

PubMed

Khazanie, Prateeti; Krumholz, Harlan M; Kiefe, Catarina I; Kressin, Nancy R; Wells, Barbara; Wang, Tracy Y; Peterson, Eric D

2017-07-01

The Centers for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (CCORs) held a meeting to review how cardiovascular outcomes research had evolved in the decade since the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2004 working group report and to consider future directions. The conference involved representatives from governmental agencies, outcomes research thought leaders, and public and private healthcare partners. The main purposes of this meeting were to (1) advance collaborative high-yield, high-impact outcomes research; (2) identify priorities and barriers to important cardiovascular outcomes research; and (3) define future needs for the field. This report highlights the key topics covered during the meeting, including an examination of the recent history of outcomes research, an evaluation of the current academic climate, and a vision for the future of cardiovascular outcomes research. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Teaching About Genetics and Sickle Cell Disease In Fifth Grade.

PubMed

Day, Lucille Lang; Murray, Eileen; Treadwell, Marsha J; Lubin, Bertram H

2015-02-01

We are grateful to Laura McVittie Gray for her work on the development of the student activities described in this article. This work was made possible by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), Grant Number R25RR020449, from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Additional support for this SEPA-funded project was provided by Grant Number UL1RR024131-01 from NCRR. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH. A 5-lesson, 5th-grade instructional unit, "Genetics and Sickle Cell Disease," was developed and tested as part of a 40-lesson curriculum entitled SEEK (Science Exploration, Excitement, and Knowledge): A Curriculum in Health and Biomedical Science for Diverse 4th and 5th Grade Students. The genetics lessons include hands-on activities (e.g., DNA extraction from cheek cells), a simulated plant genetics experiment, and a classroom visit by a person with sickle cell disease, as well as by a health care practitioner who works with sickle cell patients or a scientist specializing in genetics. The unit was tested with 82 5th-grade students at public elementary schools in Oakland, CA; 96% were racial and ethnic minorities. The comparison group consisted of 84 5th-grade Oakland students racially/ ethnically, academically, and socio-economically matched to those in the experimental group. Both groups completed a 20-question, multiple-choice pre/posttest covering science concepts, scientific process, lifestyle choices, and careers. The experimental group showed significant improvement on 13 of 20 questions (P<.05, t-tests) and on the test as a whole, whereas the comparison group did not show significant improvement either on any of the questions or on the test as a whole. The experimental group improved on 10 concept questions, 2 scientific process questions, and 1 lifestyle question. Teachers rated the educational value of the unit as 9.5 on a scale from 1 (low) to 10 (high). These results show that genetics and sickle cell disease can be taught successfully in 5th grade, although they are not typically covered at this level. © 2015 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

45 CFR 287.1 - What does this part cover?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... specifies.” (c) We call this Tribal work activities program the Native Employment Works (NEW) program. (d...), ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE NATIVE EMPLOYMENT WORKS (NEW) PROGRAM General NEW Provisions § 287.1 What does this part cover? (a) The regulations in this...

41 CFR 60-4.2 - Solicitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... trade on all construction work in the covered area, are as follows: Time- tables Goals for minority... goals for each year. These goals are applicable to all the Contractor's construction work (whether or... construction work in a geographical area located outside of the covered area, it shall apply the goals...

Sex differences in cognitive functioning in at-risk mental state for psychosis, first episode psychosis and healthy control subjects.

PubMed

Ittig, S; Studerus, E; Papmeyer, M; Uttinger, M; Koranyi, S; Ramyead, A; Riecher-Rössler, A

2015-02-01

Several sex differences in schizophrenia have been reported including differences in cognitive functioning. Studies with schizophrenia patients and healthy controls (HC) indicate that the sex advantage for women in verbal domains is also present in schizophrenia patients. However, findings have been inconsistent. No study focused on sex-related cognitive performance differences in at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS) individuals yet. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate sex differences in cognitive functioning in ARMS, first episode psychosis (FEP) and HC subjects. We expected a better verbal learning and memory performance of women in all groups. The neuropsychological data analysed in this study were collected within the prospective Früherkennung von Psychosen (FePsy) study. In total, 118 ARMS, 88 FEP individuals and 86 HC completed a cognitive test battery covering the domains of executive functions, attention, working memory, verbal learning and memory, IQ and speed of processing. Women performed better in verbal learning and memory regardless of diagnostic group. By contrast, men as compared to women showed a shorter reaction time during the working memory task across all groups. The results provide evidence that women generally perform better in verbal learning and memory, independent of diagnostic group (ARMS, FEP, HC). The finding of a shorter reaction time for men in the working memory task could indicate that men have a superior working memory performance since they responded faster during the target trials, while maintaining a comparable overall working memory performance level. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

2006 Annual Operations Report for INTEC Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action

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

D. E. Shanklin

2007-02-14

This annual operations report describes the requirements followed and activities conducted to inspect, monitor, and maintain the items installed during performance of the Waste Area Group 3, Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action, at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. This report covers the time period from January 1 through December 31, 2006, and describes inspection and monitoring activities for the surface-sealed areas within the tank farm, concrete-lined ditches and culverts in and around the tank farm, the lift station, and the lined evaporation pond. These activities are intended to assure that the interim action ismore » functioning adequately to meet the objectives stated in the Operable Unit 3-13, Record of Decision for the Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action (DOE/ID-10660) as described in the Group 1 Remedial Design/Remedial Action Work Plan (DOE/ID-10772).« less

The impact of roster changes on absenteeism and incident frequency in an Australian coal mine

PubMed Central

Baker, A; Heiler, K; Ferguson, S

2003-01-01

Background: The occupational health and safety implications associated with compressed and extended work periods have not been fully explored in the mining sector. Aims: To examine the impact on employee health and safety of changes to the roster system in an Australian coal mine. Methods: Absenteeism and incident frequency rate data were collected over a 33 month period that covered three different roster schedules. Period 1 covered the original 8-hour/7-day roster. Period 2 covered a 12-month period under a 12-hour/7-day schedule, and period 3 covered a 12-month period during which a roster that scheduled shifts only on weekdays, with uncapped overtime on weekends and days off (12-hour/5-day) was in place. Data were collected and analysed from the maintenance, mining, and coal preparation plant (CPP) sectors. Results: The only significant change in absenteeism rates was an increase in the maintenance sector in the third data collection period. Absenteeism rates in the mining and CPP sectors were not different between data collection periods. The increase in the maintenance sector may be owing to: (1) a greater requirement for maintenance employees to perform overtime as a result of the roster change compared to other employee groups; or (2) greater monotony associated with extended work periods for maintenance employees compared to others. After the first roster change, accident incident frequency decreased in the CPP sector but not in the other sectors. There was no effect on incident frequency after the second roster change in any sector. Conclusions: The current study did not find significant negative effects of a 12-hour pattern, when compared to an 8-hour system. However, when unregulated and excessive overtime was introduced as part of the 12-hour/5-day roster, absenteeism rates were increased in the maintenance sector. The combination of excessive work hours and lack of consultation with employees regarding the second change may have contributed to the overall negative effects. PMID:12499456

Technical Assistance to Developers

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

Rockward, Tommy; Borup, Rodney L.; Garzon, Fernando H.

2012-07-17

This task supports the allowance of technical assistance to fuel-cell component and system developers as directed by the DOE. This task includes testing of novel materials and participation in the further development and validation of single cell test protocols. This task also covers technical assistance to DOE Working Groups, the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) and the USCAR/DOE Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability (U.S. Drive) Fuel Cell Technology Team. Assistance includes technical validation of new fuel cell materials and methods, single cell fuel cell testing to support the development of targets and test protocols,more » and regular advisory participation in other working groups and reviews. This assistance is made available to PEM fuel cell developers by request and DOE Approval. The objectives are to: (1) Support technically, as directed by DOE, fuel cell component and system developers; (2) Assess fuel cell materials and components and give feedback to developers; (3) Assist the DOE Durability Working Group with the development of various new material durability Testing protocols; and (4) Provide support to the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) and the USCAR/DOE Fuel Cell Technology Team. FY2012 specific technical objectives are: (1) Evaluate novel MPL materials; (2) Develop of startup/ shutdown protocol; (3) Test the impact of hydrophobic treatment on graphite bi-polar plates; (4) Perform complete diagnostics on metal bi-polar plates for corrosion; and (5) Participate and lead efforts in the DOE Working Groups.« less

A study of work changes due to cancer in tumor-free primary-treated cancer patients. A NOCWO study.

PubMed

Gudbergsson, Saevar Berg; Fosså, Sophie D; Dahl, Alv A

2008-10-01

The goal of this study is to explore the characteristics of tumor-free cancer survivors (CSs) who after their primary treatment were still working but made work changes due to cancer and compare them to survivors who did not. The sample consisted of 431 CSs (219 females with breast cancer, 212 males with testicular (N = 150) or prostate cancer (N = 62)) diagnosed 2-6 years prior to the study. All CSs had good prognosis and had returned to work after primary treatment. All CSs filled in a mailed questionnaire covering demography, morbidity, life style, mental distress, fatigue, quality of life and job strain. Seventy-two CSs (17%) had made work changes due to cancer during the observation period, and 359 (83%) had not. Among CSs who made work changes, significantly more were females; they showed significantly poorer physical and mental work ability, worked fewer hours per week, reported more comorbidity, and had lower physical and mental quality of life and more neuroticism, compared to the nonchange group. Work changes were moderately correlated with current work ability. The majority of CSs did not report any work changes due to cancer during the 2-6-year observation period, which is an encouraging finding. A minority had done work changes, and this group consisted mainly of women and was also characterized by poorer physical and mental quality of life and poorer mental work ability due to cancer. The issue of work changes and work ability should be considered in the follow-up of cancer survivors.

Standard requirements for GCP-compliant data management in multinational clinical trials.

PubMed

Ohmann, Christian; Kuchinke, Wolfgang; Canham, Steve; Lauritsen, Jens; Salas, Nader; Schade-Brittinger, Carmen; Wittenberg, Michael; McPherson, Gladys; McCourt, John; Gueyffier, Francois; Lorimer, Andrea; Torres, Ferràn

2011-03-22

A recent survey has shown that data management in clinical trials performed by academic trial units still faces many difficulties (e.g. heterogeneity of software products, deficits in quality management, limited human and financial resources and the complexity of running a local computer centre). Unfortunately, no specific, practical and open standard for both GCP-compliant data management and the underlying IT-infrastructure is available to improve the situation. For that reason the "Working Group on Data Centres" of the European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) has developed a standard specifying the requirements for high quality GCP-compliant data management in multinational clinical trials. International, European and national regulations and guidelines relevant to GCP, data security and IT infrastructures, as well as ECRIN documents produced previously, were evaluated to provide a starting point for the development of standard requirements. The requirements were produced by expert consensus of the ECRIN Working group on Data Centres, using a structured and standardised process. The requirements were divided into two main parts: an IT part covering standards for the underlying IT infrastructure and computer systems in general, and a Data Management (DM) part covering requirements for data management applications in clinical trials. The standard developed includes 115 IT requirements, split into 15 separate sections, 107 DM requirements (in 12 sections) and 13 other requirements (2 sections). Sections IT01 to IT05 deal with the basic IT infrastructure while IT06 and IT07 cover validation and local software development. IT08 to IT015 concern the aspects of IT systems that directly support clinical trial management. Sections DM01 to DM03 cover the implementation of a specific clinical data management application, i.e. for a specific trial, whilst DM04 to DM12 address the data management of trials across the unit. Section IN01 is dedicated to international aspects and ST01 to the competence of a trials unit's staff. The standard is intended to provide an open and widely used set of requirements for GCP-compliant data management, particularly in academic trial units. It is the intention that ECRIN will use these requirements as the basis for the certification of ECRIN data centres.

33 CFR 239.7 - Separation of flood control works from urban drainage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Separation of flood control works... OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WATER RESOURCES POLICIES AND AUTHORITIES: FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN COVERED FLOOD CONTROL CHANNELS § 239.7 Separation of flood control works from urban drainage. Covered...

20 CFR 404.1021 - Work for the District of Columbia.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Section 404.1021 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND...; or (b) You are— (1) A patient or inmate of a hospital or penal institution and your work is for that... employment. If your work is not covered under Social Security, it may be covered as Medicare qualified...

Work and Family: New Partnerships. Work and Family Conference Proceedings (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, November 30-December 2, 1988).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chant, Deborah, Ed.

This conference involving business, labor, policymakers and dependent care service providers covered issues related to the conflict between family and work responsibilities. The conference addressed the conflict's scope, substance, and major issues. Also covered are: information-gathering efforts which concerned institutions' national and…

Grid-independent residential power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Robert E.

1996-02-01

A self-powered, gas-fired, warm air furnace is evaluated as a candidate for the autonomous generation of electrical power. A popular, commercial residential furnace is analyzed for electrical power requirements. Available energy conversion concepts are considered for this application, and the thermophotovoltaic (TPV) option is selected due to reliability and cost. The design and the internal components peculiar to the TPV converter will be covered. Operating results, including NOx emission, will be summarized. This work was sponsored by the Basic Research Group, Gas Research Institute, Chicago, IL.

Two-Phase Flow Instrumentation Review Group Meeting. Proceedings of Meeting Held in Silver Spring, Maryland on January 13-14, 1977

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-03-01

ADWRESS OInclud Zip Code) 10. PROJECTfTASK/WORK UNI1 VO. Same as 9. above. I1. CONTRACT NO. 13. TYPE OF REPORT PERIOD COVERED (inclusive dews ) Meeting...Discussion of basic principles. c. Lists of y-emitling tracers for gas ; for liquid; commercially available radioisotope milking systems; elements easily...factors) - single phase loops, full flow, (2) prototype calibration (a) gas -water loop, (b) geometry effect. (c) scaling. (3) proof testing - simulation of

Sample EP Flow Analysis of Severely Damaged Networks

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

Werley, Kenneth Alan; McCown, Andrew William

These are slides for a presentation at the working group meeting of the WESC SREMP Software Product Integration Team on sample EP flow analysis of severely damaged networks. The following topics are covered: ERCOT EP Transmission Model; Zoomed in to Houston and Overlaying StreetAtlas; EMPACT Solve/Dispatch/Shedding Options; QACS BaseCase Power Flow Solution; 3 Substation Contingency; Gen. & Load/100 Optimal Dispatch; Dispatch Results; Shed Load for Low V; Network Damage Summary; Estimated Service Areas (Potential); Estimated Outage Areas (potential).

Polymers in life sciences: Pharmaceutical and biomedical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barba, Anna Angela; Dalmoro, Annalisa; d'Amore, Matteo; Lamberti, Gaetano; Cascone, Sara; Titomanlio, Giuseppe

2015-12-01

This paper deals with the work done by prof. Titomanlio and his group in the fields of pharmaceutical and biomedical applications of polymers. In particular, the main topics covered are: i) controlled drug release from pharmaceuticals based on hydrogel for oral delivery of drugs; ii) production and characterization of micro and nanoparticles based on stimuli-responsive polymers; iii) use of polymers for coronary stent gel-paving; iv) design and realization of novel methods (in-vitro and in-silico) to test polymer-based pharmaceuticals.

The medical science fiction of James White: Inside and Outside Sector General.

PubMed

Howard, Richard

2016-12-01

James White was a Northern Irish science fiction author working in the subgenre of medical science fiction from the mid-1950s to the end of the twentieth century. The aim of this article is to introduce White to scholars working in the medical humanities, pointing to features of interest and critiquing the more excessive utopian impulses of the author. The article covers White's Sector General series, set on a vast intergalactic hospital, as well as the author's standalone fictions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

[Some occupational determinants of work disability].

PubMed

Szubert, Z; Sobala, W

1999-01-01

Occupational determinants play a significant role in the studies of the causes of work disability. The duration of employment is that particular variable, frequently analysed, which reflects indirectly the effect of work conditions on the worker's health state and also on his her disease-related work disability. Therefore, the aim of this work was to show the difference in sick absenteeism between various occupational groups, depending on the duration of employment. The empirical material embraced data on work disability, among workers employed in the automative industry plant during the years 1989-94. Out of 8,599 persons covered with the study, 77% left the job, including 7% of those who left the job because of health problems. An analysis of the impact of occupational determinants on the sick absenteeism was carried out on the basis of the absenteeism rate adjusted by age, sex and occupational activity in groups of the production, auxilliary and administrative workers, as well as in occupational groups exposed to possibly similar harmful factors. The duration of worker's employment in the plant showed a positive influence on sick absenteeism, since together with extended period of employment the decrease in the rate of general sick absenteeism was observed. However, in a number of disease categories an increase in absenteeism together with extended duration of employment, and a high level of absenteeism among workers involved directly in the production, were noted. This proves an adverse effect of work conditions on work disability among workers. The effect of harmful factors present at workposts is also confirmed by the increasing sick absenteeism together with the prolonged duration of employment in various occupational groups. In the group of welders the highest level of sick absenteeism was observed among persons with duration of employment ranging from 11 to 20 years (rate: 10.52), and it was related to diseases of the respiratory (3.10) and circulatory (2.09) systems. In this group the increase in absenteeism together with prolonged duration of employment was related to diseases of the genitourinary system (about fourfold), musculoskeletal system (about threefold) and nervous system and sense organs (about 20%). It may be concluded that in selected high risk occupational groups, the duration of employment may reflect the effect of work conditions on workers' sick absenteeism, and the analysis of work disability caused by individual diseases provides an image of health effects due to hazards to which those groups are exposed.

Partially covered versus uncovered self-expandable nitinol stents with anti-migration properties for the palliation of malignant distal biliary obstruction: A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Yang, Min Jae; Kim, Jin Hong; Yoo, Byung Moo; Hwang, Jae Chul; Yoo, Jun Hwan; Lee, Ki Seong; Kang, Joon Koo; Kim, Soon Sun; Lim, Sun Gyo; Shin, Sung Jae; Cheong, Jae Youn; Lee, Kee Myung; Lee, Kwang Jae; Cho, Sung Won

2015-01-01

Covered self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) are increasingly used as alternatives to uncovered SEMSs for the palliation of inoperable malignant distal biliary obstruction to counteract tumor ingrowth. We aimed to compare the outcomes of partially covered and uncovered SEMSs with identical mesh structures and anti-migration properties, such as low axial force and flared ends. One hundred and three patients who were diagnosed with inoperable malignant distal biliary obstruction between January 2006 and August 2013 were randomly assigned to either the partially covered (n = 51) or uncovered (n = 52) SEMS group. There were no significant differences in the cumulative stent patency, overall patient survival, stent dysfunction-free survival and overall adverse events, including pancreatitis and cholecystitis, between the two groups. Compared to the uncovered group, stent migration (5.9% vs. 0%, p = 0.118) and tumor overgrowth (7.8% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.205) were non-significantly more frequent in the partially covered group, whereas tumor ingrowth showed a significantly higher incidence in the uncovered group (5.9% vs. 19.2%, p = 0.041). Stent migration in the partially covered group occurred only in patients with short stenosis of the utmost distal bile duct (two in ampullary cancer, one in bile duct cancer), and did not occur in any patients with pancreatic cancer. For the palliation of malignant distal biliary obstruction, endoscopic placement of partially covered SEMSs with anti-migration designs and identical mesh structures to uncovered SEMSs failed to prolong cumulative stent patency or reduce stent migration.

[Knowledge, practices and attitudes toward volunteer work in an influenza pandemic: cross-sectional study with Peruvian medical students].

PubMed

Huapaya, Julio A; Maquera-Afaray, Julio; García, Patricia J; Cárcamo, César; Cieza, Javier A

2015-05-08

Reductions in health personnel during disasters or epidemics such as an influenza pandemic may need to include volunteer students. The aim of this article is to determine knowledge and practices about pandemic influenza and the attitudes towards volunteer work in Peruvian medical students. We performed a cross-sectional analytic study by simple sampling using a survey regarding “"knowledge and practices"” about pandemic influenza and the attitudes to volunteer work. From the group of 865 students who were surveyed, 848 accepted to participate in the investigation (54% were male and their mean age was 22.1 ± 3.0). Ninety-seven percent correctly identified the spread routes of influenza and 81% knew its treatment. Regarding preventive measures, covering the mouth when coughing/sneezing and hand-washing were the most commonly recognized options (95% y 92%, respectively), and vaccination was the less recognized one (54%). The most common practice, readily acknowledged as preventive, was covering when coughing/sneezing (86%). Regarding volunteer works, students answered that it is a moral/ethical/professional obligation (77%); that a contingency university service needs to be established (88%), that it does not have to substitute for the lack of workers (49%), and that its role should be related to hospital work (83%). Coming from a public university was more associated to the concept that volunteer work was a moral obligation and that the student should be punished if he/she refuses to be a volunteer, whereas being from a private university was more related to a history of been involved in volunteering programs. In general, medical students have good knowledge and practices toward influenza. There is a good disposition to volunteer their work and skills, recognizing it as a moral/ethical/professional obligation.

X-ray Spectroscopy of High-Z Elements on Nike

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Weaver, J. L.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Obenschain, S. P.; Ralchenko, Yu.

2013-10-01

Survey X-ray spectrometer covering a spectral range from 0.5 to 19.5 angstroms has been added to the spectroscopic suite of Nike diagnostics. That allows simultaneous observation of both M- and N- spectra of W, Ta and Au with high spectral resolution. Low energy test shots confirmed strong presence of 3-4 transitions of Ni-like W, Ta and Au with X-ray energies as high as 3.5 keV when above mentioned elements were used as the targets. In our continuous effort to support DOE-NNSA's inertial fusion program, the future campaign will cover a wide range of plasma conditions that result in relatively energetic X-ray production. Eventually, absolutely calibrated spectrometers of similar geometry will be fielded at NIF in cooperation with NIF diagnostic group. Work supported by US DOE, Defense Programs.

Report of the Working Design Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The engineering study group in the LOUISA workshop was responsible for producing a preliminary general design for an optical synthetic aperture telescope on the Moon. This design is intended to be a test case for focusing continuing design studies. The scope of the design included consideration of the array geometry, individual telescopes, metrology, site attributes, and construction. However, no attempt was made to go into further depth in the design than to cover the essential characteristics of the instrument. The starting point for the array design was the lunar optical array discussed by Burke (1985). His array geometry followed the design and correlation procedure of the 27-element Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescopes near Socorro, New Mexico.

Workgroup Report: Developing Environmental Health Indicators for European Children: World Health Organization Working Group

PubMed Central

Pond, Kathy; Kim, Rokho; Carroquino, Maria-Jose; Pirard, Philippe; Gore, Fiona; Cucu, Alexandra; Nemer, Leda; MacKay, Morag; Smedje, Greta; Georgellis, Antonis; Dalbokova, Dafina; Krzyzanowski, Michal

2007-01-01

A working group coordinated by the World Health Organization developed a set of indicators to protect children’s health from environmental risks and to support current and future European policy needs. On the basis of identified policy needs, the group developed a core set of 29 indicators for implementation plus an extended set of eight additional indicators for future development, focusing on exposure, health effects, and action. As far as possible, the indicators were designed to use existing information and are flexible enough to be developed further to meet the needs of policy makers and changing health priorities. These indicators cover most of the priority topic areas specified in the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) as adopted in the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in 2004, and will be used to monitor the implementation of CEHAPE. This effort can be viewed as an integral part of the Global Initiative on Children’s Environmental Health Indicators, launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. PMID:17805431

Multispectral determination of soil moisture. [Guymon, Oklahoma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, J. E.; Simonett, D. S. (Principal Investigator); Hajic, E. J.; Blanchard, B. J.

1980-01-01

The edited Guymon soil moisture data collected on August 2, 5, 14, 17, 1978 were grouped into four field cover types for statistical analysis. These are the bare, milo with rows parallel to field of view, milo with rows perpendicular to field of view and alfalfa cover groups. There are 37, 22, 24 and 14 observations respectively in each group for each sensor channel and each soil moisture layer. A subset of these data called the 'five cover set' (VEG5) limited the scatterometer data to the 15 deg look angle and was used to determine discriminant functions and combined group regressions.

Evaluation of neuropsychological symptoms and exposure to benzene, toluene and xylene among two different furniture worker groups in Izmir.

PubMed

Mandiracioglu, Aliye; Akgur, Serap; Kocabiyik, Nesrin; Sener, Ufuk

2011-10-01

This study was conducted to determine whether there was any exposure to toluene, xylene and benzene and to assess the health impact of these solvents on workers in furniture enterprises in Karabaglar, Izmir. This cross-sectional study covered furniture enterprises in Karabaglar, Izmir. This study was comprised of an exposed group consisting of workers engaged in painting and varnishing and therefore exposed either directly or indirectly toluene, xylene and benzene in the workplace and the non-exposed group engaged in other aspects of production. While a total of 261 individuals completed questionnaires, 210 workers agreed to provide blood samples. Blood solvents levels were determined using gas chromatograph at Ege University, Intoxication Research and Application Centre. The modified EUROQUEST questionnaire was used to assess neuropsychological symptoms and neurological and general examination were performed. Occupational and exposure history, demographic and work-related information was collected. In this study of workers, blood toluene and benzene levels were found to be significantly higher among those engaged in painting and varnishing compared to those who perform other tasks. The average blood toluene and benzene concentrations among exposed workers were 6.95 times and 1.64 times respectively higher than those in the nonexposed groups. Smokers and participants who worked in excess of 8 hours/day had higher blood toluene and benzene levels. The most frequently work-related health complaints were back pain, allergies and asthma. No differences were found in the average scores in the neuropsychological symptoms questionnaire between exposed and non-exposed groups. Neurological examination of two individuals with these complaints revealed a loss of reflexes. The workers were unaware that they were being exposed to solvents at work. Tobacco smoke is a major source of internal exposure to benzene. Improving working conditions in furniture work places is a priority.

Annular and Total Solar Eclipses of 2010

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Espenak, Fred; Anderson, J.

2008-01-01

While most NASA eclipse bulletins cover a single eclipse, this publication presents predictions for two solar eclipses during 2010. This has required a different organization of the material into the following sections. Section 1 -- Eclipse Predictions: The section consists of a general discussion about the eclipse path maps, Besselian elements, shadow contacts, eclipse path tables, local circumstances tables, and the lunar limb profile. Section 2 -- Annular Solar Eclipse of 2010 Ja n 15: The section covers predictions and weather prospects for the annular eclipse. Section 3 -- Total Solar Eclipse of 2010 Jul 11: The se ction covers predictions and weather prospects for the total eclipse. Section 4 -- Observing Eclipses: The section provides information on eye safety, solar filters, eclipse photography, and making contact timings from the path limits. Section 5 -- Eclipse Resources: The final section contains a number of resources including information on the IAU Working Group on Eclipses, the Solar Eclipse Mailing List, the NASA eclipse bulletins on the Internet, Web sites for the two 2010 eclipses, and a summary identifying the algorithms, ephemerides, and paramete rs used in the eclipse predictions.

Erosion estimation of guide vane end clearance in hydraulic turbines with sediment water flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Wei; Kang, Jingbo; Wang, Jie; Peng, Guoyi; Li, Lianyuan; Su, Min

2018-04-01

The end surface of guide vane or head cover is one of the most serious parts of sediment erosion for high-head hydraulic turbines. In order to investigate the relationship between erosion depth of wall surface and the characteristic parameter of erosion, an estimative method including a simplified flow model and a modificatory erosion calculative function is proposed in this paper. The flow between the end surfaces of guide vane and head cover is simplified as a clearance flow around a circular cylinder with a backward facing step. Erosion characteristic parameter of csws3 is calculated with the mixture model for multiphase flow and the renormalization group (RNG) k-𝜀 turbulence model under the actual working conditions, based on which, erosion depths of guide vane and head cover end surfaces are estimated with a modification of erosion coefficient K. The estimation results agree well with the actual situation. It is shown that the estimative method is reasonable for erosion prediction of guide vane and can provide a significant reference to determine the optimal maintenance cycle for hydraulic turbine in the future.

Students as teachers in an anatomy dissection course.

PubMed

Salomäki, Tiina; Laakkonen, Juha; Ruohoniemi, Mirja

2014-01-01

One way to improve students' learning outcomes and well-being is to change teaching practices to allow students to become more active participants. We used an anatomy dissection course to test a cooperative group work method in which first-year veterinary students took turns leading their peer group and were each responsible for teaching the anatomy of a particular topographic region. The important blood vessels, lymphatic system, and nerves of each region of the body were covered. Students felt that exploration of the entire topographic region helped them to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the respiratory apparatus and the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Assigning individual tasks to each group member resulted in sharing the workload equally. Open-ended comments revealed that support from other group members was important for the students' learning experience, but the results also offered insight into a lack of constructive criticism. While teaching was considered challenging, and even a stress factor that hindered learning for some students, group work was generally held to be supportive of learning. The results suggest that more thorough instruction of students in their group work and in their individual tasks is required. Some students experienced difficulty in expressing their concerns openly and in seeking guidance from teachers, demonstrating the need for further investigation regarding students' self-regulation skills. Comments from the open-ended responses suggest that use of a cooperative learning method in anatomy dissection courses not only deepens student understanding of a subject but also offers first-year students an opportunity to practice the generic skills that will be needed in their future profession.

Diabetes and work: 12-year national follow-up study of the association of diabetes incidence with socioeconomic group, age, gender and country of origin.

PubMed

Poulsen, Kjeld; Cleal, Bryan; Willaing, Ingrid

2014-12-01

To investigate the extent and socioeconomic distribution of incident diabetes among the Danish working-age population. The Danish National Diabetes Register was linked with socioeconomic and population-based registers covering the entire population. We analysed the 12-year diabetes incidence using multivariate Poisson regression for 2,086,682 people, adjusting for gender, 10-year age groups, main population groups defined by country of origin, and seven socioeconomic groups: professionals, managers, technicians, workers skilled at basic level, unskilled workers, unemployed and pensioners. The crude 12-year incidence of diabetes was 5.8%. The saturated multivariate model, adjusted for gender, age, country of origin and socioeconomic status; showed a relative risk (RR) for diabetes incidence of 1.44 for male (reference: female), 3.95 for the age range of 50-59 years (reference: 30-39 years), 2.07 for unskilled workers (reference: professionals) and 2.15 for people from countries of 'non-Western origin' (reference: Danish origin). Diabetes incidence increases with age, male gender and low socioeconomic status; and also among people from countries of 'non-Western origin'. The results indicate that getting a more senior workforce will substantially increase the proportion of workers with diabetes, especially among already vulnerable groups. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Accelerator Physics Working Group Summary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, D.; Uesugi, T.; Wildnerc, E.

2010-03-01

The Accelerator Physics Working Group addressed the worldwide R&D activities performed in support of future neutrino facilities. These studies cover R&D activities for Super Beam, Beta Beam and muon-based Neutrino Factory facilities. Beta Beam activities reported the important progress made, together with the research activity planned for the coming years. Discussion sessions were also organized jointly with other working groups in order to define common ground for the optimization of a future neutrino facility. Lessons learned from already operating neutrino facilities provide key information for the design of any future neutrino facility, and were also discussed in this meeting. Radiation damage, remote handling for equipment maintenance and exchange, and primary proton beam stability and monitoring were among the important subjects presented and discussed. Status reports for each of the facility subsystems were presented: proton drivers, targets, capture systems, and muon cooling and acceleration systems. The preferred scenario for each type of possible future facility was presented, together with the challenges and remaining issues. The baseline specification for the muon-based Neutrino Factory was reviewed and updated where required. This report will emphasize new results and ideas and discuss possible changes in the baseline scenarios of the facilities. A list of possible future steps is proposed that should be followed up at NuFact10.

Effect of blood and saliva contamination on bond strength of brackets bonded with a protective liquid polish and a light-cured adhesive.

PubMed

Sayinsu, Korkmaz; Isik, Fulya; Sezen, Serdar; Aydemir, Bulent

2007-03-01

The application of a polymer coating to the labial enamel tooth surface before bonding can help keep white spot lesions from forming. Previous studies evaluating the effects of blood and saliva contamination on the bond strengths of light-cured composites showed significant reductions in bond strength values. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the bond strength of a light-cured system (Transbond XT, 3M Unitek, Puchheim, Germany) used with a liquid polish (BisCover, Bisco, Schaumburg, Ill) is affected by contamination with blood or saliva. One hundred twenty permanent human premolars were randomly divided into 6 groups of 20. Various enamel surface conditions were studied: dry, blood contaminated, and saliva contaminated. A light-cured bonding system (Transbond XT) was used in all groups. The teeth in group 1 were bonded with Transbond XT. In the second group, BisCover polymeric resin polish was applied on the etched tooth surfaces before the brackets were bonded with Transbond XT resin. Comparison of the first and second groups showed no statistically significant difference. Groups 3 through 6 were bonded without Transbond XT. For groups 3 and 5, a layer of blood or saliva, respectively, was applied to the etched enamel followed by BisCover. In groups 4 and 6, blood or saliva, respectively, was applied on the light-cured BisCover. Shear forces were applied to the samples with a universal testing machine, and bond strengths were measured in megapascals. The protective liquid polish (BisCover) layer did not affect bond strength. Blood contamination on acid-etched surfaces affects bond strength more than saliva contamination. When a protective liquid polish (BisCover) is applied to the tooth surface, the effect of contamination by blood or saliva is prevented.

US DOE-EM On-Site Disposal Cell Working Group - Fostering Communication On Performance Assessment Challenges

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

Seitz, Roger R.; Suttora, Linda C.; Phifer, Mark

On-site disposal cells are in use and being considered at several U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) sites as the final disposition for large amounts of waste associated with cleanup of contaminated areas and facilities. These facilities are typically developed with regulatory oversight from States and/or the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in addition to USDOE. The facilities are developed to meet design standards for disposal of hazardous waste as well as the USDOE performance based standards for disposal of radioactive waste. The involvement of multiple and different regulators for facilities across separate sites has resulted in some differences in expectationsmore » for performance assessments and risk assessments (PA/RA) that are developed for the disposal facilities. The USDOE-EM Office of Site Restoration formed a working group to foster improved communication and sharing of information for personnel associated with these Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) disposal cells and work towards more consistent assumptions, as appropriate, for technical and policy considerations related to performance and risk assessments in support of a Record of Decision and Disposal Authorization Statement. The working group holds teleconferences, as needed, focusing on specific topics of interest. The topics addressed to date include an assessment of the assumptions used for performance assessments and risk assessments (PA/RAs) for on-site disposal cells, requirements and assumptions related to assessment of inadvertent intrusion, DOE Manual 435.1-1 requirements, and approaches for consideration of the long-term performance of liners and covers in the context of PAs. The working group has improved communication among the staff and oversight personnel responsible for onsite disposal cells and has provided a forum to identify and resolve common concerns.« less

[Healing of a deep skin wound using a collagen sponge as dressing in the animal experiment].

PubMed

Sedlarik, K M; Schoots, C; Oosterbaan, J A; Klopper, J P

1992-10-01

The high number of available wound dressing materials as well as the scientific reports about the topic indicates that the problem of an ideal wound dressing is not jet solved. In the last thirty years lot of scientific reports about collagen as wound covering has been published. The positive effect of collagen by his application on a wound ist well known. We investigated the effect of a collagen sponge on healing of full thickness skin wound in guinea pig. The animals were divided in two control groups and two experimental groups. In the control group there were air exposed wounds and another wounds covered with paraffin gauze. In the experimental groups were such wounds covered with natural reconstituted collagen sponge as well as wounds covered with chemically prepared collagen sponge with hexamethyldiisocyanat. The results were compared. The air exposed wounds healed in 50 days, the wounds covered with paraffin gauze healed in 48 days. By covering the wounds with collagen sponge the healing was shortened in 24 or 27 days respectively. Not only the healing time was shortened but also the quality of the wound repair by dressing the wounds with collagen sponge was enhanced.

Long Working Hours in Korea: Based on the 2014 Korean Working Conditions Survey.

PubMed

Park, Jungsun; Kim, Yangho; Han, Boyoung

2017-12-01

Long working hours adversely affect worker safety and health. In 2004, Korea passed legislation that limited the work week to 40 hours, in an effort to improve quality-of-life and increase business competitiveness. This regulation was implemented in stages, first for large businesses and then for small businesses, from 2004 to 2011. We previously reported that average weekly working hours decreased from 2006 to 2010, based on the Korean Working Conditions Survey. In the present study, we examine whether average weekly working hours continued to decrease in 2014 based on the 2014 Korean Working Conditions Survey. The results show that average weekly working hours among all groups of workers decreased in 2014 relative to previous years; however, self-employed individuals and employers (who are not covered by the new legislation) in the specific service sectors worked > 60 h/wk in 2014. The Korean government should prohibit employees from working excessive hours and should also attempt to achieve social and public consensus regarding work time reduction to improve the safety, health, and quality-of-life of all citizens, including those who are employers and self-employed.

Infection prevention and control in ultrasound - best practice recommendations from the European Society of Radiology Ultrasound Working Group.

PubMed

Nyhsen, Christiane M; Humphreys, Hilary; Koerner, Roland J; Grenier, Nicolas; Brady, Adrian; Sidhu, Paul; Nicolau, Carlos; Mostbeck, Gerhard; D'Onofrio, Mirko; Gangi, Afshin; Claudon, Michel

2017-12-01

The objective of these recommendations is to highlight the importance of infection prevention and control in ultrasound (US), including diagnostic and interventional settings. Review of available publications and discussion within a multidisciplinary group consistent of radiologists and microbiologists, in consultation with European patient and industry representatives. Good basic hygiene standards are essential. All US equipment must be approved prior to first use, including hand held devices. Any equipment in direct patient contact must be cleaned and disinfected prior to first use and after every examination. Regular deep cleaning of the entire US machine and environment should be undertaken. Faulty transducers should not be used. As outlined in presented flowcharts, low level disinfection is sufficient for standard US on intact skin. For all other minor and major interventional procedures as well as all endo-cavity US, high level disinfection is mandatory. Dedicated transducer covers must be used when transducers are in contact with mucous membranes or body fluids and sterile gel should be used inside and outside covers. Good standards of basic hygiene and thorough decontamination of all US equipment as well as appropriate use of US gel and transducer covers are essential to keep patients safe. • Transducers must be cleaned/disinfected before first use and after every examination. • Low level disinfection is sufficient for standard US on intact skin. • High level disinfection is mandatory for endo-cavity US and all interventions. • Dedicated transducer covers must be used for endo-cavity US and all interventions. • Sterile gel should be used for all endo-cavity US and all interventions.

Working conditions and health in Central America: a survey of 12,024 workers in six countries.

PubMed

Benavides, Fernando G; Wesseling, Catharina; Delclos, George L; Felknor, Sarah; Pinilla, Javier; Rodrigo, Fernando

2014-07-01

To describe the survey methodology and initial general findings of the first Central American Survey of Working Conditions and Health. A representative sample of 12,024 workers was interviewed at home in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Questionnaire items addressed worker demographics, employment conditions, occupational risk factors and self-perceived health. Overall, self-employment (37%) is the most frequent type of employment, 8% of employees lack a work contract and 74% of the workforce is not covered by social security. These percentages are higher in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and lower in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. A third of the workforce works more than 48 h per week, regardless of gender; this is similar across countries. Women and men report frequent or usual exposures to high ambient temperature (16% and 25%, respectively), dangerous tools and machinery (10%, 24%), work on slippery surfaces (10%, 23%), breathing chemicals (12.1%, 18%), handling toxic substances (5%, 12.1%), heavy loads (6%, 20%) and repetitive movements (43%, 49%). Two-thirds of the workforce perceive their health as being good or very good, and slightly more than half reports having good mental health. The survey offers, for the first time, comparable data on the work and health status of workers in the formal and informal economy in the six Spanish-speaking Central American countries, based on representative national samples. This provides a benchmark for future monitoring of employment and working conditions across countries. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The impact of gold mining and agricultural concessions on the tree cover and local communities in northern Myanmar.

PubMed

Papworth, Sarah; Rao, Madhu; Oo, Myint Myint; Latt, Kyaw Thinn; Tizard, Robert; Pienkowski, Thomas; Carrasco, L Roman

2017-04-24

Myanmar offers unique opportunities for both biodiversity conservation and foreign direct investment due to projected economic growth linked to natural resource exploitation. Industrial-scale development introduces new land uses into the landscape, with unknown repercussions for local communities and biodiversity conservation. We use participatory mapping of 31 communities, focus groups in 28 communities, and analyses of forest cover change during 2000-2010 using MODIS vegetation continuous fields images, to understand the social and environmental impacts of gold mining and agricultural concessions in Myanmar's Hukaung Valley (~21,800 km 2 ). Local communities, particularly the poorest households, benefit from work and trade opportunities offered by gold mining and agricultural companies but continue to depend on forests for house construction materials, food, and income from the sale of forest resources. However, gold mining and agricultural concessions reduce tree cover, potentially reducing access to forest resources and further marginalizing these households. Our analyses do not provide evidence that long-term resident communities contributed to forest cover loss between 2000 and 2010. We argue that landscape management, which recognizes local community rights to customary community use areas, and appropriate zoning for commercial land uses and protected areas could contribute to both local livelihoods and protect biodiversity throughout Myanmar during economic growth.

The impact of gold mining and agricultural concessions on the tree cover and local communities in northern Myanmar

PubMed Central

Papworth, Sarah; Rao, Madhu; Oo, Myint Myint; Latt, Kyaw Thinn; Tizard, Robert; Pienkowski, Thomas; Carrasco, L. Roman

2017-01-01

Myanmar offers unique opportunities for both biodiversity conservation and foreign direct investment due to projected economic growth linked to natural resource exploitation. Industrial-scale development introduces new land uses into the landscape, with unknown repercussions for local communities and biodiversity conservation. We use participatory mapping of 31 communities, focus groups in 28 communities, and analyses of forest cover change during 2000–2010 using MODIS vegetation continuous fields images, to understand the social and environmental impacts of gold mining and agricultural concessions in Myanmar’s Hukaung Valley (~21,800 km2). Local communities, particularly the poorest households, benefit from work and trade opportunities offered by gold mining and agricultural companies but continue to depend on forests for house construction materials, food, and income from the sale of forest resources. However, gold mining and agricultural concessions reduce tree cover, potentially reducing access to forest resources and further marginalizing these households. Our analyses do not provide evidence that long-term resident communities contributed to forest cover loss between 2000 and 2010. We argue that landscape management, which recognizes local community rights to customary community use areas, and appropriate zoning for commercial land uses and protected areas could contribute to both local livelihoods and protect biodiversity throughout Myanmar during economic growth. PMID:28436455

Effects of a performance and quality improvement intervention on the work environment in HIV-related care: a quasi-experimental evaluation in Zambia.

PubMed

Bazant, Eva; Sarkar, Supriya; Banda, Joseph; Kanjipite, Webby; Reinhardt, Stephanie; Shasulwe, Hildah; Mulilo, Joyce Monica Chongo; Kim, Young Mi

2014-12-20

Human resource shortages and reforms in HIV-related care make it challenging for frontline health care providers in southern Africa to deliver high-quality services. At health facilities of the Zambian Defence Forces, a performance and quality improvement approach was implemented to improve HIV-related care and was evaluated in 2010/2011. Changes in providers' work environment and perceived quality of HIV-related care were assessed to complement data of provider performance. The intervention involved on-site training, supportive supervision, and action planning focusing on detailed service delivery standards. The quasi-experimental evaluation collected pre- and post-intervention data from eight intervention and comparison facilities matched on defence force branch and baseline client volume. Overall, 101 providers responded to a 24-item questionnaire on the work environment, covering topics of drugs, supplies, and equipment; training, feedback, and supervision; compensation; staffing; safety; fulfilment; and HIV services quality. In bivariate analysis and multivariate analyses, we assessed changes within each study group and between the two groups. In the bivariate analysis, the intervention group providers reported improvements in the work environment on adequacy of equipment, feeling safe from harm, confidence in clinical skills, and reduced isolation, while the comparison group reported worsening of the work environment on supplies, training, safety, and departmental morale.In the multivariate analysis, the intervention group's improvement and the comparison group's decline were significant on perceived adequacy of drugs, supplies, and equipment; constructive feedback received from supervisor and co-workers; and feeling safe from physical harm (all P <0.01, except P <0.04 for equipment). Further, the item "provider lacks confidence in some clinical skills" declined in the intervention group but increased in the comparison group (P = -0.005). In multivariate analysis, changes in perceived quality of HIV care did not differ between study groups. Provider perceptions were congruent with observations of preparing drugs, supplies, equipment, and in service delivery of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and antiretroviral therapy follow-up care. The performance and quality improvement intervention implemented at Zambian Defence Forces' health facilities was associated with improvements in providers' perceptions of work environment consistent with the intervention's focus on commodities, skills acquisition, and receipt of constructive feedback.

Focus Group Guide

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-07-01

o Open-ended and exploratory questions. o Provide all an opportunity to participate. o Do not allow the group to get out of control . Manage...website under Assessment to Solutions at www.deomi.org. Focus Group Guide DEFENSE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT...www.deomi.org, provides a variety of tools and information to support conducting a focus group and the climate assessment process. Cover The cover

Land cover mapping for development planning in Eastern and Southern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oduor, P.; Flores Cordova, A. I.; Wakhayanga, J. A.; Kiema, J.; Farah, H.; Mugo, R. M.; Wahome, A.; Limaye, A. S.; Irwin, D.

2016-12-01

Africa continues to experience intensification of land use, driven by competition for resources and a growing population. Land cover maps are some of the fundamental datasets required by numerous stakeholders to inform a number of development decisions. For instance, they can be integrated with other datasets to create value added products such as vulnerability impact assessment maps, and natural capital accounting products. In addition, land cover maps are used as inputs into Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories to inform the Agriculture, Forestry and other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. However, the processes and methodologies of creating land cover maps consistent with international and national land cover classification schemes can be challenging, especially in developing countries where skills, hardware and software resources can be limiting. To meet this need, SERVIR Eastern and Southern Africa developed methodologies and stakeholder engagement processes that led to a successful initiative in which land cover maps for 9 countries (Malawi, Rwanda, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania) were developed, using 2 major classification schemes. The first sets of maps were developed based on an internationally acceptable classification system, while the second sets of maps were based on a nationally defined classification system. The mapping process benefited from reviews from national experts and also from technical advisory groups. The maps have found diverse uses, among them the definition of the Forest Reference Levels in Zambia. In Ethiopia, the maps have been endorsed by the national mapping agency as part of national data. The data for Rwanda is being used to inform the Natural Capital Accounting process, through the WAVES program, a World Bank Initiative. This work illustrates the methodologies and stakeholder engagement processes that brought success to this land cover mapping initiative.

[Health risk among workers employed in rubber footwear plant].

PubMed

Szubert, Z; Wilczyńska, U; Sobala, W

2001-01-01

The aim of the study was to assess the health risk of workers performing specific jobs in the process of the rubber footwear production by defining the cause and length of temporary work disability, as well as mortality causes and level. The analysis was carried out in the groups of workers performing the following jobs: mixing, mill operation, pressing and vulcanizing (A); semi-product preparation and calendaring (B); finishing and sorting (C); production of polyvinyl chloride footwear (D); and auxiliary works (E). The sickness absence study covered all workers (208 men and 315 women) employed in a large rubber footwear company and performing all above-listed jobs in 1995. Standardized sick days ratio was used to analyze the risk of temporary work disability. Mortality rate was estimated on the basis of the results of the cohort study performed in the same company among workers who had worked at least three months during the years 1945-1985. The follow-up continued until 31 December 1997. The present study included sub-cohorts composed of 5628 men and 7197 women, performing jobs listed above. The results of both studies indicated the enhanced risk of cardiovascular diseases among workers employed in the basic phases of the production process. The increased risk of the diseases of the digestive system was observed in men and women employed in: finishing, sorting and packing of the products (group C); in men involved in mixing, pressing and vulcanizing (group A); and in women engaged in auxiliary works (group E). In addition, the enhanced risk of sickness absence due to the diseases of the respiratory, digestive, or genitourinary systems was related to the enhanced risk of death from malignant neoplasms in a given site. The analysis showed that the temporary work disability may be regarded as a parameter useful in early assessment of health effects of the work environmental hazards.

29 CFR 1918.31 - Hatch coverings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Hatch coverings. 1918.31 Section 1918.31 Labor Regulations...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR LONGSHORING Working Surfaces § 1918.31 Hatch coverings. (a) No cargo... partially opened intermediate deck unless either the hatch at that deck is sufficiently covered or an...

29 CFR 1918.31 - Hatch coverings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Hatch coverings. 1918.31 Section 1918.31 Labor Regulations...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR LONGSHORING Working Surfaces § 1918.31 Hatch coverings. (a) No cargo... partially opened intermediate deck unless either the hatch at that deck is sufficiently covered or an...

29 CFR 1918.31 - Hatch coverings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Hatch coverings. 1918.31 Section 1918.31 Labor Regulations...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR LONGSHORING Working Surfaces § 1918.31 Hatch coverings. (a) No cargo... partially opened intermediate deck unless either the hatch at that deck is sufficiently covered or an...

29 CFR 1918.31 - Hatch coverings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Hatch coverings. 1918.31 Section 1918.31 Labor Regulations...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR LONGSHORING Working Surfaces § 1918.31 Hatch coverings. (a) No cargo... partially opened intermediate deck unless either the hatch at that deck is sufficiently covered or an...

29 CFR 1918.31 - Hatch coverings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Hatch coverings. 1918.31 Section 1918.31 Labor Regulations...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR LONGSHORING Working Surfaces § 1918.31 Hatch coverings. (a) No cargo... partially opened intermediate deck unless either the hatch at that deck is sufficiently covered or an...

2 CFR 176.170 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)-Section 1605 of the American... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)—Section 1605 of the... building or public work, and involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered under international...

VEGETATIVE COVERS FOR WASTE CONTAINMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Disposal of municipal ahd hazardous waste in the United States is primarily accomplished by containment in lined and capped landfills. Evapotranspiration cover systems offer an alternative to conventional landfill cap systems. These covers work on completely different principles ...

NASA systems engineering handbook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shishko, Robert; Aster, Robert; Chamberlain, Robert G.; McDuffee, Patrick; Pieniazek, Les; Rowell, Tom; Bain, Beth; Cox, Renee I.; Mooz, Harold; Polaski, Lou

1995-06-01

This handbook brings the fundamental concepts and techniques of systems engineering to NASA personnel in a way that recognizes the nature of NASA systems and environment. It is intended to accompany formal NASA training courses on systems engineering and project management when appropriate, and is designed to be a top-level overview. The concepts were drawn from NASA field center handbooks, NMI's/NHB's, the work of the NASA-wide Systems Engineering Working Group and the Systems Engineering Process Improvement Task team, several non-NASA textbooks and guides, and material from independent systems engineering courses taught to NASA personnel. Five core chapters cover systems engineering fundamentals, the NASA Project Cycle, management issues in systems engineering, systems analysis and modeling, and specialty engineering integration. It is not intended as a directive.

Overview of Marshall Space Flight Center Activities for the Combustion Stability Tool Development Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, R. J.; Greene, W. D.

2016-01-01

This presentation covers the overall scope, schedule, and activities associated with the NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) involvement with the Combustion Stability Tool Development (CSTD) program. The CSTD program is funded by the Air Force Space & Missile Systems Center; it is approximately two years in duration and; and it is sponsoring MSFC to: design, fabricate, & execute multi-element hardware testing, support Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) single element testing, and execute testing of a small-scale, multi-element combustion chamber. Specific MSFC Engineering Directorate involvement, per CSTD-sponsored task, will be outlined. This presentation serves a primer for the corresponding works that provide details of the technical work performed by individual groups within MSFC.

49 CFR 192.809 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... of individuals performing covered tasks by October 28, 2002. (c) Work performance history review may be used as a sole evaluation method for individuals who were performing a covered task prior to October 26, 1999. (d) After October 28, 2002, work performance history may not be used as a sole...

49 CFR 195.509 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... state agency. (b) Operators must complete the qualification of individuals performing covered tasks by October 28, 2002. (c) Work performance history review may be used as a sole evaluation method for individuals who were performing a covered task prior to October 26, 1999. (d) After October 28, 2002, work...

Work-related medical rehabilitation in patients with musculoskeletal disorders: the protocol of a propensity score matched effectiveness study (EVA-WMR, DRKS00009780).

PubMed

Neuderth, Silke; Schwarz, Betje; Gerlich, Christian; Schuler, Michael; Markus, Miriam; Bethge, Matthias

2016-08-17

Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most important causes of work disability. Various rehabilitation services and return-to-work programs have been developed in order to reduce sickness absence and increase sustainable return-to-work. As the effects of conventional medical rehabilitation programs on sickness absence duration were shown to be slight, work-related medical rehabilitation programs have been developed and tested. While such studies proved the efficacy of work-related medical rehabilitation compared with conventional medical rehabilitation in well-conducted randomized controlled trials, its effectiveness under real-life conditions has yet to be proved. The cohort study will be performed under real-life conditions with two parallel groups. Participants will receive either a conventional or a work-related medical rehabilitation program. Propensity score matching will be used to identify controls that are comparable to treated work-related medical rehabilitation patients. Over a period of three months, about 18,000 insured patients with permission to undergo a musculoskeletal rehabilitation program will be contacted. Of these, 15,000 will receive a conventional and 3,000 a work-related medical rehabilitation. We expect a participation rate of 40 % at baseline. Patients will be aged 18 to 65 years and have chronic musculoskeletal disorders, usually back pain. The control group will receive a conventional medical rehabilitation program without any explicit focus on work, work ability and return to work in diagnostics and therapy. The intervention group will receive a work-related medical rehabilitation program that in addition to common rehabilitation treatments contains 11 to 25 h of work-related treatment modules. Follow-up data will be assessed three and ten months after patients' discharge from the rehabilitation center. Additionally, department characteristics will be assessed and administrative data records used. The primary outcomes are sick leave duration, stable return to work and subjective work ability. Secondary outcomes cover several dimensions of health, functioning and coping strategies. This study will determine the relative effectiveness of a complex, newly implemented work-related rehabilitation strategy for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. German Clinical Trials Register ( DRKS00009780 , February 10, 2016).

National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease: V. The 2014 Ancillary Therapy and Supportive Care Working Group Report

PubMed Central

Carpenter, Paul A.; Kitko, Carrie L.; Elad, Sharon; Flowers, Mary E.D.; Gea-Banacloche, Juan C.; Halter, Jörg P.; Hoodin, Flora; Johnston, Laura; Lawitschka, Anita; McDonald, George B.; Opipari, Anthony W.; Savani, Bipin N.; Schultz, Kirk R.; Smith, Sean R.; Syrjala, Karen L.; Treister, Nathaniel; Vogelsang, Georgia B.; Williams, Kirsten M.; Pavletic, Steven Z.; Martin, Paul J.; Lee, Stephanie J.; Couriel, Daniel R.

2016-01-01

The 2006 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus paper presented recommendations by the Ancillary Therapy and Supportive Care Working Group to support clinical research trials in chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Topics covered in that inaugural effort included the prevention and management of infections and common complications of chronic GVHD, as well as recommendations for patient education and appropriate follow-up. Given the new literature that has emerged during the past 8 years, we made further organ-specific refinements to these guidelines. Minimum frequencies are suggested for monitoring key parameters relevant to chronic GVHD during systemic immunosuppressive therapy and, thereafter, referral to existing late effects consensus guidelines is advised. Using the framework of the prior consensus, the 2014 NIH recommendations are organized by organ or other relevant systems and graded according to the strength and quality of supporting evidence. PMID:25838185

Evidence-Based Consensus Recommendations for Colposcopy Practice for Cervical Cancer Prevention in the United States.

PubMed

Wentzensen, Nicolas; Massad, L Stewart; Mayeaux, Edward J; Khan, Michelle J; Waxman, Alan G; Einstein, Mark H; Conageski, Christine; Schiffman, Mark H; Gold, Michael A; Apgar, Barbara S; Chelmow, David; Choma, Kim K; Darragh, Teresa M; Gage, Julia C; Garcia, Francisco A R; Guido, Richard S; Jeronimo, Jose A; Liu, Angela; Mathews, Cara A; Mitchell, Martha M; Moscicki, Anna-Barbara; Novetsky, Akiva P; Papasozomenos, Theognosia; Perkins, Rebecca B; Silver, Michelle I; Smith, Katie M; Stier, Elizabeth A; Tedeschi, Candice A; Werner, Claudia L; Huh, Warner K

2017-10-01

The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) Colposcopy Standards recommendations address the role of colposcopy and directed biopsy for cervical cancer prevention in the United States (US). The recommendations were developed by an expert working group appointed by ASCCP's Board of Directors. An extensive literature review was conducted and supplemented by a systematic review and meta-analysis of unpublished data. In addition, a survey of practicing colposcopists was conducted to assess current colposcopy practice in the US. Recommendations were approved by the working group members, and the final revisions were made based on comments received from the public. The recommendations cover terminology, risk-based colposcopy, colposcopy procedures, and colposcopy adjuncts. The ASCCP Colposcopy Standards recommendations are an important step toward raising the standard of colposcopy services delivered to women in the US. Because cervical cancer screening programs are currently undergoing important changes that may affect colposcopy performance, updates to some of the current recommendations may be necessary in the future.

Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires.

PubMed

Tynes, Tore; Aagestad, Cecilie; Thorsen, Sannie Vester; Andersen, Lars Louis; Perkio-Makela, Merja; García, Francisco Javier Pinilla; Blanco, Luz Galiana; Vermeylen, Greet; Parent-Thirion, Agnes; Hooftman, Wendela; Houtman, Irene; Liebers, Falk; Burr, Hermann; Formazin, Maren

2017-06-05

The prevalence of workers with demanding physical working conditions in the European work force remains high, and occupational physical exposures are considered important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), a major burden for both workers and society. Exposures to physical workloads are therefore part of the European nationwide surveys to monitor working conditions and health. An interesting question is to what extent the same domains, dimensions and items referring to the physical workloads are covered in the surveys. The purpose of this paper is to determine 1) which domains and dimensions of the physical workloads are monitored in surveys at the national level and the EU level and 2) the degree of European consensus among these surveys regarding coverage of individual domains and dimensions. Items on physical workloads used in one European wide/Spanish and five other European nationwide work environment surveys were classified into the domains and dimensions they cover, using a taxonomy agreed upon among all participating partners. The taxonomy reveals that there is a modest overlap between the domains covered in the surveys, but when considering dimensions, the results indicate a lower agreement. The phrasing of items and answering categories differs between the surveys. Among the domains, the three domains covered by all surveys are "lifting, holding & carrying of loads/pushing & pulling of loads", "awkward body postures" and "vibrations". The three domains covered less well, that is only by three surveys or less, are "physical work effort", "working sitting", and "mixed exposure". This is the fırst thorough overview to evaluate the coverage of domains and dimensions of self-reported physical workloads in a selection of European nationwide surveys. We hope the overview will provide input to the revisions and updates of the individual countries' surveys in order to enhance coverage of relevant domains and dimensions in all surveys and to increase the informational value of the surveys.

Data specifications for INSPIRE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portele, Clemens; Woolf, Andrew; Cox, Simon

2010-05-01

In Europe a major recent development has been the entering in force of the INSPIRE Directive in May 2007, establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe to support Community environmental policies, and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. INSPIRE is based on the infrastructures for spatial information established and operated by the 27 Member States of the European Union. The Directive addresses 34 spatial data themes needed for environmental applications, with key components specified through technical implementing rules. This makes INSPIRE a unique example of a legislative "regional" approach. One of the requirements of the INSPIRE Directive is to make existing spatial data sets with relevance for one of the spatial data themes available in an interoperable way, i.e. where the spatial data from different sources in Europe can be combined to a coherent result. Since INSPIRE covers a wide range of spatial data themes, the first step has been the development of a modelling framework that provides a common foundation for all themes. This framework is largely based on the ISO 19100 series of standards. The use of common generic spatial modelling concepts across all themes is an important enabler for interoperability. As a second step, data specifications for the first set of themes has been developed based on the modelling framework. The themes include addresses, transport networks, protected sites, hydrography, administrative areas and others. The data specifications were developed by selected experts nominated by stakeholders from all over Europe. For each theme a working group was established in early 2008 working on their specific theme and collaborating with the other working groups on cross-theme issues. After a public review of the draft specifications starting in December 2008, an open testing process and thorough comment resolution process, the draft technical implementing rules for these themes have been approved by the INSPIRE Committee. After they enter into force they become part of the legal framework and European Member States have to implement these rules. The next step is the development of the remaining 25 spatial data themes, which include many themes of interest for the Earth Sciences including geology, meteorological and oceanographic geographic features, atmospheric conditions, habitats and biotopes, species distribution, environmental monitoring facilities, and land cover to name a few. The process will follow in general the same steps as for the first themes and the working groups are expected to start their work in March/April 2010. The first draft specifications for public comment are expected at the end of 2010 and the work is scheduled to be completed in 2012. At the same time, other initiatives like GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) are also dealing with spatial data from the themes covered by INSPIRE. With the EU-funded project GIGAS, a support action, a step has been made towards architectural coherence between these initiatives. Recommendations to improve the coherence of the information architectures across the initiatives have been discussed in January 2010 with stakeholders from all initiatives, the standards organisations and EU-funded research projects. Based on the general agreements achieved in these discussions, the next step will be to start working towards the implementation of these recommendations, which are in line with the approach taken by the INSPIRE data specifications.

XXV International Workshop on Deep-Inelastic Scattering and Related Subjects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DIS2017 is the 25th in an annual series of international workshops covering an eclectic mixture of material related to Quantum Chromodynamics and Deep Inelastic Scattering as well as a general survey of the hottest current topics in high energy physics. Much of the program is devoted to the most recent results from large experiments at BNL, CERN, DESY, FNAL, JLab, and KEK. Relevant theoretical advances are also covered in detail. The meeting is organised around seven working groups: WG1) Structure Functions and Parton Densities; WG2) Low x and Diffractive Physics; WG3) Higgs and BSM Physics in Hadron Collisions; WG4) Hadronic and Electroweak Observables; WG5) Physics with Heavy Flavours; WG6) Spin and 3D Structure; WG7) Future of DIS. Please note that a number of contributions are listed but downloadable files have not been provided: please check the DIS2017 webpage for the slides and information therein.

Science Skills Boot Camp Gets Interns Ready for Research | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer Summer interns learned how to read a scientific paper, present a poster, maintain a laboratory notebook, and much more, at the Science Skills Boot Camp in June. “It was a great experience, and it was a great opportunity to meet some of the other interns also working on the campus,” said Alyssa Klein, a Werner H. Kirsten student intern in the Cellular Immunology Group, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation. “The boot camp covered many topics essential to being a good scientist and science researcher.”

Artificial Intelligence Applications to Maintenance Technology Working Group Report (IDA/OSD R&M (Institute for Defense Analyses/Office of the Secretary of Defense Reliability and Maintainability) Study).

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

Research and Engineering and Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Mw Reserve Affairs and Logistics) 1WTITR#OR DEFENSE ANALYSES ~~’AND... TITLE (and Subdlee) S.TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED Final Artificial Intelligence Applications to Main- July 1982 - August 1983 tenance Technology...of DoD (Short Title : R&M Study). This task order was structured to address the improvement of R&M and readiness through innovative program structuring

Using Key Performance Indicators to Do More with Less in Your Practice

PubMed Central

Taylor, Brian

2016-01-01

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are important to managing any sustainable business. This tutorial provides audiologists, especially those with little formal business education, with a working definition of KPIs. A major theme of this article is that a relatively small group of about a dozen KPIs are an essential part of managing a successful audiology practice. The most useful KPIs for managing retail-oriented and medically oriented practices will be provided. Best practice benchmarks and how to use them to hire, coach, and train your staff also is covered. PMID:28028323

Using Key Performance Indicators to Do More with Less in Your Practice.

PubMed

Taylor, Brian

2016-11-01

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are important to managing any sustainable business. This tutorial provides audiologists, especially those with little formal business education, with a working definition of KPIs. A major theme of this article is that a relatively small group of about a dozen KPIs are an essential part of managing a successful audiology practice. The most useful KPIs for managing retail-oriented and medically oriented practices will be provided. Best practice benchmarks and how to use them to hire, coach, and train your staff also is covered.

Quantization of noncompact coverings and its physical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivankov, Petr

2018-02-01

A rigorous algebraic definition of noncommutative coverings is developed. In the case of commutative algebras this definition is equivalent to the classical definition of topological coverings of locally compact spaces. The theory has following nontrivial applications: • Coverings of continuous trace algebras, • Coverings of noncommutative tori, • Coverings of the quantum SU(2) group, • Coverings of foliations, • Coverings of isospectral deformations of Spin - manifolds. The theory supplies the rigorous definition of noncommutative Wilson lines.

Spatial Patterns of Snow Cover in North Carolina: Surface and Satellite Perspectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuhrmann, Christopher M.; Hall, Dorothy K.; Perry, L. Baker; Riggs, George A.

2010-01-01

Snow mapping is a common practice in regions that receive large amounts of snowfall annually, have seasonally-continuous snow cover, and where snowmelt contributes significantly to the hydrologic cycle. Although higher elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains average upwards of 100 inches of snow annually, much of the remainder of the Southeast U.S. receives comparatively little snowfall (< 10 inches). Recent snowy winters in the region have provided an opportunity to assess the fine-grained spatial distribution of snow cover and the physical processes that act to limit or improve its detection across the Southeast. In the present work, both in situ and remote sensing data are utilized to assess the spatial distribution of snow cover for a sample of recent snowfall events in North Carolina. Specifically, this work seeks to determine how well ground measurements characterize the fine-grained patterns of snow cover in relation to Moderate- Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover products (in this case, the MODIS Fractional Snow Cover product).

Skylight book. Capturing the Sun and the Moon: a guide to creating natural light

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

Burns, A.

1976-01-01

The following topics are covered: planning; essential tools: hand and power; safety hints; curb installation; plexiglas or plate glass skylight; the plexiglas box skylight; tips on working with plexiglas; checking for leaks; framing the shaftway; electric work; shaftwall insulation; covering the shaftway with drywall; other kinds of wall coverings; internal storm windows; plants under your skylight; skylight manufacturers; and places to buy things. There are 38 pages of pictures of the use of skylights. (MHR)

Effect of Antithrombotic Agents on the Patency of PTFE-Covered Stents in the Inferior Vena Cava: An Experimental Study

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

Makutani, Shiro; Kichikawa, Kimihiko; Uchida, Hideo

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of antithrombotic agents in the prevention of stenosis of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-covered stents in the venous system. Methods: Spiral Z stents covered with PTFE (PTFE-covered stents) were placed in the inferior vena cava (IVC) of 34 dogs. Nineteen dogs, used as a control group, were sacrificed at 2, 4, and 12 weeks. Fifteen dogs, previously given antithrombotic agents [cilostazol (n= 5), warfarin potassium (n= 5), cilostazol plus warfarin potassium (n= 5)] were sacrificed at 4 weeks, and then examined angiographically and histopathologically. The effect of the antithrombotic agents was compared between groups. Results: The patency ratemore » of the antithrombotic agent group was 93% (14/15), which was higher than the control group rate of 63% (12/19). The mean stenosis rate of the patent stent at both ends and at the midportion was lower at 4 weeks in the antithrombotic agent group than in the control group. In particular, the mean stenosis rate in the cilostazol plus warfarin potassium group was significantly lower than the control group (Tukey's test, p < 0.05). The mean neointimal thickness of the patent stent at both ends and at the midportion was thinner at 4 weeks in the antithrombotic agent group than in the control group. In particular, the thickness of the neointima in the cilostazol plus warfarin potassium group was significantly decreased when compared with the control group (Tukey's test p < 0.05). At 4 weeks, endothelialization in the antithrombotic agent group tended to be almost identical to that in the control group. Conclusion: The present study suggests that administration of an antithrombotic agent is an effective way of preventing the stenosis induced by a neointimal thickening of PTFE-covered stents in the venous system.« less

20 CFR 404.1004 - What work is covered as employment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Section 404.1004 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND... employer is covered as employment under social security if one of the following situations applies: (1) You... resident of the United States working for— (i) An American employer; or (ii) A foreign affiliate of an...

Reduced Worktime: Tool to Fight Umemployment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levitan, Sar A.; Belous, Richard S.

1978-01-01

Discusses the use of reduced worktime, including work sharing, as a strategy in combating unemployment. Covers the experiences of Western European countries in using this strategy to reduce unemployment. It also covers the negative aspects of work sharing, Americans' desires for increased leisure time, and, finally, some issues and answers. (EM)

Critical issues with the in vivo comet assay: A report of the comet assay working group in the 6th International Workshop on Genotoxicity Testing (IWGT).

PubMed

Speit, Günter; Kojima, Hajime; Burlinson, Brian; Collins, Andrew R; Kasper, Peter; Plappert-Helbig, Ulla; Uno, Yoshifumi; Vasquez, Marie; Beevers, Carol; De Boeck, Marlies; Escobar, Patricia A; Kitamoto, Sachiko; Pant, Kamala; Pfuhler, Stefan; Tanaka, Jin; Levy, Dan D

2015-05-01

As a part of the 6th IWGT, an expert working group on the comet assay evaluated critical topics related to the use of the in vivo comet assay in regulatory genotoxicity testing. The areas covered were: identification of the domain of applicability and regulatory acceptance, identification of critical parameters of the protocol and attempts to standardize the assay, experience with combination and integration with other in vivo studies, demonstration of laboratory proficiency, sensitivity and power of the protocol used, use of different tissues, freezing of samples, and choice of appropriate measures of cytotoxicity. The standard protocol detects various types of DNA lesions but it does not detect all types of DNA damage. Modifications of the standard protocol may be used to detect additional types of specific DNA damage (e.g., cross-links, bulky adducts, oxidized bases). In addition, the working group identified critical parameters that should be carefully controlled and described in detail in every published study protocol. In vivo comet assay results are more reliable if they were obtained in laboratories that have demonstrated proficiency. This includes demonstration of adequate response to vehicle controls and an adequate response to a positive control for each tissue being examined. There was a general agreement that freezing of samples is an option but more data are needed in order to establish generally accepted protocols. With regard to tissue toxicity, the working group concluded that cytotoxicity could be a confounder of comet results. It is recommended to look at multiple parameters such as histopathological observations, organ-specific clinical chemistry as well as indicators of tissue inflammation to decide whether compound-specific toxicity might influence the result. The expert working group concluded that the alkaline in vivo comet assay is a mature test for the evaluation of genotoxicity and can be recommended to regulatory agencies for use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring habitat heterogeneity reveals new insights into bird community composition.

PubMed

Stirnemann, Ingrid A; Ikin, Karen; Gibbons, Philip; Blanchard, Wade; Lindenmayer, David B

2015-03-01

Fine-scale vegetation cover is a common variable used to explain animal occurrence, but we know less about the effects of fine-scale vegetation heterogeneity. Theoretically, fine-scale vegetation heterogeneity is an important driver of biodiversity because it captures the range of resources available in a given area. In this study we investigated how bird species richness and birds grouped by various ecological traits responded to vegetation cover and heterogeneity. We found that both fine-scale vegetation cover (of tall trees, medium-sized trees and shrubs) and heterogeneity (of tall trees, and shrubs) were important predictors of bird richness, but the direction of the response of bird richness to shrub heterogeneity differed between sites with different proportions of tall tree cover. For example, bird richness increased with shrub heterogeneity in sites with high levels of tall tree cover, but declined in sites with low levels of tall tree cover. Our findings indicated that an increase in vegetation heterogeneity will not always result in an increase in resources and niches, and associated higher species richness. We also found birds grouped by traits responded in a predictable way to vegetation heterogeneity. For example, we found small birds benefited from increased shrub heterogeneity supporting the textual discontinuity hypothesis and non-arboreal (ground or shrub) nesting species were associated with high vegetation cover (low heterogeneity). Our results indicated that focusing solely on increasing vegetation cover (e.g. through restoration) may be detrimental to particular animal groups. Findings from this investigation can help guide habitat management for different functional groups of birds.

Study of generic quality of life in patients operated on for post-prostatectomy incontinence.

PubMed

Holm, Henriette Veiby; Fosså, Sophie D; Hedlund, Hans; Dahl, Alv A

2013-09-01

The relationship between urological and psychosocial variables, and generic quality of life in patients operated on for post-prostatectomy incontinence has hardly been studied, and our aim was to investigate this relationship. Patients who had an artificial urinary sphincter AMS800 (n = 100) implanted between January 2002 and June 2010 were invited to complete a mailed questionnaire covering demographic data including work ability, urinary and sexual function, anxiety/depression, and generic quality of life. Poor quality of life was defined as a score <40 on either the physical or the mental Short Form 12 summary scales. Of 85 compliant patients, 30 (35%) reported poor generic quality of life and 55 (65%) reported better quality of life at a median follow-up time of 26 months (range 6-104 months). The poor quality of life group showed significantly more overall urinary and sexual problems, and more men had undergone surgical revisions compared with the better quality of life group. Levels of anxiety and depression were significantly higher, and work ability was lower in the poor quality of life group. In multivariate logistic regression models, increased level of depression and impaired work ability, inability to reach orgasm, and not recommending the operation remained significantly associated with poor quality of life. Poor generic quality of life after surgery for post-prostatectomy incontinence is more strongly associated with reduced work ability and depression rather than urinary and sexual problems. © 2013 The Japanese Urological Association.

2 CFR 176.170 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)-Section 1605 of the American... Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements... repair of a public building or public work, and involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered...

2 CFR 176.170 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)-Section 1605 of the American... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)—Section 1605 of the... building or public work, and involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered under international...

2 CFR 176.170 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)-Section 1605 of the American... Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements... repair of a public building or public work, and involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered...

The Thermal Collector With Varied Glass Covers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luminosu, I.; Pop, N.

2010-08-01

The thermal collector with varied glass covers represents an innovation realized in order to build a collector able to reach the desired temperature by collecting the solar radiation from the smallest surface, with the highest efficiency. In the case of the thermal collector with variable cover glasses, the number of the glass plates covering the absorber increases together with the length of the circulation pipe for the working fluid. The thermal collector with varied glass covers compared to the conventional collector better meet user requirements because: for the same temperature increase, has the collecting area smaller; for the same collection area, realizes the highest temperature increase and has the highest efficiency. This works is addressed to researchers in the solar energy and to engineers responsible with air-conditioning systems design or industrial and agricultural products drying.

A Review of Current and Prospective Factors for Classification of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Morris, A. Terry; Neogi, Natasha; Verstynen, Harry A.

2014-01-01

While progress is being made on integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into our national airspace on a broad scale, much work remains to establish appropriate certification standards and operational procedures, particularly with respect to routine commercial operations. This paper summarizes research to examine the extent to which today's civil aircraft taxonomy applies to UAS, and, if needed, how that taxonomy could be amended to better cover different UAS designs and operations. Factors that shape the current taxonomy, as defined in the Federal Aviation Regulations, were assessed for applicability to UAS, potential incompatibilities were identified, and additional factors were proposed that might be useful for an updated aircraft taxonomy intended to cover UAS. The results suggest the possibility of constructing new groups in the taxonomy for UAS under a restricted category that share common airworthiness standards. Establishing distinct groups for UAS and associated standards that enable low risk operations for compensation or hire could be a timely step toward full integration. Such a step would allow the civil aviation industry and regulators to gain valuable experience with UAS while carefully controlling access and potential harm to the aviation system as a whole.

Developing an Inpatient Group Psychotherapy Program: Challenges and Lessons Learnt

PubMed Central

Razaghi, Emran Mohammad; Tabatabaee, Maryam; Pourramzani, Ali; Shirali Mohammadpour, Reza; Mousazade Moghaddam, Arezou; Yahyavi, Seyyed Taha

2015-01-01

In Iran, inpatient group psychotherapy has been limited to transient practices for research purposes or fulfilling personal interest of therapists. The goal of this paper is to share and explain the experience of developing an inpatient group psychotherapy program in Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran, Iran. After theoretical delineation and preparation of a draft of the program guideline, two pilot sessions were held. Based on this initial experience a final treatment guideline was prepared. Afterwards, the program was continued for more than 1 year in a female ward at Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital. The output of this exercise was a guideline that covers important topics in development of inpatient group psychotherapy. It is concluded that inpatient group psychotherapy has its unique challenges. Of the most important challenges that can be mentioned in this regard are the participation of patients with significant differences in levels of psychopathology and psychiatric signs and symptoms, and high comorbidity with specific personality traits or disorders. Other challenges relevant to the structure of the group include items such as very limited time for working through and inevitable out-of-group contacts. PMID:26576176

Vocational Psychology: Agency, Equity, and Well-Being.

PubMed

Brown, Steven D; Lent, Robert W

2016-01-01

The present review organizes the vocational psychology literature published between 2007 and 2014 into three overarching themes: Promoting (a) agency in career development, (b) equity in the work force, and (c) well-being in work and educational settings. Research on career adaptability, self-efficacy beliefs, and work volition is reviewed in the agency section, with the goal of delineating variables that promote or constrain the exercise of personal agency in academic and occupational pursuits. The equity theme covers research on social class and race/ethnicity in career development; entry and retention of women and people of color in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields; and the career service needs of survivors of domestic violence and of criminal offenders. The goal was to explore how greater equity in the work force could be promoted for these groups. In the well-being section, we review research on hedonic (work, educational, and life satisfaction) and eudaimonic (career calling, meaning, engagement, and commitment) variables, with the goal of understanding how well-being might be promoted at school and at work. Future research needs related to each theme are also discussed.

[Short-term effect of black film covering on Oncomelania hupensis snail control in marshland and lake regions].

PubMed

Zheng, Sheng-bang; Zhou, Yi-biao; Li, Lin-han; Wu, Jin-yi; Yao, Bao-dong; Zhu, Shao-ping; Wei, Cheng-jian; Li, Fu-ping; Hu, Ben-jiao; Ren, Guang-hui; Yi, Ping; Jiang, Qing-wu

2013-08-01

To evaluate the short-term effect of the black film covering combined with niclosamide on Oncomelania hupensis snail control in marshland and lake regions. A ditch with snails in Anxiang County was selected as the experimental sites. The ditch was divided into 3 groups: a film group, a niclosamide group, and a niclosamide and film group. The snails were surveyed before the test and 1, 3, 5, 7 days after the experiment. After the film covering, the highest temperature of the surface of soil was 63.7 degrees C on the first day, and the temperature higher than 40 degrees C lasted 4.34 hours. On the second day, the highest temperature was 52.3 degrees C, and the temperature higher than 40 degrees C lasted 4.96 hours. On the fourth day and fifth day, the temperature was lower than 30 degrees C, while the temperature was lower than 34 degrees C on the sixth day. On the seventh day of the experiment, the snail death rates of the film group, the niclosamide group, and the niclosamide and film group on the soil surface were 16.36%, 58.40% and 53.57%, respectively. On the seventh day, the snail death rates of the film group, and the niclosamide and film group under the soil were 20.00% and 40.00%, respectively, while no snails were found under the soil in the niclosamide group 3 days after the experiment. In mesh bags, the snail death rates of the film group, the niclosamide group, and the niclosamide and film group were 84.00%, 95.33% and 95.33%, respectively. The short-term effect of the black film covering on snail control is not obvious, and the black film covering does no promote the molluscicidal effect of niclosamide.

Comparison of covered and uncovered self-expandable stents in the treatment of malignant biliary obstruction.

PubMed

Flores Carmona, Diana Yamel; Alonso Lárraga, Juan Octavio; Hernández Guerrero, Angélica; Ramírez Solís, Mauro Eduardo

2016-05-01

Drainage with metallic stents is the treatment of choice in malignant obstructive jaundice. Technical and clinical success with metallic stents is obtained in over 90% and 80% of cases, respectively. There are self-expandable metallic stents designed to increase permeability. The aim of this study was to describe the results obtained with totally covered self-expandable and uncovered self-expandable metallic stents in the palliative treatment of malignant biliary obstruction. Sixty eight patients with malignant obstructive jaundice secondary to pancreatobiliary or metastatic disease not amenable to surgery were retrospectively included. Two groups were created: group A (covered self-expandable metallic stents) (n = 22) and group B (uncovered self-expandable metallic stents) (n = 46). Serum total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl transferase levels decreased in both groups and no statistically significant difference was detected (p = 0.800, p = 0.190, p = 0.743, p = 0.521). Migration was greater with covered stents but it was not statistically significant either (p = 0.101). Obstruction was greater in the group with uncovered stents but it was not statistically significant either (p = 0.476). There are no differences when using covered self-expandable stents or uncovered self-expandable stents in terms of technical and clinical success or complications in the palliative treatment of malignant obstructive jaundice.

Reverse radial artery flap for soft tissue defects of hand in pediatric age group.

PubMed

Cheema, Saeed Ashraf; Talaat, Nabeela

2009-01-01

To highlight the usefulness of reverse radial artery flap in covering various soft tissue defects of hand in paediatric age group. A total of 16 reverse radial artery flaps were utilized in a period of three years to cover various soft tissue defects of hand for paediatric age group patients. The age ranged from 5-18 years. The two common causes of soft tissue defects in this series were mechanical trauma and fireworks trauma with five cases in each group. Three of the cases were burn victims and other two presented with earth quake injuries. One patient had wound because of road traffic accident. Soft tissue defects of palm were covered with this flap in eight cases while in three cases it was wrapped around the thumb. First web space defects were covered with this flap in two cases. Two cases required coverage of amputation stump at transmetacarpal level and yet another required a big flap to cover the soft tissue defects at palm, dorsum and thumb. Donor site was covered with split skin graft in all cases but one, which was closed primarily. We had partial loss of flap in one case. Grafted donor sites healed uneventfully and were quite acceptable to the patients in due course of time. Reverse radial artery flap has a quite long arc of rotation which brings it great ease to cover the soft tissue defects of various areas of hand like palm, dorsum, first web space and thumb.

Standard requirements for GCP-compliant data management in multinational clinical trials

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background A recent survey has shown that data management in clinical trials performed by academic trial units still faces many difficulties (e.g. heterogeneity of software products, deficits in quality management, limited human and financial resources and the complexity of running a local computer centre). Unfortunately, no specific, practical and open standard for both GCP-compliant data management and the underlying IT-infrastructure is available to improve the situation. For that reason the "Working Group on Data Centres" of the European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) has developed a standard specifying the requirements for high quality GCP-compliant data management in multinational clinical trials. Methods International, European and national regulations and guidelines relevant to GCP, data security and IT infrastructures, as well as ECRIN documents produced previously, were evaluated to provide a starting point for the development of standard requirements. The requirements were produced by expert consensus of the ECRIN Working group on Data Centres, using a structured and standardised process. The requirements were divided into two main parts: an IT part covering standards for the underlying IT infrastructure and computer systems in general, and a Data Management (DM) part covering requirements for data management applications in clinical trials. Results The standard developed includes 115 IT requirements, split into 15 separate sections, 107 DM requirements (in 12 sections) and 13 other requirements (2 sections). Sections IT01 to IT05 deal with the basic IT infrastructure while IT06 and IT07 cover validation and local software development. IT08 to IT015 concern the aspects of IT systems that directly support clinical trial management. Sections DM01 to DM03 cover the implementation of a specific clinical data management application, i.e. for a specific trial, whilst DM04 to DM12 address the data management of trials across the unit. Section IN01 is dedicated to international aspects and ST01 to the competence of a trials unit's staff. Conclusions The standard is intended to provide an open and widely used set of requirements for GCP-compliant data management, particularly in academic trial units. It is the intention that ECRIN will use these requirements as the basis for the certification of ECRIN data centres. PMID:21426576

Project management web tools at the MICE experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coney, L. R.; Tunnell, C. D.

2012-12-01

Project management tools like Trac are commonly used within the open-source community to coordinate projects. The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) uses the project management web application Redmine to host mice.rl.ac.uk. Many groups within the experiment have a Redmine project: analysis, computing and software (including offline, online, controls and monitoring, and database subgroups), executive board, and operations. All of these groups use the website to communicate, track effort, develop schedules, and maintain documentation. The issue tracker is a rich tool that is used to identify tasks and monitor progress within groups on timescales ranging from immediate and unexpected problems to milestones that cover the life of the experiment. It allows the prioritization of tasks according to time-sensitivity, while providing a searchable record of work that has been done. This record of work can be used to measure both individual and overall group activity, identify areas lacking sufficient personnel or effort, and as a measure of progress against the schedule. Given that MICE, like many particle physics experiments, is an international community, such a system is required to allow easy communication within a global collaboration. Unlike systems that are purely wiki-based, the structure of a project management tool like Redmine allows information to be maintained in a more structured and logical fashion.

Educational and intervention strategies for improving a shift system: an experience in a disabled persons' facility.

PubMed

Sakai, K; Watanabe, A; Kogi, K

1993-01-01

The improvement of an irregular three-shift system with anti-clockwise rotation of workers of a disabled persons' facility covering 42 h a week was a subject for management-labour debate. Workers were complaining of physical fatigue, high prevalence of low back pain, sleep shortages associated with short inter-shift intervals, and irregular holidays. With the co-operation of trade union members, an educational and intervention programme was designed to analyse, plan, and implement improved shift rotation schemes. The programme consisted of (a) a group study on the existing system and effects on health and working life; (b) joint planning of potential schemes; (c) communication and feedback (d) testing and evaluation; and (e) agreement on an improved system. The group study was undertaken by means of time study, questionnaire and physiological methods, and the results were jointly discussed. This led to the planning of alternative shift schemes incorporating more regular, clockwise rotation. It was agreed to stage a trial period with a view to shorter working hours. This experience indicated the importance of a stepwise intervention strategy with frequent dialogues and a participatory process focusing on the broad range of working life and health issues.

The role of collaborative ontology development in the knowledge negotiation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, Norma

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) collaboration can be defined as the process of integrating experts' knowledge, perspectives, and resources to advance scientific discovery. The flourishing of more complex research problems, together with the growth of scientific and technical knowledge has resulted in the need for researchers from diverse fields to provide different expertise and points of view to tackle these problems. These collaborations, however, introduce a new set of "culture" barriers as participating experts are trained to communicate in discipline-specific languages, theories, and research practices. We propose that building a common knowledge base for research using ontology development techniques can provide a starting point for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, negotiation, and integration. The goal of this work is to extend ontology development techniques to support the knowledge negotiation process in IDR groups. Towards this goal, this work presents a methodology that extends previous work in collaborative ontology development and integrates learning strategies and tools to enhance interdisciplinary research practices. We evaluate the effectiveness of applying such methodology in three different scenarios that cover educational and research settings. The results of this evaluation confirm that integrating learning strategies can, in fact, be advantageous to overall collaborative practices in IDR groups.

Organization of the 17th Advanced Accelerator Concepts (AAC16) Workshop by the IEEE. Final Scientific/Technical Report On AWARD NO. DE-SC0015635

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

Sutter, David F.

The 2016 Workshop on Advanced Accelerator Concepts (AAC) was held at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center, National Harbor, Maryland, from July 31 through August 5, 2016. This workshop was the seventeenth in a biennial series that began at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1982 with a workshop on laser acceleration of particles (see AIP Conf. Proc. 91). AAC16 was organized under the sponsorship of the IEEE Council on Superconductivity with financial support from the U. S. Department of Energy Office of High Energy Physics and the National Science Foundation. The scope of the AAC Workshop has grown since 1982more » to encompass a broad range of topics related to advancing accelerator science and technology beyond its current scientific and technical limits and is now an internationally acknowledged forum for interdisciplinary discussions on advanced accelerator and beam physics/technology concepts covering the widest possible range of applications. The Workshop continued the trend of growing worldwide participation, attracting world wide participation. The Workshop had a total of 256 attendees comprising (including the U.S.) representatives from 11 countries representing 65 different institutions. Each day’s schedule began with plenary sessions covering broad, cross disciplinary interests or general tutorial topics as selected by the Program Committee, followed by a break out into more narrowly focused working groups. The Workshop was organized into eight Working Groups each with a published statement of topical focus, scope of discussion and goals. A summary of the Working Group activities and conclusions is included in the American Institute of Physics’ (AIP) Conference Proceedings now available as an on line open source document. It has been a long tradition of the AAC workshops to encourage strong student participation. This is accomplished in part by subsidizing student attendance, done for this work shop by using funds from the DOE and National Science Foundation to significantly reduce student registration fees. As a result the registered student participation was 75 persons, or 29% of the total attendance of 256 persons, the highest percentage student enrollment the Workshop has ever had. This is the final report for the DOE Office of Science/Office of High Energy Physics grant NO. DE-SC0015635, entitled “Organization of the17th Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop by the IEEE.”« less

Neutrino Mixing and the Double Tetrahedral Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bentov, Yoni; Zee, A.

2013-11-01

In the spirit of a previous study of the tetrahedral group T ≃A4, we discuss a minimalist scheme to derive the neutrino mixing matrix using the double tetrahedral group T‧, the double cover of T. The new features are three distinct two-dimensional representations and complex Clebsch-Gordan coefficients, which can result in a geometric source of CP violation in the neutrino mass matrix. In an appendix, we derive explicitly the relevant group theory for the tetrahedral group T and its double cover T‧.

Determination of Germination Response to Temperature and Water Potential for a Wide Range of Cover Crop Species and Related Functional Groups

PubMed Central

Tribouillois, Hélène; Dürr, Carolyne; Demilly, Didier; Wagner, Marie-Hélène; Justes, Eric

2016-01-01

A wide range of species can be sown as cover crops during fallow periods to provide various ecosystem services. Plant establishment is a key stage, especially when sowing occurs in summer with high soil temperatures and low water availability. The aim of this study was to determine the response of germination to temperature and water potential for diverse cover crop species. Based on these characteristics, we developed contrasting functional groups that group species with the same germination ability, which may be useful to adapt species choice to climatic sowing conditions. Germination of 36 different species from six botanical families was measured in the laboratory at eight temperatures ranging from 4.5–43°C and at four water potentials. Final germination percentages, germination rate, cardinal temperatures, base temperature and base water potential were calculated for each species. Optimal temperatures varied from 21.3–37.2°C, maximum temperatures at which the species could germinate varied from 27.7–43.0°C and base water potentials varied from -0.1 to -2.6 MPa. Most cover crops were adapted to summer sowing with a relatively high mean optimal temperature for germination, but some Fabaceae species were more sensitive to high temperatures. Species mainly from Poaceae and Brassicaceae were the most resistant to water deficit and germinated under a low base water potential. Species were classified, independent of family, according to their ability to germinate under a range of temperatures and according to their base water potential in order to group species by functional germination groups. These groups may help in choosing the most adapted cover crop species to sow based on climatic conditions in order to favor plant establishment and the services provided by cover crops during fallow periods. Our data can also be useful as germination parameters in crop models to simulate the emergence of cover crops under different pedoclimatic conditions and crop management practices. PMID:27532825

Semiannual Technical Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This report covers the third six month period of the subject contract from January 26, 1997 to July 26, 1997. The contract statement of work covers four specific applications of Aeromover's 'N'-output differential technology that are being developed in cooperation with industry and NASA. A quantitative description of work, project difficulties, proposed solutions, and a statement of the work that will be performed during the next six months has been included for each of the four projects.

Fully covered stents versus partially covered stents for palliative treatment of esophageal cancer: Is there a difference?

PubMed

Alonso Lárraga, J O; Flores Carmona, D Y; Hernández Guerrero, A; Ramírez Solís, M E; de la Mora Levy, J G; Sánchez Del Monte, J C

2018-02-26

Malignant dysphagia is difficulty swallowing resulting from esophageal obstruction due to cancer. The goal of palliative treatment is to reduce the dysphagia and improve oral dietary intake. Self-expandable metallic stents are the current treatment of choice, given that they enable the immediate restoration of oral intake. The aim of the present study was to describe the results of using totally covered and partially covered esophageal stents for palliating esophageal cancer. A retrospective study was conducted on patients with inoperable esophageal cancer treated with self-expandable metallic stents. The 2 groups formed were: group A, which consisted of patients with a fully covered self-expandable stent (SX-ELLA ® ), and group B, which was made up of patients with a partially covered self-expandable stent (Ultraflex ® ). Of the 69-patient total, 50 were included in the study. Group A had 19 men and 2 women and their mean age was 63.6 years (range 41-84). Technical success was achieved in 100% (n=21) of the cases and clinical success in 90.4% (n=19). Group B had 24 men and 5 women and their mean age was 67.5 years (range 43-92). Technical success was achieved in 100% (n=29) of the cases and clinical success in 89.6% (n=26). Complications were similar in both groups (33.3 vs. 51.7%). There was no difference between the 2 types of stent for the palliative treatment of esophageal cancer with respect to technical success, clinical success, or complications. Copyright © 2018 Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Crowdsourcing: It Matters Who the Crowd Are. The Impacts of between Group Variations in Recording Land Cover

PubMed Central

Mooney, Peter; Purves, Ross S.; Rocchini, Duccio; Walz, Ariane

2016-01-01

Volunteered geographical information (VGI) and citizen science have become important sources data for much scientific research. In the domain of land cover, crowdsourcing can provide a high temporal resolution data to support different analyses of landscape processes. However, the scientists may have little control over what gets recorded by the crowd, providing a potential source of error and uncertainty. This study compared analyses of crowdsourced land cover data that were contributed by different groups, based on nationality (labelled Gondor and Non-Gondor) and on domain experience (labelled Expert and Non-Expert). The analyses used a geographically weighted model to generate maps of land cover and compared the maps generated by the different groups. The results highlight the differences between the maps how specific land cover classes were under- and over-estimated. As crowdsourced data and citizen science are increasingly used to replace data collected under the designed experiment, this paper highlights the importance of considering between group variations and their impacts on the results of analyses. Critically, differences in the way that landscape features are conceptualised by different groups of contributors need to be considered when using crowdsourced data in formal scientific analyses. The discussion considers the potential for variation in crowdsourced data, the relativist nature of land cover and suggests a number of areas for future research. The key finding is that the veracity of citizen science data is not the critical issue per se. Rather, it is important to consider the impacts of differences in the semantics, affordances and functions associated with landscape features held by different groups of crowdsourced data contributors. PMID:27458924

The Thermal Collector With Varied Glass Covers

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

Luminosu, I.; Pop, N.

2010-08-04

The thermal collector with varied glass covers represents an innovation realized in order to build a collector able to reach the desired temperature by collecting the solar radiation from the smallest surface, with the highest efficiency. In the case of the thermal collector with variable cover glasses, the number of the glass plates covering the absorber increases together with the length of the circulation pipe for the working fluid. The thermal collector with varied glass covers compared to the conventional collector better meet user requirements because: for the same temperature increase, has the collecting area smaller; for the same collectionmore » area, realizes the highest temperature increase and has the highest efficiency. This works is addressed to researchers in the solar energy and to engineers responsible with air-conditioning systems design or industrial and agricultural products drying.« less

[Evaluation of the incidence of clinical symptoms and risk factors for COPD based on the monitoring of refinery workers in Piock (1993-1996)].

PubMed

Boros, P; Martusewicz-Boros, M; Doboszyńska, A; Kowalski, J; Droszcz, W

1998-01-01

Work place environment plays an important role in development diseases because of the time spend in and different toxic factors placed in it. The aim of study was to assess the ventilatory efficiency in individuals employed in Generating Plant (GP) in relation to the pollution of the work place and the tobacco smoking habit during 3 years. The study covered a group of 144 male individuals employed at GP. (age 39.3 +/- 8.7 yrs, period of employment 20.3 +/- 8.6 yrs, smokers 53.5%. Lung function tests consisted of VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1%VC, PEF, FEF50 counted from flow-volume curve and TGV, Rt measured using pletysmographic method. All tests were performed using pletysmograph (Masterlab) "Jaeger" placed on the ambulance near to the work place. The measurements were taken in May 1993 and 1996. Results were compared to with normal values (acc. ECSC). The anamnesis was obtained from all workers in the form of questionnaire projected for this study. All measurements were done during work time (9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.). Mean values of the ventilation indices remained within the normal range but comparing results in smokers and non-smokers group significant differences in FEV1 and TGV were found. The symptoms of chronic bronchitis were present in 20.8% of persons. Spirometric criteria for the COPD diagnosis were found in 16 persons (11%). Only 5 persons (31%) were symptomatic. The mean decrease of FEV1 was 16.2 ml/yr, in the COPD group it was 82.5 ml/yr. The greater annual loss of FEV1 was found in the smokers and symptoms groups.

[In-depth assessment of work-related stress in a major company undergoing restructuring].

PubMed

Magrini, Andrea; Pelagalli, Maria Felicia; Pietroiusti, Antonio; Livigni, Lucilla; Guidi, Stefano; Moscatelli, Maurizia; Mascioli, Marco; D'Orsi, Fulvio; Zolla, Antonella; Bagnara, Sebastiano

2015-07-08

An in-depth assessment of work-related stress was conducted in a major national telecommunications company undergoing major changes. The assessment was made on three homogeneous groups of workers and covered a large representative sample of the corresponding populations. To identify the main sources of stress for the three populations of workers, stimulate a discussion on the possible corrective actions, and assess the impact of the on-going organizational changes on workers' health. The assessment started with an analysis of the objective stress indicators listed in the INAIL (National Insurance Institute for Occupational Diseases and Accidents) Checklist. This was followed by a combination of qualitative and quantitative investigations on work context and tasks and on the subjective perceptions of workers, which were carried out by using: semi-structured interviews with management, field observations of work tasks, focus groups and questionnaires (GHQ-12, HSE Indicator Tool, ad-hoc questionnaire). The assessment allowed identification of the critical areas to be addressed with specific interventions: relationship with the company, work performance, work organization, and equipment. the investigation allowed to identification of specific practical actions (improvement of technological tools; professional development through training courses) as well as strategic actions ( re-establish relationship of trust with the company) so as to mitigate the workers' level of stress. Analysis of the results also showed that the three targeted populations differed in the degree of acceptance and understanding of the organizational changes.

Hospitality workers' attitudes and exposure to secondhand smoke, hazardous chemicals, and working conditions.

PubMed

Pearson, Dave; Angulo, Antoinette; Bourcier, Emily; Freeman, Elizabeth; Valdez, Roger

2007-01-01

Compelling reasons exist for labor and public health to collaborate. For example, compared to white-collar workers, blue-collar and service workers are much more likely to be targeted by the tobacco industry and become smokers. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess if there were ways public health and labor could collaborate to document the health attitudes and needs of hospitality industry workers. Eligible union members were identified through an electronic enrollment file consisting of 3,659 names maintained by the union. The mail survey instrument covered exposure to secondhand smoke, exposure to hazardous chemicals and materials, time pressure and job demands, and work-related pain/disability. Additional questions related to age, gender, race/ethnicity, level of education, employment history, English proficiency, and self-reported health status. Study results demonstrated that important health information could be successfully collected on unionized workers. Survey data showed that union members were a very diverse group who were exposed to secondhand smoke and supported working in clean-air settings. Workers, especially housekeeping staff, characterized their work as being chaotic and demanding, while almost half of workers reported work-related pain. Key to the successful collaboration was establishing trust between the parties and emphasizing data collection that served the information needs of both organizations. Opportunities exist to improve the health and working conditions of this population. Health interventions need to be designed to take into consideration the very diverse, mostly female, and limited English proficiency of this group of workers.

Prediction of heat capacities of solid inorganic salts from group contributions

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

Mostafa, A.T.M.G.; Eakman, J.M.; Yarbro, S.L.

1997-01-01

A group contribution technique is proposed to predict the coefficients in the heat capacity correlation, C{sub p} = a + bT + c/T{sup 2} + dT{sup 2}, for solid inorganic salts. The results from this work are compared with fits to experimental data from the literature. It is shown to give good predictions for both simple and complex solid inorganic salts. Literature heat capacities for a large number (664) of solid inorganic salts covering a broad range of cations (129), anions (17) and ligands (2) have been used in regressions to obtain group contributions for the parameters in the heatmore » capacity temperature function. A mean error of 3.18% is found when predicted values are compared with literature values for heat capacity at 298{degrees} K. Estimates of the error standard deviation from the regression for each additivity constant are also determined.« less

Remote sensing for grassland management in the arid Southwest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marsett, R.C.; Qi, J.; Heilman, P.; Biedenbender, S.H.; Watson, M.C.; Amer, S.; Weltz, M.; Goodrich, D.; Marsett, R.

2006-01-01

We surveyed a group of rangeland managers in the Southwest about vegetation monitoring needs on grassland. Based on their responses, the objective of the RANGES (Rangeland Analysis Utilizing Geospatial Information Science) project was defined to be the accurate conversion of remotely sensed data (satellite imagery) to quantitative estimates of total (green and senescent) standing cover and biomass on grasslands and semidesert grasslands. Although remote sensing has been used to estimate green vegetation cover, in arid grasslands herbaceous vegetation is senescent much of the year and is not detected by current remote sensing techniques. We developed a ground truth protocol compatible with both range management requirements and Landsat's 30 m resolution imagery. The resulting ground-truth data were then used to develop image processing algorithms that quantified total herbaceous vegetation cover, height, and biomass. Cover was calculated based on a newly developed Soil Adjusted Total Vegetation Index (SATVI), and height and biomass were estimated based on reflectance in the near infrared (NIR) band. Comparison of the remotely sensed estimates with independent ground measurements produced r2 values of 0.80, 0.85, and 0.77 and Nash Sutcliffe values of 0.78, 0.70, and 0.77 for the cover, plant height, and biomass, respectively. The approach for estimating plant height and biomass did not work for sites where forbs comprised more than 30% of total vegetative cover. The ground reconnaissance protocol and image processing techniques together offer land managers accurate and timely methods for monitoring extensive grasslands. The time-consuming requirement to collect concurrent data in the field for each image implies a need to share the high fixed costs of processing an image across multiple users to reduce the costs for individual rangeland managers.

Representative landscapes in the forested area of Canada.

PubMed

Cardille, Jeffrey A; White, Joanne C; Wulder, Mike A; Holland, Tara

2012-01-01

Canada is a large nation with forested ecosystems that occupy over 60% of the national land base, and knowledge of the patterns of Canada's land cover is important to proper environmental management of this vast resource. To this end, a circa 2000 Landsat-derived land cover map of the forested ecosystems of Canada has created a new window into understanding the composition and configuration of land cover patterns in forested Canada. Strategies for summarizing such large expanses of land cover are increasingly important, as land managers work to study and preserve distinctive areas, as well as to identify representative examples of current land-cover and land-use assemblages. Meanwhile, the development of extremely efficient clustering algorithms has become increasingly important in the world of computer science, in which billions of pieces of information on the internet are continually sifted for meaning for a vast variety of applications. One recently developed clustering algorithm quickly groups large numbers of items of any type in a given data set while simultaneously selecting a representative-or "exemplar"-from each cluster. In this context, the availability of both advanced data processing methods and a nationally available set of landscape metrics presents an opportunity to identify sets of representative landscapes to better understand landscape pattern, variation, and distribution across the forested area of Canada. In this research, we first identify and provide context for a small, interpretable set of exemplar landscapes that objectively represent land cover in each of Canada's ten forested ecozones. Then, we demonstrate how this approach can be used to identify flagship and satellite long-term study areas inside and outside protected areas in the province of Ontario. These applications aid our understanding of Canada's forest while augmenting its management toolbox, and may signal a broad range of applications for this versatile approach.

Representative Landscapes in the Forested Area of Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardille, Jeffrey A.; White, Joanne C.; Wulder, Mike A.; Holland, Tara

2012-01-01

Canada is a large nation with forested ecosystems that occupy over 60% of the national land base, and knowledge of the patterns of Canada's land cover is important to proper environmental management of this vast resource. To this end, a circa 2000 Landsat-derived land cover map of the forested ecosystems of Canada has created a new window into understanding the composition and configuration of land cover patterns in forested Canada. Strategies for summarizing such large expanses of land cover are increasingly important, as land managers work to study and preserve distinctive areas, as well as to identify representative examples of current land-cover and land-use assemblages. Meanwhile, the development of extremely efficient clustering algorithms has become increasingly important in the world of computer science, in which billions of pieces of information on the internet are continually sifted for meaning for a vast variety of applications. One recently developed clustering algorithm quickly groups large numbers of items of any type in a given data set while simultaneously selecting a representative—or "exemplar"—from each cluster. In this context, the availability of both advanced data processing methods and a nationally available set of landscape metrics presents an opportunity to identify sets of representative landscapes to better understand landscape pattern, variation, and distribution across the forested area of Canada. In this research, we first identify and provide context for a small, interpretable set of exemplar landscapes that objectively represent land cover in each of Canada's ten forested ecozones. Then, we demonstrate how this approach can be used to identify flagship and satellite long-term study areas inside and outside protected areas in the province of Ontario. These applications aid our understanding of Canada's forest while augmenting its management toolbox, and may signal a broad range of applications for this versatile approach.

Design and strength analysis of a fertilizing and soil covering vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Heng-Hui; Zhang, Zheng-Yong; Liu, Yang; Zhu, Li-Kai; Chen, En-Wei

2018-03-01

In this paper, a kind of fertilizing and soil covering vehicle is designed with compact structure, easy control and substituting manual work to conduct the operations including fertilizing and soil covering. In accordance with movement, structure and loading feature of fertilizing and soil covering vehicle, parametric modeling is carried out for the frame part of this fertilizing and soil covering vehicle to define boundary conditions such as load, constraint, etc. when the frame is under the working condition of normal full load. ANSYS software is used to produce finite element model of frame, and to analyze and solve the model, so as to obtain stress and stain variation diagram of each part of frame under working condition of normal full load. The calculation result shows that: the structure of frame is able to meet the strength requirement, and the maximum value of stress is located at joint between frame and external hinge, which should be appropriately improved in thickening way. In addition, a larger deformation occurring at damper on lower part of hopper may be reduced by adding rib plate at damper on lower part of hopper. The research result of this paper provides the theoretical basis for the design of frame of fertilizing and soil covering vehicle, which has deep theoretical significance and application value.

Minimal measures for Euler-Lagrange flows on finite covering spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fang; Xia, Zhihong

2016-12-01

In this paper we study the minimal measures for positive definite Lagrangian systems on compact manifolds. We are particularly interested in manifolds with more complicated fundamental groups. Mather’s theory classifies the minimal or action-minimizing measures according to the first (co-)homology group of a given manifold. We extend Mather’s notion of minimal measures to a larger class for compact manifolds with non-commutative fundamental groups, and use finite coverings to study the structure of these extended minimal measures. We also define action-minimizers and minimal measures in the homotopical sense. Our program is to study the structure of homotopical minimal measures by considering Mather’s minimal measures on finite covering spaces. Our goal is to show that, in general, manifolds with a non-commutative fundamental group have a richer set of minimal measures, hence a richer dynamical structure. As an example, we study the geodesic flow on surfaces of higher genus. Indeed, by going to the finite covering spaces, the set of minimal measures is much larger and more interesting.

Demography-based adaptive network model reproduces the spatial organization of human linguistic groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capitán, José A.; Manrubia, Susanna

2015-12-01

The distribution of human linguistic groups presents a number of interesting and nontrivial patterns. The distributions of the number of speakers per language and the area each group covers follow log-normal distributions, while population and area fulfill an allometric relationship. The topology of networks of spatial contacts between different linguistic groups has been recently characterized, showing atypical properties of the degree distribution and clustering, among others. Human demography, spatial conflicts, and the construction of networks of contacts between linguistic groups are mutually dependent processes. Here we introduce an adaptive network model that takes all of them into account and successfully reproduces, using only four model parameters, not only those features of linguistic groups already described in the literature, but also correlations between demographic and topological properties uncovered in this work. Besides their relevance when modeling and understanding processes related to human biogeography, our adaptive network model admits a number of generalizations that broaden its scope and make it suitable to represent interactions between agents based on population dynamics and competition for space.

Demography-based adaptive network model reproduces the spatial organization of human linguistic groups.

PubMed

Capitán, José A; Manrubia, Susanna

2015-12-01

The distribution of human linguistic groups presents a number of interesting and nontrivial patterns. The distributions of the number of speakers per language and the area each group covers follow log-normal distributions, while population and area fulfill an allometric relationship. The topology of networks of spatial contacts between different linguistic groups has been recently characterized, showing atypical properties of the degree distribution and clustering, among others. Human demography, spatial conflicts, and the construction of networks of contacts between linguistic groups are mutually dependent processes. Here we introduce an adaptive network model that takes all of them into account and successfully reproduces, using only four model parameters, not only those features of linguistic groups already described in the literature, but also correlations between demographic and topological properties uncovered in this work. Besides their relevance when modeling and understanding processes related to human biogeography, our adaptive network model admits a number of generalizations that broaden its scope and make it suitable to represent interactions between agents based on population dynamics and competition for space.

NASA Systems Engineering Handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shishko, Robert; Aster, Robert; Chamberlain, Robert G.; Mcduffee, Patrick; Pieniazek, Les; Rowell, Tom; Bain, Beth; Cox, Renee I.; Mooz, Harold; Polaski, Lou

1995-01-01

This handbook brings the fundamental concepts and techniques of systems engineering to NASA personnel in a way that recognizes the nature of NASA systems and environment. It is intended to accompany formal NASA training courses on systems engineering and project management when appropriate, and is designed to be a top-level overview. The concepts were drawn from NASA field center handbooks, NMI's/NHB's, the work of the NASA-wide Systems Engineering Working Group and the Systems Engineering Process Improvement Task team, several non-NASA textbooks and guides, and material from independent systems engineering courses taught to NASA personnel. Five core chapters cover systems engineering fundamentals, the NASA Project Cycle, management issues in systems engineering, systems analysis and modeling, and specialty engineering integration. It is not intended as a directive. Superseded by: NASA/SP-2007-6105 Rev 1 (20080008301).

Neuropsychological function in patients with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

PubMed

Weider, Siri; Indredavik, Marit Saebø; Lydersen, Stian; Hestad, Knut

2015-05-01

This study explored the neuropsychological performance of patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) compared with healthy controls (HCs). An additional aim was to investigate the effect of several possible mediators on the association between eating disorders (EDs) and cognitive function. Forty patients with AN, 39 patients with BN, and 40 HCs who were comparable in age and education were consecutively recruited to complete a standardized neuropsychological test battery covering the following cognitive domains: verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, speed of information processing, visuospatial ability, working memory, executive function, verbal fluency, attention/vigilance, and motor function. The AN group scored significantly below the HCs on eight of the nine measured cognitive domains. The BN group also showed inferior performance on six cognitive domains. After adjusting for possible mediators, the nadir body mass index (lowest lifetime BMI) and depressive symptoms explained all findings in the BN group. Although this adjustment reduced the difference between the AN and HC groups, the AN group still performed worse than the HCs regarding verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, visuospatial ability, working memory, and executive functioning. Patients with EDs scored below the HCs on several cognitive function measures, this difference being most pronounced for the AN group. The nadir BMI and depressive symptoms had strong mediating effects. Longitudinal studies are needed to identify the importance of weight restoration and treatment of depressive symptoms in the prevention of a possible cognitive decline. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Use of vegetation sampling and analysis to detect a problem within a portion of a prairie restoration project.

PubMed

Franson, Raymond; Scholes, Chad; Krabbe, Stephen

2017-01-02

In June 2005, the Department of Energy (DOE) began establishing the 60-ha Howell Prairie around the disposal cell at the DOE Weldon Spring Site (WSS). Prairies were historically present in the area of the site. Quantitative Cover sampling was used to quantify Total Cover, Native Grass Cover, Non-Native Grass Cover, Native Forb Cover, Non-Native Forb Cover, Warm Season (C 4 Grass), Cool Season (C 3 Grass), Perennial Cover and Annual Cover, Litter, and Bare Ground. Four permanent vegetation sampling plots were established. The first 4 years of vegetation measurements at Howell Prairie were made during above-average rainfall years on burned and unburned plots. The fifth-year (2012) vegetation measurements were made after below-average rainfall. Five years of results not only document the consistency of the restoration effort in three areas, but also demonstrate deficiencies in Grass Cover in a fourth area. The results are not only useful for Howell Prairie, but will be useful for restoration work throughout the region. Restoration work suffers from a lack of success monitoring and in this case from a lack of available reference areas. Floristic Quality Indices are used to make qualitative comparisons of the site to Konza Prairie sites.

Surface erosion at disturbed alpine sites: effects of vegetation cover and plant diversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, C.; Pohl, M.; Alewell, C.; Körner, C.; Buttler, A.; Rixen, C.

2009-04-01

The relationship between plant diversity and soil stability in disturbed alpine terrain is poorly studied. In this paper, we investigated the influence of plant cover and diversity on water run-off and sediment yield on ski slopes. Rainfall simulations were conducted on a micro-scale (25 x 25 cm) to be able to replicate plots with different degrees of vegetation cover. We selected plots with 10%, 30% and 60% of vegetation cover containing different combinations of plant diversities: (i) grass, (ii) herb, (iii) moss/ lichen, and all combinations of these plant groups. Each combination was replicated five times with an applied rain intensity of 375 ml min-1 for about 5 minutes. As could be expected, percent vegetation cover had a large effect on surface erosion: sediment yield decreased with increasing vegetation cover. However, within the plots with 60% cover, sediment yield was lower at higher plant diversity and functional group diversity. The findings of this study support the view that beside the re-establishment of a closed vegetation cover, plant diversity is a relevant factor to reduce surface erosion at disturbed sites in alpine ecosystems.

Comparison between uncovered and covered self-expandable metal stent placement in malignant duodenal obstruction.

PubMed

Kim, Ji Won; Jeong, Ji Bong; Lee, Kook Lae; Kim, Byeong Gwan; Ahn, Dong Won; Lee, Jae Kyung; Kim, Su Hwan

2015-02-07

To compare the clinical outcomes of uncovered and covered self-expandable metal stent placements in patients with malignant duodenal obstruction. A total of 67 patients were retrospectively enrolled from January 2003 to June 2013. All patients had symptomatic obstruction characterized by nausea, vomiting, reduced oral intake, and weight loss. The exclusion criteria included asymptomatic duodenal obstruction, perforation or peritonitis, concomitant small bowel obstruction, or duodenal obstruction caused by benign strictures. The technical and clinical success rate, complication rate, and stent patency were compared according to the placement of uncovered (n = 38) or covered (n = 29) stents. The technical and clinical success rates did not differ between the uncovered and covered stent groups (100% vs 96.6% and 89.5% vs 82.8%). There were no differences in the overall complication rates between the uncovered and covered stent groups (31.6% vs 41.4%). However, stent migration occurred more frequently with covered than uncovered stents [20.7% (6/29) vs 0% (0/38), P < 0.05]. Moreover, the overall cumulative median duration of stent patency was longer in uncovered than in covered stents [251 d (95%CI: 149.8 d-352.2 d) vs 139 d (95%CI: 45.5 d-232.5 d), P < 0.05 by log-rank test] The overall cumulative median survival period was not different between the uncovered stent (70 d) and covered stent groups (60 d). Uncovered stents may be preferable in malignant duodenal obstruction because of their greater resistance to stent migration and longer stent patency than covered stents.

Comparison between uncovered and covered self-expandable metal stent placement in malignant duodenal obstruction

PubMed Central

Kim, Ji Won; Jeong, Ji Bong; Lee, Kook Lae; Kim, Byeong Gwan; Ahn, Dong Won; Lee, Jae Kyung; Kim, Su Hwan

2015-01-01

AIM: To compare the clinical outcomes of uncovered and covered self-expandable metal stent placements in patients with malignant duodenal obstruction. METHODS: A total of 67 patients were retrospectively enrolled from January 2003 to June 2013. All patients had symptomatic obstruction characterized by nausea, vomiting, reduced oral intake, and weight loss. The exclusion criteria included asymptomatic duodenal obstruction, perforation or peritonitis, concomitant small bowel obstruction, or duodenal obstruction caused by benign strictures. The technical and clinical success rate, complication rate, and stent patency were compared according to the placement of uncovered (n = 38) or covered (n = 29) stents. RESULTS: The technical and clinical success rates did not differ between the uncovered and covered stent groups (100% vs 96.6% and 89.5% vs 82.8%). There were no differences in the overall complication rates between the uncovered and covered stent groups (31.6% vs 41.4%). However, stent migration occurred more frequently with covered than uncovered stents [20.7% (6/29) vs 0% (0/38), P < 0.05]. Moreover, the overall cumulative median duration of stent patency was longer in uncovered than in covered stents [251 d (95%CI: 149.8 d-352.2 d) vs 139 d (95%CI: 45.5 d-232.5 d), P < 0.05 by log-rank test] The overall cumulative median survival period was not different between the uncovered stent (70 d) and covered stent groups (60 d). CONCLUSION: Uncovered stents may be preferable in malignant duodenal obstruction because of their greater resistance to stent migration and longer stent patency than covered stents. PMID:25663777

Emotions experienced in association with agricultural work performed in childhood--in opinions of adults.

PubMed

Lachowski, Stanisław; Lachowska, Bogusława

2014-01-01

Performance of work is related with experiencing various emotions, from positive - indicating full satisfaction with work, to negative - describing failures, and even harm caused by work. Such emotions are also experienced by children engaged in work on family farms. The objective of the study is the determination of emotions experienced in association with performing agricultural work in childhood, and indication of the factors conditioning the occurrence of positive and negative emotions. The study was conducted by the method of a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire technique, and covered a group of 482 adults from agricultural families. In childhood, positive emotions related with the performance of work are more often experienced than negative emotions. The occurrence of positive emotions is positively related with willingness to perform work activities, working time, respondent's age, age at which a child started to perform work, and age at which a child discontinued helping on a farm. The occurrence of negative emotions is positively related with unwillingness to perform work, performing work activities beyond the physical capabilities of a child, neglecting school duties, missing classes at school due to work, and with working time. With work performed in childhood are associated positive and negative emotions experienced in childhood and adulthood. The performance of work in childhood shapes emotions experienced by an adult which may affect his/her quality of life and functioning in adulthood.

Further studies of shoulder and neck pain and exposures in customer service work with low biomechanical demands.

PubMed

Holte, Kari Anne; Westgaard, Rolf H

2002-10-20

The aim of the study was to establish insight into work exposures that cause shoulder and neck pain among occupational groups that have low biomechanical exposure and experience work stress from client/customer contact, among other exposures. Four occupational groups were studied, in health care (n = 20), retail (n = 22), banking (n = 26), and university secretaries (n = 26), a total of 94 volunteers. Thirty-nine were classified as pain-afflicted in the shoulder and neck, while 55 were pain-free. The subjects' perceptions of biomechanical and psychosocial exposures were established by use of quantitative questionnaires and by explorative interviews with open-ended questions, covering the same themes. Heart rate and trapezius EMG were recorded over a full workday and the following leisure period. Trapezius median and static activity during work were 3.3% and 0.3% EMG(max), only marginally higher than trapezius activity in the leisure period (2.7% and 0.2% EMG(max)). The quantitative questionnaire did not identify any variable that correlated with shoulder and neck pain except perceived general tension. The interviews established that the interaction with clients or customers was an important source of work stress. Such stress appeared to be a complex entity not easily characterized by established psychosocial questionnaires. The physiological variables were at most weakly elevated in periods with high stress as compared to periods with low stress. The authors caution against relying on standardized quantitative questionnaires and/or physiological recordings to characterize work stress in occupations with emotional stress through client/customer service work.

Methods to estimate lightning activity using WWLLN and RS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranovskiy, Nikolay V.; Belikova, Marina Yu.; Karanina, Svetlana Yu.; Karanin, Andrey V.; Glebova, Alena V.

2017-11-01

The aim of the work is to develop a comprehensive method for assessing thunderstorm activity using WWLLN and RS data. It is necessary to group lightning discharges to solve practical problems of lightning protection and lightningcaused forest fire danger, as well as climatology problems using information on the spatial and temporal characteristics of thunderstorms. For grouping lightning discharges, it is proposed to use clustering algorithms. The region covering Timiryazevskiy forestry (Tomsk region, borders (55.93 - 56.86)x(83.94 - 85.07)) was selected for the computational experiment. We used the data on lightning discharges registered by the WWLLN network in this region on July 23, 2014. 273 lightning discharges were sampling. A relatively small number of discharges allowed us a visual analysis of solutions obtained during clustering.

The Research Data Alliance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fontaine, K. S.

2015-12-01

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is an international organization created in 2012 to provide researchers with a forum for identifying and removing barriers to data sharing. Since then, RDA has gained over 3000 individual members, over three dozen organizational members, 47 Interest Groups, and 17 Working Groups, all focused on research data sharing. Interoperability is one instantiation of data sharing, but is not the only barrier to overcome. Technology limitations, discipline-specific cultures that do not support sharing, lack of best-practices, or lack of good definitions, are only three of a long list of situations preventing researchers from sharing their data. This presentation will cover how RDA has grown, some details on how the first eight solutions contribute to interoperability and sharing, and a sneak peek at what's in the pipeline.

Nitinol versus steel partially covered self-expandable metal stent for malignant distal biliary obstruction: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Soderlund, Claes; Linder, Stefan; Bergenzaun, Per E; Grape, Tomas; Hakansson, Hans-Olof; Kilander, Anders; Lindell, Gert; Ljungman, Martin; Ohlin, Bo; Nielsen, Jorgen; Rudberg, Claes; Stotzer, Per-Ove; Svartholm, Erik; Toth, Ervin; Frozanpor, Farshad

2014-11-01

Covered nitinol alloy self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) have been developed to overcome the shortcomings of steel SEMS in patients with malignant biliary obstruction. In a randomized, multicenter trial, we compared stent patency, patient survival, and adverse events in patients with partly covered stents made from steel or nitinol. A total of 400 patients with unresectable distal malignant biliary obstruction were randomized at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to insertion of a steel or nitinol partially covered SEMS, with 200 patients in each group. The primary outcome was confirmed stent failure during 300 days of follow-up.  At 300 days, the proportion of patients with patent stents was 77 % in the steel group, compared with 89 % in the nitinol group (P = 0.01). Confirmed stent failure occurred more often in the steel SEMS group compared with the nitinol SEMS group, in 30 versus 14 patients (P = 0.02). Stent migration occurred in 13 patients in the steel group and in 3 patients in the nitinol group (P = 0.01). Median patient survival (secondary outcome) was 137 days and 120 days in the steel SEMS and nitinol SEMS groups, respectively (P = 0.59). The nitinol SEMS showed longer patency time, and the nitinol group had fewer patients with stent failure, compared with the steel SEMS group. We could not detect any differences between the two groups regarding survival time, and regarding adverse event rate.Clinical trial registration : NCT 00980889. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

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

Lemley, James; Furey, Michael

The BNL Microelectronics group has designed a series of custom ASICs in CMOS technol­ogy for use with Cadmium-Zink-Telluride (CdZnTe) radiation detectors, primarily in the field of nuclear spectroscopy. An increased demand for CdZnTe based detection systems that can operate in high flux X-ray inspection equipment makes it necessary to develop a new type of signal processing ASIC, one which can achieve moderate energy resolution at very high count rate. This work covers the development of a high-rate, low power ASIC that classifies events into one of five energy windows at rates up to 2 MHz/channel.

SIAM conference on applications of dynamical systems

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

Not Available

1992-01-01

A conference (Oct.15--19, 1992, Snowbird, Utah; sponsored by SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Activity Group on Dynamical Systems) was held that highlighted recent developments in applied dynamical systems. The main lectures and minisymposia covered theory about chaotic motion, applications in high energy physics and heart fibrillations, turbulent motion, Henon map and attractor, integrable problems in classical physics, pattern formation in chemical reactions, etc. The conference fostered an exchange between mathematicians working on theoretical issues of modern dynamical systems and applied scientists. This two-part document contains abstracts, conference program, and an author index.

SIAM conference on applications of dynamical systems. Abstracts and author index

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

Not Available

1992-12-31

A conference (Oct.15--19, 1992, Snowbird, Utah; sponsored by SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Activity Group on Dynamical Systems) was held that highlighted recent developments in applied dynamical systems. The main lectures and minisymposia covered theory about chaotic motion, applications in high energy physics and heart fibrillations, turbulent motion, Henon map and attractor, integrable problems in classical physics, pattern formation in chemical reactions, etc. The conference fostered an exchange between mathematicians working on theoretical issues of modern dynamical systems and applied scientists. This two-part document contains abstracts, conference program, and an author index.

A novel preparation of milk protein/polyethylene terephthalate fabric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, J. F.; Zheng, D. D.; Zhong, L.; Zhang, F. X.; Zhang, G. X.

2016-07-01

In this work, -NH2 groups were introduced to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers by nitration and reduction method, and then milk protein was grafted on the nitrated and reduced PET (NR PET) fibers by sucrose glycidyl ether crosslinking agent. FTIR suggested the milk protein was successfully grafted on PET fiber surface. SEM images showed a layer of substance covered on the PET fiber surface. DSC demonstrated an excellent thermal stability of milk protein/PET fiber. The moisture regain was improved by milk protein/PET fiber. Moreover, the crease recovery angle and stiffness were retained by the milk protein/PET fabric.

Historical view of development of comparative endocrinology in Japan.

PubMed

Kikuyama, Sakae; Tsutsui, Kazuyoshi

2011-04-01

This article describing a brief history of development of comparative endocrinology in Japan is contributed to the journal General and Comparative Endocrinology, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of its publication. It covers significant works in the field of comparative endocrinology that have been done by Japanese endocrinologists, focusing those achieved during the past 70 years. The contents were arranged according to the taxonomical order of the experimental animals with which individual researchers or research groups have contributed to the acquisition of important knowledge in comparative endocrinology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ELT Site Prospection in Morrocan Atlas Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benkhaldoun, Z.

2006-08-01

The Extremly Large Telescope site testing working group had selected Morrocan's mounting, as one of five locations over the word, to teste for this european project. For that we first of all carried out a selection of two sites basing on their location relative to the dominant wind flow, the cloud cover and the circulation of the Saharan aerosols. We will detail in the communication which we present here, methodology followed and results obtained. We also present the localizations of both site with a cartographic, geological study and some seismic information. The first measurements of the seeing will be also presented.

Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) and other Flow Visualization Developments and Applications at GRC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clem, Michelle; Woike, Mark

2013-01-01

This is a presentation to be given at an internal NASA Advanced Schlieren Working Group Meeting. The presentation will cover the recent developments and applications of flow visualization methods at GRC. The topics being discussed will include the use of Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) in the study of screech and its associated shock spacing as well as in the investigation of broadband shock noise reduction in the Jet-Surface Interaction Tests. In addition, other flow visualiztion methods will be discussed in an on-going study comparing schlieren, shadowgraph, BOS, and focusing schlieren.

Acquisition, Reduction, and Analysis of Acoustical Data, an Unclassified Summary of Acoustical Working Group Studies

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-06-01

4-9 4.2.A General ..................................... 4-9 4.2 .B Caracteristics of Natural Sounds .............4-10 4.2.C Jungle Sounds...taken to avoid contamination of the tape. It should be stored in a plastic bag and a covering box. One should not touch the recording surface of the tape...tiad categorization by attri- tw-e aata ma e clasw1ied ’.= a mm’tr of vvqs wz 4ext2:A!fiec by :1 of Pece I.., Siwr-A Caracteristics in ?w.vqsmcyu ’&rft

Science program for an imaging radar receiving station in Alaska. Report of the science working group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

It is argued that there would be broad scientific benefit in establishing in Alaska an imaging radar receiving station that would collect data from the European Space Agency's Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1. This station would acquire imagery of the ice cover from the American territorial waters of the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering Seas. This station, in conjunction with similar stations proposed for Kiruna, Sweden, and Prince Albert, Canada would provide synoptic coverage of nearly the entire Arctic. The value of such coverage to aspects of oceanography, geology, glaciology, and botany is considered.

Recommendations for the prevention and diagnosis of asthma in children: Evidence from international guidelines adapted for Mexico.

PubMed

Larenas Linnemann, D E S; Del Río Navarro, B E; Luna Pech, J A; Romero Lombard, J; Villaverde Rosas, J; Cano Salas, M C; Fernández Vega, M; Ortega Martell, J A; López Estrada, E C; Mayorga Butrón, J L; Salas Hernández, J; Vázquez García, J C; Ortiz Aldana, I; Vargas Becerra, M H; Bedolla Barajas, M; Rodríguez Pérez, N; Aguilar Aranda, A; Jiménez González, C A; García Bolaños, C; Garrido Galindo, C; Mendoza Hernández, D A; Mendoza López, E; López Pérez, G; Wakida Kuzonoki, G H; Ruiz Gutiérrez, H H; León Molina, H; Martínez de la Lanza, H; Stone Aguilar, H; Gómez Vera, J; Olvera Salinas, J; Oyoqui Flores, J J; Gálvez Romero, J L; Lozano Saenz, J S; Salgado Gama, J I; Jiménez Chobillon, M A; García Avilés, M A; Guinto Balanzar, M P; Medina Ávalos, M A; Camargo Angeles, R; García Torrentera, R; Toral Freyre, S; Montes Narvaez, G; Solorio Gómez, H; Rosas Peña, J; Romero Tapia, S J; Reyes Herrera, A; Cuevas Schacht, F; Esquer Flores, J; Sacre Hazouri, J A; Compean Martínez, L; Medina Sánchez, P J; Garza Salinas, S; Baez Loyola, C; Romero Alvarado, I; Miguel Reyes, J L; Huerta Espinosa, L E; Correa Flores, M Á; Castro Martínez, R

With the availability of high-quality asthma guidelines worldwide, one possible approach of developing a valid guideline, without re-working the evidence, already analysed by major guidelines, is the ADAPTE approach, as was used for the development of National Guidelines on asthma. The guidelines development group (GDG) covered a broad range of experts from medical specialities, primary care physicians and methodologists. The core group of the GDG searched the literature for asthma guidelines 2005 onward, and analysed the 11 best guidelines with AGREE-II to select three mother guidelines. Key clinical questions were formulated covering each step of the asthma management. The selected mother guidelines are British Thoracic Society (BTS), GINA and GEMA 2015. Responses to the questions were formulated according to the evidence in the mother guidelines. Recommendations or suggestions were made for asthma treatment in Mexico by the core group, and adjusted during several rounds of a Delphi process, taking into account: 1. Evidence; 2. Safety; 3. Cost; 4. Patient preference - all these set against the background of the local reality. Here the detailed analysis of the evidence present in BTS/GINA/GEMA sections on prevention and diagnosis in paediatric asthma are presented for three age-groups: children with asthma ≤5 years, 6-11 years and ≥12 years. For the prevention and diagnosis sections, applying the AGREE-II method is useful to develop a scientifically-sustained document, adjusted to the local reality per country, as is the Mexican Guideline on Asthma. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.

Shuttle landing facility cloud cover study: Climatological analysis and two tenths cloud cover rule evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atchison, Michael K.; Schumann, Robin; Taylor, Greg; Warburton, John; Wheeler, Mark; Yersavich, Ann

1993-01-01

The two-tenths cloud cover rule in effect for all End Of Mission (EOM) STS landings at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) states: 'for scattered cloud layers below 10,000 feet, cloud cover must be observed to be less than or equal to 0.2 at the de-orbit burn go/no-go decision time (approximately 90 minutes before landing time)'. This rule was designed to protect against a ceiling (below 10,000 feet) developing unexpectedly within the next 90 minutes (i.e., after the de-orbit burn decision and before landing). The Applied Meteorological Unit (AMU) developed and analyzed a database of cloud cover amounts and weather conditions at the Shuttle Landing Facility for a five-year (1986-1990) period. The data indicate the best time to land the shuttle at KSC is during the summer while the worst time is during the winter. The analysis also shows the highest frequency of landing opportunities occurs for the 0100-0600 UTC and 1300-1600 UTC time periods. The worst time of the day to land a shuttle is near sunrise and during the afternoon. An evaluation of the two-tenths cloud cover rule for most data categorizations has shown that there is a significant difference in the proportions of weather violations one and two hours subsequent to initial conditions of 0.2 and 0.3 cloud cover. However, for May, Oct., 700 mb northerly wind category, 1500 UTC category, and 1600 UTC category there is some evidence that the 0.2 cloud cover rule may be overly conservative. This possibility requires further investigation. As a result of these analyses, the AMU developed nomograms to help the Spaceflight Meteorological Group (SMG) and the Cape Canaveral Forecast Facility (CCFF) forecast cloud cover for EOM and Return to Launch Site (RTLS) at KSC. Future work will include updating the two tenths database, further analysis of the data for several categorizations, and developing a proof of concept artificial neural network to provide forecast guidance of weather constraint violations for shuttle landings.

20 CFR 645.100 - What does this part cover?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What does this part cover? 645.100 Section 645.100 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROVISIONS GOVERNING WELFARE-TO-WORK GRANTS Scope and Purpose § 645.100 What does this part cover? (a) Subpart A...

Beyond Impervious: Urban Land-Cover Pattern Variation and Implications for Watershed Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, Scott M.; McHale, Melissa R.; Hess, George R.

2016-07-01

Impervious surfaces degrade urban water quality, but their over-coverage has not explained the persistent water quality variation observed among catchments with similar rates of imperviousness. Land-cover patterns likely explain much of this variation, although little is known about how they vary among watersheds. Our goal was to analyze a series of urban catchments within a range of impervious cover to evaluate how land-cover varies among them. We then highlight examples from the literature to explore the potential effects of land-cover pattern variability for urban watershed management. High-resolution (1 m2) land-cover data were used to quantify 23 land-cover pattern and stormwater infrastructure metrics within 32 catchments across the Triangle Region of North Carolina. These metrics were used to analyze variability in land-cover patterns among the study catchments. We used hierarchical clustering to organize the catchments into four groups, each with a distinct landscape pattern. Among these groups, the connectivity of combined land-cover patches accounted for 40 %, and the size and shape of lawns and buildings accounted for 20 %, of the overall variation in land-cover patterns among catchments. Storm water infrastructure metrics accounted for 8 % of the remaining variation. Our analysis demonstrates that land-cover patterns do vary among urban catchments, and that trees and grass (lawns) are divergent cover types in urban systems. The complex interactions among land-covers have several direct implications for the ongoing management of urban watersheds.

29 CFR 776.23 - Employment in the construction industry.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... work for or on behalf of a firm which is engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for such commerce. 8 8 Mitchell v. Joyce Agency, 348 U.S. 945, affirming 110 F. Supp. 918; Fleming v... employee is engaged in both covered and non-covered work during the workweek he is entitled to the benefits...

42 CFR 411.161 - Prohibition against taking into account Medicare eligibility or entitlement or differentiating...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... provides. (2) Example— Mr. Smith works for employer A, and he and his wife are covered through employer A's GHP (Plan A). Neither is eligible for Medicare nor has ESRD. Mrs. Smith works for employer B, and is... items and services which Plan B does not cover, such as prescription drugs. If Mrs. Smith obtains a...

Learning ion solid interactions hands-on: An activity based, inquiry oriented, graduate course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braunstein, Gabriel

2005-12-01

Experimental work, using state of the art instrumentation, is integrated with lectures in a "real life", learning by discovery approach, in the Ion-Solid Interactions graduate/undergraduate course offered by the Department of Physics of the University of Central Florida. The lecture component of the course covers the underlying physical principles, and related scientific and technological applications, associated with the interaction of energetic ions with matter. In the experimental section the students form small groups and perform a variety of projects, experimental and computational, as part of a participative, inquiry oriented, learning process. In the most recent offering of the class, the students deposited a compound semiconductor thin film by dual-gun sputtering deposition, where each group aimed at a different stoichiometry of the same compound (Zn1-xSxOy). Then they analyzed the composition using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, measured electrical transport properties using Hall effect and conductivity measurements, and determined the band gap using spectrophotometry. Finally the groups shared their results and each wrote a 'journal-like' technical article describing the entire work. In a different assignment, each group also developed a Monte Carlo computer program ('TRIM-like') to simulate the penetration of ions into a solid, in ion implantation, calculating the stopping cross-sections with approximate models, taught in class, which can be analytically solved. The combination of classroom/laboratory activities is very well received by the students. They gain real life experience operating state of the art equipment, and working in teams, while performing research-like projects, and simultaneously they learn the theoretical foundations of the discipline.

Scientific Software - the role of best practices and recommendations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritzsch, Bernadette; Bernstein, Erik; Castell, Wolfgang zu; Diesmann, Markus; Haas, Holger; Hammitzsch, Martin; Konrad, Uwe; Lähnemann, David; McHardy, Alice; Pampel, Heinz; Scheliga, Kaja; Schreiber, Andreas; Steglich, Dirk

2017-04-01

In Geosciences - like in most other communities - scientific work strongly depends on software. For big data analysis, existing (closed or open source) program packages are often mixed with newly developed codes. Different versions of software components and varying configurations can influence the result of data analysis. This often makes reproducibility of results and reuse of codes very difficult. Policies for publication and documentation of used and newly developed software, along with best practices, can help tackle this problem. Within the Helmholtz Association a Task Group "Access to and Re-use of scientific software" was implemented by the Open Science Working Group in 2016. The aim of the Task Group is to foster the discussion about scientific software in the Open Science context and to formulate recommendations for the production and publication of scientific software, ensuring open access to it. As a first step, a workshop gathered interested scientists from institutions across Germany. The workshop brought together various existing initiatives from different scientific communities to analyse current problems, share established best practices and come up with possible solutions. The subjects in the working groups covered a broad range of themes, including technical infrastructures, standards and quality assurance, citation of software and reproducibility. Initial recommendations are presented and discussed in the talk. They are the foundation for further discussions in the Helmholtz Association and the Priority Initiative "Digital Information" of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany. The talk aims to inform about the activities and to link with other initiatives on the national or international level.

A new PUB-working group on SLope InterComparison Experiments (SLICE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGuire, K.; Retter, M.; Freer, J.; Troch, P.; McDonnell, J.

2006-05-01

The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) decade on Prediction in Ungauged Basins (PUB) has the scientific goal to shift hydrology from calibration reliant models to new and rich understanding- based models. To support this, six PUB science themes have been developed under the PUB Science Steering group. Theme 1 covers basin inter-comparison and classification. The SLope InterComparison Experiment (SLICE) is a newly-formed working group aligned with theme 1. Its 2- year target is to promote the improved understanding of regional hydrological characteristics via hillslope inter- comparison studies and top-down analysis of data from hillslope experiments from around the world. It will further deliver the major building blocks of a catchment classification system. A first workshop of SLICE took place 26-28 September 2005 at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon, USA. 40 participants from seven countries were in attendance. The program consisted of keynote presentations on the state-of-the-art of hillslope hydrology, outlining a hillslope classification system, and through small group discussion, a focus on the following questions: a.) How can we capture flow path heterogeneity at the hillslope scale with residence time distributions? b.) Can networks help characterize hillslope subsurface systems? c.) What patterns are useful to characterize in a hillslope comparison context? d.) How does bedrock permeability condition hillslope response? e.) Can we actually observe pressure waves in the field and/or how likely are they to exist at the hillslope continuum scale? The poster presents an overview of the workshop outcomes and directions of future work.

The difficulty of professional continuation among female doctors in Japan: a qualitative study of alumnae of 13 medical schools in Japan.

PubMed

Nomura, Kyoko; Yamazaki, Yuka; Gruppen, Larry D; Horie, Saki; Takeuchi, Masumi; Illing, Jan

2015-03-27

To investigate the difficulties Japanese female doctors face in continuing professional practice. A qualitative study using the Kawakita Jiro method. A survey conducted in 2011 of 13 private Japanese medical school alumni associations. 359 female doctors. Barriers of balancing work and gender role. The female doctors reported that professional practice was a struggle with long working hours due to a current shortage of doctors in Japan. There was also a severe shortage of childcare facilities in the workplace. Some women appeared to have low confidence in balancing the physician's job and personal life, resulting in low levels of professional pursuit. There appeared to be two types of stereotypical gender roles, including one expected from society, stating that "child rearing is a woman's job", and the other perceived by the women themselves, that some women had a very strong desire to raise their own children. Male doctors and some female doctors who were single or older were perceived to be less enthusiastic about supporting women who worked while raising children because these coworkers feared that they would have to perform additional work as a result of the women taking long periods of leave. Important factors identified for promoting the continuation of professional practice among female doctors in Japan were the need to improve working conditions, including cutting back on long working hours, a solution to the shortage of nurseries, a need for the introduction of educational interventions to clarify professional responsibilities, and redefinition of the gender division of labour for male and female doctors. In addition, we identified a need to modernise current employment practices by introducing temporary posts to cover maternity leave and introducing flexible working hours during specialist training, thus supporting and encouraging more women to continue their medical careers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Science Coordination in Support of the US Weather Research Program Office of the Lead Scientist (OLS) and for Coordination with the World Weather Research (WMO) Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gall, Robert

2005-01-01

This document is the final report of the work of the Office of the Lead Scientist (OLS) of the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) and for Coordination of the World Weather Research Program (WWRP). The proposal was for a continuation of the duties and responsibilities described in the proposal of 7 October, 1993 to NSF and NOAA associated with the USWRP Lead Scientist then referred to as the Chief Scientist. The activities of the Office of the Lead Scientist (OLS) ended on January 31, 2005 and this report describes the activities undertaken by the OLS from February 1, 2004 until January 3 1, 2005. The OLS activities were under the cosponsorship of the agencies that are members of the Interagency Working Group (IWG) of the US WRP currently: NOAA, NSF, NASA, and DOD. The scope of the work described includes activities that were necessary to develop, facilitate and implement the research objectives of the USWRP consistent with the overall program goals and specific agency objectives. It included liaison with and promotion of WMO/WWW activities that were consistent with and beneficial to the USWRP programs and objectives. Funds covered several broad categories of activity including meetings convened by the Lead Scientist, OLS travel, partial salary and benefits support, publications, hard-copy dissemination of reports and program announcements and the development and maintenance of the USWRP website. In addition to funding covered by this grant, NCAR program funds provided co-sponsorship of half the salary and benefits resources of the USWRP Lead Scientist (.25 FTE) and the WWRP Chairman/Liaison (.167 FTE). Also covered by the grant were partial salaries for the Science Coordinator for the hurricane portion of the program and partial salary for a THORPEX coordinator.

Work-related injuries among physiotherapists in public hospitals—a Southeast Asian picture

PubMed Central

Nordin, Nor Azlin M; Leonard, Joseph H; Thye, Ng Chuen

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVES: A cross-sectional study was conducted to measure the prevalence of work-related injuries among physiotherapists in Malaysia and to explore the influence of factors such as gender, body mass index, years of work experience and clinical placement areas on the occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires adapted from the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire were sent to 105 physiotherapists at three main public hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The questionnaire had 12 items that covered demographic information, areas of musculoskeletal problems and physiotherapy techniques that could contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 14 software. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of work-related injuries during the past 12 months was 71.6%. Female therapists reported a significantly higher prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders than the male therapists (73.0%, p<0.001). Significant differences were observed between the proportion of therapists who had work-related musculoskeletal disorders and those who did not for the group with a body mass index (BMI) >25 (χ2 = 9.0, p = 0.003) and the group with a BMI of 18–25 (χ2 = 7.8, p = 0.006). Manual therapy (58.6%) and lifting/transfer tasks (41.3%) were the two physiotherapy techniques that most often contributed to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. CONCLUSION: Work-related injuries are significantly higher among the physiotherapists in Malaysia compared with many other countries. Female therapists reported a higher incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in this study, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders were more common among therapists working in the pediatric specialty. This study contributes to the understanding of work-related disorders among physiotherapists from a southeast Asian perspective where the profession is in its development stage. PMID:21552658

Dimensional comparability of psychosocial working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires.

PubMed

Formazin, Maren; Burr, Hermann; Aagestad, Cecilie; Tynes, Tore; Thorsen, Sannie Vester; Perkio-Makela, Merja; Díaz Aramburu, Clara Isabel; Pinilla García, Francisco Javier; Galiana Blanco, Luz; Vermeylen, Greet; Parent-Thirion, Agnes; Hooftman, Wendela; Houtman, Irene

2014-12-09

In most countries in the EU, national surveys are used to monitor working conditions and health. Since the development processes behind the various surveys are not necessarily theoretical, but certainly practical and political, the extent of similarity among the dimensions covered in these surveys has been unclear. Another interesting question is whether prominent models from scientific research on work and health are present in the surveys--bearing in mind that the primary focus of these surveys is on monitoring status and trends, not on mapping scientific models. Moreover, it is relevant to know which other scales and concepts not stemming from these models have been included in the surveys. The purpose of this paper is to determine (1) the similarity of dimensions covered in the surveys included and (2) the congruence of dimensions of scientific research and of dimensions present in the monitoring systems. Items from surveys representing six European countries and one European wide survey were classified into the dimensions they cover, using a taxonomy agreed upon among all involved partners from the six countries. The classification reveals that there is a large overlap of dimensions, albeit not in the formulation of items, covered in the seven surveys. Among the available items, the two prominent work-stress-models--job-demand-control-support-model (DCS) and effort-reward-imbalance-model (ERI)--are covered in most surveys even though this has not been the primary aim in the compilation of these surveys. In addition, a large variety of items included in the surveillance systems are not part of these models and are--at least partly--used in nearly all surveys. These additional items reflect concepts such as "restructuring", "meaning of work", "emotional demands" and "offensive behaviour/violence & harassment". The overlap of the dimensions being covered in the various questionnaires indicates that the interests of the parties deciding on the questionnaires in the different countries overlap. The large number of dimensions measured in the questionnaires and not being part of the DCS and ERI models is striking. These "new" dimensions could inspire the research community to further investigate their possible health and labour market effects.

A classed and annotated bibliography of fossil insects

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scudder, Samuel Hubbard

1890-01-01

The present work is an extension to date of a bibliography published in 1882.  It has, however, been altered in a few details, and, besides being fuller, differs from that in being a classed list, the works and essays which cover the entire field (which embraces not only insects proper, but also myriapods and arachnids) being placed first, followed by the more special memoirs grouped first by times, next by classes orders, etc., the classification employed in my Systematic Review of Fossil Insects, being used as a convenient basis.  This will also form the basis of the Index to Known Fossil Insects, forming a later complementary bulletin.  The occasion for the publication of both of these at this time is the completion of the first extended account of the American Tertiary insects given in Vol XIII of the Hayden series of geological reports, by which the numbers of the European and American insects bear for the first time some sort of proper relation to each other, at least in the lower groups.  This makes an immediate "account of stock," to employ a commercial term, desirable.

National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease: V. The 2014 Ancillary Therapy and Supportive Care Working Group Report.

PubMed

Carpenter, Paul A; Kitko, Carrie L; Elad, Sharon; Flowers, Mary E D; Gea-Banacloche, Juan C; Halter, Jörg P; Hoodin, Flora; Johnston, Laura; Lawitschka, Anita; McDonald, George B; Opipari, Anthony W; Savani, Bipin N; Schultz, Kirk R; Smith, Sean R; Syrjala, Karen L; Treister, Nathaniel; Vogelsang, Georgia B; Williams, Kirsten M; Pavletic, Steven Z; Martin, Paul J; Lee, Stephanie J; Couriel, Daniel R

2015-07-01

The 2006 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus paper presented recommendations by the Ancillary Therapy and Supportive Care Working Group to support clinical research trials in chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Topics covered in that inaugural effort included the prevention and management of infections and common complications of chronic GVHD, as well as recommendations for patient education and appropriate follow-up. Given the new literature that has emerged during the past 8 years, we made further organ-specific refinements to these guidelines. Minimum frequencies are suggested for monitoring key parameters relevant to chronic GVHD during systemic immunosuppressive therapy and, thereafter, referral to existing late effects consensus guidelines is advised. Using the framework of the prior consensus, the 2014 NIH recommendations are organized by organ or other relevant systems and graded according to the strength and quality of supporting evidence. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

NONE

The Weldon Spring DOE grantee, St. Charles County, is seeking an early renewal on the Weldon Spring Grant order to match the grant`s reporting calendar with the County`s fiscal calendar which is January through December. Therefore, this renewal application will cover five months time instead of 12 months. This notified annual overview bridges a two month period that precedes the appointment and activation of the Weldon Spring Citizens Commission in February 1995. In the original grant application the County described its intent to select a volunteer Citizens Oversight Commission to monitor the cleanup activities at the DOE`s Weldon Spring Site.more » This commission would serve at the County`s watchdog group by monitoring Weldon Spring Site activities and provide on-going communication to the County`s residents through publications and forums. The first eight months of the project involved setting up the project office and working with a three member {open_quotes}Section Panel/Work Group{close_quotes} to select the Citizen`s Commission. These activities were coordinated by a Project Director hired by the County and funded from the initial grant funds.« less

NASA Battery Working Group - 2007-2008: Battery Task Summary Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, Michelle

2008-01-01

This presentation provides a summary of the 2007-2008 NASA Battery Working Group efforts completed in support of the NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC). The effort covered a series of pro-active tasks that address the following: Binding Procurements -- guidelines related to requirements for the battery system that should be considered at the time of contract award Wet Life of Ni-H2 Batteries -- issues/strategies for effective storage and impact of long-term storage on performance and life Generic Guidelines for Lithium-ion Safety, Handling and Qualification -- Standardized approaches developed and risk assessments (1) Lithium-ion Performance Assessment -- survey of manufacturers and capabilities to meet mission needs. Guidelines document generated (2) Conditions Required for using Pouch Cells in Aerospace Missions -- focus on corrosion, thermal excursions and long-term performance issues. Document defining requirements to maintain performance and life (3) High Voltage Risk Assessment -- focus on safety and abuse tolerance of battery module assemblies. Recommendations of features required for safe implementation (4) Procedure for Determination of Safe Charge Rates -- evaluation of various cell chemistries and recommendation of safe operating regimes for specific cell designs

Final Report for U.S. DOE GRANT No. DEFG02-96ER41015 November 1, 2010 - April 30, 2013 entitled HIGH ENERGY ACCELERATOR AND COLLIDING BEAM USER GROUP at the UNIVERSITY of MARYLAND

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

Hadley, Nicholas; Jawahery, Abolhassan; Eno, Sarah C

2013-07-26

We have finished the third year of a three year grant cycle with the U.S. Department of Energy for which we were given a five month extension (U.S. D.O.E. Grant No. DEFG02-96ER41015). This document is the fi nal report for this grant and covers the period from November 1, 2010 to April 30, 2013. The Maryland program is administered as a single task with Professor Nicholas Hadley as Principal Investigator. The Maryland experimental HEP group is focused on two major research areas. We are members of the CMS experiment at the LHC at CERN working on the physics of themore » Energy Frontier. We are also analyzing the data from the Babar experiment at SLAC while doing design work and R&D towards a Super B experiment as part of the Intensity Frontier. We have recently joined the LHCb experiment at CERN. We concluded our activities on the D experiment at Fermilab in 2009.« less

Partnerships: One Strategy for Meeting Big Data Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandler, C. L.; Groman, R. C.; Kinkade, D.; Shepherd, A.; Allison, M. D.; Rauch, S.; Wiebe, P. H.; Glover, D. M.

2014-12-01

In late 2006 staff members from the previously independent US Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (US JGOFS) and US GLOBal Ocean ECosystems Dynamics (US GLOBEC) data management offices joined forces and received funding from the US National Science Foundation to provide data management support to ocean science researchers. The transition from providing dedicated, project-specific data management services to supporting a broader research community data facility has necessitated understanding of and adaptation to evolving needs. One of the strategies that has proven to be very effective is the formation of partnerships with other groups doing complementary work. Staff members at BCO-DMO have formed collaborative partnerships with others to support our primary research community efficiently and in a way that covers the full research data life cycle. Examples will be provided that highlight ways in which such partnerships have enhanced the work done by BCO-DMO, and also ways in which BCO-DMO activities have contributed to broader national and global initiatives. One of the clear benefits of collaboration with other groups is the opportunity for identification of shared challenges, strategies and solutions and the increased likelihood of developing interoperable systems.

Agricultural Cooperative Training. Curriculum Guide for Agribusiness 501.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas A and M Univ., College Station. Dept. of Agricultural Education.

This curriculum guide was developed to help teachers in Texas provide training in occupational-related agricultural education to persons both in groups and on the job. The guide is organized in 33 sections. The first section covers group instruction with the remaining sections covering the following occupational titles: farm equipment operator;…

Diurnal stream habitat use of juvenile Atlantic salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout in winter

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, J. H.; Douglass, K.A.

2009-01-01

The diurnal winter habitat of three species of juvenile salmonids was examined in a tributary of Skaneateles Lake, NY to compare habitat differences among species and to determine if species/age classes were selecting specific habitats. A total of 792 observations were made on the depth, velocity, substrate and cover (amount and type) used by sympatric subyearling Atlantic salmon, subyearling brown trout and subyearling and yearling rainbow trout. Subyearling Atlantic salmon occurred in shallower areas with faster velocities and less cover than the other salmonid groups. Subyearling salmon was also the only group associated with substrate of a size larger than the average size substrate in the study reach during both winters. Subyearling brown trout exhibited a preference for vegetative cover. Compared with available habitat, yearling rainbow trout were the most selective in their habitat use. All salmonid groups were associated with more substrate cover in 2002 under high flow conditions. Differences in the winter habitat use of these salmonid groups have important management implications in terms of both habitat protection and habitat enhancement.

Borderline intellectual functioning: consensus and good practice guidelines.

PubMed

Salvador-Carulla, Luis; García-Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos; Ruiz Gutiérrez-Colosía, Mencía; Artigas-Pallarès, Josep; García Ibáñez, José; González Pérez, Joan; Nadal Pla, Margarida; Aguilera Inés, Francisco; Isus, Sofia; Cereza, Josep Maria; Poole, Miriam; Portero Lazcano, Guillermo; Monzón, Patricio; Leiva, Marta; Parellada, Mara; García Nonell, Katia; Martínez I Hernández, Andreu; Rigau, Eugenia; Martínez-Leal, Rafael

2013-01-01

The Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) is conceptualized as the frontier that delimits "normal" intellectual functioning from intellectual disability (IQ 71-85). In spite of its magnitude, its prevalence cannot be quantified and its diagnosis has not yet been defined. To elaborate a conceptual framework and to establish consensus guidelines. A mixed qualitative methodology, including frame analysis and nominal groups techniques, was used. The literature was extensively reviewed in evidence based medical databases, scientific publications, and the grey literature. This information was studied and a framing document was prepared. Scientific publications covering BIF are scarce. The term that yields a bigger number of results is "Borderline Intelligence". The Working Group detected a number of areas in which consensus was needed and wrote a consensus document covering the conclusions of the experts and the framing document. It is a priority to reach an international consensus about the BIF construct and its operative criteria, as well as to develop specific tools for screening and diagnosis. It is also necessary to define criteria that enable its incidence and prevalence. To know what interventions are the most efficient, and what are the needs of this population, is vital to implement an integral model of care centred on the individual. Copyright © 2011 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Model My Watershed - A Robust Online App to Enable Citizen Scientists to Model Watershed Hydrology and Water Quality at Regulatory-Level Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniels, M.; Kerlin, S.; Arscott, D.

2017-12-01

Citizen-based watershed monitoring has historically lacked scientific rigor and geographic scope due to limitation in access to watershed-level data and the high level skills and resources required to adequately model watershed dynamics. Public access to watershed information is currently routed through a variety of governmental data portals and often requires advanced geospatial skills to collect and present in useable forms. At the same time, tremendous financial resources are being invested in watershed restoration and management efforts, and often these resources pass through local stakeholder groups such as conservation NGO, watershed interest groups, and local municipalities without extensive hydrologic knowledge or access to sophisticated modeling resources. Even governmental agencies struggle to understand how to best steer or prioritize restoration investments. A new app, Model My Watershed, was built to improve access to watershed data and modeling capabilities in a fast, accessible, free web-app format. Working across the contiguous United States, the Model My Watershed app provides land cover, soils, aerial imagery and relief, watershed delineation, and stream network delineation. Users can model watersheds or areas of interest and create management scenarios to evaluate implementation of land cover changes and best management practice implementation with both hydrologic and water quality outputs that meet TMDL regulatory standards.

The International Lunar Decade: A Giant Leap Forward in Understanding the Moon and Opportunities for its Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beldavs, Vid; Atvars, Aigars; Ubelis, Arnolds; Salmins, Kalvis; Crisafulli, Jim; Dunlop, David; Foing, Bernard

2015-04-01

In 1957 at the dawn of the space age the United Nations launched the International Geophysical Year which had a profound impact on collaboration among scientists around the globe. Its legacy includes several major scientific organizations as well as the beginnings of collaboration among nations that see themselves as competitors on Earth. The Soviet Union and the United States made many attempts at collaboration in space while building weapons systems to destroy each other. Space technologies have become the infrastructure for the ubiquitous smart phone with global telecommunications, navigation, weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, and hundreds of other applications. In 2015, the International Year of Light, several conferences will be held exploring the idea of an International Lunar Decade1 An informal group, the International Lunar Decade Working Group (ILDWG) has been formed to plan the launch of the International Lunar Decade in 2017, the 60th Anniversary of the International Geophysical Year. This report will cover the progress of the ILDWG covering conferences planned, international organizations involved and key publications. The activities of the ILDWG can be followed at http://2014giantleap.aerospacehawaii.info/. References [1] V. Beldavs, 2014 'The International Lunar Decade', The Space Review, http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2431/1

An NMR Study of Biomimetic Fluorapatite – Gelatine Mesocrystals

PubMed Central

Vyalikh, Anastasia; Simon, Paul; Rosseeva, Elena; Buder, Jana; Scheler, Ulrich; Kniep, Rüdiger

2015-01-01

The mesocrystal system fluoroapatite—gelatine grown by double-diffusion is characterized by hierarchical composite structure on a mesoscale. In the present work we apply solid state NMR to characterize its structure on the molecular level and provide a link between the structural organisation on the mesoscale and atomistic computer simulations. Thus, we find that the individual nanocrystals are composed of crystalline fluorapatite domains covered by a thin boundary apatite-like layer. The latter is in contact with an amorphous layer, which fills the interparticle space. The amorphous layer is comprised of the organic matrix impregnated by isolated phosphate groups, Ca3F motifs and water molecules. Our NMR data provide clear evidence for the existence of precursor complexes in the gelatine phase, which were not involved in the formation of apatite crystals, proving hence theoretical predictions on the structural pre-treatment of gelatine by ion impregnation. The interfacial interactions, which may be described as the glue holding the composite materials together, comprise hydrogen bond interactions with the apatite PO43− groups. The reported results are in a good agreement with molecular dynamics simulations, which address the mechanisms of a growth control by collagen fibers, and with experimental observations of an amorphous cover layer in biominerals. PMID:26515127

Comparison of Covered Versus Uncovered Stents for Benign Superior Vena Cava (SVC) Obstruction.

PubMed

Haddad, Mustafa M; Simmons, Benjamin; McPhail, Ian R; Kalra, Manju; Neisen, Melissa J; Johnson, Matthew P; Stockland, Andrew H; Andrews, James C; Misra, Sanjay; Bjarnason, Haraldur

2018-05-01

To identify whether long-term symptom relief and stent patency vary with the use of covered versus uncovered stents for the treatment of benign SVC obstruction. We retrospectively identified all patients with benign SVC syndrome treated to stent placement between January 2003 and December 2015 (n = 59). Only cases with both clinical and imaging follow-up were included (n = 47). In 33 (70%) of the patients, the obstruction was due to a central line or pacemaker wires, and in 14 (30%), the cause was fibrosing mediastinitis. Covered stents were placed in 17 (36%) of the patients, and 30 (64%) patients had an uncovered stent. Clinical and treatment outcomes, complications, and the percent stenosis of each stent were evaluated. Technical success was achieved in all cases at first attempt. Average clinical and imaging follow-up in years was 2.7 (range 0.1-11.1) (covered) and 1.7 (range 0.2-10.5) (uncovered), respectively. There was a significant difference (p = 0.044) in the number of patients who reported a return of symptoms between the covered (5/17 or 29.4%) and uncovered (18/30 or 60%) groups. There was also a significant difference (p = < 0.001) in the mean percent stenosis after stent placement between the covered [17.9% (range 0-100) ± 26.2] and uncovered [48.3% (range 6.8-100) ± 33.5] groups. No significant difference (p = 0.227) was found in the time (days) between the date of the procedure and the date of clinical follow-up where a return of symptoms was reported [covered: 426.6 (range 28-1554) ± 633.9 and uncovered 778.1 (range 23-3851) ± 1066.8]. One patient in the uncovered group had non-endovascular surgical intervention (innominate to right atrial bypass), while none in the covered group required surgical intervention. One major complication (SIR grade C) occurred that consisted of a pericardial hemorrhagic effusion after angioplasty that required covered stent placement. There were no procedure-related deaths. Both covered and uncovered stents can be used for treating benign SVC syndrome. Covered stents, however, may be a more effective option at providing symptom relief and maintaining stent patency if validated by further studies.

Observations and Modelling of the Zodiacal Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelsall, T.

1994-12-01

The DIRBE instrument on the COBE satellite performed a full-sky survey in ten bands covering the spectral range from 1.25 to 240 microns, and made measurements of the polarization from 1.25 to 3.5 microns. These observations provide a wealth of data on the radiations from the interplanetary dust cloud (IPD). The presentation covers the observations, the model-independent findings, and the results from the extensive efforts of the DIRBE team to model the IPD. Emphasis is placed on describing the importance of correctly accounting for the IPD contribution to the observed-sky signal for the purpose of detecting the cosmic infrared background. (*) The NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is responsible for the design, development, and operation of the COBE mission. GSFC is also responsible for the development of the analysis software and for the production of the mission data sets. Scientific guidance is provided by the COBE Science Working Group. The COBE program is supported by the Astrophysics Division of NASA's Office of Space Science.

Explorers of the Southern Sky: A History of Australian Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haynes, Raymond; Haynes, Roslynn D.; Malin, David; McGee, Richard

1996-06-01

This well-illustrated volume is the most comprehensive account of Australian astronomy to date. It is both an indispensable reference book on the history of astronomy in Australia, and a highly readable study of a scientific discipline in the context of emerging nationhood. It covers not only the science, but the individuals involved and the social and economic climate in which they worked. Starting from the ancient Aboriginal beliefs about the Sky World - the earliest known astronomy, anywhere in the world - we are led through to the most exciting high-tech current and projected research being carried out at Australia's world-class national astronomy facilities, and by groups in Australian universities. All branches of astronomy are covered - optical, infrared, X-ray, gamma-ray, microwave, gravitational wave and theoretical - including the contribution of amateur astronomers. The non-technical language, many illustrations, and explanatory figures, ensure that this guide will appeal to a wide range of readers - including professional astronomers, historians of science, students, amateur astronomers and general readers.

Electrochemical removal of material from metallic work

DOEpatents

Csakvary, Tibor; Fromson, Robert E.

1980-05-13

Deburring, polishing, surface forming and the like are carried out by electrochemical machining with conformable electrode means including an electrically conducting and an insulating web. The surface of the work to be processed is covered by a deformable electrically insulating web or cloth which is perforated and conforms with the work. The web is covered by a deformable perforated electrically conducting screen electrode which also conforms with, and is insulated from, the work by the insulating web. An electrolyte is conducted through the electrode and insulating web and along the work through a perforated elastic member which engages the electrode under pressure pressing the electrode and web against the work. High current under low voltage is conducted betwen the electrode and work through the insulator, removing material from the work. Under the pressure of the elastic member, the electrode and insulator continue to conform with the work and the spacing between the electrode and work is maintained constant.

2 CFR 176.170 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International Agreements)-Section 1605 of the American... Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods (covered under International..., maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work, and involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods...

Intraoperative bowel irrigation improves anastomotic collagen metabolism in the left-sided colonic obstruction but not covering colostomy.

PubMed

Duraker, N; Bender, O; Memişoğlu, K; Yalçiner, A

1998-01-01

This study investigated the effects of intraoperative colonic irrigation and proximal diverting end colostomy after segmental bowel resection in experimental left-colonic obstruction on anastomotic healing. Simple obstruction of descending colon was performed in male Sprague-Dawley rats. After 24 h we performed segmental colonic resection and anastomosis in the control group (n = 15); resection, anastomosis, and covering colostomy in the colostomy group (n = 14); resection and anastomosis after antegrade colonic lavage through cecum by using isotonic saline solution in the irrigation group (n = 13). In rats that were killed 7 days later anastomotic dehiscence and bursting pressure and tissue hydroxyproline concentration at the anastomosis were measured. No significant differences were observed between groups in terms of anastomotic dehiscence, bursting site, or pressure. The hydroxyproline concentration was significantly higher in the irrigation group than the control group (P = 0.025) and the colostomy group (P = 0.029), but no difference was noted between the control group and the colostomy group. These findings suggest that intraoperative antegrade colonic irrigation in the acute left-sided colonic obstruction positively affects collagen metabolism at the anastomotic site; if the anastomosis is performed without bowel cleansing, covering colostomy does not improve collagen metabolism.

Annual grass invasion in sagebrush-steppe: The relative importance of climate, soil properties and biotic interactions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bansal, Sheel; Sheley, Roger L.

2016-01-01

The invasion by winter-annual grasses (AGs) such as Bromus tectorum into sagebrush steppe throughout the western USA is a classic example of a biological invasion with multiple, interacting climate, soil and biotic factors driving the invasion, although few studies have examined all components together. Across a 6000-km2 area of the northern Great Basin, we conducted a field assessment of 100 climate, soil, and biotic (functional group abundances, diversity) factors at each of 90 sites that spanned an invasion gradient ranging from 0 to 100 % AG cover. We first determined which biotic and abiotic factors had the strongest correlative relationships with AGs and each resident functional group. We then used regression and structural equation modeling to explore how multiple ecological factors interact to influence AG abundance. Among biotic interactions, we observed negative relationships between AGs and biodiversity, perennial grass cover, resident species richness, biological soil crust cover and shrub density, whereas perennial and annual forb cover, tree cover and soil microbial biomass had no direct linkage to AG. Among abiotic factors, AG cover was strongly related to climate (increasing cover with increasing temperature and aridity), but had weak relationships with soil factors. Our structural equation model showed negative effects of perennial grasses and biodiversity on AG cover while integrating the negative effects of warmer climate and positive influence of belowground processes on resident functional groups. Our findings illustrate the relative importance of biotic interactions and climate on invasive abundance, while soil properties appear to have stronger relationships with resident biota than with invasives.

Comparison of the Effect of Plastic Cover and Blanket on Body Temperature of Preterm Infants Hospitalized in NICU: Randomized Clinical Trial

PubMed Central

Valizadeh, Leila; Mahallei, Majid; Safaiyan, Abdolrasoul; Ghorbani, Fatemeh; Peyghami, Maryam

2017-01-01

Introduction: Preterm infants are unable to regulate their body temperature and there are insufficient research evidences on different kinds of covers for hospitalized preterm infants; therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effects of plastic and blanket covers on the body temperature of preterm infants under radiant warmer. Methods: This randomized cross-over clinical trial was carried out upon 80 infants with the gestational age of 28-30 weeks and birth weight of 800- 1250 gr who were in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on the second day of their hospitalization. The study lasted for two days. In group 1, the plastic cover was used during the first day of the study while the blankets were used during the second day. Infants’ heads were kept out of the cover and coated with a hat. In group 2, the plastic cover was used during the first day of the study while the blanket was used during second day. Digital thermometer was used to measure infants’ axillary temperature. The data was analyzed using SPSS ver 13 and MiniTab software. Descriptive statistics, (Mean (SE), 95%CI) and inferential statistics (Repeated measurement and ANCOVA tests) were used. Results: The mean body temperature of the infants in the group covered with the plastic was calculated to be higher and the warmer was set on low temperature. Conclusion: Using plastic cover during the first few days of hospitalization in NICU resulted in regulation of preterm infants’ body temperature. PMID:28680870

The CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) Study: Methods of Data Collection and Characteristics of Study Sample

PubMed Central

Coggon, David; Ntani, Georgia; Palmer, Keith T.; Felli, Vanda E.; Harari, Raul; Barrero, Lope H.; Felknor, Sarah A.; Gimeno, David; Cattrell, Anna; Serra, Consol; Bonzini, Matteo; Solidaki, Eleni; Merisalu, Eda; Habib, Rima R.; Sadeghian, Farideh; Kadir, Masood; Warnakulasuriya, Sudath S. P.; Matsudaira, Ko; Nyantumbu, Busisiwe; Sim, Malcolm R.; Harcombe, Helen; Cox, Ken; Marziale, Maria H.; Sarquis, Leila M.; Harari, Florencia; Freire, Rocio; Harari, Natalia; Monroy, Magda V.; Quintana, Leonardo A.; Rojas, Marianela; Salazar Vega, Eduardo J.; Harris, E. Clare; Vargas-Prada, Sergio; Martinez, J. Miguel; Delclos, George; Benavides, Fernando G.; Carugno, Michele; Ferrario, Marco M.; Pesatori, Angela C.; Chatzi, Leda; Bitsios, Panos; Kogevinas, Manolis; Oha, Kristel; Sirk, Tuuli; Sadeghian, Ali; Peiris-John, Roshini J.; Sathiakumar, Nalini; Wickremasinghe, A. Rajitha; Yoshimura, Noriko; Kielkowski, Danuta; Kelsall, Helen L.; Hoe, Victor C. W.; Urquhart, Donna M.; Derett, Sarah; McBride, David; Gray, Andrew

2012-01-01

Background The CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) study was established to explore the hypothesis that common musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and associated disability are importantly influenced by culturally determined health beliefs and expectations. This paper describes the methods of data collection and various characteristics of the study sample. Methods/Principal Findings A standardised questionnaire covering musculoskeletal symptoms, disability and potential risk factors, was used to collect information from 47 samples of nurses, office workers, and other (mostly manual) workers in 18 countries from six continents. In addition, local investigators provided data on economic aspects of employment for each occupational group. Participation exceeded 80% in 33 of the 47 occupational groups, and after pre-specified exclusions, analysis was based on 12,426 subjects (92 to 1018 per occupational group). As expected, there was high usage of computer keyboards by office workers, while nurses had the highest prevalence of heavy manual lifting in all but one country. There was substantial heterogeneity between occupational groups in economic and psychosocial aspects of work; three- to five-fold variation in awareness of someone outside work with musculoskeletal pain; and more than ten-fold variation in the prevalence of adverse health beliefs about back and arm pain, and in awareness of terms such as “repetitive strain injury” (RSI). Conclusions/Significance The large differences in psychosocial risk factors (including knowledge and beliefs about MSDs) between occupational groups should allow the study hypothesis to be addressed effectively. PMID:22792189

TU-D-201-02: Medical Physics Practices for Plan and Chart Review: Results of AAPM Task Group 275 Survey

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

Fong de los Santos, L; Dong, L; Greener, A

Purpose: AAPM Task Group (TG) 275 is charged with developing riskbased guidelines for plan and chart review clinical processes. As part of this work an AAPM-wide survey was conducted to gauge current practices. Methods: The survey consisted of 103 multiple-choice questions covering the following review processes for external beam including protons: 1) Initial Plan Check, 2) On-Treatment and 3) End-of-Treatment Chart Check. The survey was designed and validated by TG members with the goal of providing an efficient and easy response process. The survey, developed and deployed with the support of AAPM headquarters, was released to all AAPM members whomore » have self-reported as working in the radiation oncology field and it was kept open for 7 weeks. Results: There are an estimated 4700 eligible participants. At the time of writing, 962 completed surveys have been collected with an average completion time of 24 minutes. Participants are mainly from community hospitals (40%), academicaffiliated hospitals (31%) and free-standing clinics (18%). Among many other metrics covered on the survey, results so far indicate that manual review is an important component on the plan and chart review process (>90%) and that written procedures and checklists are widely used (>60%). However, the details of what is reviewed or checked are fairly heterogeneous among the sampled medical physics community. Conclusion: The data gathered from the survey gauging current practices will be used by TG 275 to develop benchmarks and recommendations for the type and extent of checks to perform effective physics plan and chart review processes.« less

Global Land Product Validation Protocols: An Initiative of the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation to Evaluate Satellite-derived Essential Climate Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guillevic, P. C.; Nickeson, J. E.; Roman, M. O.; camacho De Coca, F.; Wang, Z.; Schaepman-Strub, G.

2016-12-01

The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) has specified the need to systematically produce and validate Essential Climate Variables (ECVs). The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) and in particular its subgroup on Land Product Validation (LPV) is playing a key coordination role leveraging the international expertise required to address actions related to the validation of global land ECVs. The primary objective of the LPV subgroup is to set standards for validation methods and reporting in order to provide traceable and reliable uncertainty estimates for scientists and stakeholders. The Subgroup is comprised of 9 focus areas that encompass 10 land surface variables. The activities of each focus area are coordinated by two international co-leads and currently include leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), vegetation phenology, surface albedo, fire disturbance, snow cover, land cover and land use change, soil moisture, land surface temperature (LST) and emissivity. Recent additions to the focus areas include vegetation indices and biomass. The development of best practice validation protocols is a core activity of CEOS LPV with the objective to standardize the evaluation of land surface products. LPV has identified four validation levels corresponding to increasing spatial and temporal representativeness of reference samples used to perform validation. Best practice validation protocols (1) provide the definition of variables, ancillary information and uncertainty metrics, (2) describe available data sources and methods to establish reference validation datasets with SI traceability, and (3) describe evaluation methods and reporting. An overview on validation best practice components will be presented based on the LAI and LST protocol efforts to date.

Interventions for confusion and dementia. 5: Changing cultures.

PubMed

Woodrow, P

Previous articles in this series (Vol 7(15): 891-94; Vol 7(17): 1018-20; Vol 7(19): 1145-49; Vol 7(20): 1247-50) have explored the promotion of quality of life for people with dementia and how this can be achieved through existing interventions. This final article moves from discussing specific interventions to cover wider issues around healthcare beliefs and values. A brief historical overview of dementia care is given, outlining the inherited structures and values. Much valuable work has been carried out by the Bradford Dementia Group, who has described changes in dementia care as moving from an 'old' to a 'new' culture. This 'new culture', offering a comprehensive person-centred approach to holistic care, is explored with reference to the work of Kitwood, who has done much to promote quality of life for people suffering from dementia.

Functional abdominal pain in childhood: background studies and recent research trends.

PubMed

Levy, Rona L; van Tilburg, Miranda A L

2012-01-01

The present review summarizes many of the major research trends investigated in the past five years regarding pediatric functional abdominal pain, and also summarizes the primary related findings from the authors' research program. Specific areas discussed based on work within the authors' group include familial illness patterns, genetics, traits, and mechanisms or processes related to abdominal pain. Topics covered from research published in the past five years include prevalence and cost, longitudinal follow-up, overlap with other disorders, etiology and mechanisms behind functional abdominal pain and treatment studies. It is hoped that findings from this work in abdominal pain will be interpreted as a framework for understanding the processes by which other pain phenomena and, more broadly, reactions to any physical state, can be developed and maintained in children. The present article concludes with recommendations for clinical practice and research.

NEESPI focus issues in Environmental Research Letters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norman, Julian; Groisman, Pavel; Soja, Amber J.

2010-05-01

In 2007 and 2009 Environmental Research Letters published focus issues (edited by Pavel Groisman and Amber J Soja) made up of work carried out by NEESPI participants. Here, we present the content of those focus issues as an invaluable resource for researchers working in the NEESPI study area. The first of the two issues, published in 2007 with title 'Northern Hemisphere High Latitude Climate and Environmental Change', presents a diverse collection of articles that are assembled into five groups devoted to studies of climate and hydrology, land cover and land use, the biogeochemical cycle and its feedbacks, the cryosphere, and human dimensions. The second issue, published in 2009, with title 'Climatic and Environmental Change in Northern Eurasia' presents diverse, assorted studies of different aspects of contemporary change, representing the diversity of climates and ecosystems across Northern Eurasia.

Covered bridge manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-04-01

This manual provides guidance to those involved with all aspects of the work, from initial inspection and evaluation, through the engineering of rehabilitation, to construction issues. Broadly speaking, this manual covers general terminology and hist...

Evaluation of landscape coverings to reduce soil lead hazards in urban residential yards: The Safer Yards Project.

PubMed

Binns, Helen J; Gray, Kimberly A; Chen, Tianyue; Finster, Mary E; Peneff, Nicholas; Schaefer, Peter; Ovsey, Victor; Fernandes, Joyce; Brown, Mavis; Dunlap, Barbara

2004-10-01

This study was designed primarily to evaluate the effectiveness of landscape coverings to reduce the potential for exposure to lead-contaminated soil in an urban neighborhood. Residential properties were randomized in to three groups: application of ground coverings/barriers plus placement of a raised garden bed (RB), application of ground coverings/barriers only (no raised bed, NRB), and control. Outcomes evaluated soil lead concentration (employing a weighting method to assess acute hazard soil lead [areas not fully covered] and potential hazard soil lead [all soil surfaces regardless of covering status]), density of landscape coverings (6 = heavy, > 90% covered; 1 = bare, < 10% covered), lead tracked onto carpeted entryway floor mats, and entryway floor dust lead loadings. Over 1 year, the intervention groups had significantly reduced acute hazard soil lead concentration (median change: RB, -478 ppm; NRB, -698 ppm; control, +52 ppm; Kruskal-Wallis, P = 0.02), enhanced landscape coverings (mean change in score: RB, +0.6; NRB, +1.5; control, -0.6; ANOVA, P < 0.001), and a 50% decrease in lead tracked onto the floor mats. The potential hazard soil lead concentration and the entryway floor dust lead loading did not change significantly. Techniques evaluated by this study are feasible for use by property owners but will require continued maintenance. The long-term sustainability of the method needs further examination.

Vegetative covers for waste containment.

PubMed

Rock, Steven A

2003-01-01

Disposal of municipal and hazardous waste in the United States is primarily accomplished by containment in lined and capped landfills. Evapotranspiration cover systems offer an alternative to conventional landfill cap systems. These covers work on completely different principles than traditional covers do, and that difference may slow understanding and acceptance by site owners, regulators, and stakeholders. This chapter provides an introduction to this alternative technique and explains some of the common concerns regarding its implementation.

North Carolina’s forests, 2013

Treesearch

Mark J. Brown; James T. Vogt

2015-01-01

The principal findings from five panels of the ninth forest survey of North Carolina are presented. In 2013, forests covered 18.6 million acres of the State, of which 17.9 million were classified as timberland. Oak-hickory was the most common forest-type group and covered 7.0 million acres of the timberland. The second most common forest-type group was...

Multispectral determination of soil moisture-2. [Guymon, Oklahoma and Dalhart, Texas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, J. E.; Simonett, D. S. (Principal Investigator); Hajic, E. J.; Hilton, B. M.; Lees, R. D.

1982-01-01

Soil moisture data obtained using scatterometers, modular multispectral scanners and passive microwave radiometers were revised and grouped into four field cover types for statistical anaysis. Guymon data are grouped as alfalfa, bare, milo with rows perpendicular to the field view, and milo viewed parallel to the field of view. Dalhart data are grouped as bare combo, stubble, disked stubble, and corn field. Summary graphs combine selected analyses to compare the effects of field cover. The analysis for each of the cover types is presented in tables and graphs. Other tables show elementary statistics, correlation matrices, and single variable regressions. Selected eigenvectors and factor analyses are included and the highest correlating sensor typs for each location are summarized.

Effects of job-related stress and burnout on asthenopia among high-tech workers.

PubMed

Ostrovsky, Anat; Ribak, Joseph; Pereg, Avihu; Gaton, Dan

2012-01-01

Eye- and vision-related symptoms are the most frequent health problems among computer users. The findings of eye strain, tired eyes, eye irritation, burning sensation, redness, blurred vision and double vision, when appearing together, have recently been termed 'computer vision syndrome', or asthenopia. To examine the frequency and intensity of asthenopia among individuals employed in research and development departments of high-tech firms and the effects of job stress and burnout on ocular complaints, this study included 106 subjects, 42 high-tech workers (study group) and 64 bank employees (control group). All participants completed self-report questionnaires covering demographics, asthenopia, satisfaction with work environmental conditions, job-related stress and burnout. There was a significant between-group difference in the intensity of asthenopia, but not in its frequency. Burnout appeared to be a significant contributing factor to the intensity and frequency of asthenopia. This study shows that burnout is a significant factor in asthenopic complaints in high-tech workers. This manuscript analyses the effects of psychological environmental factors, such as job stress and burnout, on ocular complaints at the workplace of computer users. The findings may have an ergonomic impact on how to improve health, safety and comfort of the working environment among computer users, for better perception of the job environment, efficacy and production.

Use of high-throughput in vitro toxicity screening data in cancer hazard evaluations by IARC Monograph Working Groups

PubMed Central

Chiu, Weihsueh A.; Guyton, Kathryn Z.; Martin, Matthew T.; Reif, David M.; Rusyn, Ivan

2017-01-01

Evidence regarding carcinogenic mechanisms serves a critical role in International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph evaluations. Three recent IARC Working Groups pioneered inclusion of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ToxCast program high-throughput screening (HTS) data to supplement other mechanistic evidence. In Monograph V110, HTS profiles were compared between perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and prototypical activators across multiple nuclear receptors. For Monograph V112 -113, HTS assays were mapped to 10 key characteristics of carcinogens identified by an IARC expert group, and systematically considered as an additional mechanistic data stream. Both individual assay results and ToxPi-based rankings informed mechanistic evaluations. Activation of multiple nuclear receptors in HTS assays showed that PFOA targets peroxisome proliferator activated and other receptors. ToxCast assays substantially covered 5 of 10 key characteristics, corroborating literature evidence of “induces oxidative stress” and “alters cell proliferation, cell death or nutrient supply” and filling gaps for “modulates receptor-mediated effects.” Thus, ToxCast HTS data were useful both in evaluating specific mechanistic hypotheses and in the overall evaluation of mechanistic evidence. However, additional HTS assays are needed to provide more comprehensive coverage of the 10 key characteristics of carcinogens that form the basis of current IARC mechanistic evaluations. PMID:28738424

Use of high-throughput in vitro toxicity screening data in cancer hazard evaluations by IARC Monograph Working Groups.

PubMed

Chiu, Weihsueh A; Guyton, Kathryn Z; Martin, Matthew T; Reif, David M; Rusyn, Ivan

2018-01-01

Evidence regarding carcinogenic mechanisms serves a critical role in International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph evaluations. Three recent IARC Working Groups pioneered inclusion of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ToxCast program high-throughput screening (HTS) data to supplement other mechanistic evidence. In Monograph V110, HTS profiles were compared between perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and prototypical activators across multiple nuclear receptors. For Monograph V112-113, HTS assays were mapped to 10 key characteristics of carcinogens identified by an IARC expert group, and systematically considered as an additional mechanistic data stream. Both individual assay results and ToxPi-based rankings informed mechanistic evaluations. Activation of multiple nuclear receptors in HTS assays showed that PFOA targets not only peroxisome proliferator activated receptors, but also other receptors. ToxCast assays substantially covered 5 of 10 key characteristics, corroborating literature evidence of "induces oxidative stress" and "alters cell proliferation, cell death or nutrient supply" and filling gaps for "modulates receptor-mediated effects." Thus, ToxCast HTS data were useful both in evaluating specific mechanistic hypotheses and in contributing to the overall evaluation of mechanistic evidence. However, additional HTS assays are needed to provide more comprehensive coverage of the 10 key characteristics of carcinogens that form the basis of current IARC mechanistic evaluations.

[Disorders of locomotor system and effectiveness of physiotherapy in coal miners].

PubMed

Bilski, Bartosz; Bednarek, Agata

2003-01-01

The aim of the survey was to analyze the efficacy of physiotherapy applied in coal miners as well as to assess their locomotor system load and the effects of working conditions in mines. The questionnaire survey covered a group of 51 miners, aged 28-76 years (mean, 54 years), undergoing physiotherapeutic procedures in the mine out-patient clinic during the first quarter of 2003. The survey revealed that lumbosacral disorders were the most frequent locomotor system complaints reported by miners, especially those who work in a bending down position. According to the clinical data, spondylosis and allied disorders were the main reasons for pain in this part of the body. Having analyzed the relationship between age and occurrence of back pains, the majority of complaints were found in the 46-55 age group (two complaints per one respondent). The analysis of the association between back pains and duration of employment revealed that the complaints for the locomotor system occurred already after a five-year employment. The survey showed that the application of physiotherapeutic procedures diminished the back pain in the study group by 2.83 on average on the 0-10 scale. It was also found that magnetotherapy proved to be the most effective method in treating the spinal degenerative changes.

42 CFR 416.167 - Basis of payment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... classification (APC) groups and payment weights. (1) ASC covered surgical procedures are classified using the APC... section, an ASC relative payment weight is determined based on the APC relative payment weight for each covered surgical procedure and covered ancillary service that has an applicable APC relative payment...

Letter in reference to: "Short-term effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk: a cohort study of payroll data".

PubMed

Stevens, Richard G

2017-01-01

There are major flaws with the analyses in the Vistisen et al (1) cohort study examining if night shift work is a short-term risk factor for breast cancer. The crucial problem is the potential for exposure misclassification, which is very high. The authors' definition of day shift is "≥3 hours of work between 06:00-20:00 hours". This means that a worker on an 8-hour shift that begins at 03:00 hours would be classified as a day rather than night shift worker because he/she worked only two hours between 24:00-05:00 hours. Similarly, a second shifter might start work at 17:00 but not get off until 01:00 and yet still be classified as a "day shift" worker. This does not make sense as a baseline comparison group "unexposed" to work during the night hours. A sensible classification system would be to define "day shift" as any shift that begins after 07:00 and ends before 18:00 hours. This is straightforward and avoids all of the ambiguities inherent in the definition used by the authors. In addition, the authors claim that the "inception population" is less likely to have had past prior non-day work hours. However, this group has an average age of >35 years. It is inconceivable that all of these women were new graduates who started a public health sector job for the first time. Rather, the majority must surely have worked elsewhere for many years but then started in the regions covered only after 2006. This topic is too important, and this cohort too valuable, not to carefully define the baseline comparison group of "day workers" in a sensible manner. All the inferences rely crucially on this definition. The authors have the data to define the day-working baseline group in a way that avoids these obvious biases. That is why it is so frustrating that the authors chose to conduct the analyses as they did, with a highly flawed definition of "day work", when they could have done so much better. A highly flawed epidemiological report is worse than no report at all because it misleads the scientific community and the public. Reference 1. Vistisen HT, Garde AH, Frydenberg M, Christiansen P, Hansen ÅM, Hansen J, Bonde JPE, Kolstad HA. Short-term effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk: a cohort study of payroll data. Scand J Work Environ Health - online first. http://dx.doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3603.

Placement of a covered polyester stent prevents complications from a colorectal anastomotic leak and supports healing: randomized controlled trial in a large animal model.

PubMed

Tsereteli, Zurab; Sporn, Emanuel; Geiger, Timothy M; Cleveland, Dava; Frazier, Shellaine; Rawlings, Arthur; Bachman, Sharon L; Miedema, Brent W; Thaler, Klaus

2008-11-01

Anastomotic leaks after colorectal operation continue to be a significant cause of morbidity. A covered endoluminal stent could seal a leak and eliminate the need for diversion. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a temporary covered stent to prevent leak related complications. Sixteen adult pigs (80-120 lbs) underwent open transection of the rectosigmoid followed by anastomosis with a circular stapler. Eight animals (study group) underwent endoscopic placement of a 21-mm covered polyester stent. Eight control group animals were left without stents. In all animals, a 2-cm leak was created along the anterior portion of the anastomosis. The animals were killed after 2 weeks and evaluated for abdominal infection, fistulae, and adhesions. The anastomosis was excised and the following parameters were assessed by a pathologist blinded to treatment: mucosal interruption (mm), inflammatory response, collagen type I and III, granulation, and fibrosis (grade 0-4). Stents were spontaneously expelled between postoperative days 6 and 9. At necropsy, none of the animals in the study group had leak related complications, whereas in the control group, 5 (63%) developed intraabdominal infection (4 abscesses, 1 fistula) at the anastomosis (P = .002). Dense adhesions to the anastomosis were found in 7 (88%) control animals. On histology, anastomotic sites in the study group had significantly less mucosal interruption and granulation. Two pigs in the study group died on postoperative day 7, one due to evisceration and one from bladder necrosis. The mortality result is not different from controls (P = .47), both events seem to be unrelated to stent placement. Temporary placement of a covered polyester stent across a colorectal anastomosis prevents leak-related complications and supports the healing of anastomotic leaks.

Turbulent Surface Flux Measurements over Snow-Covered Sea Ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreas, E. L.; Fairall, C. W.; Grachev, A. A.; Guest, P. S.; Jordan, R. E.; Persson, P. G.

2006-12-01

Our group has used eddy correlation to make over 10,000 hours of measurements of the turbulent momentum and heat fluxes over snow-covered sea ice in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Polar sea ice is an ideal site for studying fundamental processes for turbulent exchange over snow. Both our Arctic and Antarctic sites---in the Beaufort Gyre and deep into the Weddell Sea, respectively---were expansive, flat areas with continuous snow cover; and both were at least 300 km from any topography that might have complicated the atmospheric flow. In this presentation, we will review our measurements of the turbulent fluxes of momentum and sensible and latent heat. In particular, we will describe our experiences making turbulence instruments work in the fairly harsh polar, marine boundary layer. For instance, several of our Arctic sites were remote from our main camp and ran unattended for a week at a time. Besides simply making flux measurements, we have been using the data to develop a bulk flux algorithm and to study fundamental turbulence processes in the atmospheric surface layer. The bulk flux algorithm predicts the turbulent surface fluxes from mean meteorological quantities and, thus, will find use in data analyses and models. For example, components of the algorithm are already embedded in our one- dimensional mass and energy budget model SNTHERM. Our fundamental turbulence studies have included deducing new scaling regimes in the stable boundary layer; examining the Monin-Obukhov similarity functions, especially in stable stratification; and evaluating the von Kármán constant with the largest atmospheric data set ever applied to such a study. During this presentation, we will highlight some of this work.

Crown cover chart for oak savannas. Forest Service technical brief

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

Law, J.R.; Johnson, P.S.; Houf, G.

1994-07-01

Although oak savannas have been defined in many ways, they are characterized by scattered trees, largely comprised of oaks, and a sparse ground layer rich in grasses and forbs. The crown cover chart can be used to estimate the crown cover of trees as a percent of total area. Potential applications of the chart include monitoring changes in savanna crown cover, determining needed reductions in crown cover, and defining the savanna state. in restoring savannas that have grown into closed canopy stands, one can use the chart to estimate initial crown cover before restoration work is begun and again aftermore » crown cover has been reduced.« less

Reported bruxism and restless legs syndrome in media personnel with or without irregular shift work.

PubMed

Ahlberg, Kristiina; Ahlberg, Jari; Könönen, Mauno; Partinen, Markku; Hublin, Christer; Savolainen, Aslak

2005-04-01

A standardized questionnaire was mailed to all employees of the Finnish Broadcasting Company with irregular shift work (n = 750) and to an equal number of randomly selected controls in the same company with regular 8-h daytime work. The questionnaire covered demographic items, employment details, general health experience, physical status, psychosocial status, stress, work satisfaction and performance, tobacco use, bruxism, and restless legs symptoms (RLS). The aim was to investigate among a multiprofessional media personnel the associations between reported bruxism and RLS, while simultaneously controlling the effects of gender, age, tobacco use, shift work, and dissatisfaction with current workshift schedule. The overall response rate was 58.3% (53.7% men). The response rate in the irregular shift work group was 82.3% (56.6% men) and in the regular daytime work group 34.3% (46.7% men). In the bivariate analyses, RLS was more prevalent in workers at either end of the studied age range (p < 0.05). Self-reported frequent bruxism was significantly associated with younger age (p < 0.05). Females reported RLS (11.4%) slightly more often than males (7.7%) (NS). In logistic regression, frequent bruxism (p < 0.05) and older age (p < 0.05) were significantly positively associated with RLS. Dissatisfaction with one's current workshift schedule (p < 0.05) and RLS (p < 0.05) were significantly positively associated with frequent bruxism, while age (p < 0.05) was significantly negatively associated. In conclusion, perceived bruxism may be a sign of a stressful situation or dissatisfaction, while RLS as a more stable trait may in itself negatively affect sleep quality and further enhance the problem.

Research in photobiology and photochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaffron, H.

1973-01-01

Publications are listed covering NASA research from 1966 to 1973. Several major works covering chloroplast reactions, aerobic green algae and hydrogenease, production of molecular hydrogen, and hydrogen and nitrogen metabolism in purple bacteria are summarized.

Dust Science with SPICA/MCS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakon, I.; Onaka, T.; Kataza, H.; Wada, T.; Sarugaku, Y.; Matsuhara, H.; Nakagawa, T.; Kobayashi, N.; Kemper, C.; Ohyama, Y.; Matsumoto, T.; Seok, J. Y.

Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometers (MCS) is one of the Focal-Plane Instruments proposed for the SPICA mission in the pre-project phase. SPICA MCS is equipped with two spectrometers with different spectral resolution powers (R=λ /δ λ ); medium-resolution spectrometer (MRS) which covers 12-38µ m with R≃1100-3000, and high-resolution spectrometer (HRS) which covers either 12-18µ m with R≃30000. MCS is also equipped with Wide Field Camera (WFC), which is capable of performing multi-objects grism spectroscopy in addition to the imaging observation. A small slit aperture for low-resolution slit spectroscopy is planned to be placed just next to the field of view (FOV) aperture for imaging and slit-less spectroscopic observation. MCS covers an important part of the core spectral range of SPICA and, complementary with SAFARI (SpicA FAR-infrared Instrument), can do crucial observations for a number of key science cases to revolutionize our understanding of the lifecycle of dust in the universe. In this article, the latest design specification and the expected performance of the SPICA/MCS are introduced. Key science cases that should be targetted by SPICA/MCS have been discussed by the MCS science working group. Among such science cases, some of those related to dust science are briefly introduced.

Utilization of Pregnant Enlisted Women Transferred Off Ships

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

in the management of pregnancy in the Navy workplace . Because Navy pregnancy policy must cover many different types of work centers, it is vague about...posuhkle. Finally the intenvewers discussed th& project with the POCs, eliciting their opinions on the issues covered by the study. Several commanding...supervisms who had hazards in their work environment, over 50% reported that they had obtained information about hazards for pregnant women in the workplace

Effects of forest cover on drinking water treatment costs

Treesearch

Travis Warziniack; Chi Ho Sham; Robert Morgan; Yasha Feferholtz

2016-01-01

This paper explores the relationship between forest cover and drinking water treatment costs using results from a 2014 survey by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) that targeted utilities in forested ecoregions in the United States. On the basis of the data collected, there is a negative relationship between forest cover and turbidity, i.e. as forest...

40 CFR Table 4 to Subpart Wwww of... - Work Practice Standards

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., or sumps via covered troughs, pipes, or other covered conveyance that shields the resin from the... when they are being charged or filled, and vii. cover or shield from ambient air resin delivery systems... less may be open when active mixing is taking place, or during periods when they are in process (i.e...

40 CFR Table 4 to Subpart Wwww of... - Work Practice Standards

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., or sumps via covered troughs, pipes, or other covered conveyance that shields the resin from the... when they are being charged or filled, and vii. cover or shield from ambient air resin delivery systems... less may be open when active mixing is taking place, or during periods when they are in process (i.e...

40 CFR Table 4 to Subpart Wwww of... - Work Practice Standards

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., or sumps via covered troughs, pipes, or other covered conveyance that shields the resin from the... when they are being charged or filled, and vii. cover or shield from ambient air resin delivery systems... less may be open when active mixing is taking place, or during periods when they are in process (i.e...

40 CFR Table 4 to Subpart Wwww of... - Work Practice Standards

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., or sumps via covered troughs, pipes, or other covered conveyance that shields the resin from the... when they are being charged or filled, and vii. cover or shield from ambient air resin delivery systems... less may be open when active mixing is taking place, or during periods when they are in process (i.e...

Climate change predicted to shift wolverine distributions, connectivity, and dispersal corridors

Treesearch

Kevin S. McKelvey; Jeffrey P. Copeland; Michael K. Schwartz; Jeremy S. Littell; Keith B. Aubry; John R. Squires; Sean A. Parks; Marketa M. Elsner; Guillaume S. Mauger

2011-01-01

Boreal species sensitive to the timing and duration of snow cover are particularly vulnerable to global climate change. Recent work has shown a link between wolverine (Gulo gulo) habitat and persistent spring snow cover through 15 May, the approximate end of the wolverine's reproductive denning period. We modeled the distribution of snow cover within the Columbia...

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Group Therapy on Marital Satisfaction and General Health in Woman With Infertility.

PubMed

Abedi Shargh, Najmeh; Bakhshani, Nour Mohammad; Mohebbi, Mohammad Davoud; Mahmudian, Khadije; Ahovan, Masood; Mokhtari, Mojgan; Gangali, Alireza

2015-08-06

Infertility affects around 80 million people around the world and it has been estimated that psychological problems in infertile couples is within the range of 25-60%. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Mindfulness-based cognitive group therapy on consciousness regarding marital satisfaction and general health in woman with infertility. Recent work is a clinical trial with a pre/posttest plan for control group. Covering 60 women who were selected by in access method and arranged randomly in interference (30) and control (30) groups. Before and after implementation of independent variable, all subjects were measured in both groups using Enrich questionnaire and marital satisfaction questionnaire. Results of covariance analysis of posttest, after controlling the scores of pretest illustrated the meaningful difference of marital satisfaction and mental health scores in interference and control groups after treatment and the fact that MBCT treatment in infertile women revealed that this method has an appropriate contribution to improvement of marital satisfaction and mental health. Necessary trainings for infertile people through consultation services can improve their mental health and marital satisfaction and significantly help reducing infertile couples' problems.

Medicaid

MedlinePlus

... other care that Medicare doesn’t cover. Who pays first—Medicaid or Medicare? Medicaid never pays first for services covered by Medicare . It only pays after Medicare, employer group health plans, and/or ...

The beta distribution: A statistical model for world cloud cover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falls, L. W.

1973-01-01

Much work has been performed in developing empirical global cloud cover models. This investigation was made to determine an underlying theoretical statistical distribution to represent worldwide cloud cover. The beta distribution with probability density function is given to represent the variability of this random variable. It is shown that the beta distribution possesses the versatile statistical characteristics necessary to assume the wide variety of shapes exhibited by cloud cover. A total of 160 representative empirical cloud cover distributions were investigated and the conclusion was reached that this study provides sufficient statical evidence to accept the beta probability distribution as the underlying model for world cloud cover.

Group Sparse Optimization by Alternating Direction Method

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-22

to solving the following linear system: (β1G TG+ β2A TA)x = β1G T z −GTλ1 + β2AT b+ATλ2. (3.5) Note that GTG ∈ Rn×n is a diagonal matrix whose i-th...diagonal entry is the number of repetitions of xi in x̃. When the groups form an complete cover of the solution, the diagonal entries of GTG will be...positive, so GTG is invertible. In the next subsection, we will show that an incomplete cover case can be converted to a complete cover case by

Outcomes of Prosthetic Hemodialysis Grafts after Deployment of Bare Metal versus Covered Stents at the Venous Anastomosis

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

Kim, Charles Y., E-mail: charles.kim@duke.edu; Tandberg, Daniel J.; Rosenberg, Michael D.

2012-08-15

Purpose: To compare postintervention patency rates after deployment of bare metal versus covered stents across the venous anastomosis of prosthetic arteriovenous (AV) grafts. Methods: Review of our procedural database over a 6 year period revealed 377 procedures involving stent deployment in an AV access circuit. After applying strict inclusion criteria, our study group consisted of 61 stent deployments in 58 patients (median age 58 years, 25 men, 33 women) across the venous anastomosis of an upper extremity AV graft circuit that had never been previously stented. Both patent and thrombosed AV access circuits were retrospectively analyzed. Within the bare metalmore » stent group, 20 of 32 AV grafts were thrombosed at initial presentation compared to 18 of 29 AV grafts in the covered stent group. Results: Thirty-two bare metal stents and 29 covered stents were deployed across the venous anastomosis. The 3, 6, and 12 months primary access patency rates for bare metal stents were not significantly different than for covered stents: 50, 41, and 22 % compared to 59, 52, and 29 %, respectively (p = 0.21). The secondary patency rates were also not significantly different: 78, 78, and 68 % for bare metal stents compared to 76, 69, and 61 % for covered stents, respectively (p = 0.85). However, covered stents demonstrated a higher primary stent patency rate than bare metal stents: 100, 85, and 70 % compared to 75, 67, and 49 % at 3, 6, and 12 months (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The primary and secondary access patency rates after deployment of bare metal versus covered stents at the venous anastomosis were not significantly different. However, bare metal stents developed in-stent stenoses significantly sooner.« less

Metals and Ceramics Division progress report for period ending June 30, 1984

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

Brogden, I.

1984-09-01

This progress report covers the research and development activities of the Metals and Ceramics Division from January 1, 1983, through June 30, 1984. The format of the report follows the organizational structure of the division. Short summaries of technical work in progress in the various experimental groups are presented in six parts. Chapter 1 deals with the research and development activities of the Engineering Materials Section, Chapter 2 with the Processing Science and Technology Section, Chapter 3 with the Materials Science Section, Chapter 4 with Project Activities, Chapter 5 with Specialized Research Facilities and Equipment, and Chapter 6 with Miscellaneousmore » Activities.« less

New Chemical and Stereochemical Applications of Organoiron Complexes

PubMed Central

Fatiadi, Alexander J.

1991-01-01

The objective of this review is to provide a current overview of the rapidly developing chemistry of organometallic complexes and particularly organoiron complexes useful in asymmetric and stereoselective reactions. Also covered are stereoselective reactions of α, β-unsaturated acyl ligands bound to the chiral auxiliary [(η5-C5H5) Fe(CO)(PPh3)] and new applications of organoiron complexes in the synthesis of natural products. The mechanistic aspects and stabilizing effects of the Fe(CO)3 group for alkenes or conjugated dienes are discussed. A brief summary of recent work on the special role of iron in biological reactions is also included. PMID:28184103

Langley's Space Shuttle Technology: A bibliography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Champine, G. R.

1981-01-01

This bibliography documents most of the major publications, research reports, journal articles, presentations, and contractor reports, which have been published since the inception of the Space Shuttle Technology Task Group at the NASA Langley Reseach Center on July 11, 1969. This research work was performed in house by the Center staff or under contract, monitored by the Center staff. The report is arranged according to method of publication: (1) NASA Formal Reports; (2) Contractor Reports; and (3) Articles and Conferences. Disciplines covered are in the areas of aerothermodynamics, structures, dynamics and aeroelasticity, environmental, and materials. The publications are listed without abstracts for quick reference and planning.

Topological defect clustering and plastic deformation mechanisms in functionalized graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunes, Ricardo; Araujo, Joice; Chacham, Helio

2011-03-01

We present ab initio results suggesting that strain plays a central role in the clustering of topological defects in strained and functionalized graphene models. We apply strain onto the topological-defect graphene networks from our previous work, and obtain topological-defect clustering patterns which are in excellent agreement with recent observations in samples of reduced graphene oxide. In our models, the graphene layer, containing an initial concentration of isolated topological defects, is covered by hydrogen or hydroxyl groups. Our results also suggest a rich variety of plastic deformation mechanism in functionalized graphene systems. We acknowledge support from the Brazilian agencies: CNPq, Fapemig, and INCT-Materiais de Carbono.

North Carolina’s forests, 2007

Treesearch

Mark J. Brown; Barry D. New; Tony G. Johnson; James L. Chamberlain

2014-01-01

The principal findings of the eighth forest survey of North Carolina are presented. In 2007, forests covered 18.6 million acres of the State, of which 18.1 million were classified as timberland. Oak-hickory was the most common forest-type group and covered 7.3 million acres of the timberland. The second most common forest-type group was loblolly-shortleaf pine, which...

Assessing species variation within forest cover types delineated using color-infrared aerial photographs

Treesearch

Clarence E. Neese; Linda S. Gribko

1997-01-01

Color-infrared aerial photographs are widely used to aid in the classification and inventory of large forested tracts. Areas of similar photographic color and texture are delineated and a limited number of categories (or groups of areas with similar features) are identified. The forest cover type, and sometimes the average timber volume, of each group is then...

Bone Healing in Extraction Sockets Covered With Collagen Membrane Alone or Associated With Porcine-Derived Bone Graft: a Comparative Histological and Histomorphometric Analysis.

PubMed

Guarnieri, Renzo; Testarelli, Luca; Stefanelli, Luigi; De Angelis, Francesca; Mencio, Francesca; Pompa, Giorgio; Di Carlo, Stefano

2017-01-01

The present paper reports data of a randomized study aimed to analyse and compare the histologic and histomorphometric aspects of bone healing in extraction sites covered with collagen membrane alone or associated with porcine-derived bone graft. Thirty patients, with single extraction sockets without severe bone wall defects in the premolar/molar region, were included. Ten extraction sockets were grafted with porcine-derived bone and covered with collagen membrane (group 1), 10 sites were covered with collagen membrane alone (group 2), and 10 sites healed spontaneously (group 3). After 4 months of healing, 26 (8 in group 1, 9 in group 2, and 9 in group 3) bone core specimens were harvested for histologic evaluation, then dental implants were placed. Sites in the group 1 and in the group 2 showed similar histologic and histomorphometric results without significantly differences in the percentage of vital bone (57.43% [SD 4.8] vs. 60.01% [SD 3.2]), and non-mineralized connective tissue 22.99% (SD 5.3) vs. 18.53% (SD 6.2). In group 1 a 16.57% (SD 3.8) of residual material was found. Results showed that the use of collagen membrane alone or associated to porcine-derived bone improves the healing bone process compared to that of extraction sites spontaneously healed. Moreover, histomorphometric data related to bone quality, indicated that extraction sites without severe walls defects and with a vestibular bone thickness > 1.5 mm, treated with a low resorbtion rate collagen membrane alone, do not need more than 4 months for dental implant insertion.

A field day of soil regulation methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kempter, Axel; Kempter, Carmen

2015-04-01

The subject Soil plays an important role in the school subject geography. In particular in the upper classes it is expected that the knowledge from the area of Soil can be also be applied in other subjects. Thus, e.g., an assessment of economy and agricultural development and developing potential requires the interweaving of natural- geographic and human-geographic factors. The treatment of the subject Soil requires the desegregation of the results of different fields like Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Accordingly the subject gives cause to professional-covering lessons and offers the opportunity for practical work as well as excursions. Beside the mediation of specialist knowledge and with the support of the methods and action competences, the independent learning and the practical work should have a special emphasis on the field excursion by using stimulating exercises oriented to solving problems and mastering the methods. This aim should be achieved by the interdisciplinary treatment of the subject Soil in the task-oriented learning process on the field day. The methods and experiments should be sensibly selected for both the temporal and material supply constraints. During the field day the pupils had to categorize soil texture, soil colour, soil profile, soil skeleton, lime content, ion exchanger (Soils filter materials), pH-Value, water retention capacity and evidence of different ions like e.g. Fe3+, Mg2+, Cl- and NO3-. The pupils worked on stations and evaluated the data to receive a general view of the ground at the end. According to numbers of locations, amount of time and group size, different procedures can be offered. There are groups of experts who carry out the same experiment at all locations and split for the evaluation in different groups or each group ran through all stations. The results were compared and discussed at the end.

Advances in participatory occupational health aimed at good practices in small enterprises and the informal sector.

PubMed

Kogi, Kazutaka

2006-01-01

Participatory programmes for occupational risk reduction are gaining importance particularly in small workplaces in both industrially developing and developed countries. To discuss the types of effective support, participatory steps commonly seen in our "work improvement-Asia" network are reviewed. The review covered training programmes for small enterprises, farmers, home workers and trade union members. Participatory steps commonly focusing on low-cost good practices locally achieved have led to concrete improvements in multiple technical areas including materials handling, workstation ergonomics, physical environment and work organization. These steps take advantage of positive features of small workplaces in two distinct ways. First, local key persons are ready to accept local good practices conveyed through personal, informal approaches. Second, workers and farmers are capable of understanding technical problems affecting routine work and taking flexible actions leading to solving them. This process is facilitated by the use of locally adjusted training tools such as local good examples, action checklists and group work methods. It is suggested that participatory occupational health programmes can work in small workplaces when they utilize low-cost good practices in a flexible manner. Networking of these positive experiences is essential.

Congratulations, You're Pregnant! Now About Your Shifts . . . : The State of Maternity Leave Attitudes and Culture in EM.

PubMed

MacVane, Casey Z; Fix, Megan L; Strout, Tania D; Zimmerman, Kate D; Bloch, Rebecca B; Hein, Christine L

2017-08-01

Increasing attention has been focused on parental leave, but little is known about early leave and parental experiences for male and female attending physicians. Our goal was to describe and quantify the parental leave experiences of a nationally representative sample of emergency physicians (EP). We conducted a web-based survey, distributed via emergency medicine professional organizations, discussion boards, and listservs, to address study objectives. We analyzed data from 464 respondents; 56% were women. Most experienced childbirth while employed as an EP. Fifty-three percent of women and 60% of men reported working in a setting with a formal maternity leave policy; however, 36% of women and 18% of men reported dissatisfaction with these policies. Most reported that other group members cover maternity-related shift vacancies; a minority reported that pregnant partners work extra shifts prior to leave. Leave duration and compensation varied widely, ranging from no compensated leave (18%) to 12 or more weeks at 100% salary (7%). Supportive attitudes were reported during pregnancy (53%) and, to a lesser degree (43%), during leave. Policy improvement suggestions included the development of clear, formal policies; improving leave duration and compensation; adding paternity and adoption leave; providing support for physicians working extra to cover colleagues' leave; and addressing breastfeeding issues. In this national sample of EPs, maternity leave policies varied widely. The duration and compensation during leave also had significant variation. Participants suggested formalizing policies, increasing leave duration and compensation, adding paternity leave, and changing the coverage for vacancies to relieve burden on physician colleagues.

Congratulations, You’re Pregnant! Now About Your Shifts . . . : The State of Maternity Leave Attitudes and Culture in EM

PubMed Central

MacVane, Casey Z.; Fix, Megan L.; Strout, Tania D.; Zimmerman, Kate D.; Bloch, Rebecca B.; Hein, Christine L.

2017-01-01

Introduction Increasing attention has been focused on parental leave, but little is known about early leave and parental experiences for male and female attending physicians. Our goal was to describe and quantify the parental leave experiences of a nationally representative sample of emergency physicians (EP). Methods We conducted a web-based survey, distributed via emergency medicine professional organizations, discussion boards, and listservs, to address study objectives. Results We analyzed data from 464 respondents; 56% were women. Most experienced childbirth while employed as an EP. Fifty-three percent of women and 60% of men reported working in a setting with a formal maternity leave policy; however, 36% of women and 18% of men reported dissatisfaction with these policies. Most reported that other group members cover maternity-related shift vacancies; a minority reported that pregnant partners work extra shifts prior to leave. Leave duration and compensation varied widely, ranging from no compensated leave (18%) to 12 or more weeks at 100% salary (7%). Supportive attitudes were reported during pregnancy (53%) and, to a lesser degree (43%), during leave. Policy improvement suggestions included the development of clear, formal policies; improving leave duration and compensation; adding paternity and adoption leave; providing support for physicians working extra to cover colleagues’ leave; and addressing breastfeeding issues. Conclusion In this national sample of EPs, maternity leave policies varied widely. The duration and compensation during leave also had significant variation. Participants suggested formalizing policies, increasing leave duration and compensation, adding paternity leave, and changing the coverage for vacancies to relieve burden on physician colleagues. PMID:28874931

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

Krokidis, Miltiadis, E-mail: mkrokidis@hotmail.co; Fanelli, Fabrizio; Orgera, Gianluigi

To compare clinical effectiveness of Viabil-covered stents versus uncovered metallic Wallstents, for palliation of malignant jaundice due to extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, 60 patients were enrolled in a prospective and randomized study. In half of the patients a bare Wallstent was used, and in the other half a Viabil biliary stent. Patients were followed up until death. Primary patency, survival, complication rates, and mean cost were calculated in both groups. Stent dysfunction occurred in 9 (30%) patients in the bare stent group after a mean period of 133.1 days and in 4 (13.3%) patients in the covered stent group after a meanmore » of 179.5 days. The incidence of stent dysfunction was significantly lower in the covered stent group (P = 0.046). Tumor ingrowth occurred exclusively in the bare stent group (P = 0.007). Median survival was 180.5 days for the Wallstent and 243.5 days for the Viabil group (P = 0.039). Complications and mean cost were similar in the two groups. Viabil stent-grafts proved to be significantly superior to Wallstents for the palliation of malignant jaundice due to extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, with comparable cost and complication rates. Appropriate patient selection should be performed prior to stent placement.« less

Mathematical Foundation for Plane Covering Using Hexagons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Gordon G.

1999-01-01

This work is to indicate the development and mathematical underpinnings of the algorithms previously developed for covering the plane and the addressing of the elements of the covering. The algorithms are of interest in that they provides a simple systematic way of increasing or decreasing resolution, in the sense that if we have the covering in place and there is an image superimposed upon the covering, then we may view the image in a rough form or in a very detailed form with minimal effort. Such ability allows for quick searches of crude forms to determine a class in which to make a detailed search. In addition, the addressing algorithms provide an efficient way to process large data sets that have related subsets. The algorithms produced were based in part upon the work of D. Lucas "A Multiplication in N Space" which suggested a set of three vectors, any two of which would serve as a bases for the plane and also that the hexagon is the natural geometric object to be used in a covering with a suggested bases. The second portion is a refinement of the eyeball vision system, the globular viewer.

Concentrations and allelopathic effects of benzoxazinoid compounds in soil treated with rye (Secale cereale) cover crop

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Benzoxazinoids (Bx), a commonly investigated allelopathic chemical group, was measured in rye cover crop at the time of application and in soils at time-spaced intervals after treatment. The rye cover crop was applied under field conditions and at recommended doses as surface and incorporated trea...

42 CFR 403.904 - Reports of payments or other transfers of value to covered recipients.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... research payment, including all research-related costs for activities outlined in a written agreement... reporting food and beverage. (1) When allocating the cost of food and beverage among covered recipients in a group setting where the cost of each individual covered recipient's meal is not separately identifiable...

42 CFR 403.904 - Reports of payments or other transfers of value to covered recipients.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... research payment, including all research-related costs for activities outlined in a written agreement... reporting food and beverage. (1) When allocating the cost of food and beverage among covered recipients in a group setting where the cost of each individual covered recipient's meal is not separately identifiable...

Normalized-Difference Snow Index (NDSI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Riggs, George A.

2010-01-01

The Normalized-Difference Snow Index (NDSI) has a long history. 'The use of ratioing visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) or short-wave infrared (SWIR) channels to separate snow and clouds was documented in the literature beginning in the mid-1970s. A considerable amount of work on this subject was conducted at, and published by, the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL). The objective of the AFGL work was to discriminate snow cover from cloud cover using an automated algorithm to improve global cloud analyses. Later, automated methods that relied on the VIS/NIR ratio were refined substantially using satellite data In this section we provide a brief history of the use of the NDSI for mapping snow cover.

AeroPropulsoServoElasticity: Dynamic Modeling of the Variable Cycle Propulsion System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopasakis, George

2012-01-01

This presentation was made at the 2012 Fundamental Aeronautics Program Technical Conference and it covers research work for the Dynamic Modeling of the Variable cycle Propulsion System that was done under the Supersonics Project, in the area of AeroPropulsoServoElasticity. The presentation covers the objective for the propulsion system dynamic modeling work, followed by the work that has been done so far to model the variable Cycle Engine, modeling of the inlet, the nozzle, the modeling that has been done to model the affects of flow distortion, and finally presenting some concluding remarks and future plans.

SU-F-T-243: Major Risks in Radiotherapy. A Review Based On Risk Analysis Literature

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

López-Tarjuelo, J; Guasp-Tortajada, M; Iglesias-Montenegro, N

Purpose: We present a literature review of risk analyses in radiotherapy to highlight the most reported risks and facilitate the spread of this valuable information so that professionals can be aware of these major threats before performing their own studies. Methods: We considered studies with at least an estimation of the probability of occurrence of an adverse event (O) and its associated severity (S). They cover external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy, intraoperative radiotherapy, and stereotactic techniques. We selected only the works containing a detailed ranked series of elements or failure modes and focused on the first fully reported quartile as much.more » Afterward, we sorted the risk elements according to a regular radiotherapy procedure so that the resulting groups were cited in several works and be ranked in this way. Results: 29 references published between 2007 and February 2016 were studied. Publication trend has been generally rising. The most employed analysis has been the Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA). Among references, we selected 20 works listing 258 ranked risk elements. They were sorted into 31 groups appearing at least in two different works. 11 groups appeared in at least 5 references and 5 groups did it in 7 or more papers. These last sets of risks where choosing another set of images or plan for planning or treating, errors related with contours, errors in patient positioning for treatment, human mistakes when programming treatments, and planning errors. Conclusion: There is a sufficient amount and variety of references for identifying which failure modes or elements should be addressed in a radiotherapy department before attempting a specific analysis. FMEA prevailed, but other studies such as “risk matrix” or “occurrence × severity” analyses can also lead professionals’ efforts. Risk associated with human actions ranks very high; therefore, they should be automated or at least peer-reviewed.« less

New bone formation in a bone defect associated to dental implant using absorbable or non-absorbable membrane in a dog model

PubMed Central

Lopez, Maria de Almeida; Olate, Sergio; Lanata-Flores, Antonio; Pozzer, Leandro; Cavalieri-Pereira, Lucas; Cantín, Mario; Vásquez, Bélgica; de Albergaria-Barbosa, José

2013-01-01

The aim of this research was to determine the bone formation capacity in fenestration defects associated with dental implants using absorbable and non-absorbable membranes. Six dogs were used in the study. In both tibias of each animal 3 implants were installed, and around these 5 mm circular defects were created. The defects were covered with absorbable membranes (experimental group 1), non-absorbable membranes (experimental group 2), and the third defect was not covered (control group). At 3 and 8 weeks post-surgery, the animals were euthanized and the membranes with the bone tissue around the implants were processed for histological analysis. The statistical analysis was conducted with Tukey’s test, considering statistical significance when p<0.1. Adequate bone repair was observed in the membrane-covered defects. At 3 weeks, organization of the tissue, bone formation from the periphery of the defect and the absence of inflammatory infiltrate were observed in both experimental groups, but the defect covered with absorbable membrane presented statistically greater bone formation. At 8 weeks, both membrane-covered defects showed adequate bone formation without significant differences, although they did in fact present differences with the control defect in both periods (p>0.1). In the defects without membrane, continuous connective tissue invasions and bone repair deficiency were observed. There were no significant differences in the characteristics and volume of the neoformed bone in the defects around the implants covered by the different membranes, whereas the control defects produced significantly less bone. The use of biological membranes contributes to bone formation in three-wall defects. PMID:24228090

Reworked Middle Jurassic sandstones as a marker for Upper Cretaceous basin inversion in Central Europe—a case study for the U-Pb detrital zircon record of the Upper Cretaceous Schmilka section and their implication for the sedimentary cover of the Lausitz Block (Saxony, Germany)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, Mandy; Voigt, Thomas; Bittner, Lucas; Gärtner, Andreas; Zieger, Johannes; Linnemann, Ulf

2018-04-01

The Saxonian-Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (Elbsandsteingebirge, E Germany and Czech Republic, Elbtal Group) comprises Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks from Upper Cenomanian to Santonian age. These sandstones were deposited in a narrow strait of the sea linking the northern Boreal shelf to the southern Tethyan areas. They were situated between the West Sudetic Island in the north and the Mid-European Island in the south. As known by former studies (e.g. Tröger, Geologie 6/7:717-730, 1964; Tröger, Geologie von Sachsen, Schweizerbart, 311-358, 2008; Voigt and Tröger, Proceedings of the 4th International Cretaceous Symposium, 275-290, 1996; Voigt, Dissertation, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, 1-130, 1995; Voigt, Zeitschrift der geologischen Wissenschaften 37(1-2): 15-39, 2009; Wilmsen et al., Freiberger Forschungshefte C540: 27-45, 2011) the main sedimentary input came from the north (Lausitz Block, southern West-Sudetic Island). A section of Turonian to Coniacian sandstones was sampled in the Elbsandsteingebirge near Schmilka (Elbtal Group, Saxony, Germany). The samples were analysed for their U-Pb age record of detrital zircon using LA-ICP-MS techniques. The results show main age clusters typical for the Bohemian Massif (local material) and are interpreted to reflect the erosion of uniform quartz-dominated sediments and basement rocks. Surprisingly, these rocks lack an expected Upper Proterozoic to Lower Palaeozoic age peak, which would be typical for the basement of the adjacent Lausitz Block (c. 540-c. 560 Ma). Therefore, the Lausitz Block basement must have been covered by younger sediments that acted as source rocks during deposition of the Elbtal Group. The sandstones of the Elbe valley (Elbtal Group, Schmilka section) represent the re-deposited sedimentary cover of the Lausitz Block in inverse order. This cover comprised Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits, which are eroded already today and cannot be investigated. Within the samples of the Elbtal Group (Schmilka section), the zircon age patterns change significantly towards the Lower Coniacian (topmost sample of the analysed section), where a major input of Meso- and Paleoproterozoic grains was obtained. Comparable ages are generally scarce in the working area. To have a reference for the detrital zircon age spectra of Triassic and Jurassic sediments of the area, two Upper Triassic und two Middle Jurassic clastic sediments of Germany were analysed. Surprisingly, the two Middle Jurassic (Dogger) sandstones from Bavaria and Lower Saxony showed similar detrital zircon age compositions as the Coniacian sediments on top of the Schmilka section (Elbe valley, Elbtal Group). In contrast, the two Upper Triassic sediments could be excluded as possible source rocks for the Upper Cretaceous sandstones of the Elbe valley (Schmilka section, Elbtal Group). The Meso- and Paleoproterozoic zircon age populations in the uppermost sandstone sample of the Schmilka section are assumed to originate from recycled Jurassic (Dogger) sandstones, resting on the Lausitz Block. These Middle Jurassic deposits were strongly influenced by a sedimentary input from the Scandinavian region (southern Baltica and North Sea Dome). The Turonian sandstones of the Schmilka section (samples below the topmost Coniacian sample) are interpreted to represent re-deposited Lower Cretaceous sediments resting on the Lausitz Block. A proposed synsedimentary uplift of about 5 km during the Upper Cretaceous along the Lausitz Fold (Lange et al., Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften 159(1):123-132, 2008) would have caused erosion of the pre-existing sedimentary cover of the Lausitz Block followed by inverse accumulation of the detritus into the Cretaceous Basin (Elbe valley, Elbtal Group). The Permian and Triassic cover units of the Lausitz Block were not exposed during the Upper Cretaceous, but are assumed to have contributed to younger (post-Coniacian) sediments of the Elbtal Group, which were eroded during uppermost Cretaceous and lower Paleogene. Based on this study, the detrital zircon record of the Jurassic Dogger sandstones of Germany can be seen as "marker ages" for the European Cretaceous Basin inversion. This paper presents the first results of a case study with further investigations in other areas of Europe to follow.

The effects of poaching and habitat structure on anti-predator behavioral strategies: A guanaco population in a high cold desert as case study

PubMed Central

Campos, Valeria; Giannoni, Stella; Andino, Natalia

2017-01-01

The effects of poaching on wildlife have been widely studied in conservation biology and can be heterogeneous, particularly on ungulates. These effects can be estimated through different methodologies whose use depends on several conditions such as Flight-initiation distance (FID). Our objectives were: 1- to evaluate whether poaching affects the FID and group structure of a guanaco (Lama guanicoe) population in a high cold desert in San Juan (Argentina); 2- to assess whether habitat structure (slope and vegetation cover) influences FID and group structure in this population. The study area included a site with poaching (unprotected area), and a site without poaching (protected area). We recorded 100 groups of guanacos: 70 in the protected and 30 in the unprotected area. FID and group size were greater in the unprotected than in the protected area, whereas proportions of group categories (with offspring, without offspring and solitary) were similar between areas. Besides, in relation to habitat structure, FID increased when vegetation cover decreased. On the other hand, FID and group size were not affected by slope. Our study shows that guanacos respond to poaching pressure as do other ungulate species, and that other factors such as vegetation cover also affect this behavior. Managers should be aware when interpreting FID due to its relation to habitat structure; the guanaco appears to assume greater risk (lower FID) in areas with high vegetation cover. PMID:28859147

A consideration of ketamine dreams.

PubMed

Hejja, P; Galloon, S

1975-01-01

This study was designed to see whether covering of the eyes during and after ketamine anaesthesia would reduce the incidence of dreams. One hundred and fifty patients, randomly divided into three groups, underwent therapeutic abortion with ketamine as the sole anaesthesia. One hundred patients had their eyes completely covered, 50 in the operating room only and 50 in the operating room and in the recovery room. The third 50 were controls, with their eyes uncovered. All patients were questioned post-operatively about dreams, nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness and experiences, and also how frequently they dreamed at home. Although covering the eyes in the recovery room only reduced the incidence of dreams marginally, it became obvious that the patients who dreamed after ketamine (in all 3 groups) were those who normally dreamed at home. There were 82 patients who were recorded as not being home-dreamers, and only two of these dreamed after ketamine. In contrast, of the 68 home-dreamers, 50 dreamed after ketamine, and 17 of these had unpleasant dreams. In the home-dreamers, covering the eyes reduced the incidence of dreams from 86 per cent in Group 1 to 72 per cent in Group 2 and 64 per cent in Group 3. It is suggested that goggles may be advantageous when dealing with home-dreamers, and a question about the patient's tendency to dream should be included in the preoperative questioning. Alterations in premedication and the use of a quiet dark room during recovery may even further reduce unpleasant dreams in this group.

The effects of poaching and habitat structure on anti-predator behavioral strategies: A guanaco population in a high cold desert as case study.

PubMed

Cappa, Flavio; Campos, Valeria; Giannoni, Stella; Andino, Natalia

2017-01-01

The effects of poaching on wildlife have been widely studied in conservation biology and can be heterogeneous, particularly on ungulates. These effects can be estimated through different methodologies whose use depends on several conditions such as Flight-initiation distance (FID). Our objectives were: 1- to evaluate whether poaching affects the FID and group structure of a guanaco (Lama guanicoe) population in a high cold desert in San Juan (Argentina); 2- to assess whether habitat structure (slope and vegetation cover) influences FID and group structure in this population. The study area included a site with poaching (unprotected area), and a site without poaching (protected area). We recorded 100 groups of guanacos: 70 in the protected and 30 in the unprotected area. FID and group size were greater in the unprotected than in the protected area, whereas proportions of group categories (with offspring, without offspring and solitary) were similar between areas. Besides, in relation to habitat structure, FID increased when vegetation cover decreased. On the other hand, FID and group size were not affected by slope. Our study shows that guanacos respond to poaching pressure as do other ungulate species, and that other factors such as vegetation cover also affect this behavior. Managers should be aware when interpreting FID due to its relation to habitat structure; the guanaco appears to assume greater risk (lower FID) in areas with high vegetation cover.

The 1999 ICSI/IHI colloquium on clinical quality improvement--"quality: settling the frontier".

PubMed

Palmersheim, T M

1999-12-01

A Colloquium on Clinical Quality Improvement, "Quality: Setting the Frontier," held in May 1999, covered methods and programs in clinical quality improvement. Leadership and organizational behavior were the main themes of the breakout sessions; specific topics included implementing guidelines, applying continuous quality improvement (CQI) methods in preventive services and primary care, and using systems thinking to improve clinical outcomes. Three keynote addresses were presented. James L. Reinertsen, MD (CareGroup, Boston), characterized the financial challenges faced by many health care organizations as a "clarion call" for leadership on quality. "The leadership imperative is to establish an environment in which quality can thrive, despite unprecedented, severe economic pressures on our health systems." How do we make improvement more effective? G. Ross Baker, PhD (University of Toronto), reviewed what organizational literature says about making teams more effective, understanding the organizational context to enable improvement work, and augmenting existing methods for creating sustainable improvement. For example, he noted the increasing interest among may organizations in rapid-cycle improvement but cautioned that such efforts may work best where problems can be addressed by existing clinical teams (not cross-functional work groups) and where there are available solutions that have worked in other settings. Mark Chassin, MD (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York), stated that critical tasks for improving quality include increasing public awareness, engaging clinicians in improvement, increasing the investment in producing measures and improvement tools, and reinventing health care delivery, clinical education and training, and QI.

The Pistoia Alliance Controlled Substance Compliance Service Project: from start to finish.

PubMed

Taylor, Daniel; Bowden, Stuart G; Knorr, Reinhard; Wilson, Derek R; Proudfoot, John; Dunlop, Anne E

2015-02-01

Pharmaceutical companies and other life science R&D organizations routinely work with controlled substances, and must have adequate controls in place to meet the legislative requirements of the countries in which they operate. Controlled substances include a range of narcotics and psychotropic drugs, which are covered by increasingly complex legislation as legislators attempt to keep up with a rapidly changing environment. This legislation must be interpreted and transformed from legal wording into chemical structures to be used effectively. Over the past year a working party of pharmaceutical and technology companies has come together under the umbrella of the Pistoia Alliance to define a Controlled Substance Compliance Service. We describe the benefits of bringing together this group of experts to solve the pre-competitive issue of controlled substance management. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Future Heat Waves In Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eltahir, E. A. B.

2017-12-01

I will review recent work from my group on the impact of climate change on the intensity and frequency of heat waves in Asia. Our studies covered Southwest Asia, South Asia, East China, and the Maritime continent. In any of these regions, the risk associated with climate change impact reflects intensity of natural hazard and level of human vulnerability. Previous work has shown that the wet-bulb temperature is a useful variable to consider in describing the natural hazard from heat waves since it can be easily compared to the natural threshold that defines the upper limit on human survivability. Based on an ensemble of high resolution climate change simulations, we project extremes of wet-bulb temperature conditions in each of these four regions of Asia. We consider the business-as-usual scenario of future greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a moderate mitigation scenario. The results from these regions will be compared and lessons learned summarized.

Hanford analytical sample projections FY 1998--FY 2002

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

Joyce, S.M.

1998-02-12

Analytical Services projections are compiled for the Hanford site based on inputs from the major programs for the years 1998 through 2002. Projections are categorized by radiation level, protocol, sample matrix and program. Analyses requirements are also presented. This document summarizes the Hanford sample projections for fiscal years 1998 to 2002. Sample projections are based on inputs submitted to Analytical Services covering Environmental Restoration, Tank Waste Remediation Systems (TWRS), Solid Waste, Liquid Effluents, Spent Nuclear Fuels, Transition Projects, Site Monitoring, Industrial Hygiene, Analytical Services and miscellaneous Hanford support activities. In addition, details on laboratory scale technology (development) work, Sample Management,more » and Data Management activities are included. This information will be used by Hanford Analytical Services (HAS) and the Sample Management Working Group (SMWG) to assure that laboratories and resources are available and effectively utilized to meet these documented needs.« less

Clinical data interoperability based on archetype transformation.

PubMed

Costa, Catalina Martínez; Menárguez-Tortosa, Marcos; Fernández-Breis, Jesualdo Tomás

2011-10-01

The semantic interoperability between health information systems is a major challenge to improve the quality of clinical practice and patient safety. In recent years many projects have faced this problem and provided solutions based on specific standards and technologies in order to satisfy the needs of a particular scenario. Most of such solutions cannot be easily adapted to new scenarios, thus more global solutions are needed. In this work, we have focused on the semantic interoperability of electronic healthcare records standards based on the dual model architecture and we have developed a solution that has been applied to ISO 13606 and openEHR. The technological infrastructure combines reference models, archetypes and ontologies, with the support of Model-driven Engineering techniques. For this purpose, the interoperability infrastructure developed in previous work by our group has been reused and extended to cover the requirements of data transformation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gauge invariance for a whole Abelian model

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

Chauca, J.; Doria, R.; Soares, W.

Light invariance is a fundamental principle for physics be done. It generates Maxwell equations, relativity, Lorentz group. However there is still space for a fourth picture be developed which is to include fields with same Lorentz nature. It brings a new room for field theory. It says that light invariance does not work just to connect space and time but it also associates different fields with same nature. Thus for the ((1/2),(1/2)) representation there is a fields family {l_brace}A{sub {mu}I}{r_brace} to be studied. This means that given such fields association one should derive its corresponding gauge theory. This is themore » effort at this work. Show that there is a whole gauge theory to cover these fields relationships. Considering the abelian case, prove its gauge invariance. It yields the kinetic, massive, trilinear and quadrilinear gauge invariant terms.« less

Dynamic Tensile Properties of Iron and Steels for a Wide Range of Strain Rates and Strain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kojima, Nobusato; Hayashi, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Terumi; Mimura, Koji; Tanimura, Shinji

The tensile stress-strain curves of iron and a variety of steels, covering a wide range of strength level, over a wide strain rate range on the order of 10-3 ~ 103 s-1, were obtained systematically by using the Sensing Block Type High Speed Material Testing System (SBTS, Saginomiya). Through intensive analysis of these results, the strain rate sensitivity of the flow stress for the large strain region, including the viscous term at high strain rates, the true fracture strength and the true fracture strain were cleared for the material group of the ferrous metals. These systematical data may be useful to develop a practical constitutive model for computer codes, including a fracture criterion for simulations of the dynamic behavior in crash worthiness studies and of work-pieces subjected to dynamic plastic working for a wide strain rate range.

Functional abdominal pain in childhood: Background studies and recent research trends

PubMed Central

Levy, Rona L; van Tilburg, Miranda AL

2012-01-01

The present review summarizes many of the major research trends investigated in the past five years regarding pediatric functional abdominal pain, and also summarizes the primary related findings from the authors’ research program. Specific areas discussed based on work within the authors’ group include familial illness patterns, genetics, traits, and mechanisms or processes related to abdominal pain. Topics covered from research published in the past five years include prevalence and cost, longitudinal follow-up, overlap with other disorders, etiology and mechanisms behind functional abdominal pain and treatment studies. It is hoped that findings from this work in abdominal pain will be interpreted as a framework for understanding the processes by which other pain phenomena and, more broadly, reactions to any physical state, can be developed and maintained in children. The present article concludes with recommendations for clinical practice and research. PMID:23248815

78 FR 43887 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-22

... manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations (GPOs) of covered drugs, devices, biologicals, or..., applicable manufacturers of covered drugs, devices, biologicals, and medical supplies are required to submit...

Effectiveness and feasibility of long-lasting insecticide-treated curtains and water container covers for dengue vector control in Colombia: a cluster randomised trial

PubMed Central

Quintero, Juliana; García-Betancourt, Tatiana; Cortés, Sebastian; García, Diana; Alcalá, Lucas; González-Uribe, Catalina; Brochero, Helena; Carrasquilla, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Background Long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) window and door curtains alone or in combination with LLIN water container covers were analysed regarding effectiveness in reducing dengue vector density, and feasibility of the intervention. Methods A cluster randomised trial was conducted in an urban area of Colombia comparing 10 randomly selected control and 10 intervention clusters. In control clusters, routine vector control activities were performed. The intervention delivered first, LLIN curtains (from July to August 2013) and secondly, water container covers (from October to March 2014). Cross-sectional entomological surveys were carried out at baseline (February 2013 to June 2013), 9 weeks after the first intervention (August to October 2013), and 4–6 weeks after the second intervention (March to April 2014). Results Curtains were installed in 922 households and water container covers in 303 households. The Breteau index (BI) fell from 14 to 6 in the intervention group and from 8 to 5 in the control group. The additional intervention with LLIN covers for water containers showed a significant reduction in pupae per person index (PPI) (p=0.01). In the intervention group, the PPI index showed a clear decline of 71% compared with 25% in the control group. Costs were high but options for cost savings were identified. Conclusions Short term impact evaluation indicates that the intervention package can reduce dengue vector density but sustained effect will depend on multiple factors. PMID:25604762

Total mercury and methylmercury in fish fillets, water, and bed sediments from selected streams in the Delaware River basin, New Jersery, New York, and Pennsylvania, 1998-2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brightbill, Robin A.; Riva-Murray, Karen; Bilger, Michael D.; Byrnes, John D.

2004-01-01

Within the Delaware River Basin, fish-tissue samples were analyzed for total mercury (tHg). Water and bed-sediment samples were analyzed for tHg and methylmercury (MeHg), and methylation efficiencies were calculated. This study was part of a National Mercury Pilot Program conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Delaware River Basin was chosen because it is part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program that integrates physical, chemical, and biological sampling efforts to determine status and trends in surface-water and ground-water resources. Of the 35 sites in the study, 31 were sampled for fish. The species sampled at these sites include smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), the target species, and where smallmouth bass could not be collected, brown trout (Salmo trutta), chain pickerel (Esox niger), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris). There were a total of 32 fish samples; 7 of these exceeded the 0.3 ?g/g (micrograms per gram) wet-weight mercury (Hg) concentration set for human health by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and 27 of these exceeded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service criteria of 0.1 ?g/g wet weight for the protection of fish-eating birds and wildlife. Basinwide analysis of Hg in fish, water, and bed sediment showed tHg concentration in fillets correlated positively with population density, urban land cover, and impervious land surface. Negative correlations included wetland land cover, septic density, elevation, and latitude. Smallmouth bass from the urban sites had a higher median concentration of tHg than fish from agricultural, low intensity-agricultural, or forested sites. Concentrations of tHg and MeHg in water were higher in samples from the more urbanized areas of the basin and were positively correlated with urbanization and negatively correlated with forested land cover. Methylation efficiency of water was negatively correlated with urbanization. Bed-sediment patterns were similar to those observed in water. Concentrations of tHg were higher in samples from the urbanized areas. In the more forested areas, MeHg concentrations were higher than in other land-use areas. Concentrations of tHg in bed sediment were positively correlated with urbanization factors (population, urban land cover, and impervious land surface) and negatively correlated with forested land cover and elevation. Forested land cover and latitude were positively correlated with concentrations of MeHg. The methylation efficiency was higher in samples from the forested areas and was negatively correlated with urbanization. Analyses within land-use groups showed that tHg concentrations in fish fillets from the urban sites were positively correlated with forested land cover and wetland cover. Urbanization factors within the agricultural group were positively correlated with tHg in fish; concentrations of tHg in fish from sites in the low intensity-agricultural group were negatively correlated with urbanization factors. Within the agricultural land-use group, tHg concentrations in water were negatively correlated with septic density, and MeHg concentrations were negatively correlated with elevation. In the forested and low intensity-agricultural groups, MeHg in water was negatively correlated with forested and agricultural land cover. Methylation efficiency in water also was negatively correlated with forested land cover but positively correlated with agricultural land cover. Bed sediment concentrations of tHg in the forested and low-agricultural groups were positively correlated with agricultural land cover and negatively correlated with forested land cover. Concentrations of MeHg in bed sediment were positively correlated with septic density and drainage area and negatively correlated with forested land cover. Methylation efficiency was negatively correlated with population density, a

Using multi-approaches to investigate the effects of land cover on runoff and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, G.; Fu, B.; Liu, Y.; Wang, Y.

2012-12-01

This study used the in-situ measurement, model simulation and radioisotope tracing methods to investigate the effects of land cover on runoff and soil erosion at plot and hillslope scales in the Loess Plateau of China. Three runoff plot groups covered by sparse young trees (Group 1), native shrubs (Group 2) and dense tussock (Group 3) with different revegetation time were established in the Yangjuangou catchment of Loess Plateau. Greater runoff was produced in plot groups (Group 2 and Group 3) with higher vegetation cover and longer restoration time as a result of soil compaction processes. Both of the runoff coefficient and soil loss rate decreased with increasing plot length in Group 2 and Group 3 plots. The runoff coefficient increased with plot length in Group 1 plots located at the early stage of revegetation, and the soil loss rates increased over an area threshold. Therefore, the effect of scale on runoff and soil erosion was dependent on restoration extent. The antecedent moisture condition (AMC) was explicitly incorporated in runoff production and initial abstraction of the SCS-CN model, and the direct effect of runoff on event soil loss was considered in the RUSLE model by adopting a rainfall-runoff erosivity factor. The modified SCS-CN and RUSLE models were coupled to link rainfall-runoff-erosion modeling. The modified SCS-CN model was accurate in predicting event runoff from the three plot groups with Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (EF) over 0.85, and the prediction accuracy of the modified RUSLE model was satisfactory with EF values being over 0.70. The 137Cs tracing technique was used to examine soil erosion under different land uses and land-use combinations. The results show that the order of erosion rate in different land uses increases sequentially from mature forest to grass to young forest to orchard to terrace crop. The land-use combinations of 'grass (6 years old) + mature forest (25 years old) + grass (25 years old)' and 'grass (6 years old) + young forest (6 years old) + mature forest (25 years old) + grass (25 years old)' are better for soil erosion control, lowering soil erosion amount by 42% compared with a mixtures of 'grass (6 years old) and shrub (6 years old)'. This study indicates that land cover type/pattern, vegetation cover, soil property, restoration time and scale effect as well as stand condition all contribute to the complex hydrological effects of restoring vegetation in the Loess Plateau. Each approach has its own advantages and limitations. Appropriate method should be chosen for specific purpose and study scale. It is better that the results from different approach can be checked with each other.

The Racial/Ethnic Distribution of Heat Risk–Related Land Cover in Relation to Residential Segregation

PubMed Central

Morello-Frosch, Rachel; Cushing, Lara

2013-01-01

Objective: We examined the distribution of heat risk–related land cover (HRRLC) characteristics across racial/ethnic groups and degrees of residential segregation. Methods: Block group–level tree canopy and impervious surface estimates were derived from the 2001 National Land Cover Dataset for densely populated urban areas of the United States and Puerto Rico, and linked to demographic characteristics from the 2000 Census. Racial/ethnic groups in a given block group were considered to live in HRRLC if at least half their population experienced the absence of tree canopy and at least half of the ground was covered by impervious surface (roofs, driveways, sidewalks, roads). Residential segregation was characterized for metropolitan areas in the United States and Puerto Rico using the multigroup dissimilarity index. Results: After adjustment for ecoregion and precipitation, holding segregation level constant, non-Hispanic blacks were 52% more likely (95% CI: 37%, 69%), non-Hispanic Asians 32% more likely (95% CI: 18%, 47%), and Hispanics 21% more likely (95% CI: 8%, 35%) to live in HRRLC conditions compared with non-Hispanic whites. Within each racial/ethnic group, HRRLC conditions increased with increasing degrees of metropolitan area-level segregation. Further adjustment for home ownership and poverty did not substantially alter these results, but adjustment for population density and metropolitan area population attenuated the segregation effects, suggesting a mediating or confounding role. Conclusions: Land cover was associated with segregation within each racial/ethnic group, which may be explained partly by the concentration of racial/ethnic minorities into densely populated neighborhoods within larger, more segregated cities. In anticipation of greater frequency and duration of extreme heat events, climate change adaptation strategies, such as planting trees in urban areas, should explicitly incorporate an environmental justice framework that addresses racial/ethnic disparities in HRRLC. PMID:23694846

Designing clinically useful systems: examples from medicine and dentistry.

PubMed

Koch, S

2003-12-01

Despite promising results in medical informatics research and the development of a large number of different systems, few systems get beyond a prototype state and are really used in practice. Among other factors, the lack of explicit user focus is one main reason. The research projects presented in this paper follow a user-centered system development approach based on extensive work analyses in interdisciplinary working groups, taking into account human cognitive performance. Different medical and health-care specialists, together with researchers in human-computer interaction and medical informatics, specify future clinical work scenarios. Special focus is put on analysis and design of the information and communication flow and on exploration of intuitive visualization and interaction techniques for clinical information. Adequate choice of the technical access device is made depending on the user's work situation. It is the purpose of this paper to apply this method in two different research projects and thereby to show its potential for designing clinically useful systems that do support and not hamper clinical work. These research projects cover IT support for chairside work in dentistry (http://www.dis.uu.se/mdi/research/projects/orquest) and ICT support for home health care of elderly citizens (http://www.medsci.uu.se/mie/project/closecare).

Selected DOE Headquarters publications, October 1977-September 1979

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

None

1979-11-01

This sixth issue of cumulative listings of DOE Headquarters publications covers the first two years of the Department's operation (October 1, 1977 - September 30, 1979). It lists two groups of publications issued by then-existing Headquarters organizations and provides an index to their title keywords. The two groups of publications are publications assigned a DOE/XXX-type report number code and Headquarters contractor reports prepared by contractors (and published by DOE) to describe research and development work they have performed for the Department. Certain publications are omitted. They include such items as pamphlets, fact sheets, bulletins, newsletters, and telephone directories, as wellmore » as headquarters publications issued under the DOE-tr (DOE translation) and CONF (conference proceedings) codes, and technical reports from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA issued under DOE/JPL and DOE/NASA codes. The contents of this issue will not be repeated in subsequent issues of DOE/AD-0010. (RWR)« less

Adolescents' Exposure to Disasters and Substance Use.

PubMed

Schiff, Miriam; Fang, Lin

2016-06-01

This paper reviews the impact of exposure to man-made or natural disasters on adolescent substance use. It covers empirical studies published from 2005 to 2015 concerning (a) the scope of the problem, (b) vulnerable groups and risk and protective factors, and (c) evidence-based interventions. The review suggests a strong link between adolescent substance use and exposure to either man-made or natural disaster. Vulnerable groups include adolescents with previous exposure to traumatic events, living in areas that are continually exposed to disasters, and ethnic minorities. Risk and protective factors at the individual, familial, community, and societal levels are described based on the bioecological model of mass trauma. Given that mass trauma is unfortunately a global problem, it is important to establish international interdisciplinary working teams to set gold standards for comparative studies on the etiology for adolescent substance use in the context of disasters.

Organic Synthetic Advanced Materials for Optoelectronic and Energy Applications (at Center for Condensed Matter Sciences)

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

Yen, Hung-Ju

These slides cover Hung-Ju Yen's recent work in the synthesis and structural design of functional materials, which were further used for optoelectronic and energy applications, such as lithium ion battery, solar cell, LED, electrochromic, and fuel cells. This was for a job interview at Center for Condensed Matter Sciences. The following topics are detailed: current challenges for lithium-ion batteries; graphene, graphene oxide and nanographene; nanographenes with various functional groups; fine tune d-spacing through organic synthesis: varying functional group; schematic view of LIBs; nanographenes as LIB anode; rate performance (charging-discharging); electrochromic technology; electrochromic materials; advantages of triphenylamine; requirement of electrochromic materialsmore » for practical applications; low driving voltage and long cycle life; increasing the electroactive sites by multi-step synthetic procedures; synthetic route to starburst triarylamine-based polyamide; electrochromism ranging from visible to NIR region; transmissive to black electrochromism; RGB and CMY electrochromism.« less

Organic Synthetic Advanced Materials for Optoelectronic and Energy Applications (at National Taipei University of Technology)

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

Yen, Hung-Ju

These slides cover Hung-Ju Yen's recent work in the synthesis and structural design of functional materials, which were further used for optoelectronic and energy applications, such as lithium ion battery, solar cell, LED, electrochromic, and fuel cells. This was for a job interview at National Taipei University of Technology. The following topics are detailed: current challenges for lithium-ion batteries; graphene, graphene oxide and nanographene; nanographenes with various functional groups; fine tune d-spacing through organic synthesis: varying functional group; schematic view of LIBs; nanographenes as LIB anode; rate performance (charging-discharging); electrochromic technology; electrochromic materials; advantages of triphenylamine; requirement of electrochromic materialsmore » for practical applications; low driving voltage and long cycle life; increasing the electroactive sites by multi-step synthetic procedures; synthetic route to starburst triarylamine-based polyamide; electrochromism ranging from visible to NIR region; transmissive to black electrochromism; RGB and CMY electrochromism.« less

Organic Synthetic Advanced Materials for Optoelectronic and Energy Applications (at National Sun Yat-sen University) 

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

Yen, Hung-Ju

These slides cover Hung-Ju Yen's recent work in the synthesis and structural design of functional materials, which were further used for optoelectronic and energy applications, such as lithium ion battery, solar cell, LED, electrochromic, and fuel cells. This was for a job interview at National Sun Yat-sen University. The following topics are detailed: current challenges for lithium-ion batteries; graphene, graphene oxide and nanographene; nanographenes with various functional groups; fine tune d-spacing through organic synthesis: varying functional group; schematic view of LIBs; nanographenes as LIB anode; rate performance (charging-discharging); electrochromic technology; electrochromic materials; advantages of triphenylamine; requirement of electrochromic materials formore » practical applications; low driving voltage and long cycle life; increasing the electroactive sites by multi-step synthetic procedures; synthetic route to starburst triarylamine-based polyamide; electrochromism ranging from visible to NIR region; transmissive to black electrochromism; RGB and CMY electrochromism.« less

Using Amniotic Membrane as a Novel Method to Reduce Post-burn Hypertrophic Scar Formation: A Prospective Follow-up Study

PubMed Central

Mohammadi, Ali Akbar; Eskandari, Shima; Johari, Hamed Ghoddusi; Rajabnejad, Ata'ollah

2017-01-01

Background: Several studies have shown that the application of amniotic membrane as a biological dressing in the management of burns is accompanied by rapid re-epithelialisation. In this follow-up study, we aimed to evaluate the possible role of amniotic membrane as an adjunct to split thickness skin grafting on reducing itching and severity of hypertrophic scar formation. Materials and Methods: From October 2013 to January 2015, in a prospective follow-up study, 54 patients (108 limbs) with second and third degree burns, covering 4%–15% of total body surface area (TBSA), were included in the study. All patients needed split-thickness skin grafts for burn-wound coverage. Selected patients had symmetric burns on two (upper or lower) extremities. Then, in every patient, the extremities were randomly divided into two groups: In one limb, the skin graft was traditionally fixed with skin staples (control group) and in the other limb, the skin graft was covered with an amniotic membrane (amnion group). Therefore, in every patient, the graft was covered with an amniotic membrane in one extremity and fixed with skin staples in the other extremity. Finally, after 6 months, the degree of itching and hypertrophic scar formation was compared between the two groups. Results: The study group was composed of 108 limbs in 54 patients (27 males and 27 females) with a mean age of 23.54 ± 4.9 years and burn 9.03 ± 2.69% TBSA. The patients were divided into two groups: 54 limbs in amnion group and 54 limbs in control group. In 59.25% of the cases, patient had less itching in the extremity covered with amniotic membrane. Furthermore, in 64.81% of the cases, patients had less hypertrophic scar formation in the extremity covered with amniotic membrane. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Amniotic membrane used as an adjunct in split thickness skin grafting is a novel modality which significantly reduces scar formation and itching that can be greatly distressing to burn patients. However, still more prospective well designed studies are needed to prove it. PMID:28529415

The role of eye protection in work-related eye injuries.

PubMed

Fong, L P; Taouk, Y

1995-05-01

A recent survey of general hospitals by the Victorian Injury Surveillance System found that ocular trauma represented 15% of work-related injuries. As circumstances surrounding occupational eye injuries have been poorly documented previously, their associations to occupation, industry and work-safety practices, including safety eyewear use, need to be identified to develop appropriate preventive strategies for high-risk groups. From a prospective cross-sectional survey of all eye injuries treated at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, work-related cases were analysed for demographic, occupational and safety eye-wear information. Hospital-based data were supplemented by information from WorkCover Authorities and Labour Force statistics to derive incidence and cost estimates. There were 9390 eye injuries during the 18-month survey period; 42% (n=3923) of total and 29% (n=52) of penetrating ocular injuries occurred at work. The most frequently injured were metal, automotive and building trades workers grinding and drilling (41% of outpatients) and hammering (53% of penetrating eye injuries). Automotive workers had the highest frequency for penetrating injuries, and most were exposed to hammering and were also the least likely to wear safety eye-wear. Eye injuries are frequent (10% of work-related injuries) and highly preventable by the correct use of safety eye-wear, a cost-effective intervention that may result in cost savings of $59 million for work-type activities in the occupational and domestic settings in Australia each year.

7 CFR 30.16 - Cigar wrapper.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.16 Cigar wrapper. A portion of a tobacco leaf forming the outer covering of a cigar. Cigar-wrapper tobacco...

7 CFR 30.16 - Cigar wrapper.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.16 Cigar wrapper. A portion of a tobacco leaf forming the outer covering of a cigar. Cigar-wrapper tobacco...

7 CFR 30.16 - Cigar wrapper.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.16 Cigar wrapper. A portion of a tobacco leaf forming the outer covering of a cigar. Cigar-wrapper tobacco...

7 CFR 30.16 - Cigar wrapper.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.16 Cigar wrapper. A portion of a tobacco leaf forming the outer covering of a cigar. Cigar-wrapper tobacco...

7 CFR 30.16 - Cigar wrapper.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.16 Cigar wrapper. A portion of a tobacco leaf forming the outer covering of a cigar. Cigar-wrapper tobacco...

Aeolis Buttes

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-04-21

Dozens of dark slope streaks, created by dry avalanches of dust, extend from toward the base of dust-covered buttes. Large, dust-covered, windblown ripples surround the group and occupy some of the low-lying areas between individual buttes

[Localization of crustaceans--fish parasites and nose capsules as the habitat of the genus Salmincola (Podoplea: Lernaeopodidae) mesoparasites].

PubMed

Pronin, N M; Burdukovskaia, T G

2013-01-01

Copepoda parasitica of Baikal fishes (16 species) is divided into 7 groups according to their localization: parasites of the gill apparatus, gill covers, gill and buccal cavities, nasal fossa, cutaneous covering, and fins. It was proposed to separate nasal fossa parasites as the special ecological group ofmesoparasites. Typical speciemens of the group include crustaceans Salmincola longimanus complex--parasites of grayling and cisco fishes consist of three species (S. longimanus, S. svetlanovi, S. lavaretus) and one subspecies (S. longimanus sibirica).

Visual preference and ecological assessments for designed alternative brownfield rehabilitations.

PubMed

Lafortezza, Raffaele; Corry, Robert C; Sanesi, Giovanni; Brown, Robert D

2008-11-01

This paper describes an integrative method for quantifying, analyzing, and comparing the effects of alternative rehabilitation approaches with visual preference. The method was applied to a portion of a major industrial area located in southern Italy. Four alternative approaches to rehabilitation (alternative designs) were developed and analyzed. The scenarios consisted of the cleanup of the brownfields plus: (1) the addition of ground cover species; (2) the addition of ground cover species and a few trees randomly distributed; (3) the addition of ground cover species and a few trees in small groups; and (4) the addition of ground cover species and several trees in large groups. The approaches were analyzed and compared to the baseline condition through the use of cost-surface modeling (CSM) and visual preference assessment (VPA). Statistical results showed that alternatives that were more ecologically functional for forest bird species dispersal were also more visually preferable. Some differences were identified based on user groups and location of residence. The results of the study are used to identify implications for enhancing both ecological attributes and visual preferences of rehabilitating landscapes through planning and design.

TAP Report - Southwest Idaho Juniper Working Group

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

Gresham, Garold Linn

There is explicit need for characterization of the materials for possible commercialization as little characterization data exists. Pinyon-juniper woodlands are a major ecosystem type found in the Southwest and the Intermountain West regions of the United States including Nevada, Idaho and Oregon. These widespread ecosystems are characterized by the presence of several different species of pinyon and juniper as the dominant plant cover. Since the 1800s, pinyon-juniper woodlands have rapidly expanded their range at the expense of existing ecosystems. Additionally, existing woodlands have become denser, progressively creating potential fire hazards as seen in the Soda Fire, which burned more thanmore » 400 sq. miles. Land managers responsible for these areas often desire to reduce pinyon-juniper coverage on their lands for a variety of reasons, as stated in the Working Group objectives. However, the cost of clearing thinning pinyon-juniper stands can be prohibitive. One reason for this is the lack of utilization options for the resulting biomass that could help recover some of the cost of pinyon-juniper stand management. The goal of this TAP effort was to assess the feedstock characteristics of biomass from a juniper harvested from Owyhee County to evaluate possible fuel and conversion utilization options.« less

Space transfer vehicle concepts and requirements study. Volume 2, book 4: Integrated advanced technology development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Gary A.

1991-01-01

The Space Transfer Vehicle (STV) program provides both an opportunity and a requirement to increase our upper stage capabilities with the development and applications of new technologies. Issues such as man rating, space basing, reusability, and long lunar surface storage times drive the need for new technology developments and applications. In addition, satisfaction of mission requirements such as lunar cargo delivery capability and lunar landing either require new technology development or can be achieved in a more cost-effective manner with judicious applications of advanced technology. During the STV study, advanced technology development requirements and plans have been addressed by the Technology/Advanced Development Working Group composed of NASA and contractor representatives. This report discusses the results to date of this working group. The first section gives an overview of the technologies that have potential or required applications for the STV and identifies those technologies baselined for the STV. Figures are provided that list the technology categories and show the priority placed on those technology categories for either the space-based or ground-based options. The second section covers the plans and schedules for incorporating the technologies into the STV program.

Continuity of MODIS and VIIRS Snow-Cover Maps during Snowmelt in the Catskill Mountains in New York

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, D. K.; Riggs, G. A., Jr.; Roman, M. O.; DiGirolamo, N. E.

2015-12-01

We investigate the local and regional differences and possible biases between the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible-Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) snow-cover maps in the winter of 2012 during snowmelt conditions in the Catskill Mountains in New York using a time series of cloud-gap filled daily snow-cover maps. The MODIS Terra instrument has been providing daily global snow-cover maps since February 2000 (Riggs and Hall, 2015). Using the VIIRS instrument, launched in 2011, NASA snow products are being developed based on the heritage MODIS snow-mapping algorithms, and will soon be available to the science community. Continuity of the standard NASA MODIS and VIIRS snow-cover maps is essential to enable environmental-data records (EDR) to be developed for analysis of snow-cover trends using a consistent data record. For this work, we compare daily MODIS and VIIRS snow-cover maps of the Catskill Mountains from 29 February through 14 March 2012. The entire region was snow covered on 29 February and by 14 March the snow had melted; we therefore have a daily time series available to compare normalized difference snow index (NDSI), as an indicator of snow-cover fraction. The MODIS and VIIRS snow-cover maps have different spatial resolutions (500 m for MODIS and 375 m for VIIRS) and different nominal overpass times (10:30 AM for MODIS Terra and 2:30 PM for VIIRS) as well as different cloud masks. The results of this work will provide a quantitative assessment of the continuity of the snow-cover data records for use in development of an EDR of snow cover.http://modis-snow-ice.gsfc.nasa.gov/Riggs, G.A. and D.K. Hall, 2015: MODIS Snow Products User Guide to Collection 6, http://modis-snow-ice.gsfc.nasa.gov/?c=userguides

Measurements of Mercury Released from Solidified/Stabilized Waste Forms

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

Mattus, C.H.

2001-04-19

This report covers work performed during FY 1999-2000 in support of treatment demonstrations conducted for the Mercury Working Group of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Mixed Waste Focus Area. In order to comply with the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DOE must use one of these procedures for wastes containing mercury at levels above 260 ppm: a retorting/roasting treatment or an incineration treatment (if the wastes also contain organics). The recovered radioactively contaminated mercury must then be treated by an amalgamation process prior to disposal. The DOEmore » Mixed Waste Focus Area and Mercury Working Group are working with the EPA to determine if some alternative processes could treat these types of waste directly, thereby avoiding for DOE the costly recovery step. They sponsored a demonstration in which commercial vendors applied their technologies for the treatment of two contaminated waste soils from Brookhaven National Laboratory. Each soil was contaminated with {approx}4500 ppm mercury; however, one soil had as a major radioelement americium-241, while the other contained mostly europium-152. The project described in this report addressed the need for data on the mercury vapor released by the solidified/stabilized mixed low-level mercury wastes generated during these demonstrations as well as the comparison between the untreated and treated soils. A related work began in FY 1998, with the measurement of the mercury released by amalgamated mercury, and the results were reported in ORNL/TM-13728. Four treatments were performed on these soils. The baseline was obtained by thermal treatment performed by SepraDyne Corp., and three forms of solidification/stabilization were employed: one using sulfur polymer cement (Brookhaven National Laboratory), one using portland cement [Allied Technology Group (ATG)], and a third using proprietary additives (Nuclear Fuel Services).« less

[Effects of direct current electric field on directional migration and arrangement of dermal fibroblasts in neonatal BALB/c mice and the mechanisms].

PubMed

Liu, Jie; Ren, Xi; Guo, Xiaowei; Sun, Huanbo; Tang, Yong; Luo, Zhenghui; Zhang, Qiong; Zhang, Dongxia; Huang, Yuesheng; Zhang, Jiaping

2016-04-01

To explore the effects of direct current electric fields on directional migration and arrangement of dermal fibroblasts in neonatal BALB/c mice and the related mechanisms. Twelve neonatal BALB/c mice were divided into 4 batches. The skin on the back of 3 neonatal mice in each batch was obtained to culture fibroblasts. Fibroblasts of the second passage were inoculated in 27 square cover slips with the concentration of 5 × 10(4) cells per mL. (1) Experiment 1. Six square cover slips inoculated with fibroblasts of the second passage were divided into electric field group (EF) and sham electric field group (SEF), with 3 cover slips in each group. The cover slips were put in live cell imaging workstation. The cells in group EF was treated with electric power with EF intensity of 200 mV/mm, while simulating process without actual power was given to SEF group (the same below) for 6 h. Cell proliferation rate was subsequently counted. (2) Experiment 2. Six cover slips were divided and underwent the same processes as in experiment 1. Cell movement locus within EF hour (EFH) 6, direction change of cell migration at EFH 0 (immediately), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 which was denoted as cos(α), cell migration velocity within EFH 6, direction change of long axis of cell within EFH 6, and direction change of cell arrangement at EFH 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 which was denoted as polarity value cos[2(θ-90)] were observed under live cell imaging workstation. After EFH 6, the morphological changes in microtubules and microfilaments were observed with immunofluorescent staining. (3) Experiment 3. Six cover slips were divided into cytochalasin D group (treated with 1 μmol/L cytochalasin D for 10 min) and colchicine group (treated with 5 μmol/L colchicine for 10 min), with 3 cover slips in each group. The morphological changes in microfilaments and microtubules were observed with the same method as in experiment 2. (4) Experiment 4. Nine cover slips were divided into control group (no reagent was added), cytochalasin D group and colchicine group (added with the same reagents as in experiment 3), with 3 cover slips in each group. Cells in the 3 groups were exposed to an EF of 200 mV/mm for 6 h. Cell movement locus within EFH 6, cell migration velocity within EFH 6, cell polarity values at EFH 0, 3, and 6, and morphological changes of cells at EFH 0 and 6 were observed. Data were processed with independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and LSD test. (1) There was no statistically significant difference in cell proliferation rate in group EF and group SEF (t=-0.24, P﹥0.05). (2) Within EFH 6, cells in group EF migrated towards the anode of EF, while cells in group SEF moved randomly. At EFH 0, the values of cos(α) of cells in the 2 groups were both 0. The absolute value of cos(α) of cells in group EF (-0.57 ± 0.06) was significantly higher than that in group SEF (0.13 ± 0.09, t=6.68, P<0.01) at EFH 1, and it was still higher than that in group SEF from EFH 2 to 6 (with t values from 5.33 to 6.83, P values below 0.01). Within EFH 6, migration velocity of cells in group EF was (0.308 ± 0.019) μm/min, which was significantly higher than that in group SEF [(0.228 ± 0.021) μm/min, t=-2.76, P<0.01]. Within EFH 6, long axis of cells in group EF was perpendicular to the direction of EF, while arrangement of cells in group SEF was irregular. Cell polarity values in group EF were significantly higher than that in group SEF from EFH 2 to 6 (with t values from -7.52 to -0.90, P values below 0.01). At EFH 6, the morphology of microfilaments and microtubules of cells in EF group was similar to that in SEF group. (3) The fluorescent intensity of microfilaments of cells in cytochalasin D group became weakened, and the filamentary structure became fuzzy. The microtubules of cells in colchicine group became fuzzy with low fluorescent intensity. (4) Within EFH 6, cells in control group migrated towards the anode of EF, while cells in cytochalasin D group and colchicine group moved randomly. Within EFH 6, there was statistically significant difference in migration velocity of cells in the 3 groups (F=6.36, P<0.01). Migration velocity of cells in cytochalasin D group and colchicine group was significantly slower than that in control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). At EFH 0, 3, and 6, cell polarity values in the 3 groups were close (with F values from 0.99 to 1.51, P values above 0.05). At EFH 0, cells in control group were spindle; cells in cytochalasin D group were polygonal or in irregular shapes; cells in colchicine group were serrated circle or oval. At EFH 6, no morphological change was observed in cells in control group; cells in cytochalasin D group were spindle with split ends on both ends; cells in colchicine group were serrated oval. The physiologic strength of exogenous direct current EF can induce directional migration and alignment of dermal fibroblasts in neonatal BALB/c mice. Microfilaments and microtubules are necessary skeleton structure for cell directional migration induced by EF, while they are not necessary for cell directional arrangement induced by EF.

Dense genetic linkage maps of three Populus species (Populus deltoides, P. nigra and P. trichocarpa) based on AFLP and microsatellite markers.

PubMed

Cervera, M T; Storme, V; Ivens, B; Gusmão, J; Liu, B H; Hostyn, V; Van Slycken, J; Van Montagu, M; Boerjan, W

2001-06-01

Populus deltoides, P. nigra, and P. trichocarpa are the most important species for poplar breeding programs worldwide. In addition, Populus has become a model for fundamental research on trees. Linkage maps were constructed for these three species by analyzing progeny of two controlled crosses sharing the same female parent, Populus deltoides cv. S9-2 x P. nigra cv. Ghoy and P. deltoides cv. S9-2 x P. trichocarpa cv. V24. The two-way pseudotestcross mapping strategy was used to construct the maps. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers that segregated 1:1 were used to form the four parental maps. Microsatellites and sequence-tagged sites were used to align homoeologous groups between the maps and to merge linkage groups within the individual maps. Linkage analysis and alignment of the homoeologous groups resulted in 566 markers distributed over 19 groups for P. deltoides covering 86% of the genome, 339 markers distributed over 19 groups for P. trichocarpa covering 73%, and 369 markers distributed over 28 groups for P. nigra covering 61%. Several tests for randomness showed that the AFLP markers were randomly distributed over the genome.

Dense genetic linkage maps of three Populus species (Populus deltoides, P. nigra and P. trichocarpa) based on AFLP and microsatellite markers.

PubMed Central

Cervera, M T; Storme, V; Ivens, B; Gusmão, J; Liu, B H; Hostyn, V; Van Slycken, J; Van Montagu, M; Boerjan, W

2001-01-01

Populus deltoides, P. nigra, and P. trichocarpa are the most important species for poplar breeding programs worldwide. In addition, Populus has become a model for fundamental research on trees. Linkage maps were constructed for these three species by analyzing progeny of two controlled crosses sharing the same female parent, Populus deltoides cv. S9-2 x P. nigra cv. Ghoy and P. deltoides cv. S9-2 x P. trichocarpa cv. V24. The two-way pseudotestcross mapping strategy was used to construct the maps. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers that segregated 1:1 were used to form the four parental maps. Microsatellites and sequence-tagged sites were used to align homoeologous groups between the maps and to merge linkage groups within the individual maps. Linkage analysis and alignment of the homoeologous groups resulted in 566 markers distributed over 19 groups for P. deltoides covering 86% of the genome, 339 markers distributed over 19 groups for P. trichocarpa covering 73%, and 369 markers distributed over 28 groups for P. nigra covering 61%. Several tests for randomness showed that the AFLP markers were randomly distributed over the genome. PMID:11404342

Design of polystyrene latex particles covered with polyoxometalate clusters via multiple covalent bonding

DOE PAGES

Chen, Xinyue; Li, Hui; Yin, Panchao; ...

2015-02-27

In this study, polyoxometalates (POMs) covalently functionalized with methyl methacrylate groups were applied as surfactants in the emulsion polymerization reaction of styrene. Due to the copolymerization of the methyl methacrylate groups and the styrene monomers, the polyoxometalate clusters are covalently grafted onto the surface of polystyrene latex nanoparticles. Finally, such latex particles are fully covered with catalytic POM clusters and might serve as quasi-homogeneous catalysts.

The Canadian experience in frontier environmental protection

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

Jones, G.H.

1991-03-01

Early Canadian frontier exploration (from 1955 onshore and from 1966 for offshore drilling) caused insignificant public concern. The 1967-1968 Torrey Canyon Tanker and Santa Barbara disasters roused public opinion and governments. In Canada, 1969-1970 Arctic gas blowouts, a tanker disaster, and damage to the 'Manhattan' exacerbated concerns and resulted in new environmental regulatory constraints. From 1970, the Arctic Petroleum Operations Association learned to operate safely with environmental responsibility. It studied physical environment for design criteria, and the biological and human environment to ameliorate impact. APOA's research projects covered sea-ice, permafrost, sea-bottom, oil-spills, bird and mammal migration, fish habitat, food chains,more » oceanography, meteorology, hunters'/trappers' harvests, etc. In 1971 Eastcoast Petroleum Operators' Association and Alaska Oil and Gas Association followed APOA's cooperative research model. EPOA stressed icebergs and fisheries. Certain research was handled by the Canadian Offshore Oil Spill Research Association. By the mid-1980s these associations had undertaken $70,000,000 of environmental oriented research, with equivalent additional work by member companies on specific needs and similar sums by Federal agencies often working with industry on complementary research. The frontier associations then merged with the Canadian Petroleum Association, already active environmentally in western Canada. Working with government and informing environmental interest groups, the public, natives, and local groups, most Canadian frontier petroleum operations proceeded with minimal delay and environmental disturbance.« less

Education in health administration: an assessment of the Brazilian case.

PubMed

Kisil, M

1985-01-01

This discussion presents an overview of the health service system and its programs in Brazil, emphasizing current policies; sketches out what is being done about education in health administration; and examines some of the more innovative programs and activities within this field. Brazil's bealth service system is characterized by a multiplicity of public agencies that often compete and overlap, and by concentration of its resources in high-income urban core areas. 3 main groups of health care providers exist in Brazil. These work within the private subsector, which covers about 23 million people or 20% of the population; the official subsector, which covers about 25 million people; and the social security system, which covers about 50 million people. About 20 million people are not covered by any institutional health care services. There is no effective agency planning, despite the existence of planning units in all agencies, and, consequently, there is no national health development planning in Brazil. The negative impact of this on health care is compounded by a lack of managerially oriented information systems and a lack of monitoring and evaluation agencies. At present there are essentially 3 types of health administration education in Brazil -- one emphasizing the health component, one emphasizing the administrative component, and one seeking to balance these 2 elements. Historically, the health dominated type of health administration education emerged first, followed by the administration-dominated type, and then by the more balanced type. Regarding innovative developments, since 1975 the National School of Public Health in Rio de Janeiro has been working with state health agencies and local universities in many parts of the country in an effort to decentralize its basic public health course. Another program has promoted teaching and research in health administration and has provided technical assistance to promote the delivery of health administration services. Finally, the Center for Health Education Technology/Latin American Center for Educational Technology in Health has started to prepare educational materials for local residents and has undertaken a program in collaboration with other agencies that is designed to provide a basic course in health administration that can be self-taught by the student.

EVA Physiology and Medical Considerations Working in the Suit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parazynski, Scott

2012-01-01

This "EVA Physiology and Medical Considerations Working in the Suit" presentation covers several topics related to the medical implications and physiological effects of suited operations in space from the perspective of a physician with considerable first-hand Extravehicular Activity (EVA) experience. Key themes include EVA physiology working in a pressure suit in the vacuum of space, basic EVA life support and work support, Thermal Protection System (TPS) inspections and repairs, and discussions of the physical challenges of an EVA. Parazynski covers the common injuries and significant risks during EVAs, as well as physical training required to prepare for EVAs. He also shares overall suit physiological and medical knowledge with the next generation of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) system designers.

Do smokers want to know more about the cigarettes they smoke? Results from the EDUCATE study.

PubMed

Bansal, Maansi A; Cummings, K Michael; Hyland, Andrew; Bauer, Joseph E; Hastrup, Janice L; Steger, Craig

2004-12-01

The present study (a) assessed smokers' receptivity to receiving information about the product features of their cigarette brand, (b) tested whether the use of targeted (personalized), brand-specific information affected participants' attention to the information, and (c) tested whether attention to the targeted information affected participants' beliefs about the product features and their smoking behavior. The study population included current cigarette smokers who called the New York State Smokers' Quit Line seeking assistance to stop smoking in February and March 2003. Subjects were randomized to one of three experimental groups. Group 1 received telephone counseling and the quit line's stop-smoking booklet, which included information on ingredients found in cigarettes. Group 2 received the same intervention as Group 1 plus a basic brochure with a generic cover. Group 3 received the same intervention as Group 2 except that the cover to the brochure was targeted to individual cigarette brand and type. All smokers who called the quit line were receptive to receiving information about their cigarette brand. In a 6-week follow-up interview, 60% of those who received the targeted product information brochure recalled receiving it vs. 51% of those who received the identical guide with the nontargeted cover. Recall of the material discussed in the brochure was slightly higher (not statistically significant) among subjects who received the brochure with the targeted cover compared with the same brochure with a basic cover. Regardless of whether the brochure was targeted, smokers' beliefs about different product features or their smoking behavior were not affected measurably, although those who reported reading some or all of the brochure had higher levels of awareness regarding low-tar, filtered, and no-additive cigarettes. Smokers are receptive to receiving information about their cigarette brand, but either persistent efforts or possibly more potent interventions to personalize the information are needed to ensure that they recall information about the cigarette brand they smoke.

Mapping Ad Hoc Communications Network of a Large Number Fixed-Wing UAV Swarm

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

partitioned sub-swarms. The work covered in this thesis is to build a model of the NPS swarm’s communication network in ns-3 simulation software and use...partitioned sub- swarms. The work covered in this thesis is to build a model of the NPS swarm’s communication network in ns-3 simulation software and...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS MAPPING AD HOC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK OF A LARGE NUMBER FIXED-WING UAV SWARM by Alexis

“Molecular Imaging in Nanotechnology and Theranostics” (MINT) Interest Group

PubMed Central

Andreou, Chrysafis; Pal, Suchetan; Rotter, Lara; Yang, Jiang; Kircher, Moritz F.

2017-01-01

The “Molecular Imaging in Nanotechnology and Theranostics” (MINT) Interest Group of the World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS) was founded in 2015 and was officially inaugurated during the 2016 World Molecular Imaging Conference (WMIC). The MINT interest group was created in response to the exponential growth of the fields of Nanotechnology and Theranostics in recent years, and the resulting need to provide a more organized and focused forum on these topics at the WMIS and the WMIC. The overarching goal of MINT is to bring together the many scientists who work on molecular imaging approaches using nanotechnology, and those that work on theranostic agents. MINT therefore represents scientists, labs, and institutes that are very diverse in their scientific backgrounds and areas of expertise, reflecting the wide array of materials and approaches that drive these fields. In this short review, we attempt to provide a condensed overview over some of the key areas covered by MINT. Given the breadth of the fields and the given space constraints, we have limited the coverage to the realm of nano-constructs, although theranostics is certainly not limited to this domain. We will also focus only on the most recent developments of the last 3-5 years, in order to provide the reader with an intuition of what is “in the pipeline” and has potential for clinical translation in the near future. PMID:28349293

Do drug-free workplace programs prevent occupational injuries? Evidence from Washington State.

PubMed

Wickizer, Thomas M; Kopjar, Branko; Franklin, Gary; Joesch, Jutta

2004-02-01

To evaluate the effect of a publicly sponsored drug-free workplace program on reducing the risk of occupational injuries. Workers' compensation claims data from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries covering the period 1994 through 2000 and work-hours data reported by employers served as the data sources for the analysis. We used a pre-post design with a nonequivalent comparison group to assess the impact of the intervention on injury risk, measured in terms of differences in injury incidence rates. Two hundred and sixty-one companies that enrolled in the drug-free workplace program during the latter half of 1996 were compared with approximately 20,500 nonintervention companies. We tested autoregressive, integrated moving-average (ARIMA) models to assess the robustness of our findings. The drug-free workplace intervention was associated (p < .05) with a statistically significant decrease in injury rates for three industry groups: construction, manufacturing, and services. It was associated (p < .05) with a reduction in the incidence rate of more serious injuries involving four or more days of lost work time for two industry groups: construction and services. The ARIMA analysis supported The drug-free workplace program we studied was associated with a selective, industry-specific preventive effect. The strongest evidence of an intervention effect was for the construction industry. Estimated net cost savings for this industry were positive though small in magnitude.

Loading and testing a light scattering cell with a binary fluid mixture near its critical composition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobs, Donald T.; Becker, James S.

1993-01-01

Critical phenomena has been the subject of physics research for many years. However, only in recent years has the research effort become intense. The current intensity has caused the study of critical phenomena to be grouped into a previous older era and a present contemporary era. Turbidity cell filling with methanol cyclohexane is one of the first steps toward a further understanding of critical phenomena. Work performed during the research period is outlined. During this period, research was spent developing apparatus and techniques that will make it possible to study critical phenomena through turbidity measurements on methanol cyclohexane. Topics covered range from the orientation of turbidity cell parts for assembly to the filling apparatus and procedure used when th cell is built. The last section will briefly cover some of the observations made when viewing the cell in a controlled water bath. However, before mention is made of the specifics of the summer research, a short introduction to critical phenomena and turbidity and how they relate to this experiment is provided.

Geologic map of the Seldovia quadrangle, south-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, Dwight C.; Kusky, Timothy M.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Karl, Susan M.; Donley, D. Thomas

1999-01-01

This is a 1:250,000-scale map of the bedrock geology of the Seldovia quadrangle, south-central Alaska. The map area covers the southwestern end of the Kenai Peninsula, including the Kenai Lowlands and Kenai Mountains, on either side of Kachemak Bay. The waters of Cook Inlet cover roughly half of the map area, and a part of the Alaska Peninsula near Iliamna Volcano lies in the extreme northwest corner of the map. The bedrock geology is based on new reconnaissance field work by the U.S. Geological Survey during parts of the 1988-1993 field seasons, and on previous mapping from a number of sources. The new mapping focused on the previously little-known Chugach accretionary complex in the Kenai Mountains. Important new findings include the recognition of mappable subdivisions of the McHugh Complex (a subduction melange of mostly Mesozoic protoliths), more accurate placement of the thrust contact between the McHugh Complex and Valdez Group (Upper Cretaceous trench turbidites), and the recognition of several new near-trench plutons of early Tertiary age.

The Dynamic Multi-objective Multi-vehicle Covering Tour Problem

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

AI Artificial Intelligence AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle CLP Clover Leaf Problem CSP Covering Salesman Problem CTP Covering Tour Problem CVRP...introduces a new formalization - the DMOMCTP. Related works from routing problems, Artificial Intelligence ( AI ), and MOPs are discussed briefly. As a...the rest of that framework being replaced. The codebase differs from jMetal 4.2 in that it can handle the time and DM dependent nature of the DMOMCTP

Validation of Land Cover Maps Utilizing Astronaut Acquired Imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, John E.; Gebelein, Jennifer

1999-01-01

This report is produced in accordance with the requirements outlined in the NASA Research Grant NAG9-1032 titled "Validation of Land Cover Maps Utilizing Astronaut Acquired Imagery". This grant funds the Remote Sensing Research Unit of the University of California, Santa Barbara. This document summarizes the research progress and accomplishments to date and describes current on-going research activities. Even though this grant has technically expired, in a contractual sense, work continues on this project. Therefore, this summary will include all work done through and 5 May 1999. The principal goal of this effort is to test the accuracy of a sub-regional portion of an AVHRR-based land cover product. Land cover mapped to three different classification systems, in the southwestern United States, have been subjected to two specific accuracy assessments. One assessment utilizing astronaut acquired photography, and a second assessment employing Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery, augmented in some cases, high aerial photography. Validation of these three land cover products has proceeded using a stratified sampling methodology. We believe this research will provide an important initial test of the potential use of imagery acquired from Shuttle and ultimately the International Space Station (ISS) for the operational validation of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) land cover products.

Silicone-covered biodegradable magnesium-stent insertion in the esophagus: a comparison with plastic stents.

PubMed

Zhu, Yue-Qi; Yang, Kai; Edmonds, Laura; Wei, Li-Ming; Zheng, Reila; Cheng, Ruo-Yu; Cui, Wen-Guo; Cheng, Ying-Sheng

2017-01-01

We determined the feasibility of, and tissue response to silicone-covered biodegradable magnesium- and plastic-stent insertion into the esophagus in rabbits. The mechanical compression-recovery characteristics and degradation behaviors of the magnesium stent were investigated in vitro . A total of 45 rabbits were randomly divided into a magnesium- ( n = 15) and a plastic- ( n = 15) stent group, and underwent stent insertion into the lower third of the esophagus under fluoroscopic guidance; a control group ( n = 15) did not undergo the intervention. Esophagography was performed at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Five rabbits in each group were euthanized at each time point for histological examination. Silicone-covered magnesium stents showed similar radial force to plastic stents ( p > 0.05). The magnesium stents degraded rapidly in an acidic solution, but 90.2% ± 3.1% of the residual mass was maintained after a 2-week degradation in a solution with a pH of 4.0. All stent insertions were well tolerated. Magnesium stents migrated in six rabbits (one at 1 week, one at 2 weeks and four at 4 weeks), and plastic stents migrated in three rabbits (one at 2 weeks and two at 4 weeks; p > 0.05). Esophageal wall remodeling (thinner epithelial and smooth muscle layers) was similar in both stented groups ( p > 0.05), and the esophagus wall was found to be significantly thinner in the stented groups than in the control group ( p < 0.05). Esophageal injury and collagen deposition following stent insertion were similar and did not differ from the control group ( p > 0.05). Esophageal silicone-covered magnesium stents provided reliable support for at least 2 weeks, with acceptable migration rates and without causing severe injury or tissue reaction compared with plastic stents.

Silicone-covered biodegradable magnesium-stent insertion in the esophagus: a comparison with plastic stents

PubMed Central

Zhu, Yue-Qi; Yang, Kai; Edmonds, Laura; Wei, Li-Ming; Zheng, Reila; Cheng, Ruo-Yu; Cui, Wen-Guo; Cheng, Ying-Sheng

2016-01-01

Background: We determined the feasibility of, and tissue response to silicone-covered biodegradable magnesium- and plastic-stent insertion into the esophagus in rabbits. Methods: The mechanical compression–recovery characteristics and degradation behaviors of the magnesium stent were investigated in vitro. A total of 45 rabbits were randomly divided into a magnesium- (n = 15) and a plastic- (n = 15) stent group, and underwent stent insertion into the lower third of the esophagus under fluoroscopic guidance; a control group (n = 15) did not undergo the intervention. Esophagography was performed at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Five rabbits in each group were euthanized at each time point for histological examination. Results: Silicone-covered magnesium stents showed similar radial force to plastic stents (p > 0.05). The magnesium stents degraded rapidly in an acidic solution, but 90.2% ± 3.1% of the residual mass was maintained after a 2-week degradation in a solution with a pH of 4.0. All stent insertions were well tolerated. Magnesium stents migrated in six rabbits (one at 1 week, one at 2 weeks and four at 4 weeks), and plastic stents migrated in three rabbits (one at 2 weeks and two at 4 weeks; p > 0.05). Esophageal wall remodeling (thinner epithelial and smooth muscle layers) was similar in both stented groups (p > 0.05), and the esophagus wall was found to be significantly thinner in the stented groups than in the control group (p < 0.05). Esophageal injury and collagen deposition following stent insertion were similar and did not differ from the control group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Esophageal silicone-covered magnesium stents provided reliable support for at least 2 weeks, with acceptable migration rates and without causing severe injury or tissue reaction compared with plastic stents. PMID:28286555

Which aspects of functioning are relevant for patients with ankylosing spondylitis: results of focus group interviews.

PubMed

Boonen, Annelies; van Berkel, Monique; Cieza, Alarcos; Stucki, Gerold; van der Heijde, Désirée

2009-11-01

To investigate whether concepts important to patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are covered by disease-specific self-report health status instruments. A qualitative focus group study was conducted with AS patients on problems in daily functioning. Group sessions with 4 to 5 patients each were organized up to the point that no new information was brought forward. Group sessions were tape-recorded, transcribed, and divided into meaning units. Concepts contained in the meaning units were extracted. Self-report instruments on health status specific for AS were identified in a literature search. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a common reference, it was determined whether the concepts identified in the focus groups were covered by the instruments. Nineteen patients participated in 4 focus group interviews. In total, 332 unique meaning units were linked to 90 second-level ICF categories, of which 25 referred to body functions, 10 to body structures, 35 to activities and participation and 30 to environmental factors. In addition, several concepts relating to personal factors were identified. Only 47 categories were also covered by one of the self-report instruments in AS. Only a minority of concepts addressed by the AS-specific questionnaires were not revealed as relevant in the interviews. Relevant aspects of the influence of AS are not covered by the classic disease-specific instruments. In particular, the influence of AS on socializing and leisure and the relevance of environmental and personal factors are not adequately assessed by available instruments.

Assessment of runoff response to landscape changes in the San Pedro subbasin (Nayarit, Mexico) using remote sensing data and GIS.

PubMed

Hernández-Guzmán, Rafael; Ruiz-Luna, Arturo; Berlanga-Robles, César Alejandro

2008-10-01

Results on runoff estimates as a response to land-use and land-cover changes are presented. We used remote sensing and GIS techniques with rainfall time-series data, spatial ancillary information, and the curve-number method (NRCS-CN) to assess the runoff response in the San Pedro subbasin. Thematic maps with eight land-cover classes derived from satellite imagery classification (1973, 1990, and 2000) and hydrologic soil-group maps were used as the input for the runoff calculation. About 20% to 25% of the subbasin landscape has changed since 1973, mainly as consequence of the growth of agriculture. Forest is the main cover, although further analyses indicate that forest is degrading from good to poor conditions when evaluated as a function of the spectral response. Soils with low infiltration rates, classified as the hydrological soil-group "C", were dominant in the area (52%). The overlaying of all the hydrological soil groups with the land-use map produced a total of 43 hydro-group and land-use categories for which runoff was calculated using the curve-number method. Estimates of total runoff volumes (26 x 10(6) m3) were similar for the three dates analyzed in spite of landscape changes, but there were temporal variations among the hydro-group and land-use categories as a consequence. Changes are causing the rise of covers with high runoff potential and the increase of runoff depth is expected, but it can be reversed by different management of subbasin hydro-groups and land-use units.

Hydrological Application of Remote Sensing: Surface States -- Snow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Kelly, Richard E. J.; Foster, James L.; Chang, Alfred T. C.

2004-01-01

Remote sensing research of snow cover has been accomplished for nearly 40 years. The use of visible, near-infrared, active and passive-microwave remote sensing for the analysis of snow cover is reviewed with an emphasis on the work on the last decade.

Trees grow on money: Urban tree canopy cover and environmental justice

Treesearch

Kirsten Schwarz; Michail Fragkias; Christopher G. Boone; Weiqi Zhou; Melissa McHale; J. Morgan Grove; Jarlath O' Neil-Dunne; Joseph P. McFadden; Geoffrey L. Buckley; Dan Childers; Laura Ogden; Stephanie Pincetl; Diane Pataki; Ali Whitmer; Mary L. Cadenasso; Steven Arthur Loiselle

2015-01-01

This study examines the distributional equity of urban tree canopy (UTC) cover for Baltimore, MD, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Raleigh, NC, Sacramento, CA, and Washington, D.C. using high spatial resolution land cover data and census data. Data are analyzed at the Census Block Group levels using Spearman’s correlation, ordinary least squares...

[Comparative study of three series of neuro-cutaneous flaps used for coverage of leg defects].

PubMed

Jecan, C R; Alecu, L; Costan, I S

2011-01-01

The purpose of the trial was to compare three groups of neurocutaneous flaps used to cover defects in the calf, in terms of preoperative characteristics and postoperative results. The main objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of surgical method by testing the hypothesis: neurocutaneous flaps can be applied with clinical results comparable to other surgical methods. The results were presented in the text, through graphic figures and tables. Statistical comparisons were performed according to the results obtained from three series of neurocutaneous flaps in terms of demographic characteristics and those describing postoperative results. The results obtained in the three types of flaps were compared with studies published by other authors, confirming the working hypothesis. The most important results are: the neurocutaneous sural flap is a distal pedicled flap with increased vascular resistance; age and co-morbidities may influence the degree of immediate complications but not the final success rate; the covered defect surface (p = 0.035) is higher for the sural and saphenous flap; the number of days of hospitalization is significantly lower than for microsurgical transfer flaps (p = 0.022). The frequency of complications and reintervention rates were similar (p = 0.022). The study concludes that the sural neurocutaneous flap can be used to cover defects of up to 200 cm2 in the calf with similar results to those of microsurgical transfer flaps.

Effectiveness and feasibility of long-lasting insecticide-treated curtains and water container covers for dengue vector control in Colombia: a cluster randomised trial.

PubMed

Quintero, Juliana; García-Betancourt, Tatiana; Cortés, Sebastian; García, Diana; Alcalá, Lucas; González-Uribe, Catalina; Brochero, Helena; Carrasquilla, Gabriel

2015-02-01

Long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) window and door curtains alone or in combination with LLIN water container covers were analysed regarding effectiveness in reducing dengue vector density, and feasibility of the intervention. A cluster randomised trial was conducted in an urban area of Colombia comparing 10 randomly selected control and 10 intervention clusters. In control clusters, routine vector control activities were performed. The intervention delivered first, LLIN curtains (from July to August 2013) and secondly, water container covers (from October to March 2014). Cross-sectional entomological surveys were carried out at baseline (February 2013 to June 2013), 9 weeks after the first intervention (August to October 2013), and 4-6 weeks after the second intervention (March to April 2014). Curtains were installed in 922 households and water container covers in 303 households. The Breteau index (BI) fell from 14 to 6 in the intervention group and from 8 to 5 in the control group. The additional intervention with LLIN covers for water containers showed a significant reduction in pupae per person index (PPI) (p=0.01). In the intervention group, the PPI index showed a clear decline of 71% compared with 25% in the control group. Costs were high but options for cost savings were identified. Short term impact evaluation indicates that the intervention package can reduce dengue vector density but sustained effect will depend on multiple factors. © The author 2015. The World Health Organization has granted Oxford University Press permission for the reproduction of this article.

46 CFR Sec. 8 - Extra work and changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Extra work and changes. Sec. 8 Section 8 Shipping... Sec. 8 Extra work and changes. (a) At any time after the award of an original job order and during the time the work thereunder is being performed, additional or extra work or changes in the work covered by...

46 CFR Sec. 8 - Extra work and changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Extra work and changes. Sec. 8 Section 8 Shipping... Sec. 8 Extra work and changes. (a) At any time after the award of an original job order and during the time the work thereunder is being performed, additional or extra work or changes in the work covered by...

Delivering an effective outpatient service in gynaecology. A randomised controlled trial analysing the cost of outpatient versus daycase hysteroscopy.

PubMed

Marsh, Fiona; Kremer, Christian; Duffy, Sean

2004-03-01

To examine the cost implications of outpatient versus daycase hysteroscopy to the National Health Service, the patient and their employer. Randomised controlled trial. The gynaecology clinic of a large teaching hospital. Ninety-seven women with abnormal uterine bleeding requiring investigation. Women were randomly allocated to either outpatient or daycase hysteroscopy. They were asked to complete diaries recording expenses and time off work. The National Health Service costs were calculated for a standard outpatient and daycase hysteroscopy. Costs to the National Health Service, costs to the employer, loss of income, childcare costs and travel expenses. The outpatient group required significantly less time off work compared with the daycase group (0.8 days vs 3.3 days), P < 0.001. Of those women who lost income due to the hysteroscopy, the average loss of income was twice as much in the daycase group ( pound 20.40 in the outpatient group vs pound 50.60 in the daycase group). The average cost of childcare required to cover the time spent in hospital undergoing the hysteroscopy was similar in both groups, however, the number of women requiring childcare was small. Travel costs incurred by the women were 74% more in the daycase group compared with the outpatient group-with an average cost of pound 3.46 in the outpatient group and pound 6.02 in the daycase group. Daycase hysteroscopy costs the National Health Service approximately pound 53.88 more per patient, than performing an outpatient hysteroscopy. Purchasing the hysteroscopes necessary to perform an outpatient hysteroscopy is a more expensive outlay than those required for daycase hysteroscopy. However, there are so many other savings that only 38 patients need to undergo outpatient hysteroscopy (even with a 4% failure rate) rather than daycase hysteroscopy in order to recoup the extra money required to set up an outpatient hysteroscopy service. Outpatient hysteroscopy offers many benefits over its traditional counterpart including faster recovery, less time away from work and home and cost savings to the woman and her employer and the National Health Service. Resources need to be made available to rapidly develop this service across the UK in order to better serve both patient and taxpayer.

Determinants of 12-step group affiliation and moderators of the affiliation-abstinence relationship.

PubMed

Timko, Christine; Billow, Rachel; DeBenedetti, Anna

2006-06-28

This study examined characteristics of substance use disorder (SUD) outpatients at intake to treatment (N=345) that were associated with more 12-step group attendance and involvement, Steps worked, and acceptance of 12-step philosophy at a 6-month follow-up (N=281, 81.4%). Patient characteristics covered the domains of sociodemographics, SUD severity, personal functioning, and previous help received. Distinguishing baseline characteristics of patients who attended more 12-step group meetings during follow-up were being less-educated, more engaged in religious practices, and more extroverted and interpersonally competent, and having had more previous 12-step group exposure. These patient characteristics were generally similar to those associated with more 12-step meeting involvement and philosophy acceptance. More 12-step meeting attendance and involvement were related to abstinence at 6 months. Associations of attendance with abstinence were stronger among patients who were younger, white, less-educated, unstably employed, less religious, and less interpersonally skilled. These patients may have had fewer available social resources and so benefitted more from the fellowship and support for abstinence that 12-step group members often provide. We suggest methods by which treatment providers may encourage 12-step group affiliation among patients likely to benefit from it on substance use outcomes.

40 CFR 68.85 - Hot work permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.85 Hot work permit. (a) The owner or operator shall issue a hot work permit for hot work operations conducted on or near a covered process. (b...

The Ad Hoc Mars Airplane science working group. [remotely piloted airplane as a Mars exploration vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clarke, V. C., Jr.

1978-01-01

The capability of a remotely piloted airplane as a Mars exploration vehicle in the aerial survey mode is assessed. Specific experiment areas covered include: visual imaging; gamma ray and infrared reflectance spectroscopy; gravity field; magnetic field and electromagnetic sounding; and atmospheric composition and dynamics. It is concluded that (1) the most important use of a plane in the aerial survey mode would be in topical studies and returned sample site characterization; (2) the airplane offers the unique capability to do high resolution, oblique imaging, and repeated profile measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer; and (3) it offers the best platform from which to do electromagnetic sounding.

Minutes of the Sixth CEOS Plenary Meeting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

The Committee on Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS) minutes for the sixth plenary meeting held in London, December 9-11, 1992 are presented. Attending as prospective members were the Russian Space Agency (RSA), the Committee for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of the Ministry for Ecology and Natural resources of the Russian Federation (ROSCOMGIDROMET), the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the National Remote Sensing Center of China (NRSCC). Actions taken at the meeting included membership issues, CEOS proposals, data policy, and working group reports. Data requirements of CEOS affiliates were also reported on. Additional summations and statements as well as lists of participants and future meetings are included. In general, topics covered related to remote sensing and global change.

40 CFR 68.85 - Hot work permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Hot work permit. 68.85 Section 68.85... ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.85 Hot work permit. (a) The owner or operator shall issue a hot work permit for hot work operations conducted on or near a covered process. (b...

40 CFR 68.85 - Hot work permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Hot work permit. 68.85 Section 68.85... ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.85 Hot work permit. (a) The owner or operator shall issue a hot work permit for hot work operations conducted on or near a covered process. (b...

40 CFR 68.85 - Hot work permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Hot work permit. 68.85 Section 68.85... ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.85 Hot work permit. (a) The owner or operator shall issue a hot work permit for hot work operations conducted on or near a covered process. (b...

40 CFR 68.85 - Hot work permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Hot work permit. 68.85 Section 68.85... ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.85 Hot work permit. (a) The owner or operator shall issue a hot work permit for hot work operations conducted on or near a covered process. (b...

29 CFR 4.178 - Computation of hours worked.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... in which the employee is suffered or permitted to work whether or not required to do so, and all time... performance of a covered contract, a computation of their hours worked in each workweek when such work under... in which the employee is engaged in performing work on contracts subject to the Act. However, unless...

20 CFR 404.1021 - Work for the District of Columbia.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1021 Work for the District of Columbia. If you work as an employee of the... employment unless— (a) Your work is covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States...

20 CFR 404.1021 - Work for the District of Columbia.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1021 Work for the District of Columbia. If you work as an employee of the... employment unless— (a) Your work is covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States...

20 CFR 404.1021 - Work for the District of Columbia.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1021 Work for the District of Columbia. If you work as an employee of the... employment unless— (a) Your work is covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States...

20 CFR 404.1021 - Work for the District of Columbia.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Work Excluded from Employment § 404.1021 Work for the District of Columbia. If you work as an employee of the... employment unless— (a) Your work is covered by a retirement system established by a law of the United States...

Supervisors in ergonomic change of meat cutting work.

PubMed

Vogel, K

2012-01-01

Being a supervisor is an important and lonely occupation. The aim of this study was to identify barriers and opportunities in working conditions for supervisors, being facilitators and implementers of change for meat cutters. Nine supervisors of meat cutters in one large company were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews covered their roles as supervisors, performance of the change process and their own working conditions. Notes were taken and structured in themes. Similarities, differences, plus and minus were identified. There was a nuanced view on the change processes and their effects. The change processes and the decisions were anchored in a democratic process with groups of employees and the union. All were clear on what demands the company had on them. They were secure in a functioning network of peers and their immediate superior. On their own education, most were as a whole satisfied, but in need of more training and talked of lifelong learning. They considered their work demanding and lonely, with a need both to be manager and leader. A shared leadership could mean doing a better job. There is a need for education and training as a manager and leader as well as the opportunity to discuss with peers.

Workplace productivity, employment issues, and resource utilization in patients with bipolar I disorder.

PubMed

McMorris, Barbara J; Downs, Kristen E; Panish, Jessica M; Dirani, Riad

2010-03-01

To collect workplace productivity and healthcare utilization data from subjects with bipolar I disorder and compare the results with those from normative subjects. A cross sectional survey was administered to patients and recruiting physicians. Data collected included employment status, Endicott Workplace Productivity Scale (EWPS) results, healthcare resource utilization, and quality-of-life. In comparison with normative subjects, bipolar I subjects reported lower levels of work productivity (measured by the EWPS). Bipolar I subjects also reported more frequent outpatient visits and more prescribed pharmaceuticals. Bipolar I subjects were more likely to miss work, have worked reduced hours due to medical or mental health issues, receive disability payments, been involved in a crime, be uninsured or covered by Medicare, or have been fired or laid off. The study groups were age- and gender-matched to reduce the impact of selection bias associated with a non-randomized study design. Other potential limitations affecting the results of the study include recall bias and possibly an impact of different data collection methods (e.g. Internet versus telephone). Bipolar I disorder is associated with a negative effect on work productivity and resource utilization and is an appropriate disease management target for employers and healthcare decision makers.

Sterile working in ultrasonography: the use of dedicated ultrasound covers and sterile ultrasound gel.

PubMed

Marhofer, Peter; Fritsch, Gerhard

2015-01-01

Ultrasound is currently an important tool for diagnostic and interventional procedures. Ultrasound imaging provides significant advantages as compared to other imaging methods. The widespread use of ultrasound also carries the risk of drawbacks such as cross-infections. A large body of literature reports this possibly life-threatening side effect and specific patient populations are particularly at risk (e.g., neonates). Various methods of ultrasound probe disinfection are described; however, none of the mechanical or chemical probe disinfection procedures is optimal and, in particular, disinfection with high concentration of alcohol might be associated with ultrasound probe damage. The preparation of ultrasound probes with dedicated probe covers is a useful alternative for sterile working conditions. One ultrasound probe cover discussed in this paper is directly glued on to the ultrasound probe without the use of ultrasound coupling gel. By the use of sterile ultrasound coupling gel at the outer surface, additional effects on aseptic working conditions can be obtained.

Fertility and patterns of labor force participation among married women.

PubMed

Smith-Lovin, L; Tickamyer, A R

1981-01-01

Variations in women's response to childbearing and participation in the labor force are examined with the expectation that 2 distinct patterns will emerge clarifying the fertility-work effect. The hypothesis is offered that 1 group of women will drop out entirely at the onset of childbearing, returning to work after the children have grown, if at all. Another group will work almost continuously with almost no gap in labor force participation. Past research, concentrating on averaged direction of causal flow, have obscured this bimodal distribution. 3 problems hamper the study of fertility effects on career discontinuity: detailed work and birth histories covering extended periods of time are scarce, variables often obscure variability, and censored histories are frequent in which the timing of an event may or may not occur until after the survey and therefore cannot be observed. Data for the analysis are from the 1970 EEO survey (Explorations in Equaltiy of Opportunity), a national sample survey of women who were high school sophomores in 1955. Using only complete data from women who were still married to their 1st husbands yielded a sample size of 703. Of these, 39% were working in 1970 and 85% had 2 or more children. Employment status, recorded for each year, was a dichotomous variable distinguishing between no employment during the year and any employment. The fertility variable indicated if a child was or was not adopted or born during the year. The women were much more likely to work before their 1st birth than afterwards, at least during the early adult years covered by this survey. Women who began childbearing while still in high school were more likely to continue working after birth. College graduates were also somewhat more likely to continue working after their 1st birth. 70% of the women worked before their 1st birth, 30% after the onset of childbearing. Work discontinuity, measured by the number of gaps in employment indicate that over 50% of the childless women have continuous work histories compared to 3% of the women with 4 or more children. 30% of the women with large families have 2 or more gaps and this group is also more likely to never have worked. Controlling for censored or truncated histories, a bimodal distribution is observed in analyzing time lapse in return to work after the 1st birth for women who were working at the time of the 1st birth. 35% continue to work without a detectable break and over 40% do not return after 5 or more years. Examining different parities reveals that the more children a woman will have, the less likely she is to continue working without a gap after her 1st birth and the more likely she is to have stayed out for an extended period. The dual pattern is still evident among higher parity women. Women who were not working at the time of their 1st birth are unlikely to enter the work force within 5 years of that birth. The association with small families (parity 1) is unclear due to the small number of cases. Different parity progressions have different patterns of labor force participation. 52% of the childless women and 38% parity 1 have continuous work histories, a rarity for women with 2 or more children. The results support several theoretical explanations. Normative interpretation may depict women oriented to traditional roles as allowing fertility to influence other decisions, while women oriented to the work role are influenced by work opportunity. The human capital interpretation suggests that women would be less likely to leave jobs with a high penalty for discontinuation, however all women who dropped out would be likely to stay out as their household labor became relatively more valuable than wage labor. The concept of career lines takes into consideration compatibility and prestige. Women in jobs with expected growth in salary and prestige will tend to have continuous work histories if the jobs are compatible with childbearing and if substantial losses are associated with gaps in participation.

[Art Therapists in Health Care].

PubMed

Oster, J; Melches, J

2016-06-06

The members of the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Künstlerische Therapien (BAG KT - "Working Committee of Art Therapies of the Federal Republic of Germany") decided to carry out an analysis of the occupational group of art therapists, in the form of an online inquiry. For this purpose, a questionnaire covering all fields of art therapies was developed, recording socio-demographic and qualification data, data of different fields of activity, patient characteristics, institutional conditions and setting as well as data on reimbursement. 2303 evaluable data sets are available. Here, the main focus is on art therapists in the health care sector according to SGB (N=2134). 83% of them are female, 56% work in the field of emergency medicine and curative treatment, followed by rehabilitation and youth welfare. In all sectors, specialization in music and art therapy predominates. 57% of the therapists have a special graduate degree in art therapy methods, 83% have a graduate degree. 42% have a license to work as an alternative non-medical practitioner. Nearly all of them use methods of quality management. The results highlight the implementation of art therapies in health care. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Architectural Drafting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Ronald; Yancey, Bruce

Designed to be used as a supplement to a two-book course in basic drafting, these instructional materials consisting of 14 units cover the process of drawing all working drawings necessary for residential buildings. The following topics are covered in the individual units: introduction to architectural drafting, lettering and tools, site…

Journey in Aeronautical Research: A Career at NASA Langley Research Center. No. 12; Monographs in Aerospace History

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, W. Hewitt

1998-01-01

An autobiography, of a noted aeronautical engineer, W. Hewitt Phillips, whose career spanned 58 years (1940-1998) at NASA Langley is presented. This work covers his early years to the Sputnik launch. His interests have been in research in aeronautics and in the related problems of spaceflight. After an introduction, his early life through the college years is reviewed, and his early interest in model airplanes is described. The first assignment for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which would later become NASA, was with the Flight Research Division. His early work involved "Flying Qualities", i.e., the stability and control characteristics of an airplane. The next chapter describes his early analytical studies. His work during World War II in the design of military airplanes, and the other effects of the war on research activities, is covered in the next two chapters. This research was involved in such innovations and refinements as the swept wing, the flettner tabs, servo tabs, spring tabs and whirlerons. The rest of the work covers the research which Mr. Hewitt was involved in, after the war until the Sputnik launch. These areas include unsteady lift, measurements of turbulence in the atmosphere, gust alleviation, and lateral response to random turbulence. He was also involved in several investigations of airplane accidents. The last two chapters cover the administration of the Langley Research Center, and the dawn of the Space Age. A complete bibliography of reports written by Mr. Hewitt, is included.

Introduction to the GEOBIA 2010 special issue: From pixels to geographic objects in remote sensing image analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Addink, Elisabeth A.; Van Coillie, Frieke M. B.; De Jong, Steven M.

2012-04-01

Traditional image analysis methods are mostly pixel-based and use the spectral differences of landscape elements at the Earth surface to classify these elements or to extract element properties from the Earth Observation image. Geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) has received considerable attention over the past 15 years for analyzing and interpreting remote sensing imagery. In contrast to traditional image analysis, GEOBIA works more like the human eye-brain combination does. The latter uses the object's color (spectral information), size, texture, shape and occurrence to other image objects to interpret and analyze what we see. GEOBIA starts by segmenting the image grouping together pixels into objects and next uses a wide range of object properties to classify the objects or to extract object's properties from the image. Significant advances and improvements in image analysis and interpretation are made thanks to GEOBIA. In June 2010 the third conference on GEOBIA took place at the Ghent University after successful previous meetings in Calgary (2008) and Salzburg (2006). This special issue presents a selection of the 2010 conference papers that are worked out as full research papers for JAG. The papers cover GEOBIA applications as well as innovative methods and techniques. The topics range from vegetation mapping, forest parameter estimation, tree crown identification, urban mapping, land cover change, feature selection methods and the effects of image compression on segmentation. From the original 94 conference papers, 26 full research manuscripts were submitted; nine papers were selected and are presented in this special issue. Selection was done on the basis of quality and topic of the studies. The next GEOBIA conference will take place in Rio de Janeiro from 7 to 9 May 2012 where we hope to welcome even more scientists working in the field of GEOBIA.

Tree Canopy Cover Mapping Using LiDAR in Urban Barangays of Cebu City, Central Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ejares, J. A.; Violanda, R. R.; Diola, A. G.; Dy, D. T.; Otadoy, J. B.; Otadoy, R. E. S.

2016-06-01

This paper investigates tree canopy cover mapping of urban barangays (smallest administrative division in the Philippines) in Cebu City using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) was used to extract tree canopy cover. Multi-resolution segmentation and a series of assign-class algorithm in eCognition software was also performed to extract different land features. Contextual features of tree canopies such as height, area, roundness, slope, length-width and elliptic fit were also evaluated. The results showed that at the time the LiDAR data was collected (June 24, 2014), the tree cover was around 25.11 % (or 15,674,341.8 m2) of the city's urban barangays (or 62,426,064.6 m2). Among all urban barangays in Cebu City, Barangay Busay had the highest cover (55.79 %) while barangay Suba had the lowest (0.8 %). The 16 barangays with less than 10 % tree cover were generally located in the coastal area, presumably due to accelerated urbanization. Thirty-one barangays have tree cover ranging from 10.59--27.3 %. Only 3 barangays (i.e., Lahug, Talamban, and Busay) have tree cover greater than 30 %. The overall accuracy of the analysis was 96.6 % with the Kappa Index of Agreement or KIA of 0.9. From the study, a grouping can be made of the city's urban barangays with regards to tree cover. The grouping will be useful to urban planners not only in allocating budget to the tree planting program of the city but also in planning and creation of urban parks and playgrounds.

Work and Family Functioning: An Annotated Bibliography Selected from Family Database.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Mari, Comp.

This annotated bibliography lists works published in Australia on issues regarding work obligations and family responsibilities. All works cited are included in Australia's FAMILY database. The following topics are covered: (1) adolescents and attitudes to employment (14 citations); (2) the aged and employment (20 citations); (3) career…

29 CFR 1910.331 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices § 1910.331 Scope. (a) Covered work... electrical safety-related work practices for both qualified persons (those who have training in avoiding the...

29 CFR 1910.331 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices § 1910.331 Scope. (a) Covered work... electrical safety-related work practices for both qualified persons (those who have training in avoiding the...

Effects of different orthodontic primers on enamel demineralization around orthodontic brackets.

PubMed

Baysal, Asli; Yasa, Asli; Sogut, Ozlem; Ozturk, Mehmet Ali; Uysal, Tancan

2015-09-01

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of one self-etching and two filled orthodontic primers on enamel demineralization around orthodontic brackets. Brackets were bonded to 84 bovine teeth and the vestibular enamel surfaces covered with acid-resistant nail varnish exposing 1 mm of space on each side of the bracket base. The teeth were allocated to four groups, using either Transbond XT conventional primer on etched enamel (group 1), Transbond Plus Self-Etching Primer on untreated enamel (group 2), Pro Seal filled resin primer on etched enamel (group 3), or Opal Seal filled resin primer on etched enamel (group 4). Each tooth was subjected to 15,000 strokes of brushing followed by exposure to an acid challenge. Calcium-ion release from each sample was calculated using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and a post hoc Tukey test. Differences were considered statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05. Statistically significant differences were observed between the four groups (p < 0.001). No significant difference was found between the controls (group 1) and the Opal Seal group. Higher calcium release was observed in the Pro Seal group and the self-etching primer group compared to the controls. The highest calcium release was recorded in the self-etching primer group. Filled sealants may not have a protective effect against enamel demineralization. Transbond Plus Self-Etching Primer should be used cautiously, considering the risk of demineralization involved in its application.

Habitat management of organic vineyard in Northern Italy: the role of cover plants management on arthropod functional biodiversity.

PubMed

Burgio, G; Marchesini, E; Reggiani, N; Montepaone, G; Schiatti, P; Sommaggio, D

2016-12-01

The effect of cover plants on arthropod functional biodiversity was investigated in a vineyard in Northern Italy, through a 3-year field experiment. The following six ground cover plants were tested: Sweet Alyssum; Phacelia; Buckwheat; Faba Bean; Vetch and Oat; control. Arthropods were sampled using different techniques, including collection of leaves, vacuum sampling and sweeping net. Ground cover plant management significantly affected arthropod fauna, including beneficial groups providing ecosystem services like biological control against pests. Many beneficial groups were attracted by ground cover treatments in comparison with control, showing an aggregative numerical response in the plots managed with some of the selected plant species. Alyssum, Buckwheat and 'Vetch and Oat' mixture showed attractiveness on some Hymenoptera parasitoid families, which represented 72.3% of the insects collected by sweeping net and 45.7 by vacuum sampling. Phytoseiidae mites showed a significant increase on leaves of the vineyard plots managed with ground covers, in comparison with control, although they did not show any difference among the treatments. In general, the tested ground cover treatments did not increase dangerous Homoptera populations in comparison with control, with the exception of Alyssum. The potential of ground cover plant management in Italian vineyards is discussed: the overall lack of potential negative effects of the plants tested, combined with an aggregative numerical response for many beneficials, seems to show a potential for their use in Northern Italy vineyards.

46 CFR 272.24 - Subsidy repair summaries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... OPERATORS REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING CONDITION SURVEYS AND ADMINISTERING MAINTENANCE AND... invoices covering the work performed. If an invoice is not itemized and fully descriptive of the work...

46 CFR 272.24 - Subsidy repair summaries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... OPERATORS REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING CONDITION SURVEYS AND ADMINISTERING MAINTENANCE AND... invoices covering the work performed. If an invoice is not itemized and fully descriptive of the work...

46 CFR 272.24 - Subsidy repair summaries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... OPERATORS REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING CONDITION SURVEYS AND ADMINISTERING MAINTENANCE AND... invoices covering the work performed. If an invoice is not itemized and fully descriptive of the work...

46 CFR 272.24 - Subsidy repair summaries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OPERATORS REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING CONDITION SURVEYS AND ADMINISTERING MAINTENANCE AND... invoices covering the work performed. If an invoice is not itemized and fully descriptive of the work...

46 CFR 272.24 - Subsidy repair summaries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... OPERATORS REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING CONDITION SURVEYS AND ADMINISTERING MAINTENANCE AND... invoices covering the work performed. If an invoice is not itemized and fully descriptive of the work...

Classification of very high resolution satellite remote sensing data in a pilot phase of the forest cover classification of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Forêts d'Afrique Central Evaluées par Télédetection (FACET) product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singa Monga Lowengo, C.

2012-12-01

The Observatoire Satellital des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale (OSFAC) based in Kinshasa, serves as the focal point of the GOFC-GOLD network for Central Africa. OSFAC's long term objective is building regional capacity to use remotely sensed data to map forest cover and forest cover change across Central Africa. OSFAC archives and disseminates satellite data, offers training in geospatial data applications in coordination with the University of Kinshasa, and provides technical support to CARPE partners. Forêts d'Afrique Centrale Évaluées par Télédétection (FACET) is an OSFAC initiative that implements the UMD/SDSU methodology at the national level and quantitatively evaluates the spatiotemporal dynamics of forest cover in Central Africa. The multi-temporal series of FACET data is a useful contribution to many projects, such as biodiversity monitoring, climate modeling, conservation, natural resource management, land use planning, agriculture and REDD+. I am working as Remote Sensing and GIS Officer in various projects of OSFAC. My activities include forest cover and lands dynamics monitoring in Congo Basin. I am familiar with the use of digital mapping software, GIS and RS (Arc GIS, ENVI and PCI Geomatica etc.), classification and spatial Analysis of satellite images, 3D modeling, etc. I started as an intern at OSFAC, Assistant Trainer (Professional Training) and Consultant than permanent employee since October 2009. To assist in the OSFAC activities regarding the monitoring of forest cover and the CARPE program in the context of natural resources management, I participated in the development of the FACET Atlas (Republic of Congo). I received data from Matt Hansen (map.img), WRI and Brazzaville (shapefiles). With all these data I draw maps of the ROC Atlas and statistics of forest cover and forest loss. We organize field work on land to collect data to validate the FACET product. Therefore, to assess forest cover in the region of Kwamouth and Kahuzi-Maiko Biega landscape with very high resolution data and field work for validating FACET product (Remotelly Sensing Product).;

Constellation X-Ray Mission and Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tananbaum, H.; Grady, Jean (Technical Monitor)

2005-01-01

This Final Report summarizes work performed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under Cooperative Agreement NCC5-368. The Agreement is entitled "Constellation X-ray Mission Study and Support." The report covers the full duration of the Agreement which ran from October 1,1998 to October 14,2004. Included in the report is a description of previously unreported work that was performed between October 2003 and the end of the Agreement. For convenience, the previously unreported work is covered first in Section 2.0. Then, an overall summary of all work performed under the Agreement is presented in Section 3. Section 4.0 contains a list of all formal reports that SAO has submitted to GSFC along with publications and presentations at various conferences.

Impacts of deer herbivory on vegetation in Rock Creek Park, 2001-2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kraft, Cairn C.; Hatfield, Jeff S.

2011-01-01

Starting in 2001, vegetation data have been collected annually in 16 study modules consisting of paired (1x4 m) fenced plots and unfenced control plots located in the upland forests of Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. Vegetation data collected from 2001-2009 have been analyzed to determine impacts of deer herbivory on vegetation in the park. Differences between fenced plots and unfenced control plots were analyzed for the following variables: cover provided by various groups of species (woody, herbaceous, native, non-native, trees, shrubs, and woody vines), as well as by individual dominant species, vegetation thickness (a measure of percent cover projected horizontally that provides information on the vertical distribution of vegetation), and species richness overall and for groups of species (woody, herbaceous, native, non-native, trees, shrubs, and woody vines). The analyses were performed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and associated tests. Vegetation in plots protected from deer herbivory for 9 years showed significantly greater vegetative cover compared to plots not protected from deer herbivory. This effect was most pronounced for woody and shrub cover. Cover by the dominant species was not significantly greater in the fenced plots compared to the unfenced control plots, indicating that the significant differences observed for groups were not driven by single species within those groups. With respect to vegetation thickness, results indicate that protection from deer herbivory produced significantly higher levels of vegetation in the fenced plots compared to the unfenced control plots for both the Low (0-30 cm) and Middle (30-110 cm) height classes. Protection from deer herbivory has led to higher overall species richness and higher species richness for woody species, natives, and shrubs compared to plots not receiving protection. There is also evidence that plots protected from deer herbivory and those not receiving this protection are diverging over time with respect to a number of variables such as cover by woody and shrub species, cover in the lowest height class, and species richness of woody and native species. Recommendations were made regarding future sampling.

Evaluating rapid ground sampling and scaling estimated plant cover using UAV imagery up to Landsat for mapping arctic vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, P.; Paradis, D. P.

2017-12-01

The small stature and spectral diversity of arctic plant taxa presents challenges in mapping arctic vegetation. Mapping vegetation at the appropriate scale is needed to visualize effects of disturbance, directional vegetation change or mapping of specific plant groups for other applications (eg. habitat mapping). Fine spatial grain of remotely sensed data (ca. 10 cm pixels) is often necessary to resolve patches of many arctic plant groups, such as bryophytes and lichens. These groups are also spectrally different from mineral, litter and vascular plants. We sought to explore method to generate high-resolution spatial and spectral data to explore better mapping methods for arctic vegetation. We sampled ground vegetation at seven sites north or west of tree-line in Alaska, four north of Fairbanks and three northwest of Bethel, respectively. At each site, we estimated cover of plant functional types in 1m2 quadrats spaced approximately every 10 m along a 100 m long transect. Each quadrat was also scanned using a field spectroradiometer (PSR+ Spectral Evolution, 400-2500 nm range) and photographed from multiple perspectives. We then flew our small UAV with a RGB camera over the transect and at least 50 m on either side collecting on imagery of the plot, which were used to generate a image mosaic and digital surface model of the plot. We compare plant functional group cover ocular estimated in situ to post-hoc estimation, either automated or using a human observer, using the quadrat photos. We also compare interpolated lichen cover from UAV scenes to estimated lichen cover using a statistical models using Landsat data, with focus on lichens. Light and yellow lichens are discernable in the UAV imagery but certain lichens, especially dark colored lichens or those with spectral signatures similar to graminoid litter, present challenges. Future efforts will focus on integrating UAV-upscaled ground cover estimates to hyperspectral sensors (eg. AVIRIS ng) for better combined spectral and spatial resolution.

Near Road Tree Cover in the Portland, ME EnviroAtlas Community Area

EPA Science Inventory

Internationally, local air pollution from busy roadways is a significant issue for public health. Recent studies have shown that having tree cover between highly-traveled roads and people living, working, and going to school nearby can help to mitigate pollution and potentially r...

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK IN WISCONSIN, A DESCRIPTION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK, GUIDELINES FOR A SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM. SOCIAL WORK IN OUR SCHOOLS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

STAPLES, RICHARD M., COMP.

THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK DEVELOPMENT, PRACTICE, AND BASIC PRINCIPLES, THE ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF--(1) THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS, (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS, AND (3) EXISTING SCHOOL PROGRAMS. REFERRAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE COVERED. THE MANY ROLES OF THE…

Covered California: The Impact of Provider and Health Plan Market Power on Premiums.

PubMed

Scheffler, Richard M; Kessell, Eric; Brandt, Margareta

2015-12-01

We explain the establishment of Covered California, California's health insurance marketplace. The marketplace uses an active purchaser model, which means that Covered California can selectively contract with some health plans and exclude others. During the 2014 open-enrollment period, it enrolled 1.3 million people, who are covered by eleven health plans. We describe the market shares of health plans in California and in each of the nineteen rating regions. We examine the empirical relationship between measures of provider market concentration--spanning health plans, hospitals, and medical groups--and rating region premiums. To do this, we analyze premiums for silver and bronze plans for specific age groups. We find both medical group concentration and hospital concentration to be positively associated with premiums, while health plan concentration is not statistically significant. We simulate the impact of reducing hospital concentration to levels that would exist in moderately competitive markets. This produces a predicted overall premium reduction of more than 2 percent. However, in three of the nineteen rating regions, the predicted premium reduction was more than 10 percent. These results suggest the importance of provider market concentration on premiums. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

Evaluation of Electrical Characteristics of Protective Equipment - a Prerequisite for Ensuring Safety and Health of Workers at Work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buică, G.; Beiu, C.; Antonov, A.; Dobra, R.; Păsculescu, D.

2017-06-01

The protecting electrical equipment in use are subject to various factors generated by the use, maintenance, storage and working environment, which may change the characteristics of protection against electric shock. The study presents the results of research on the behaviour over time of protective characteristics of insulating covers of material of work equipment in use, in order to determine the type and periodicity of safety tests. There were tested and evaluated safety equipment with plastic and insulating rubber covers used in operations of verifying functionality, safety and maintenance of machinery used in manufacturing industries and specific services from electric, energy and food sector.

Four Weeks of β-alanine Supplementation Improves High-Intensity Game Activities in Water Polo.

PubMed

Brisola, Gabriel Motta Pinheiro; de Souza Malta, Elvis; Santiago, Paulo Roberto Pereira; Vieira, Luiz Henrique Palucci; Zagatto, Alessandro Moura

2018-04-13

The present study aimed to investigate whether four weeks of β-alanine supplementation improves total distance covered, distance covered and time spent in different speed zones, and sprint numbers during a simulated water polo game. The study design was double-blind, parallel and placebo controlled. Eleven male water polo players participated in the study, divided randomly into two homogeneous groups (placebo and β-alanine groups). The participants performed a simulated water polo game before and after the supplementation period (4 weeks). Participants received 4.8g∙day -1 of dextrose or β-alanine on the first ten days and 6.4g∙day -1 on the final 18 days. Only the β-alanine group presented a significant improvement in total sprint numbers compared to the pre-supplementation moment (PRE=7.8±5.2a.u.; POST=20.2±7.8a.u.; p=.002). Furthermore, β-alanine supplementation presented a likely beneficial effect on improving total distance covered (83%) and total time spent (81%) in zone 4 of speed (i.e., speed≥1.8m∙s -1 ). There was no significant interaction effect (group×time) for any variable. To conclude, four weeks of β-alanine supplementation can slightly improve sprint numbers and had a likely beneficial effect on improving distance covered and time spent in zone 4 of speed in a water polo simulated game.

A Report of the Child Labor Task Force.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oregon State Bureau of Labor and Industry, Portland.

A task force studied youth work and its impact on the health, education, and safety of 16- and 17-year-olds. The study covered such issues as the following: effects of work on school performance, work's physical and psychological effects on young people, the effects work can have on young people's preparation for lifelong work, and what steps can…

Efficacy of Mucograft vs Conventional Resorbable Collagen Membranes in Guided Bone Regeneration Around Standardized Calvarial Defects in Rats: A Histologic and Biomechanical Assessment.

PubMed

Ramalingam, Sundar; Basudan, Amani; Babay, Nadir; Al-Rasheed, Abdulaziz; Nooh, Nasser; Nagshbandi, Jafar; Aldahmash, Abdullah; Atteya, Muhammad; Al-Hezaimi, Khalid

2016-01-01

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) using a porcine-derived collagen matrix (Mucograft [MG], Geistlich) has not yet been reported. The aim of this histologic and biomechanical study was to compare the efficacy of MG versus resorbable collagen membranes (RCMs) in facilitating GBR around standardized rat calvarial defects. Forty female Wistar albino rats with a mean age and weight of 6 to 9 weeks and 250 to 300 g, respectively, were used. With the rats under general anesthesia, the skin over the calvaria was exposed using a full-thickness flap. A 4.6-mm-diameter standardized calvarial defect was created in the left parietal bone. For treatment, the rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10 per group): (1) MG group: the defect was covered with MG; (2) RCM group: the defect was covered with an RCM; (3) MG + bone group: the defect was filled with bone graft particles and covered by MG; and (4) RCM + bone group: the defect was filled with bone graft particles and covered by an RCM. Primary closure was achieved using interrupted resorbable sutures. The animals were sacrificed at 8 weeks after the surgical procedures. Qualitative histologic analysis and biomechanical assessment to identify hardness and elastic modulus of newly formed bone (NFB) were performed. Collected data were statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. Histologic findings revealed NFB with fibrous connective tissue in all groups. The quantity of NFB was highest in the RCM + bone group. Statistically significant differences in the hardness (F = 567.69, dfN = 3, dfD = 36, P < .001) and elastic modulus (F = 294.19, dfN = 3, dfD = 36, P < .001) of NFB were found between the groups. Although the RCM + bone group had the highest mean ± standard deviation (SD) hardness of NFB (531.4 ± 24.9 MPa), the RCM group had the highest mean ± SD elastic modulus of NFB (18.63 ± 1.89 GPa). The present study demonstrated that RCMs are better than MG at enhancing new bone formation in standardized rat calvarial defects when used along with mineralized particulate graft material.

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

Wang Zhongmin, E-mail: wzm0722@hotmail.com; Huang Xunbo, E-mail: huangxunbo0722@hotmail.com; Cao Jun, E-mail: caojun88888@hotmail.com

Objective: This study was designed to compare the clinical effectiveness of intraluminal radioactive stent loaded with iodine-125 seeds implantation versus covered stent alone insertion in patients with malignant esophageal stricture. Methods: We studied two groups of patients with malignant esophageal stricture. Group A comprised 28 patients (19 men and 9 women) who underwent intraluminal radioactive stent loaded with iodine-125 seeds implantation and were followed prospectively. Group B comprised 30 patients (18 men and 12 women) who had previously received covered stent alone insertion; these patients were evaluated retrospectively. There was no crossover between the two groups during follow-up. Informed consentmore » was obtained from each patient, and our institutional review board approved the study. The dysphagia score, overall survival rates, complication rates, and reintervention rates were compared in the two groups. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline characteristics. Stent placement was technically successful and well tolerated in all patients. The dysphagia score was improved in both groups after stent placement. The median survival was significantly longer in group A than in group B: 11 versus 4.9 months, respectively (P < 0.001). The complications of chest pain, esophageal reflux, and stent migration was more frequent in group B, but this difference did not reach statistical significance. There was no statistical difference in reintervention between two groups. Conclusions: Intraluminal radioactive stent loaded with iodine-125 seeds implantation was a feasible and practical management in treating malignant esophageal stricture and was superior to covered stent alone insertion, as measured by survival.« less

Team-Based Learning and Open-Book Quizzes: Determining What Works in an Introductory Geoscience Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teed, R.

2008-12-01

Concepts in Geology (EES 345) is an inquiry-based ten-week geoscience course for pre-service elementary and middle-school teachers at Wright State University. For most of them, this is the first and last geoscience class that they take. Required readings are an important part of the class because of the amount of vocabulary and number of concepts that students need to master. It is not possible to spend much class time on lectures that cover the same material, as students are expected to be doing hands-on activities, presentations, discussions, and laboratory exercises applying the material learned from reading. As the instructor, I administer frequent quizzes to encourage students to do the reading and to take notes. The quizzes are 10 multiple-choice questions each and the students are allowed to use a single page of notes. After they complete their quizzes individually, the students gather in groups of three or four and work on the same questions, but are allowed to discuss their answers. This motivates students further to be scrupulous about reading, enables them to help each other overcome mistakes, and helps them work out difficult problems that overwhelmed individuals in the group. The average group scores on in-class, closed- book quizzes are almost always higher than highest average individual score (more than 5% on the average), so even the best-prepared person in the group is managing to learn something from his or her peers. After the all the scores are recorded, I tally the number of correct group and individual answers to each question. If one or more groups gets a question wrong, it's clearly a hard question and worth going over during class time. If more than half of the groups get a question wrong, it is not scored as part of the total. When I used a new text last spring, students found the quizzes overwhelmingly hard. So I let students take the individual quizzes home to answer directly from the book and continued to give group quizzes in class. Students no longer brought notes to the group quizzes. In some groups, all individuals gave identical wrong answers to the same questions (and repeated that answer on the group quiz) indicating probable cooperation on the individual quizzes. The average group scores were no longer significantly higher than the average individual scores, indicating less learning, and the groups still had trouble answering questions involving problem-solving or synthesis or comparison of ideas.

Hydrophobic, ductile, and transparent nanocellulose films with quaternary alkylammonium carboxylates on nanofibril surfaces.

PubMed

Shimizu, Michiko; Saito, Tsuguyuki; Fukuzumi, Hayaka; Isogai, Akira

2014-11-10

Hydrophobic, ductile, and transparent nanocellulose films were prepared by casting and drying aqueous dispersions of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNs) with quaternary alkylammoniums (QAs) as counterions for the surface carboxylate groups. TOCN films with tetramethylammonium and tetraethylammonium carboxylates showed high optical transparencies, strain-to-failure values (14-22%), and work-of-fracture values (20-27 MJ m(-3)). The ductility of these films was likely caused by the alkyl chains of the QA groups densely covering the TOCN surfaces and being present at the interfaces between the TOCN elements in the films. The water contact angle of the TOCN-QA films increased to ∼100° by introducing tetra(n-butyl)ammonium groups as counterions. Thus, TOCN film properties can be controlled by changing the chemical structure of the counterions from Na to QAs. The hydrophilic TOCN surfaces can be changed to hydrophobic simply and efficiently by the conversion from TOCN-Na to TOCN-QA, when TOCNs are used as nanofillers in hydrophobic polymer matrices.

New Developments in the SCIAMACHY L2 Ground Processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gretschany, S.; Lichtenberg, G.; Meringer, M.; Theys, N.; Lerot, C.; Eichmann, K.-U.; Liebing, P.; Noel, S.; Dehn, A.; Fehr, T.

2016-08-01

SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric ChartographY) aboard ESA's environmental satellite ENVISAT observed the Earth's atmosphere in limb, nadir, and solar/lunar occultation geometries covering the UV-Visible to NIR spectral range. It is a joint project of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium and was launched in February 2002. SCIAMACHY doubled its originally planned in-orbit lifetime of five years before the communication to ENVISAT was severed in April 2012, and the mission entered its post- operational phase F.The SCIAMACHY Quality Working Group (SQWG) was established in 2007. The group coordinates evolution of algorithms and processors, aiming at improving the quality of the operational data products. University of Bremen (IUP), BIRA, DLR-IMF, SRON (Netherlands Institute for Space Research) and KNMI (The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) are the members providing expertise in this group.In order to preserve the best quality of the outstanding data obtained by SCIAMACHY, data processors are still being updated. This presentation will highlight new developments that are currently being incorporated into the forthcoming Version 7 of ESA's operational Level 2 processor.