WorldWideScience

Sample records for csu valsts imnzija

  1. Banku reklāmas stratēģiju un valsts ekonomiskā stāvokļa mijiedarbība

    OpenAIRE

    Vernere, Elīna

    2009-01-01

    Darba tēma ir banku reklāmas stratēģiju un valsts ekonomiskā stāvokļa mijiedarbība. Galvenais pētījuma mērķis bija izprast, kā pašreizējā valsts ekonomiskā situācija izmainījusi sabiedrības vajadzības, pieprasījumu pēc banku pakalpojumiem un līdz ar to arī banku komunikāciju ar saviem klientiem ar vides reklāmas ziņojumu palīdzību. Galvenais pētījuma uzsvars tika likts uz reklāmas ziņojumu emocionālajiem un racionālajiem aspektiem. Papildus veiktajam pētījumam tika apskatīta arī reklāmas teor...

  2. The CSU Accelerator and FEL Facility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Milton, S.V.; Biedron, S.G.; Burleson, T.; Carrico, C.; Edelenbos, J.; Hall, C.; Horovitz, K.; Morin, A.; Rand, L.; Sipahi, N.; Sipahi, T.; van der Slot, P.; Yehudah, H.; Dong, A.; Tanaka, T.; Schaa, V.R.W.

    2013-01-01

    The Colorado State University (CSU) Accelerator Facility will include a 6-MeV L-Band electron linear accelerator (linac) with a free-electron laser (FEL) system capable of producing Terahertz (THz) radiation, a laser laboratory, a microwave test stand, and a magnetic test stand. The photocathode

  3. Biosorption of uranium by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain CSU: Characterization and comparison studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, M.Z.C.; Norman, J.M.; Faison, B.D.; Reeves, M.E.

    1996-01-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain CSU, a nongenetically engineered bacterial strain known to bind dissolved hexavalent uranium (as UO 2 2+ and/or its cationic hydroxo complexes) was characterized with respect to its sorptive activity. The uranium biosorption equilibrium could be described by the Langmuir isotherm. The rate of uranium adsorption increased following permeabilization of the outer and/or cytoplasmic membrane by organic solvents such as acetone. P. aeruginosa CSU biomass was significantly more sorptive toward uranium than certain novel, patented biosorbents derived from algal or fungal biomass sources. P. aeruginosa CSU biomass was also competitive with commercial cation-exchange resins, particularly in the presence of dissolved transition metals. Uranium binding by P. aeruginosa CSU was clearly pH dependent. Uranium loading capacity increased with increasing pH under acidic conditions, presumably as a function of uranium speciation and due to the H + competition at some binding sites. Nevertheless, preliminary evidence suggests that this microorganism is also capable of binding anionic hexavalent uranium complexes. Ferric iron was a strong inhibitor of uranium binding to P. aeruginosa CSU biomass, and the presence of uranium also decreased the Fe 3+ loading when the biomass was not saturated with Fe 3+ . Thus, a two-state process in which iron and uranium are removed in consecutive steps was proposed for efficient use of the biomass as a biosorbent in uranium removal from mine wastewater, especially acidic leachates

  4. Valūtas tirgus. Eiro kā valsts valūta Latvijā

    OpenAIRE

    Bondarevs, Maksims

    2007-01-01

    Maksima Bondareva diplomdarba “ Valūtas tirgus. Eiro kā valsts valūta Latvijā”. Diplomdarba mērķis ir: izpētīt tagadnes Latvijas ekonomisko situāciju un noteikt vai tā ir labvēlīga eiro ieviešanai. Lai sasniegtu darba mērķi, tika izvirzīti vairāki uzdevumi: 1.raksturot valūtas sistēmas attīstības posmi un tas pakāpeniskas izmaiņas; 2.raksturot Monetārās sistēmas attistību; 3.izpētīt eiro ieviešanas Latvijā riskus un iespējas; 4.izdarīt secinājumus par Latvijas gatavību ei...

  5. Facile CO cleavage by a multimetallic CsU2 nitride complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falcone, Marta; Scopelliti, Rosario; Mazzanti, Marinella; Kefalidis, Christos E.; Maron, Laurent

    2016-01-01

    Uranium nitrides are important materials with potential for application as fuels for nuclear power generation, and as highly active catalysts. Molecular nitride compounds could provide important insight into the nature of the uranium-nitride bond, but currently little is known about their reactivity. In this study, we found that a complex containing a nitride bridging two uranium centers and a cesium cation readily cleaved the C≡O bond (one of the strongest bonds in nature) under ambient conditions. The product formed has a [CsU 2 (μ-CN)(μ-O)] core, thus indicating that the three cations cooperate to cleave CO. Moreover, the addition of MeOTf to the nitride complex led to an exceptional valence disproportionation of the CsU IV -N-U IV core to yield CsU III (OTf) and [MeN=U V ] fragments. The important role of multimetallic cooperativity in both reactions is illustrated by the computed reaction mechanisms.

  6. CSU attention focuses on the Asian markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-07-15

    European coal terminal operators increasingly select grab cranes over continuous ship loader (CSU) technology, but does the Far East still offer the greatest potential for growth? Siewertell, part of the Cargotec group, has developed something of a niche market with its screw-type CSUs. The article reports recent business by Siwertell and ThyssenKrupp Foerdertechnik (TFK). 2 photos.

  7. Colorado State University (CSU) accelerator and FEL facility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Milton, S.; Biedron, S.; Harris, J.; Martinez, J.; D'Audney, A.; Edelen, J.; Einstein, J.; Hall, C.; Horovitz, K.; Morin, A.; Sipahi, N.; Sipahi, T.; Williams, J.; Carrico, C.; Van Der Slot, P. J M

    2014-01-01

    The Colorado State University (CSU) Accelerator Facility will include a 6-MeV L-Band (1.3 GHz) electron linear accelerator (linac) with a free-electron laser (FEL) system capable of producing Terahertz (THz) radiation, a laser laboratory, a microwave test laboratory, and a magnetic test laboratory.

  8. Beam Position Monitoring in the CSU Accelerator Facility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Einstein, Joshua; Vankeuren, Max; Watras, Stephen

    2014-03-01

    A Beam Position Monitoring (BPM) system is an integral part of an accelerator beamline, and modern accelerators can take advantage of newer technologies and designs when creating a BPM system. The Colorado State University (CSU) Accelerator Facility will include four stripline detectors mounted around the beamline, a low-noise analog front-end, and digitization and interface circuitry. The design will support a sampling rate greater than 10 Hz and sub-100 μm accuracy.

  9. The California State University Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CSU-LSAMP): A Collaborative, Comprehensive Approach to Broadening Participation in STEM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammersley, L. C.

    2016-12-01

    The National Science Foundation's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program supports alliances of institutions in their efforts to broaden participation in STEM and diversify the STEM workforce. There are currently 42 LSAMP alliances across the nation. Formed in 1993, the California State University LSAMP program (CSU-LSAMP) is an alliance of all 23 campuses of the CSU system and serves over 3,000 students per year. The primary goals of CSU-LSAMP are to increase persistence and graduation rates for URM participants, increase the number of STEM degrees awarded by the CSU to URM students, and increase the number of CSU-LSAMP students who advance to STEM graduate study. CSU-LSAMP activities are focused on four objectives - academic support (e.g. supplemental instruction & peer mentoring), support at transition points (e.g. first time freshmen & transfer students), research experiences (including international research experiences), and professional development (e.g. conference presentations & graduate school preparation activities). Financial support is offered in the form of textbook assistance, research stipends, and travel awards. We maintain a structure that allows campuses to tailor their programs to meet the needs of their own student populations but that also ties the Alliance together with a set of common activities, goals and policies. External evaluation of the program shows that our approach has been highly successful and can provide useful lessons for other programs focused on broadening participation. Since 1994, the number of URM students enrolled in STEM disciplines at CSU campuses has more than doubled and the number of STEM degrees to URM students has almost tripled. Persistence and graduation rates for URM students who participate in CSU-LSAMP are almost twice those of URM non-participants and equal to those of non-URM students. Of the students who participated in the past 15 years, 42 percent either earned a post

  10. The undergraduate physics tutorial program at CSU Los Angeles assessment of utility and areas of interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avetyan, Smbat

    The Physics Education Research (PER) group at the University of Washington have researched traditional teaching methods and found that students in introductory physics are lacking a conceptual understanding of the physics material. The solution they put forth is an interactive tutorial program designed to meet the lack of conceptual understanding. Since the tutorial programs inception at CSU Los Angeles in Fall 2006 no evaluation has been successfully undertaken therefore the effect of the tutorial program in the physics 200 series is deeply obscure to the department. The research has shed light on the tutorial program and brought into context its effectiveness on the overall physics 200 series courses at CSU Los Angeles. The researcher has addressed the following research questions, what overall effect does the tutorial program have on the Physics 200 series curriculum? What is the size and significance of gains attributable to the undergraduate calculus based Physics 200 series tutorial program at CSU Los Angeles? What can we learn from gains about individual weekly lessons from the Physics 200 series tutorial courses? What is the correlation of tutorial gains with student final course grades? Are the gains from the tutorial program different for genders? Is there a difference in gains based on the different students' colleges?

  11. BASE Temperature Data Record (TDR) from the SSM/I and SSMIS Sensors, CSU Version 1

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The BASE Temperature Data Record (TDR) dataset from Colorado State University (CSU) is a collection of the raw unprocessed antenna temperature data that has been...

  12. NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of SSM/I and SSMIS Microwave Brightness Temperatures, CSU Version 1

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) from Colorado State University (CSU) contains brightness temperatures that have been improved and quality-controlled over the...

  13. Biosorption of uranium by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain CSU immobilized in a novel matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, M.C.Z.; Reeves, M.

    1997-01-01

    A number of polymeric materials, including calcium alginate, polyacrylamide, polysulfone, and polyurethane, were evaluated as possible immobilization matrices for lyophilized biomass of P. aeruginoso CSU. Polyurethane-based materials such as hydrogel were identified as superior candidates for biomass immobilization. A novel polyurethane gel-bead fabrication technique was developed and successfully demonstrated at pilot-plant scale for producing mass qualities of spherical, uniform-size beads. The immobilized bacterial biomass was evaluated via the measurement of sorption isotherms and dynamics within a batch, stirred-tank reactor; and loading and elution behavior within a continuous, upflow, packed-bed columnar reactor. Sorption equilibrium and dynamics in a batch stirred tank were modeled with a pore-diffusion mass transfer model, by which a pore-diffusion coefficient was determined to be approximately 2.0 x 10 -6 cm 2 /s for uranyl ion transport through the polyurethane gel matrix. The biosorbent beads were regenerable with dilute (0.01-0.1 M) sodium carbonate solutions. Preliminary column breakthrough-elution studies indicated that P. aeruginosa CSU biomass immobilized within polyurethane gel beads was effective for removal of uranium from low-concentration, acidic wastewater. 35 refs., 9 figs., 4 tabs

  14. Navigating the Institutional and Pedagogical Challenges of the Service-Learning Leadership Minor at CSU Monterey Bay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Deborah A.

    2012-01-01

    Despite solid foundations for service-learning at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), the economic context of higher education in California, and in particular the CSU system, has created significant challenges for service-learning practitioners. This article provides an overview of the institutional foundations in place at CSUMB…

  15. Modification and Test of the CSU-13 B/P G-Suit for Use in the F/A-22

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Balldin, Ulf; O'Connor, Robert; Isdahl, Wayne; Werchan, Paul

    2005-01-01

    ...., burst leakage, and fill rate up to +9 G. Six human subjects were tested in the centrifuge with the CSU 13 B/P G-suit with hose inlet on the right or left side, and with COMBAT EDGE and Advanced Technology G Suit (CE-ATAGS...

  16. Impact of cloud microphysics on cloud-radiation interactions in the CSU general circulation model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fowler, L.D.; Randall, D.A.

    1995-04-01

    Our ability to study and quantify the impact of cloud-radiation interactions in studying global scale climate variations strongly relies upon the ability of general circulation models (GCMs) to simulate the coupling between the spatial and temporal variations of the model-generated cloudiness and atmospheric moisture budget components. In particular, the ability of GCMs to reproduce the geographical distribution of the sources and sinks of the planetary radiation balance depends upon their representation of the formation and dissipation of cloudiness in conjunction with cloud microphysics processes, and the fractional amount and optical characteristics of cloudiness in conjunction with the mass of condensate stored in the atmosphere. A cloud microphysics package which encompasses five prognostic variables for the mass of water vapor, cloud water, cloud ice, rain, and snow has been implemented in the Colorado State University General Circulation Model (CSU GCM) to simulate large-scale condensation processes. Convection interacts with the large-scale environment through the detrainment of cloud water and cloud ice at the top of cumulus towers. The cloud infrared emissivity and cloud optical depth of the model-generated cloudiness are interactive and depend upon the mass of cloud water and cloud ice suspended in the atmosphere. The global atmospheric moisture budget and planetary radiation budget of the CSU GCM obtained from a perpetual January simulation are discussed. Geographical distributions of the atmospheric moisture species are presented. Global maps of the top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation and planetary albedo are compared against Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) satellite data.

  17. Personāla vadīšana Valsts ieņēmumu dienesta Rīgas muitas reģionālajā iestādē

    OpenAIRE

    Beinerte, Inga

    2009-01-01

    Lai veiksmīgi uzsāktu uzņēmuma vadīšanu ir nepieciešami noteikti resursi, uz ko balstīt uzņēmumu. Visneprognozējamākie un grūtāk vadāmie no šiem resursiem ir cilvēkresursi. Bez cilvēkresursiem nav iedomājama uzņēmējdarbība, jo tie izgudro un ražo preces, sniedz pakalpojumus, vada un kontrolē procesu darbību, kā arī kontrolē to kvalitāti. Maģistra darba „Personāla vadīšana Valsts ieņēmumu dienesta Rīgas muitas reģionālajā iestādē” mērķis ir izpētīt personāla vadību, tās būtību un izanalizē...

  18. CSU-CHILL Polarimetric Radar Measurements from a Severe Hail Storm in Eastern Colorado.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubbert, J.; Bringi, V. N.; Carey, L. D.; Bolen, S.

    1998-08-01

    Polarimetric radar measurements made by the recently upgraded CSU-CHILL radar system in a severe hailstorm are analyzed permitting for the first time the combined use of Zh, ZDR, linear depolarization ratio (LDR), KDP, and h to infer hydrometeor types. A chase van equipped for manual collection of hail, and instrumented with a rain gauge, intercepted the storm core for 50 min. The period of golfball-sized hail is easily distinguished by high LDR (greater than or equal to 18 dB), negative ZDR (less than or equal to 0.5 dB), and low h (less than or equal to 0.93) values near the surface. Rainfall accumulation over the entire event (about 40 mm) estimated using KDP is in excellent agreement with the rain gauge measurement. Limited dual-Doppler synthesis using the CSU-CHILL and Denver WSR-88D radars permit estimates of the horizontal convergence at altitudes less than 3 km above ground level (AGL) at 1747 and 1812 mountain daylight time (MDT). Locations of peak horizontal convergence at these times are centered on well-defined positive ZDR columns. Vertical sections of multiparameter radar data at 1812 MDT are interpreted in terms of hydrometeor type. In particular, an enhanced LDR `cap' area on top of the the positive ZDR column is interpreted as a region of mixed phase with large drops mixed with partially frozen and frozen hydrometeors. A positive KDP column on the the western fringe of the main updraft is inferred to be the result of drops (1-2 mm) shed by wet hailstones. Swaths of large hail at the surface (inferred from LDR signatures) and positive ZDR at 3.5 km AGL suggest that potential frozen drop embryos are favorably located for growth into large hailstones. Thin section analysis of a sample of the large hailstones shows that 30%-40% have frozen drop embryos.

  19. Facile CO Cleavage by a Multimetallic CsU2 Nitride Complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcone, Marta; Kefalidis, Christos E; Scopelliti, Rosario; Maron, Laurent; Mazzanti, Marinella

    2016-09-26

    Uranium nitrides are important materials with potential for application as fuels for nuclear power generation, and as highly active catalysts. Molecular nitride compounds could provide important insight into the nature of the uranium-nitride bond, but currently little is known about their reactivity. In this study, we found that a complex containing a nitride bridging two uranium centers and a cesium cation readily cleaved the C≡O bond (one of the strongest bonds in nature) under ambient conditions. The product formed has a [CsU2 (μ-CN)(μ-O)] core, thus indicating that the three cations cooperate to cleave CO. Moreover, the addition of MeOTf to the nitride complex led to an exceptional valence disproportionation of the CsU(IV) -N-U(IV) core to yield CsU(III) (OTf) and [MeN=U(V) ] fragments. The important role of multimetallic cooperativity in both reactions is illustrated by the computed reaction mechanisms. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Rasu naida un neiecietību kurināšanas lietas vērtēšanas aspekti

    OpenAIRE

    Eihmane, Elīna

    2010-01-01

    Tēma par naidu un neiecietību kurinošo runu jau vairākus gadus ir aktuāla ne tikai Latvijā, bet arī visā pasaulē. Iespējams, tas ir tādēļ, ka pieaug migrācija un līdz ar to valstīs iebrauc aizvien vairāk imigrantu no mazāk attīstītām valstīm, radot arī zināmu sociālo spriedzi uzņemošajā valstī. Otrkārt, fanātiskās kustības ir pastāvējušas gandrīz visos laikos un mūsdienas nav izņēmums un lielā daļā valstu atradīsies grupējumi, kas atbalstīs kādu rasu pārākuma ideju vai reliģisko izredzētību. ...

  1. Fintech pakalpojumi Latvijas tirgū

    OpenAIRE

    Kims, Aleksejs

    2017-01-01

    Maģistra darba tēma ir saistīta ar Latvijas fintech nozares izpēti. Autors uzskata, ka viņa izvēlētā maģistra darba tēma ir aktuāla mūsdienu, straujas ekonomikas un inovāciju kontekstā. Pieaugošā interese ne tikai par fintech pakalpojumu nozari, bet vispār par visu veidu tehnoloģiskām inovācijām, no valsts puses ir saistīta ar valdības tieksmi paaugstināt valsts izaugsmes tempus ar zināšanu ekonomikas palīdzību. Fintech industrija Latvijā ir pietiekami jauna nozare, kura sevī apvieno ne tik...

  2. Determination of contact maps in proteins: A combination of structural and chemical approaches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wołek, Karol; Cieplak, Marek, E-mail: mc@ifpan.edu.pl [Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Science, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw (Poland); Gómez-Sicilia, Àngel [Instituto Cajal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Av. Doctor Arce, 37, 28002 Madrid (Spain); Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanociencia), C/Faraday 9, 28049 Cantoblanco (Madrid) (Spain)

    2015-12-28

    Contact map selection is a crucial step in structure-based molecular dynamics modelling of proteins. The map can be determined in many different ways. We focus on the methods in which residues are represented as clusters of effective spheres. One contact map, denoted as overlap (OV), is based on the overlap of such spheres. Another contact map, named Contacts of Structural Units (CSU), involves the geometry in a different way and, in addition, brings chemical considerations into account. We develop a variant of the CSU approach in which we also incorporate Coulombic effects such as formation of the ionic bridges and destabilization of possible links through repulsion. In this way, the most essential and well defined contacts are identified. The resulting residue-residue contact map, dubbed repulsive CSU (rCSU), is more sound in its physico-chemical justification than CSU. It also provides a clear prescription for validity of an inter-residual contact: the number of attractive atomic contacts should be larger than the number of repulsive ones — a feature that is not present in CSU. However, both of these maps do not correlate well with the experimental data on protein stretching. Thus, we propose to use rCSU together with the OV map. We find that the combined map, denoted as OV+rCSU, performs better than OV. In most situations, OV and OV+rCSU yield comparable folding properties but for some proteins rCSU provides contacts which improve folding in a substantial way. We discuss the likely residue-specificity of the rCSU contacts. Finally, we make comparisons to the recently proposed shadow contact map, which is derived from different principles.

  3. Genome-wide analysis of esterase-like genes in the striped rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Baoju; Wang, Ying; Zhang, Yang; Han, Ping; Li, Fei; Han, Zhaojun

    2015-06-01

    The striped rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, a destructive pest of rice, has developed high levels of resistance to certain insecticides. Esterases are reported to be involved in insecticide resistance in several insects. Therefore, this study systematically analyzed esterase-like genes in C. suppressalis. Fifty-one esterase-like genes were identified in the draft genomic sequences of the species, and 20 cDNA sequences were derived which encoded full- or nearly full-length proteins. The putative esterase proteins derived from these full-length genes are overall highly diversified. However, key residues that are functionally important including the serine residue in the active site are conserved in 18 out of the 20 proteins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of these genes have homologues in other lepidoptera insects. Genes CsuEst6, CsuEst10, CsuEst11, and CsuEst51 were induced by the insecticide triazophos, and genes CsuEst9, CsuEst11, CsuEst14, and CsuEst51 were induced by the insecticide chlorantraniliprole. Our results provide a foundation for future studies of insecticide resistance in C. suppressalis and for comparative research with esterase genes from other insect species.

  4. Country Level Factors that Affect the Achievements of Primary School Students in Science in International Comparative Studies from Education Management Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Rita Geske

    2013-01-01

    Sākumskolas skolēnu dabaszinātņu sasniegumus ietekmējošie valsts līmeņa faktori starptautiskajos salīdzinošajos pētījumos izglītības vadības skatījumā Promocijas darba mērķis ir, veicot vairāku valstu datu salīdzinošo analīzi, atrast valsts līmeņa faktorus, kuri ietekmē Latvijas ceturto klašu skolēnu vidējos sasniegumus dabaszinātnēs. Darbā analizēti TIMSS dalībvalstu sociāli ekonomiskie, demogrāfiskie un politiskie faktori, kuri ietekmē skolēnu vidējos sasniegumus. Konstatēts, ka Latvijas...

  5. Kukuļņemšanas un kukuļdošanas noziedzīgo nodarījumu krimināltiesiskais raksturojums

    OpenAIRE

    Ozoliņš, Uldis

    2010-01-01

    . Kukuļņemšanas un kukuļdošanas noziedzīgo nodarījumu krimināltiesiskais raksturojums. Kukuļņemšana un kukuļdošana ir vieni no izplatītākajiem noziedzīgajiem nodarījumiem valsts institūciju dienestā. Diplomdarba aktualitāte ir saistīta ar to, ka jau vairākus gadus Latvijas sabiedrībā ir izvērsusies plaša diskusija par nepieciešamību efektīvi cīnīties ar kukuļošanas izskaušanu valsts amatpersonu darbībā. Šajā darbā tiek apskatīts kukuļņemšanas un kukuļdošanas starptautiskais r...

  6. Aizsardzības izdevumu iespējas aizsardzības industrijas, pētniecības un ekonomikas izaugsmes veicināšanā.

    OpenAIRE

    Zaltāns, Jānis

    2016-01-01

    Maģistra darba Aizsardzības izdevumu iespējas aizsardzības industrijas, pētniecības un ekonomikas izaugsmes veicināšanā autors Jānis Zaltāns ir izvirzījis mērķi izpētīt un noskaidrot faktorus, kas ietekmē Valsts atbalsta iespējas aizsardzības industrijas un pētniecības nozares esošai un turpmākai attīstībai. Darbā ir padziļināti analizēti Lielbritānijas, Francijas un Igaunijas piemēri, kā arī veikta padziļināta situāciju analīze par Latvijas valsts aizsardzības atbalstu, efektivitāti un tā i...

  7. Omalizumab for treating chronic spontaneous urticaria: an expert review on efficacy and safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giménez-Arnau, Ana M

    2017-03-01

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the recurrence of itchy hives and/or angioedema for greater than six weeks, with no known external trigger. Omalizumab, a humanized, recombinant, monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, is the only approved add-on therapy for H1-antihistamine refractory CSU patients. Areas covered: The objective of this article is to discuss the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of omalizumab for the treatment of CSU. The review also summarizes efficacy and safety data from proof-of-concept, phase II (X-CUISITE, MYSTIQUE), and pivotal phase III omalizumab studies (ASTERIA I, ASTERIA II, and GLACIAL). Expert opinion: Omalizumab is a clinically effective and safe biological therapy for treating H1-antihistamine refractory CSU patients. It significantly reduces CSU symptoms (hives, itch and angioedema), and improves patient health-related quality of life. While omalizumab is already integral to the treatment of antihistamine refractory CSU, widespread use will depend on legal and economic factors, as well as improvements in the early and accurate diagnosis of CSU patients who would benefit from treatment.

  8. Analysis of Circulating Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Its Soluble Receptors in Patients with Different Forms of Chronic Urticaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Jagodzinska

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF is a powerful enhancer of vascular permeability and inflammatory response; however its significance in chronic urticaria is poorly recognised. Aim. To compare free circulating levels of VEGF and its soluble receptors (sVEGFR1 and VEGFR2 in patients with different forms of chronic urticaria. Methods. The concentrations of VEGF and its receptors in plateletpoor plasma (PPP/plasma were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in chronic urticaria: (1 chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU with positive autologous serum skin test (ASST, (2 CSU with negative response to ASST, (3 CSU with concomitant euthyroid Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (CSU/Hashimoto, (4 delayed pressure urticaria (DPU, and the healthy subjects. Results. There were no significant differences in VEGF concentration in PPP between CSU groups and the healthy subjects. Contrary, VEGF concentration was significantly higher in DPU and CSU/Hashimoto patients as compared with the healthy subjects and CSU groups. Furthermore, VEGF value in CSU/Hashimoto patients during the remission was similar to that of the active period and significantly higher than the healthy subjects; VEGF concentration was significantly correlated with TSH. Plasma concentrations of sVEGF1 and sVEGF2 were similar in chronic urticaria patients and the healthy subjects. Conclusions. Increased free circulating VEGF concentration may result from the urticarial process itself as well as concomitant Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

  9. Latvijas importa analīze un prognoze

    OpenAIRE

    Vasiļenko, Oļegs

    2010-01-01

    Viena no nozīmīgākām pazīmēm, kuras raksturo valsts ekonomikas stāvokli un attīstības līmeni, ir ārējās tirdzniecības bilance. Sakarā ar Latvijas ekonomikas situācijas pasliktināšanu, un, ar to saistītu, ārējās tirdzniecības negatīvās bilances strauju pieaugumu, importa analīzes un prognozes jautājuma nozīme vairāk kārt pieauga. Jau ilgāku laiku pieaug bezdarba līmenis Latvijā, līdz ar ko pasliktinās iedzīvotāju pirktspēja, kura, neapšaubāmi, ietekmē valsts ārējo tirdzniecību. ...

  10. Implementing an Open Source Learning Management System: A Critical Analysis of Change Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uys, Philip M.

    2010-01-01

    This paper analyses the change and innovation strategies that Charles Sturt University (CSU) used from 2007 to 2009 during the implementation and mainstreaming of an open source learning management system (LMS), Sakai, named locally as "CSU Interact". CSU was in January 2008 the first Australian University to implement an open source…

  11. Comparison between the intravenous and caudal routes of sufentanil in children undergoing orchidopexy and further evaluation of the association of caudal adrenaline and neostigmine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Rocha Lauretti

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to compare the intravenous (IV and caudal routes of administration of sufentanil for children undergoing orchidopexy and also to evaluate the effects on addition of caudal adrenaline and neostigmine. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients scheduled for orchidopexy were divided into the following groups: 1 Group IVSu received IV 0.5 μg/kg sufentanil and caudal saline; 2 Group CSu received caudal 0.5 μg/kg sufentanil and IV saline; 3 Group CSuAdr received caudal sufentanil plus adrenaline 5 μg/ml (1:200,000 and IV saline; 4 Group CSuNeo received caudal sufentanil plus neostigmine, and IV saline; and 5 Group CSuNeoAdr received caudal sufentanil plus neostigmine plus adrenaline, and IV saline. Heart rate and mean blood pressure >15% was treated with increasing isoflurane concentration. Consumption of isoflurane, side effects, quality of sleep, time to first administration of analgesic, and number of doses of 24-h rescue analgesic were recorded. Results: Groups were demographically similar. Isoflurane consumption showed the following association: Group IVSu = Group CSuNeo = Group CSuNeoAdr Group CSuNeo = Group CSuNeoAdr (P < 0.005. Incidence of adverse effects was similar among groups. Conclusion: Caudal sufentanil alone was no better than when administered in the IV route, and would just be justified by the association of neostigmine, but not adrenaline. Neostigmine association resulted in better perioperative analgesia.

  12. "McDonald's" reklāmas analīze Latvijā un Maltā - starpkultūru atšķirīgā uztvere

    OpenAIRE

    Barkēviča, Santa

    2016-01-01

    Darbā ““McDonald's” reklāmas analīze Latvijā un Maltā – starpkultūru atšķirīgā uztvere” galvenais problēmjautājums, kas jānoskaidro, vai starptautisks uzņēmums var izmantot viena stila reklāmas kampaņu divās dažādās valstīs – Latvijā un Maltā. Galvenais darba mērķis ir noskaidrot, vai starptautisks uzņēmums var veidot vienu reklāmas kampaņu shēmu, un to izmantot dažādās valstīs, kur atrodas tā franšīzes vai filiāles, un kā starpkultūru atšķirība ietekmē reklāmas uztveri. Veicot aptaujas, inte...

  13. Software Design Document SAF Simulation Host CSCI (8). Volume 1, Sections 1.0 - 2.7

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-06-01

    in leader asm->pstate is none of the expected states. Errors Error Name I Reason for Error ERROR ABORTI Value in leader asm->pstate is none of the...Error ERROR ABORTI There is no air vehicle. Table 2.6-262: airvehmobility_kill CSU [8.6.4.6.6] 2.6.4.6.7 airvehbcatastrophickill CSU This CSU sets the

  14. CERT tribal internship program. Final intern report: Karen Sandoval, 1994

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-09-01

    The purpose of the project was to: create a working relationship between CERT and Colorado State University (CSU); involve and create relationships among individuals and departments at CSU; empower Native communities to run their own affairs; establish programs for the benefit of Tribes; and create Native American Program Development Office at CSU. The intern lists the following as the project results: revised a Native American Program Development document; confirmation from 45 departments across campus for Summit attendance [Tribal Human Resource Development Summit]; created initial invitee list from CSU departments and colleges; and informed CERT and CSU staff of results. Much of the response from the campus community has been positive and enthusiastic. They are ready to develop new Native American programs on campus, but need the awareness of what they can do to be respectful of Tribal needs.

  15. Siting of nuclear power plants in accordance with the scenario of a ''fossil nuclear energy mix'' prepared by the CDU/CSU and FDP in the inquiry commission of the Bundestag on ''Sustainable energy supply in times of globalisation and deregulation''. Short study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benik, G.; Gundelach, T.

    2002-01-01

    In effect the present study makes concrete proposals for the installation of a nuclear power plant capacity of 91.8 GW as determined by the CDU/CSU and FDP in the inquiry commission on ''Sustainable development''. Because of the infrastructural requirements and the large number of plants that would have to be planned in Germany alone these siting proposals must be regarded as an outline for the implementation of a nuclear climate protection strategy. Without extensive assessment work a short study such as this cannot of course replace the detailed planning that would be required for authorisation procedures. The primary benefit of the study is that it makes clear the true consequences of a nuclear climate protection policy that is now being discussed as a hypothetical possibility [de

  16. Investigation of science faculty with education specialties within the largest university system in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, Seth D; Pelaez, Nancy J; Rudd, James A; Stevens, Michael T; Tanner, Kimberly D; Williams, Kathy S

    2011-01-01

    Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university system in the United States. We found that CSU SFES were engaged in three key arenas including K-12 science education, undergraduate science education, and discipline-based science education research. As such, CSU SFES appeared to be well-positioned to have an impact on science education from within science departments. However, there appeared to be a lack of clarity and agreement about the purpose of these SFES positions. In addition, formal training in science education among CSU SFES was limited. Although over 75% of CSU SFES were fulfilled by their teaching, scholarship, and service, our results revealed that almost 40% of CSU SFES were seriously considering leaving their positions. Our data suggest that science departments would likely benefit from explicit discussions about the role of SFES and strategies for supporting their professional activities.

  17. The Clinical Correlations of Helicobacter pylori Virulence Factors and Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Chun Chiu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and Study Aims. The association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU remains controversial. This study explored the role of H. pylori in CSU among different virulent genotypes patients. Patients and Methods. Patients infected by H. pylori were sorted into two groups as group A (with CSU and group B (without CSU. The tissue materials were taken via endoscopy for polymerase chain reaction study to determine virulence factors. After H. pylori eradication therapy, the eradication rate and response of urticaria were evaluated by using C13-UBT and a three-point scale (complete remission, partial remission, or no improvement. Results. The results were comparable between patients of groups A and B in terms of H. pylori infection rates and eradication rate. Longitudinal follow-up of 23.5 months showed complete remission of urticaria in 63.6% but no improvement in 36.4% of the patients after H. pylori eradication. H. pylori infected patients with different virulence factors such as cytotoxin-associated gene A, vacuolating cytotoxin gene A signal region and middle region have similar remission rates for CSU. Conclusions. Current study suggests that H. pylori may play a role in the development and disease course of CSU but may be irrelevant to different virulent genotypes.

  18. Treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria with a single dose of omalizumab: A study of four cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radhakrishnan Subramaniyan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU has a detrimental effect on patients′ emotional and physical quality of life. Omalizumab, an anti-immunoglobulin E humanized monoclonal antibody, has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of refractory chronic urticaria patients but may not be an economically viable option for all CSU patients. However, we present a case series where a single dose of omalizumab gave sustained relief of symptoms in patients with CSU, which may be an economical option. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a single dose of omalizumab in the treatment of CSU. Materials and Methods: Four patients of CSU whose disease was not controlled with four times the licensed dose of tablet fexofenadine 180 mg were exhibited one subcutaneous injection of omalizumab and were followed up at 4 weekly intervals for 24 weeks for Weekly Urticaria Activity Score 7 (UAS7 and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI. Results: A sharp decline in UAS7 and DLQI was documented in 7-10 days. The decline was maintained up to 16 weeks in one case and 20 weeks in the other three cases. Both the scores at the end of the follow-up period of 24 weeks were better than the pre-omalizumab scores. Conclusion: The results of this case series indicate the efficacy of a single-dose omalizumab in treating moderate to severe refractory CSU. Further studies are required to identify the minimum frequency of administering omalizumab to effectively control CSU. This would greatly reduce the cost of this novel therapy.

  19. Analysis of tethered balloon, ceilometer and class sounding data taken on San Nicolas Island during the FIRE project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, Wayne H.; Ciesielski, Paul E.; Guinn, Thomas A.; Cox, Stephen K.; Mckee, Thomas B.

    1990-01-01

    During the FIRE Marine Stratocumulus Program on San Nicolas Island, Colorado State University (CSU) and the British Meteorological Office (BMO) operated separate instrument packages on the NASA tethered balloon. The CSU package contained instrumentation for the measurement of temperature, pressure, humidity, cloud droplet concentration, and long and short wave radiation. Eight research flights, performed between July 7 and July 14, are summarized. An analysis priority to the July 7, 8 and 11 flights was assigned for the purposes of comparing the CSU and BMO data. Results are presented. In addition, CSU operated a laser ceilometer for the determination of cloud base, and a CLASS radiosonde site which launched 69 sondes. Data from all of the above systems are being analyzed.

  20. Mediators of Inflammation and Angiogenesis in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: Are They Potential Biomarkers of the Disease?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilaria Puxeddu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU, different pathophysiological mechanisms, potentially responsible for the development of the disease, have been recently described. It is likely that the activation of skin mast cells with consequent release of histamine and other proinflammatory mediators is responsible for vasodilation in the lesional skin of CSU. However, the underlying causes of mast cell activation in the disease are largely unknown and remain to be identified. Thus, in this review, we discuss new insights in the pathogenesis of CSU, focusing on inflammation and angiogenesis. The understanding of these mechanisms will enable the identification of biomarkers useful for the diagnosis, follow-up, and management of CSU and will allow the development of novel, more specific, and patient-tailored therapies.

  1. Omalizumab: what benefits should we expect?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giménez-Arnau, Ana; Velasco, Manel; Armario Hita, Jose Carlos; Labrador-Horrillo, Moises; Silvestre Salvador, Juan Francisco

    2016-08-01

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a skin disease characterised by wheal appearance, swelling, itching, and painful skin. Omalizumab has been used for CSU treatment demonstrating good efficacy. To investigate the efficacy and safety of omalizumab treatment in CSU patients in real-life practice. A retrospective analysis was performed on 38 patients suffering from CSU who received 300 mg of omalizumab every four weeks. After omalizumab treatment, 68.4% of patients showed a complete response (UAS7 = 0). All the patients were able to stop treatment with corticosteroids, cyclosporine, and anti-leukotrienes, and only 39.5% of patients remained on anti-histamines. Omalizumab treatment led to a 96% and 65% decrease in emergency room and primary health care visits, respectively, as well as a reduction in the direct costs associated with the disease. No omalizumab-related adverse events were reported. Omalizumab exhibits good efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of CSU, leads to a decrease in concomitant medication use, restores patients' quality of life, and has economic benefits by reducing disease-related health care costs.

  2. Retrospective case note review of chronic spontaneous urticaria outcomes and adverse effects in patients treated with omalizumab or ciclosporin in UK secondary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savic, Sinisa; Marsland, Alexander; McKay, David; Ardern-Jones, Michael R; Leslie, Tabi; Somenzi, Olivier; Baldock, Laura; Grattan, Clive

    2015-01-01

    Omalizumab is approved in the UK as add-on treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in patients with inadequate response to H1-antihistamines. Ciclosporin is an established but unlicensed 3rd line option for CSU. Two parallel retrospective observational studies were conducted to describe outcomes of treatment and adverse events with omalizumab or ciclosporin for CSU treatment. Data from UK specialist centres prescribing omalizumab (five centres) or ciclosporin (three centres) in CSU patients were collected from hospital records by clinical staff and pooled for analysis. Forty-six patients prescribed omalizumab and 72 patients prescribed ciclosporin were included. Twenty-two (48%) omalizumab-treated patients had paired Urticaria Activity Scores (UAS7), showing a 25.4 point improvement during treatment (P making causality assignment difficult, whereas those for ciclosporin were consistent with its known adverse effect profile. Validated patient-reported measures of disease severity and quality of life should be used routinely in CSU management. Based on clinician comments and DLQI scores, symptoms and quality of life showed a greater improvement in the omalizumab-treated cohort than in the ciclosporin-treated cohort.

  3. Management of chronic spontaneous urticaria in routine clinical practice: A Delphi-method questionnaire among specialists to test agreement with current European guidelines statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giménez-Arnau, A; Ferrer, M; Bartra, J; Jáuregui, I; Labrador-Horrillo, M; Frutos, J Ortiz de; Silvestre, J F; Sastre, J; Velasco, M; Valero, A

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a frequent clinical entity that often presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. To explore the degree of agreement that exists among the experts caring for patients with CSU diagnosis, evaluation, and management. An online survey was conducted to explore the opinions of experts in CSU, address controversial issues, and provide recommendations regarding its definition, natural history, diagnosis, and treatment. A modified Delphi method was used for the consensus. The questionnaire was answered by 68 experts (dermatologists, allergologists, and primary care physicians). A consensus was reached on 54 of the 65 items posed (96.4%). The experts concluded that CSU is a difficult-to-control disease of unpredictable evolution. Diagnostic tests should be limited and based on clinical history and should not be indiscriminate. Autoinflammatory syndromes and urticarial vasculitis must be ruled out in the differential diagnosis. A cutaneous biopsy is only recommended when wheals last more than 24h, to rule out urticarial vasculitis. The use of specific scales to assess the severity of the disease and the quality of life is recommended. In patients with severe and resistant CSU, second-generation H1-antihistamines could be used at doses up to four times the standard dose before giving second-line treatments. Omalizumab is a safe and effective treatment for CSU that is refractory to H1-antihistamines treatment. In general, diagnosis and treatment recommendations given for adults could be extrapolated to children. This work offers consensus recommendations that may be useful in the management of CSU. Copyright © 2016 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  4. Elevations in vascular markers and eosinophils in chronic spontaneous urticarial weals with low-level persistence in uninvolved skin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, AB; Ying, S; Ardelean, E; Mlynek, A; Kita, H; Clark, P; Maurer, M

    2014-01-01

    Background In chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) mast cell activation together with inflammatory changes in the skin are well documented and may play an important role in mechanisms of tissue oedema. Objectives To confirm and extend these observations by measuring microvascular markers, leucocytes and mast cell numbers in lesional and uninvolved skin and to compare findings with a control group. Methods Paired biopsies (one from 4–8-h spontaneous weals and one from uninvolved skin) were taken from eight patients with CSU and nine control subjects and studied using immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy using the lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin 1 (UEA-1). Results Lesional skin in CSU contained significantly more CD31+ endothelial cells; CD31+ blood vessels, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils and macrophages; and CD3+ T cells than nonlesional skin. Increased vascularity was confirmed by confocal imaging using the lectin UEA-1. Uninvolved skin from CSU contained significantly more CD31+ endothelial cells, CD31+ blood vessels and eosinophils compared with the control subjects. There was a threefold increase in mast cell numbers when CSU was compared with controls but no difference was observed between lesional and uninvolved skin. Conclusions Increased vascular markers together with eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration are features of lesional skin in CSU and might contribute to tissue oedema. Eosinophils and microvascular changes persist in uninvolved skin, which, together with increased mast cells, suggests that nonlesional skin is primed for further wealing. PMID:24665899

  5. Omalizumab for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zuo-Tao; Ji, Chun-Mei; Yu, Wen-Jun; Meng, Ling; Hawro, Tomasz; Wei, Ji-Fu; Maurer, Marcus

    2016-06-01

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is defined by itchy hives, angioedema, or both for at least 6 weeks. Omalizumab, an anti-IgE antibody that affects mast cell and basophil function, is a promising new treatment option. As of now, however, the efficacy and safety of different doses of omalizumab used in clinical trials for CSU have not been systematically analyzed and summarized. We sought to assess the efficacy and safety of different doses of omalizumab for the treatment of CSU in a meta-analysis of clinical trial results. Suitable trials were identified by searching PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases and with the help of omalizumab's manufacturers. Only double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies with omalizumab-treated versus placebo-treated patients with CSU were included in this analysis. We identified 7 randomized, placebo-controlled studies with 1312 patients with CSU. Patients treated with omalizumab (75-600 mg every 4 weeks) had significantly reduced weekly itch and weekly wheal scores compared with the placebo group. Omalizumab's effects were dose dependent, with the strongest reduction in weekly itch and weekly wheal scores observed with 300 mg. Rates of complete response were significantly higher in the omalizumab group (relative risk, 4.55; P omalizumab and placebo groups. This meta-analysis provides high-quality evidence for the efficacy and safety of omalizumab in patients with CSU and for treating these patients with 300 mg of omalizumab every 4 weeks. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Effective treatment of different phenotypes of chronic urticaria with omalizumab: Case reports and review of literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasperska-Zajac, A; Jarząb, J; Żerdzińska, A; Bąk, K; Grzanka, A

    2016-06-01

    Despite the excellent efficacy and safety profile of omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), there are scarce data concerning its role in the treatment of refractory cases with different phenotypes of urticaria. We describe our experience with the therapy of nine patients with CSU co-existing with delayed pressure urticaria (DPU) or angioedema or both and refractory to treatment with high-dose antihistamines. The first patient, with severe CSU and recurrent angioedema, did not respond well to cyclosporine A or corticosteroids and suffered from numerous side effects of long-term corticosteroid therapy. The second patient presented with severe symptoms of DPU, which first of all prevented any daily activities of the professional routines. Both patients showed a complete remission of urticaria after the first injection of omalizumab. The third patient with CSU and severe DPU had been ineffectively treated for more than 20 years with various medications. Following the administration of omalizumab, the symptoms of CSU subsided but those of DPU intensified, and the drug was withdrawn after two cycles. In another four patients with refractory CSU and angioedema, the symptoms subsided after the first administration of omalizumab, and the patients have been in remission for about 5 weeks. In the remaining two patients, the symptoms did not resolve despite four 300 mg doses of omalizumab. It is important to establish a therapeutic regimen with omalizumab (150-300 mg; every 4-8 weeks) tailored to individual patient's needs and dependent on the type of urticaria; this may minimize unnecessary the medication exposure, adverse drug effects, and healthcare costs. © The Author(s) 2015.

  7. Mechanical lift of profile

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O`Mahoney, H.

    1999-04-01

    Continuous ship unloaders (CSUs) are continuing to become more popular than grab unloaders for dealing with greater capacities of coal. The article surveys current major manufacturers` equipment. Krupp Foerdertechnik, for example, offers seven mechanical ship unloaders, including CSU with scraper chain or L-shaped bucket-elevators, CSU with vertical screw conveyor and horizontal screw-type feeder conveyors. CSU with bucket-elevator and feeding scraper and a continuous barge unloader with bucket elevator, BMH Marine Siwertell continues to be the benchmark for technology advances. HW Carlsan has recently entered the field with a new screw-type ship unloader. 4 photos.

  8. Les politiques visant la couverture sanitaire universelle et les perceptions de la qualité des soins de santé

    OpenAIRE

    Gautier , Lara; Ridde , Valery

    2017-01-01

    International audience; Le début de la décennie 2010 a été marqué par l’avènement sur la scène internationale de la couverture sanitaire universelle (CSU) comme politique de santé mondiale. La consécration, en 2015, de la CSU comme sous-objectif du nouveau programme de développement mondial – les Objectifs de développement durable 2016-2030 – invite les acteurs de la santé mondiale à se mobiliser en faveur de l’atteinte des trois volets phares de la CSU : assurer la protection du risque finan...

  9. CFD Modeling of Free-Piston Stirling Engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Mounir B.; Zhang, Zhi-Guo; Tew, Roy C., Jr.; Gedeon, David; Simon, Terrence W.

    2001-01-01

    NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is funding Cleveland State University (CSU) to develop a reliable Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code that can predict engine performance with the goal of significant improvements in accuracy when compared to one-dimensional (1-D) design code predictions. The funding also includes conducting code validation experiments at both the University of Minnesota (UMN) and CSU. In this paper a brief description of the work-in-progress is provided in the two areas (CFD and Experiments). Also, previous test results are compared with computational data obtained using (1) a 2-D CFD code obtained from Dr. Georg Scheuerer and further developed at CSU and (2) a multidimensional commercial code CFD-ACE+. The test data and computational results are for (1) a gas spring and (2) a single piston/cylinder with attached annular heat exchanger. The comparisons among the codes are discussed. The paper also discusses plans for conducting code validation experiments at CSU and UMN.

  10. Basophil FcεRI Expression in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: A Potential Immunological Predictor of Response to Omalizumab Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deza, Gustavo; Bertolín-Colilla, Marta; Pujol, Ramon M; Curto-Barredo, Laia; Soto, Dulce; García, Maribel; Hernández, Pilar; Gimeno, Ramon; Giménez-Arnau, Ana M

    2017-06-09

    Although the efficacy of omalizumab has been clearly demonstrated in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), its mechanism of action, which results in improvement in CSU symptoms, is not entirely understood. This study investigated the effect of omalizumab on expression of the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) on blood basophils from patients with active CSU, and its association with the clinical response. Patients exhibiting significant clinical improvement showed a sharp reduction in the levels of basophil FcεRI after 4 weeks, which was maintained throughout the total duration of the treatment. Such evolution was not observed in non-responder patients. Furthermore, non-responders showed significantly lower baseline levels of FcεRI than responders. Baseline basophil FcεRI expression was found to be a potential immunological predictor of response to omalizumab (100% sensitivity and 73.2% specificity). The results of this study contribute to our knowledge of the therapeutic benefit and mechanism of action of anti-IgE therapy in CSU.

  11. Active Learning in Aging Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singelis, Theodore M.

    2006-01-01

    This article describes the involvement of undergraduate students in research at the California State University (CSU), Chico funded through an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). CSU, Chico is a "teaching" university and has students with a variety of motivations and abilities. The…

  12. 36 CFR 251.123 - Most directly affected Native Corporation determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... affected by the establishment or expansion of the CSU under section 1307(b) of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 1397(b... landownership patterns) on the Native Corporation resulting from establishment or expansion of the applicable... Native Corporation's population centers and/or business address to the applicable CSU; (2) Socioeconomic...

  13. Profile of omalizumab in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labrador-Horrillo, Moises; Ferrer, Marta

    2015-01-01

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a disease with significant morbidity and relative prevalence that has important effects on the quality of life (QoL) of those who suffer from it. Omalizumab is a recombinant humanized anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody that binds to the Cε3 domain of the IgE heavy chain and prevents it from binding to its high-affinity receptor FcεRI. It has been largely studied in the field of asthma and is currently approved for the treatment of both adult and pediatric (children; >6-year-old) patients. In addition, in recent, well-controlled clinical trials in patients with CSU resistant to antihistamines, add-on therapy with subcutaneous omalizumab significantly reduced the severity of itching, and the number and size of hives, and increased patients' health-related QoL and the proportion of days free from angioedema compared with placebo, with an excellent tolerance. Thus, omalizumab is an effective and well-tolerated add-on therapy for patients with CSU who are symptomatic despite background therapy with H1 antihistamines. In this review, we cover the following points: epidemiology, pathogenesis, assessment of activity, impact on QoL, and treatment of CSU, and finally, we focus on omalizumab in the treatment of CSU including the pharmacokinetic properties and mechanism of action, and use in pregnant women, nursing infants, and children.

  14. The Effect of Mandatory Furloughs on Self-Determination, Financial Strain, and Decision to Leave the California State University System in Social Work Faculty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohman, Melinda; Packard, Thomas; Finnegan, Daniel; Jones, Loring

    2013-01-01

    In uncertain economic times, universities have taken steps to address financial problems by including the use of business models. In 2009, the California State University (CSU) system implemented furloughs of a 10% pay reduction and 18 days removed from the academic calendar. Faculty in 16 CSU schools of social work participated in a Web-based…

  15. Basophil FcεRI Expression in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: A Potential Immunological Predictor of Response to Omalizumab Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Deza

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Although the efficacy of omalizumab has been clearly demonstrated in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU, its mechanism of action, which results in improvement in CSU symptoms, is not entirely understood. This study investigated the effect of omalizumab on expression of the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI on blood basophils from patients with active CSU, and its association with the clinical response. Patients exhibiting significant clinical improvement showed a sharp reduction in the levels of basophil FcεRI after 4 weeks, which was maintained throughout the total duration of the treatment. Such evolution was not observed in non-responder patients. Furthermore, non-responders showed significantly lower baseline levels of FcεRI than responders. Baseline basophil FcεRI expression was found to be a potential immunological predictor of response to omalizumab (100% sensitivity and 73.2% specificity. The results of this study contribute to our knowledge of the therapeutic benefit and mechanism of action of anti-IgE therapy in CSU.

  16. Members of the German Federal Parliament Research Committee visiting ALICE experiment on Wednesday, 15th November.

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2006-01-01

    From left to right Mr Georg Jürgens, Counsellor at the German Mission in Geneva; MdB Klaus Hagemann, SPD; MdB Cornelia Pieper, FDP, Stellvertretende Ausschussvorsitzende, Delegationsleiterin; MdB Dr. Petra Sitte, DIE LINKE; MdB Ilse Aigner, CDU/CSU; MdB Carsten Müller, CDU/CSU; Mr Andreas Meyer, Leiter Ausschusssekretariat; MdB Jörg Tauss, SPD.

  17. Costs at Public Universities: How Does California Compare with Other States? Report 10-12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, Ryan

    2010-01-01

    The cost of attending the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) has increased in recent years as UC and CSU have raised fees in response to reduced state funding. Fees are generally lower than fees at public universities in other states, but with California's higher living costs, the overall cost of attendance at UC…

  18. Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) Requirements Review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zurawski, Jason, W; Mace, Kathryn, P

    2016-08-11

    In August 2016 The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) and Colorado State University (CSU) organized a review to characterize the networking requirements of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) located on the campus of Colorado State University. Several key findings highlighting the results from the review were discovered, with benefits to improve the overall scientific process for CIRA and CSU.

  19. Use of omalizumab in the treatment of chronic urticaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cordeiro Moreira, A S; Rosmaninho Lopes de Soares E Silva, M I; Pereira Guilherme, M A; da Silva Ferreira, J A; Fonseca Moreira da Silva, J P

    2016-11-01

    Omalizumab is indicated to treat chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) refractory to antihistamines. We aim to describe the experience of our department in the treatment of CSU with omalizumab. Retrospective review of the clinical records of patients. Six patients (5 females, median age 33 years) treated with omalizumab for a median of 17.5 months were evaluated. All patients had improvement of symptoms after the first dose. In one case, the treatment was suspended after 7 months, but in 9 weeks there was recurrence of symptoms. The main side effect was headache in the drug administration's day. Currently, all patients maintain therapy with omalizumab and are clinically stable. Omalizumab proved to be an effective and safe drug for the treatment of patients with refractory CSU.

  20. Omalizumab may not inhibit mast cell and basophil activation in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gericke, J; Ohanyan, T; Church, M K; Maurer, M; Metz, M

    2015-09-01

    In March 2014, omalizumab, a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, was approved for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). The primary mode of action of omalizumab is considered to be the reduction in free IgE serum levels and the subsequent down-regulation of FcεRI, the high affinity receptor for IgE, on mast cells and basophils. Recently, it has been suggested that most CSU patients have an autoimmune aetiology which may lead to chronic activation of mast cells and basophils. To understand more of the mechanisms by which omalizumab may exert its effects in CSU, its efficacy was tested on human mast cells and basophils. Omalizumab, which was or was not preincubated with serum from healthy donors or CSU patients, was coincubated with isolated healthy donor skin mast cells or peripheral blood-derived monocytes containing 1-2% basophils. Degranulation was induced using anti-human IgE, C5a, or substance P and histamine release determined. Anti-human IgE-induced histamine release from mast cells or basophils was not altered in the presence or absence of omalizumab. In contrast, preincubation of mast cells with DARPin Fc fusion protein, a positive control for negative signalling via FcεRI-FcγRIIb cross activation, significantly diminished histamine release. Moreover, omalizumab, that was preincubated with healthy donor serum, CSU patient serum or auto-reactive CSU serum to allow for the formation of potential immune complexes, did not alter induced histamine release in a coincubation setup with mast cells or basophils as compared to the absence of omalizumab. In vivo, blood basophil numbers and basophil histamine content increase under omalizumab therapy. Our results suggest that the rapid response to omalizumab therapy is more likely to result from the elimination of an activating signal rather than the generation of a negative, inhibitory signal. © 2014 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

  1. Efficacy and safety of omalizumab in Japanese and Korean patients with refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hide, Michihiro; Park, Hae-Sim; Igarashi, Atsuyuki; Ye, Young-Min; Kim, Tae-Bum; Yagami, Akiko; Roh, Jooyoung; Lee, Jae-Hyun; Chinuki, Yuko; Youn, Sang Woong; Lee, Soo-Keol; Inomata, Naoko; Choi, Jeong-Hee; Fukunaga, Atsushi; Wang, Junyi; Matsushima, Soichiro; Greenberg, Steve; Khalil, Sam

    2017-07-01

    Many patients with chronic spontaneous/idiopathic urticaria (CSU/CIU) do not respond adequately to treatment with non-sedating H1 antihistamines (H1AH). There are limited studies on use of omalizumab as add-on therapy for treatment of CSU in an Asian population. The POLARIS study (NCT02329223), representing the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial of omalizumab for CSU in an Eastern Asian population, evaluated efficacy and safety of omalizumab as add-on therapy for treatment of CSU. This 26-week multicenter (41 Japanese/Korean sites) study enrolled patients (12-75 years) who were symptomatic despite H1AH treatment. Eligible participants (N=218) were randomized 1:1:1 to receive three subcutaneous injections of omalizumab 300mg, 150mg, or placebo every 4 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of follow-up. Primary outcome was change from baseline to Week 12 (Wk12) in weekly itch severity score (ISS7). Safety was assessed through the summary of adverse events (AEs). Baseline demographics and disease characteristics were generally well balanced across treatment groups. At Wk12, statistically significant decreases from baseline were observed in ISS7 with omalizumab vs placebo (mean changes -10.22, -8.80, and -6.51 for omalizumab 300mg, 150mg and placebo; pomalizumab 300mg, 150mg, and placebo groups, respectively); nasopharyngitis was the most frequently reported AE in all treatment arms. The POLARIS study demonstrates that omalizumab is an efficacious and well-tolerated add-on therapy in Japanese and Korean H1AH-refractory patients with CSU. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Omalizumab therapy for treatment of recalcitrant chronic spontaneous urticaria in an Asian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulthanan, Kanokvalai; Tuchinda, Papapit; Chularojanamontri, Leena; Likitwattananurak, Chayanee; Ungaksornpairote, Chanida

    2017-03-01

    There are limited data regarding omalizumab in the treatment of recalcitrant chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in Asian populations. This study evaluated the effectiveness and the proper dosage of omalizumab for Asian CSU patients in a real-life setting. We retrospectively reviewed recalcitrant CSU patients seeking treatment at the Skin Allergy Clinic, Siriraj Hospital during the 3-year period. All patients were treated with omalizumab as an add-on therapy. Standard seven-day urticaria activity score (UAS7) and medication score were used to assess omalizumab response. Of 13 patients, 9 patients (70%) responded well to 150 mg omalizumab injection every month, whereas 4 patients requiring updosing to 300 mg. In the 150 mg group, one patient achieved complete symptom control without antihistamine intake. Most of them required antihistamines without prednisolone and ciclosporin. Onset of omalizumab was fast, usually within the first week. Though only two patients in the 300 mg group achieved complete absence of symptoms, ciclosporin and oral corticosteroids could be discontinued. No patients reported adverse effects. Omalizumab at an initial dosage of 150 mg was effective in the treatment of recalcitrant CSU among Asians. Updosing to 300 mg was required to achieve satisfactory outcomes.

  3. Adding a nitrogen footprint to Colorado State University’s sustainability plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimiecik, Jacob; Baron, Jill S.; Weinmann, Timothy; Taylor, Emily

    2017-01-01

    As a large land grant university with more than 32,000 students, Colorado State University has both on-campus non-agricultural and agricultural sources of nitrogen (N) released to the environment. We used the Nitrogen Footprint Tool to estimate the amount of N released from different sectors of the university for the CSU 2014 academic year. The largest on campus sources were food production, utilities (heating, cooling, electricity), and research animals. The total on-campus N footprint in 2014 was 287 metric tons. This value was equivalent to the nitrogen footprint of agricultural experiment stations and other agricultural facilities, whose nitrogen footprint was 273 metric tons. CSU has opportunities to reduce its on-campus footprint through educational programs promoting low-meat diets and commuting by bicycle or bus. There is also an opportunity to advance ideas of agricultural best management practices, including precision farming and better livestock management. This article describes the planned and ongoing efforts to educate CSU about how societal activities release nitrogen to the environment, contributing to global change. It offers personal and institutional options for taking action, which would ultimately reduce CSU’s excess reactive nitrogen loss to the environment. The N-footprint for CSU, including scenarios of possible future nitrogen reductions, is also discussed.

  4. The first chimpanzee sanctuary in Japan: an attempt to care for the "surplus" of biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morimura, Naruki; Idani, Gen'ichi; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

    2011-03-01

    This article specifically examines several aspects of the human-captive chimpanzee bond and the effort to create the first chimpanzee sanctuary in Japan. We discuss our ethical responsibility for captive chimpanzees that have been used in biomedical research. On April 1, 2007, the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Uto (CSU) was established as the first sanctuary for retired laboratory chimpanzees in Japan. This initiative was the result of the continuous efforts by members of Support for African/Asian Great Apes (SAGA), and the Great Ape Information Network to provide a solution to the large chimpanzee colony held in biomedical facilities. However, the cessation of invasive biomedical studies using chimpanzees has created a new set of challenges because Japan lacks registration and laws banning invasive ape experiments and lacks a national policy for the life-long care of retired laboratory chimpanzees. Therefore, CSU has initiated a relocation program in which 79 retired laboratory chimpanzees will be sent to domestic zoos and receive life-long care. By the end of 2009, the number of chimpanzees living at CSU had decreased from 79 to 59 individuals. A nationwide network of care facilities and CSU to provide life-long care of retired laboratory chimpanzees is growing across Japan. This will result in humane treatment of these research animals. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  5. Expert opinion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ferrer, Marta; Boccon-Gibod, Isabelle; Gonçalo, Margarida

    2017-01-01

    Omalizumab (a recombinant, humanized anti-immunoglobulin-E antibody) has been shown in three pivotal Phase III trials (ASTERIA I, II and GLACIAL) and real-world studies to be effective and well-tolerated for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), and is the only licensed third......-line treatment for CSU. However, the definition of response to omalizumab treatment often differs between clinical trials, real-world studies, and daily practice of individual physicians globally. As such, a consensus definition of "complete", "partial" and "non-response" to omalizumab is required in order...... into a patient's disease burden and its changes during treatment. A potential omalizumab treatment approach based on speed and pattern of response at 1-3 and 3-6 months is suggested. In cases where there is no response during the first 1-3 months, physicians should consider reassessing the original CSU diagnosis...

  6. ''Improving the EEG''. PHOTON discussion with experts of German political parties on the future of reimbursement for alternative energy; ''Das EEG weiter entwickeln''. PHOTON-Streitgesprach mit Energie-Experten der Bundestagsfraktionen ueber die kuenftige Solarstromfoerderung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anon.

    2002-08-01

    In a PHOTON discussion with Rainer Brinkmann (SPD), Franz Obermeier (CSU), Hans-Josef Fell (Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen), Walter Hirche (FDP) and Eva Bullinger-Schrter (PDS), it became clear that the FDP is not the only political party in Germany to oppose the EEG (Renewable Energy Act). The CSU is thinking about replacing reimbursement for alternative energy sources by a tendering procedure. [German] Weil Wahlprogramme sich meist in Allgemeinplaetzen verlieren, baten wir Energie-Experten aus den fuenf Bundestagsfraktionen in einem Streitgespraech um Klartext: Wie sehen die Plaene zur Solarstromfoerderung aus? Bei der lebhaften Diskussion zwischen Rainer Brinkmann (SPD), Franz Obermeier (CSU), Hans-Josef Fell (Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen), Walter Hirche (FDP) und Eva Bulling-Schroeter (PDS) wurde deutlich: Nicht nur die FDP ist gegen das Erneuerbaree-Energien-Gesetz (EEG). Auch in der Union gibt es Ueberlegungen, die Einspeiseverguetung fuer Solarstrom durch einen Ausschreibungswettbewerb abzuloesen. (orig.)

  7. A Generalized Decision Framework Using Multi-objective Optimization for Water Resources Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basdekas, L.; Stewart, N.; Triana, E.

    2013-12-01

    Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is currently engaged in an Integrated Water Resource Plan (IWRP) to address the complex planning scenarios, across multiple time scales, currently faced by CSU. The modeling framework developed for the IWRP uses a flexible data-centered Decision Support System (DSS) with a MODSIM-based modeling system to represent the operation of the current CSU raw water system coupled with a state-of-the-art multi-objective optimization algorithm. Three basic components are required for the framework, which can be implemented for planning horizons ranging from seasonal to interdecadal. First, a water resources system model is required that is capable of reasonable system simulation to resolve performance metrics at the appropriate temporal and spatial scales of interest. The system model should be an existing simulation model, or one developed during the planning process with stakeholders, so that 'buy-in' has already been achieved. Second, a hydrologic scenario tool(s) capable of generating a range of plausible inflows for the planning period of interest is required. This may include paleo informed or climate change informed sequences. Third, a multi-objective optimization model that can be wrapped around the system simulation model is required. The new generation of multi-objective optimization models do not require parameterization which greatly reduces problem complexity. Bridging the gap between research and practice will be evident as we use a case study from CSU's planning process to demonstrate this framework with specific competing water management objectives. Careful formulation of objective functions, choice of decision variables, and system constraints will be discussed. Rather than treating results as theoretically Pareto optimal in a planning process, we use the powerful multi-objective optimization models as tools to more efficiently and effectively move out of the inferior decision space. The use of this framework will help CSU

  8. Profile of omalizumab in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Labrador-Horrillo M

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Moises Labrador-Horrillo,1 Marta Ferrer2 1Allergy Section, Internal Medicine Department, Vall d’Hebron Hospital, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, 2Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, IDISNA, Instituto de Investigación de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain Abstract: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU is a disease with significant morbidity and relative prevalence that has important effects on the quality of life (QoL of those who suffer from it. Omalizumab is a recombinant humanized anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE antibody that binds to the Cε3 domain of the IgE heavy chain and prevents it from binding to its high-affinity receptor FcεRI. It has been largely studied in the field of asthma and is currently approved for the treatment of both adult and pediatric (children; >6-year-old patients. In addition, in recent, well-controlled clinical trials in patients with CSU resistant to antihistamines, add-on therapy with subcutaneous omalizumab significantly reduced the severity of itching, and the number and size of hives, and increased patients’ health-related QoL and the proportion of days free from angioedema compared with placebo, with an excellent tolerance. Thus, omalizumab is an effective and well-tolerated add-on therapy for patients with CSU who are symptomatic despite background therapy with H1 antihistamines. In this review, we cover the following points: epidemiology, pathogenesis, assessment of activity, impact on QoL, and treatment of CSU, and finally, we focus on omalizumab in the treatment of CSU including the pharmacokinetic properties and mechanism of action, and use in pregnant women, nursing infants, and children. Keywords: omalizumab, chronic spontaneous urticaria, antihistamines, subcutaneous administration, add-on therapy

  9. "Psychological Boarding" and Community-Based Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Dhrubodhi; Saxon, Verletta

    2018-01-27

    This exploratory paper presents a case study where a community based mental health organization forging a partnership with a local hospital system to establish a crisis stabilization unit (CSU) to address behavioral health emergency care. The study takes a mixed methods case study approach to address two research questions; (a) did this approach reduce the overall length of stay in the hospital emergency departments? (b) What challenges did the taskforce face in implementing this CSU model? The paper shares recommendation from the findings.

  10. Development and demonstration of biosorbents for clean-up of uranium in water. CRADA final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faison, B.D.; Hu, M.Z.C.; Norman, J.M.; Reeves, M.E.; Williams, L.; Schmidt-Kuster, W.; Darnell, K.

    1997-08-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain CSU, a nongenetically engineered bacterial strain known to bind dissolved hexavalent uranium, shows particular promise as the basis of an immobilized-cell process for removal of dissolved uranium from contaminated wastewaters. It was characterized with respect to its sorptive active. Living, heat-killed, permeabilized, and unreconstituted lyophilized cells were all capable of binding uranium. The uranium biosorption equilibrium could be described by the Langmuir isotherm. The rate of uranium adsorption increased following permeabilization of the outer and/or cytoplasmic membrane by organic solvents such as acetone. P. aeruginosa CSU biomass was significantly more sorptive toward uranium than certain novel, patented biosorbents derived from algal or fungal biomass sources. P. aeruginosa CSU biomass was also competitive with commercial cation-exchange resins, particularly in the presence of dissolved transition metals. Uranium binding by P. aeruginosa was clearly pH dependent. Uranium loading capacity increased with increasing pH under acidic conditions, presumably as a function of uranium speciation and due to the H + competition at some binding sites. Nevertheless, preliminary evidence suggests that this microorganism is also capable of binding anionic hexavalent uranium complexes. Ferric iron was a strong inhibitor of uranium binding to P. aeruginosa CSU biomass, and the presence of uranium also decreased the Fe 3+ loading when the biomass was not saturated with Fe 3+ , suggesting that Fe 3+ and uranium may share the same binding sites on biomass

  11. Development and demonstration of biosorbents for clean-up of uranium in water. CRADA final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faison, B.D.; Hu, M.Z.C.; Norman, J.M.; Reeves, M.E.; Williams, L.; Schmidt-Kuster, W.; Darnell, K. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)]|[Ogden Environmental Service, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    1997-08-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain CSU, a nongenetically engineered bacterial strain known to bind dissolved hexavalent uranium, shows particular promise as the basis of an immobilized-cell process for removal of dissolved uranium from contaminated wastewaters. It was characterized with respect to its sorptive active. Living, heat-killed, permeabilized, and unreconstituted lyophilized cells were all capable of binding uranium. The uranium biosorption equilibrium could be described by the Langmuir isotherm. The rate of uranium adsorption increased following permeabilization of the outer and/or cytoplasmic membrane by organic solvents such as acetone. P. aeruginosa CSU biomass was significantly more sorptive toward uranium than certain novel, patented biosorbents derived from algal or fungal biomass sources. P. aeruginosa CSU biomass was also competitive with commercial cation-exchange resins, particularly in the presence of dissolved transition metals. Uranium binding by P. aeruginosa was clearly pH dependent. Uranium loading capacity increased with increasing pH under acidic conditions, presumably as a function of uranium speciation and due to the H{sup +} competition at some binding sites. Nevertheless, preliminary evidence suggests that this microorganism is also capable of binding anionic hexavalent uranium complexes. Ferric iron was a strong inhibitor of uranium binding to P. aeruginosa CSU biomass, and the presence of uranium also decreased the Fe{sup 3+} loading when the biomass was not saturated with Fe{sup 3+}, suggesting that Fe{sup 3+} and uranium may share the same binding sites on biomass.

  12. The minimum activation peptide from ilvH can activate the catalytic subunit of AHAS from different species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yuefang; Niu, Congwei; Wen, Xin; Xi, Zhen

    2013-04-15

    Acetohydroxyacid synthases (AHASs), which catalyze the first step in the biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids, are composed of a catalytic subunit (CSU) and a regulatory subunit (RSU). The CSU harbors the catalytic site, and the RSU is responsible for the activation and feedback regulation of the CSU. Previous results from Chipman and co-workers and our lab have shown that heterologous activation can be achieved among isozymes of Escherichia coli AHAS. It would be interesting to find the minimum peptide of ilvH (the RSU of E. coli AHAS III) that could activate other E. coli CSUs, or even those of ## species. In this paper, C-terminal, N-terminal, and C- and N-terminal truncation mutants of ilvH were constructed. The minimum peptide to activate ilvI (the CSU of E. coli AHAS III) was found to be ΔN 14-ΔC 89. Moreover, this peptide could not only activate its homologous ilvI and heterologous ilvB (CSU of E. coli AHAS I), but also heterologously activate the CSUs of AHAS from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. However, this peptide totally lost its ability for feedback regulation by valine, thus suggesting different elements for enzymatic activation and feedback regulation. Additionally, the apparent dissociation constant (Kd ) of ΔN 14-ΔC 89 when binding CSUs of different species was found to be 9.3-66.5 μM by using microscale thermophoresis. The ability of this peptide to activate different CSUs does not correlate well with its binding ability (Kd ) to these CSUs, thus implying that key interactions by specific residues is more important than binding ability in promoting enzymatic reactions. The high sequence similarity of the peptide ΔN 14-ΔC 89 to RSUs across species hints that this peptide represents the minimum activation motif in RSU and that it regulates all AHASs. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Investigation of thiol-disulphide balance in patients with acute urticaria and chronic spontaneous urticaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbas, Ayse; Kilinc, Fadime; Sener, Sertac; Aktaş, Akın; Baran, Pervin; Ergin, Merve

    2017-09-01

    Thiol-disulphide balance plays a major role in health and diseases. This balance may be disrupted by various diseases. We aimed to determine status of the effect of thiol-disulphide balance in urticaria. We aimed to investigate the thiol-disulphide balance in patients with acute urticaria (AUP) and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Study included 53 AUP and 47 healthy controls plus 57 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSUP) and 57 healthy controls. Levels of native thiols, disulphides and total thiols were evaluated in plasma using a new and automated spectrophotometric method. Ratios of disulphides/total thiols, disulphides/native thiols and native thiols/total thiols were calculated. For AU, there was no statistical difference compared to control group in levels of native thiols, disulphides and total thiols. For CSU, however, there was an increase in levels of native thiols, disulphides and total thiols and the ratio of thiol/disulphide in favour of disulphide. Thiol-disulphide balance was not affected by AU but shifted towards to disulphide in CSU indicating the presence of oxidative stress (OS).

  14. Cost Utility of Omalizumab Compared with Standard of Care for the Treatment of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Jonathan; McBride, Doreen; Stull, Donald; Halliday, Anna; Alexopoulos, Stamatia Theodora; Balp, Maria-Magdalena; Griffiths, Matthew; Agirrezabal, Ion; Zuberbier, Torsten; Brennan, Alan

    2016-08-01

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) negatively impacts patient quality of life and productivity and is associated with considerable indirect costs to society. The aim of this study was to assess the cost utility of add-on omalizumab treatment compared with standard of care (SOC) in moderate or severe CSU patients with inadequate response to SOC, from the UK societal perspective. A Markov model was developed, consisting of health states based on Urticaria Activity Score over 7 days (UAS7) and additional states for relapse, spontaneous remission and death. Model cycle length was 4 weeks, and total model time horizon was 20 years in the base case. The model considered early discontinuation of non-responders (response: UAS7 ≤6) and retreatment upon relapse (relapse: UAS7 ≥16) for responders. Clinical and cost inputs were derived from omalizumab trials and published sources, and cost utility was expressed as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Scenario analyses included no early discontinuation of non-responders and an altered definition of response (UAS7 omalizumab was associated with increased costs and benefits relative to SOC. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis supported this result. Productivity inputs were key model drivers, and individual scenarios without early discontinuation of non-responders and adjusted response definitions had little impact on results. ICERs were generally robust to changes in key model parameters and inputs. In this, the first economic evaluation of omalizumab in CSU from a UK societal perspective, omalizumab consistently represented a treatment option with societal benefit for CSU in the UK across a range of scenarios.

  15. Effect of omalizumab on angioedema in H1 -antihistamine-resistant chronic spontaneous urticaria patients: results from X-ACT, a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staubach, P; Metz, M; Chapman-Rothe, N; Sieder, C; Bräutigam, M; Canvin, J; Maurer, M

    2016-08-01

    Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) severely impacts quality of life (QoL), especially in patients with wheals and angioedema. Omalizumab is approved as add-on therapy for CSU patients; however, its effect on patients who are double-positive for wheals and angioedema has not been systematically studied. The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of omalizumab vs placebo at week 28 using the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life (CU-Q2oL) questionnaire. Number of angioedema-burdened days, time interval between successive angioedema episodes, disease activity, angioedema-specific and overall QoL impairment were secondary objectives. X-ACT was a phase III, randomized, double-blind study conducted in 24 centres (Germany), which selectively included CSU patients with angioedema and wheals. Patients were randomized (1 : 1) to omalizumab 300 mg or placebo (every 4 weeks up to week 24) (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01723072). Of the 91 patients randomized to omalizumab (n = 44) or placebo (n = 47) at baseline, 68 completed the 28-week treatment phase (omalizumab, 35; placebo, 33). Omalizumab was superior to placebo in improving CU-Q2oL scores at week 28 (P omalizumab (0.3) vs placebo (1.1). The median time to first recurrence of angioedema was 57-63 days with omalizumab and Omalizumab significantly improved angioedema-specific QoL (P omalizumab. Omalizumab was an effective treatment option for patients with moderate-to-severe CSU symptoms and angioedema unresponsive to high doses of antihistamine treatment. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Treatment and retreatment with omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria: Real life experience with twenty-five patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Türk, Murat; Yılmaz, İnsu; Bahçecioğlu, Sakine Nazik

    2018-01-01

    Previous data have shown the high efficacy of omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). However, factors that may be effective on the response to therapy, relapse rates after drug discontinuation, and efficacy of retreatment remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of omalizumab in CSU refractory to conventional therapy, to identify possible factors affecting treatment response and relapse, and also to evaluate the efficacy of retreatment on relapsed disease. The data of CSU patients treated with 300 mg/month omalizumab for at least 3 months were retrospectively analyzed. In order to evaluate the efficacy of treatment and retreatment, baseline and follow-up concomitant medication score (CMS) and urticaria activity score (UAS) were calculated. Possible factors affecting treatment response and relapse were identified. Twenty-five patients were included. The median duration of omalizumab therapy was 6 (6-12) months. Of the patients with baseline UAS 6 (5.5-6) and CMS 13 (10-15), 8 (32%) had complete response (UAS = 0) and 2 (8%) were non-responders after 3 months of therapy. None of the complete responders were positive for IgG-anti-TPO. After discontinuation of omalizumab therapy, 11 (61%) patients experienced relapse and 10 of them received retreatment with omalizumab. Half of the patients had complete response, and half had partial response (UAS = 1-4) after retreatment. No treatment related adverse events were documented. Omalizumab has high efficacy in both the treatment and retreatment of CSU; however, relapse rates after discontinuation are high. Autoimmune markers may be helpful in predicting treatment response and relapse. Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Allergology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Highly Enhanced Raman Scattering on Carbonized Polymer Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Jong-Chul; Hwang, Jongha; Thiyagarajan, Pradheep; Ruoff, Rodney S; Jang, Ji-Hyun

    2017-06-28

    We have discovered a carbonized polymer film to be a reliable and durable carbon-based substrate for carbon enhanced Raman scattering (CERS). Commercially available SU8 was spin coated and carbonized (c-SU8) to yield a film optimized to have a favorable Fermi level position for efficient charge transfer, which results in a significant Raman scattering enhancement under mild measurement conditions. A highly sensitive CERS (detection limit of 10 -8 M) that was uniform over a large area was achieved on a patterned c-SU8 film and the Raman signal intensity has remained constant for 2 years. This approach works not only for the CMOS-compatible c-SU8 film but for any carbonized film with the correct composition and Fermi level, as demonstrated with carbonized-PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)) and carbonized-PVP (polyvinylpyrollidone) films. Our study certainly expands the rather narrow range of Raman-active material platforms to include robust carbon-based films readily obtained from polymer precursors. As it uses broadly applicable and cheap polymers, it could offer great advantages in the development of practical devices for chemical/bio analysis and sensors.

  18. Colorado State University: A Midscale Market Solar Customer Case Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holm, Alison [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chernyakhovskiy, Ilya [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-12-01

    Despite substantial increases in solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment between 2005 and 2015, a large untapped market for solar PV deployment still exists in midscale market investments by universities. Recent estimates show that if all universities in the United States installed enough solar PV to meet 25% of their annual electricity consumption, this would cumulatively result in just over 16 gigawatts (GW) of additional installed PV capacity. Within this context, midscale market projects - loosely defined as solar PV installations ranging from 100 kilowatts (kW) to 2 megawatts (MW), but more broadly representing installations not captured in the residential or utility-scale sectors - could be an attractive option for universities. This case study focuses on one university solar customer, Colorado State University (CSU), to provide a detailed example of the challenges, solutions, and opportunities associated with university solar power procurement. Between 2009 and 2015, a combined 6,754 kW of both ground-mounted and rooftop solar PV was installed across multiple CSU campuses in Fort Collins, Colorado. This case study highlights CSU's decision-making process, campus engagement strategies, and relationships with state, local, and utility partners, which have culminated in significant on-campus PV deployment.

  19. Self-reported hair loss in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria treated with omalizumab: an under-reported, transient side effect?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konstantinou, G N; Chioti, A G; Daniilidis, M

    2016-09-01

    Omalizumab has been recently approved for treating patients with refractory to H1- antihistamines chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Although hair loss is listed among omalizumab side effects, there are no available data to estimate its frequency. We describe for the first time hair loss as a side effect associated with omalizumab administration in three women, 38, 62 and 70 years old, suffering from refractory to H1-antihistamines CSU. This information was retrieved from their Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaires. Despite this side effect, all patients agreed to continue omalizumab regular administration. Hair loss appeared to be transient, lasting up to four months. All cases finally benefited from omalizumab continuation.

  20. Crisis del sistema de gobierno en las universidades públicas colombianas. Aportes a una sociología del poder en las universidades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor Manuel Gómez Campo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Uno de los grandes temas en la sociología de la educación superior es la ‘sociología del poder’ en las instituciones, cuya principal expresión es el gobierno institucional, entendido como el conjunto de normas que definen y regulan tanto los órganos de toma de decisiones y su relación jerárquica, como la participación y representación de diversos grupos, estamentos y sectores de la sociedad en dichos órganos. Dado que en las universidades públicas colombianas el principal órgano de gobierno es el Consejo Superior Universitario (CSU, reglado en la Ley 30 de 1992, se define como un importante objeto de estudio sociológico la composición del CSU, el origen de sus miembros y sus respectivas filiaciones, lealtades y grupos o sectores sociales que representa. Este análisis permite comprender la naturaleza democrática de la composición del CSU, el alcance y los límites de la representatividad de sus miembros, así como la legitimidad de las decisiones que este órgano supremo de gobierno toma, todo lo cual configura las posibilidades y los límites de la ‘democracia universitaria’.

  1. Electronically Induced Redox Barriers for Treatment of Groundwater

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sale, Tom; Gilbert, David

    2006-01-01

    ...) and Colorado State University (CSU). The focus is an innovative electrolytic approach for managing redox-sensitive contaminants in groundwater, referred to as electrically induced redox barrier (e-barriers...

  2. Treatment and retreatment with omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria: Real life experience with twenty-five patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Türk

    2018-01-01

    Conclusions: Omalizumab has high efficacy in both the treatment and retreatment of CSU; however, relapse rates after discontinuation are high. Autoimmune markers may be helpful in predicting treatment response and relapse.

  3. The overexpression of insect endogenous small RNAs in transgenic rice inhibits growth and delays pupation of striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Shan; Wu, Hao; Liu, Haoju; Zheng, Jie; Lin, Yongjun; Chen, Hao

    2017-07-01

    The striped stem borer (SSB), Chilo suppressalis Walker, is a major rice insect pest worldwide. RNA interference (RNAi) has become a promising strategy for developing insect-resistant crops. In a previous study, five double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) targeting important SSB housekeeping genes were overexpressed in rice, but none of the acquired dsRNA-transgenic rice plants showed significant effects on SSB. Thirteen selected SSB endogenous small RNAs, predicted as SSB novel microRNAs (miRNAs), were overexpressed in rice using artificial miRNA (amiRNA) expression technology. Feeding tests showed that two out of 13 selected SSB novel miRNAs caused significant growth inhibition for feeding SSB larvae based on transgenic rice expression. Pupation was delayed 4 days when SSB larvae consecutively fed on transgenic rice expressing the SSB novel miRNA candidate csu-novel-miR15 (csu-15 rice). Gene expression analysis confirmed that the expression levels of at least six SSB unigenes significantly changed (i.e., were up- or down-regulated) after feeding on csu-15 rice. Our research demonstrated a novel RNAi strategy using SSB endogenous small RNAs to develop RNAi crops for pest management; this strategy is different from the common RNAi resulting from transgenic dsRNAs or amiRNAs targeting certain insect endogenous genes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. Autologous serum skin test as an indicator of chronic autoimmune urticaria in a tertiary care hospital in South India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vikramkumar, Adaikalampillai Ganapathy; Kuruvila, Sheela; Ganguly, Satyaki

    2014-12-01

    Autologous serum skin test (ASST) is a simple in-vivo clinical test for the detection of basophil histamine releasing activity and to diagnose chronic autoimmune urticaria (CAU) among chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients. Diagnosing these patients is also important as they may need high doses of antihistamines and systemic corticosteroids during acute exacerbations. The aim of this study is to study the prevalence of CAU among cases of CSU by using ASST. This was a cross-sectional study done among 48 patients presenting with CSU. Detailed history, physical examination and routine investigations were recorded for all patients. ASST was done on all the 48 patients. Of the 48 patients included in the study, 20 patients (41.6%) were ASST positive, while the remaining 28 (58%) were ASST negative. The median duration of disease in both ASST positive and negative patients was 1 year. ASST positivity was higher (66.6%) among patients with a history of round shaped weals, though not statistically significant. ASST positivity was seen in 5 (71.4%) out of seven patients with systemic involvement, which was again not statistically significant. Our study did not show any significant difference between patients with and without antibodies regarding mean age and sex distribution, clinical morphology of individual weals, duration, severity, systemic symptoms, angioedema, atopy, and association with other autoimmune conditions.

  5. Vērtspapīru tirgus attīstība Baltijas valstīs

    OpenAIRE

    Kalniņa, Margarita

    2012-01-01

    Bakalaura darba mērķis bija noteikt vērtspapīra tirgus attīstības tendences, salīdzināt Baltijas akciju tirgus rādītājus un pamatojoties uz iegūtajiem rezultātiem, novērtēt Baltijas akciju tirgus attīstības tendences. Darba pamatuzdevumos ietilpa pašreizējā Baltijas akciju tirgus stāvokļa analīze. Izstrādātais darbs sastāv no trim daļām. Pirmajā daļā tiek dots īss vērtspapīra tirgus vispārīgais raksturojums un vērtspapīru tirgus instrumentu raksturojums. Darba otrajā daļā tiek doti Baltij...

  6. Valimised tõid segaduse / Aino Siebert

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Siebert, Aino

    2005-01-01

    Saksa Bundestagi 16. valimistel ei saanud uue valitsuse loomiseks enamust ei CDU/CSU-blokk (Kristlik-Demokraatlik Liit ja Kristlik-Sotsiaalne Liit) ega SPD (Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Partei). Vt. ka: Kantslerikandidaat tuleb idast. Saksamaa kantslerikandidaat Angela Merkel

  7. Tornado-borne missile speeds. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simiu, E.; Cordes, M.

    1976-04-01

    An investigation of the question of tornado-borne missile speeds was carried out, with a view to identify pertinent areas of uncertainty and to estimate credible tornado-borne missile speeds - within the limitations inherent in the present state of the art. The investigation consists of two parts: (1) a study in which a rational model for the missile motion is proposed, and numerical experiments are carried out corresponding to various assumptions on the initial conditions of the missile motion, the structure of the tornado flow, and the aerodynamic properties of the missile; (2) a theoretical and experimental study of tornado-borne missile aerodynamics, conducted by Colorado State Univ. (CSU) to be covered in a separate report by CSU. In the present report, the factors affecting missile motion and their influence upon such motion are examined

  8. Tools to Minimize Inter-Laboratory Variability in Vitellogenin Gene Expression Monitoring Programs

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — All data files are in excel format. Files with names CSU are different mesocosms qPCR data results for vitellogen gene and 18s a house keeping gene. Data files...

  9. Grazing management effects on sediment, phosphorus, and pathogen loading of streams in cool-season grass pastures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarte, Kirk A; Russell, James R; Kovar, John L; Morrical, Daniel G; Ensley, Steven M; Yoon, Kyoung-Jin; Cornick, Nancy A; Cho, Yong Il

    2011-01-01

    Erosion and runoff from pastures may lead to degradation of surface water. A 2-yr grazing study was conducted to quantify the effects of grazing management on sediment, phosphorus (P), and pathogen loading of streams in cool-season grass pastures. Six adjoining 12.1-ha pastures bisected by a stream in central Iowa were divided into three treatments: continuous stocking with unrestricted stream access (CSU), continuous stocking with restricted stream access (CSR), and rotational stocking (RS). Rainfall simulations on stream banks resulted in greater ( CSR pastures. Bovine enterovirus was shed by an average of 24.3% of cows during the study period and was collected in the runoff of 8.3 and 16.7% of runoff simulations on bare sites in CSU pastures in June and October of 2008, respectively, and from 8.3% of runoff simulations on vegetated sites in CSU pastures in April 2009. Fecal pathogens (bovine coronavirus [BCV], bovine rotavirus group A, and O157:H7) shed or detected in runoff were almost nonexistent; only BCV was detected in feces of one cow in August of 2008. Erosion of cut-banks was the greatest contributor of sediment and P loading to the stream; contributions from surface runoff and grazing animals were considerably less and were minimized by grazing management practices that reduced congregation of cattle by pasture streams. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  10. Colorado Water Institute

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colorado Water Institute Colorado State University header HomeMission StatementGRAD592NewslettersPublications/ReportsCSU Water ExpertsFunding OpportunitiesScholarshipsSubscribeEmploymentAdvisory BoardStaffContact UsCommentsLinks Water Center Logo Water Resources Archive Office of Engagement Ag Water

  11. Clinical efficacy of omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria is associated with a reduction of FcεRI-positive cells in the skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metz, Martin; Staubach, Petra; Bauer, Andrea; Brehler, Randolf; Gericke, Janine; Kangas, Michael; Ashton-Chess, Joanna; Jarvis, Philip; Georgiou, Panayiotis; Canvin, Janice; Hillenbrand, Rainer; Erpenbeck, Veit J; Maurer, Marcus

    2017-01-01

    Background. Treatment with omalizumab, a humanized recombinant monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, results in clinical efficacy in patients with Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU). The mechanism of action of omalizumab in CSU has not been elucidated in detail. Objectives. To determine the effects of omalizumab on levels of high affinity IgE receptor-positive (FcεRI + ) and IgE-positive (IgE + ) dermal cells and blood basophils. Treatment efficacy and safety were also assessed. Study design. In a double-blind study, CSU patients aged 18‑75 years were randomized to receive 300 mg omalizumab (n=20) or placebo (n=10) subcutaneously every 4 weeks for 12 weeks. Changes in disease activity were assessed by use of the weekly Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7). Circulating IgE levels, basophil numbers and levels of expression of FcεRI + and IgE + cells in the skin and in blood basophils were determined. Results. Patients receiving omalizumab showed a significantly greater decrease in UAS7 compared with patients receiving placebo. At Week 12 the mean difference in UAS7 between treatment groups was -14.82 (p=0.0027), consistent with previous studies. Total IgE levels in serum were increased after omalizumab treatment and remained elevated up to Week 12. Free IgE levels decreased after omalizumab treatment. Mean levels of FcεRI + skin cells in patients treated with omalizumab 300 mg were decreased at Week 12 compared with baseline in the dermis of both non-lesional and lesional skin, reaching levels comparable with those seen in healthy volunteers (HVs). There were no statistically significant changes in mean FcɛRI + cell levels in the placebo group. Similar results were seen for changes in IgE + cells, although the changes were not statistically significant. The level of peripheral blood basophils increased immediately after treatment start and returned to Baseline values after the follow-up period. The levels of FcεRI and IgE expression on peripheral blood basophils were

  12. 78 FR 72706 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-03

    ... Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human... Hawaiian organizations. Representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified... funerary objects should submit a written request to CSU Department of Anthropology. If no additional...

  13. Histamine release positive test associates with disease remission in chronic spontaneous urticaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berti, A; Yacoub, M R; Skov, Per Stahl

    2017-01-01

    the correlations between HR test results and demographic features, quality of life, disease activity, clinical course, and autologous serum and plasma skin tests (ASST and APST). Results. All patients with positive HR test (9/9, 100%) had a more severe disease activity at onset (urticaria activity score, UAS > 2......Summary: Background. Histamine release (HR) test has previously been shown to predict the presence of endogenous histamine-releasing factors in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Objectives and methods. Twenty CSU patients unresponsive to antihistamine treatment were enrolled in order to evaluate...... with a positive HR test had a significant reduction of disease activity (p = 0.003) whereas patients with a negative HR test did not (p > 0.05), leading to disease remission and antihistamine treatment withdrawal in 67% (6/9) of positive HR test patients versus 18% (2/11) of negative HR test patients (p = 0...

  14. Sandia`s computer support units: The first three years

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harris, R.N. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Labs. Computing Dept.

    1997-11-01

    This paper describes the method by which Sandia National Laboratories has deployed information technology to the line organizations and to the desktop as part of the integrated information services organization under the direction of the Chief Information officer. This deployment has been done by the Computer Support Unit (CSU) Department. The CSU approach is based on the principle of providing local customer service with a corporate perspective. Success required an approach that was both customer compelled at times and market or corporate focused in most cases. Above all, a complete solution was required that included a comprehensive method of technology choices and development, process development, technology implementation, and support. It is the authors hope that this information will be useful in the development of a customer-focused business strategy for information technology deployment and support. Descriptions of current status reflect the status as of May 1997.

  15. Evaluation of autologous serum skin test and skin prick test reactivity to house dust mite in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiqiang Song

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU is a common skin disorder with etiology that is not well understood. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of autologous serum skin test (ASST and skin prick testing (SPT to house dust mite (HDM in 862 CSU cases in China. Clinical features, courses and treatment responses were also recorded. RESULTS: The prevalence of positive ASST was 46.3%, and patients aged 30-39 years had the highest positive rate (52.1%. Positive SPT to HDM was seen in 153 patients (17.7% with the highest positive rate (34.2% in patients aged 20 or less. Patients with positive ASST had higher urticaria activity scores (UAS (4.18±0.65 vs. 3.67±0.53 but lower positive rates of HDM (24.6% vs. 37.6%, as compared with those with negative ASST (odds ratio (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.38-2.47. Patients could be categorized into four groups based on the results of ASST and SPT to HDM and patients with positive ASST and positive SPT to HDM had the highest disease activity scores, experienced higher frequencies of angioedema, diseases duration, and required higher dosage of loratadine every month, compared with other subgroups (P<0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CSU showed varied responses of positive ASST and varied sensitivity to HDM, Patients with positive ASST and/or positive SPT had more disease activity compared with patients with negative ASST and/or negative SPT. Further classification can be made based on the result of SPT and ASST.

  16. Wireless Time Tracking Improves Productivity at CSU Long Beach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charmack, Scott; Walsh, Randy

    2002-01-01

    Describes California State University Long Beach's implementation of new maintenance management software, which integrated maintenance, inventory control, and key control and allows technicians to enter and receive information through handheld wireless devices for more accurate time accounting. The school estimates a 10 percent increase in…

  17. CSU-FDA Collaborative Radiological Health Laboratory annual report 1979

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    Highlights of findings by the Collaborative Radiological Health Laboratory (CRHL) on lifetime hazards associated with prenatal and early postnatal exposure to discrete doses of gamma radiation are presented in this volume. The CRHL study is designed to provide information that will facilitate the evaluation of risks to human beings from medical exposure during early development. It is a life span study using beagles exposed at one of several specific times in early development. The CRHL program is multidisciplinary in nature and involves evaluation of a variety of diseases of potential concern for human health. Problems of growth and development, reproductive capacity, degenerative diseases, and aging are among those addressed. Separate abstracts of 20 studies have been prepared for inclusion in the Energy Data Base

  18. Nederlandse richtlijn Chronische urticaria - Behandeling met omalizumab

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Den Elzen, M. T.; Urgert, M. C.; Van Doorn, M. B A; Tupker, R. A.; Knulst, A. C.; Van Zuuren, E. J.

    2015-01-01

    The Dutch guideline Chronic Urticaria aims to present a stepped-care model for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). In this manuscript omalizumab is discussed as a treatment option. Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to immunoglobulin E (IgE). We

  19. Efficacy and safety of omalizumab in patients with chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria who remain symptomatic on H1 antihistamines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saini, Sarbjit S; Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten; Maurer, Marcus

    2015-01-01

    ASTERIA I was a 40-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous omalizumab as add-on therapy for 24 weeks in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria/spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) who remained symptomatic despite H1 antihistamine...

  20. Thomas Edison State College and Colorado State University: Using Cutting-Edge Technology to Enhance CE Unit Success

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Zyl, Henry; Powell, Albert, Jr.

    2012-01-01

    Thomas Edison State College (TESC) and Colorado State University (CSU) offer significant contrasts in institutional culture, student demographics, faculty and institutional priorities and approaches to distance education course development and delivery. This article offers case studies showing that widely disparate program design and delivery…

  1. BTA Insurance Company SE darbības pilnveidošana tirgus daļas palielināšanā Baltijā un Eiropā

    OpenAIRE

    Radvila, Līga

    2012-01-01

    Maģistra darbā “Apdrošināšanas tirgus segmentēšana - ieiešana Polijā” ir izpētīta Polijas apdrošināšanas tirgus nozare, Latvijas apdrošināšanas vieta pasaules, Eiropas un Baltijas valstīs. “BTA Insurance Company” SE finanšu rādītāji un tirgus segmentācija. Par pētījuma objektu izvēlēta apdrošināšanas akciju sabiedrība “BTA Insurance Company” SE, kura darbojas Latvijā kopš 1993.gada 1.novembra, bet no 2011. gada marta ir reģistrēta Eiropas komercsabiedrības reģistrā. Maģistra darba izstr...

  2. Datorprogrammas kā autortiesību aizsardzības objekti Latvijas Republikā

    OpenAIRE

    Cers, Gatis

    2008-01-01

    Bakalaura darbā autors analizē datorprogrammu aizsardzību ar autortiesībām Latvijas Republikā. Tiek aplūkota datorprogrammas legālās definīcijas nepieciešamība, kā arī datorprogrammu autoru iespējas aizsargāt savas tiesības gan vēršoties tiesā, gan ārpus tās. Autors Latvijas Republikas tiesisko regulējumu salīdzina ar citās valstīs pastāvošajiem regulējumiem un sniedz priekšlikumus Latvijas Republikā spēkā esošo normatīvo aktu piemērošanā, kā arī piedāvā veikt labojumus atsevišķos normatīvajo...

  3. Indijas kinematogrāfs: Ceļš uz triumfu

    OpenAIRE

    Gumennikovs, Pāvels

    2009-01-01

    Bakalaura darba – „Indijas kinematogrāfs: Ceļš uz triumfu” galvenais mērķis ir izskaidrot un saprast kā Indijas kino industrija nonāca pie pasaules atzinības 2009. gadā ar filmu „Graustu Miljonārs”. Lai izzinātu bakalaura darba galveno mērķi lasītājam būs iespēja arī iepazīties ar Indijas kino industrijas vēsturi, tās struktūru, stratēģijām. Bakalaura darbs parādā kā filmu industrija reaģēja uz dažādiem notikumiem valsts dzīvē laika gaitā. Bakalaura darbs ir veidots tā, lai ...

  4. Kukuļa izspiešanas nošķiršana no kukuļa pieprasīšanas

    OpenAIRE

    Ivanovs, Igors

    2015-01-01

    Bakalaura darbs ir veltīts divu kukuļņemšanas kvalificējošo pazīmju – kukuļa pieprasīšanas un kukuļa izspiešanas – izpētei un analīzei. Darba gaitā autors secina, ka praksē kriminālprocesa ietvaros ne vienmēr tiek visaptveroši analizēts jautājums, vai darbība, par kuru dots kukulis, bija likumīga vai nelikumīga, un vai valsts amatpersona apdraudēja personas likumīgās intereses vai nē, kas var novest pie kļūdainas noziedzīga nodarījuma kvalifikācijas. Ievērojot teorētiskās atziņas un apkopoto ...

  5. Omalizumab in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria : A systematic review and GRADE assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Urgert, M. C.; Van Den Elzen, M. T.; Knulst, A. C.; Fedorowicz, Z.; Van Zuuren, E. J.

    2015-01-01

    Summary Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the occurrence of hives, angio-oedema or both for a period of at least 6 weeks. Many patients remain symptomatic despite treatment with H1 antihistamines, even at higher doses. This systematic review assessed the quality of

  6. Expert opinion : Defining response to omalizumab in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ferrer, Marta; Boccon-Gibod, Isabelle; Gonçalo, Margarida; İnalöz, Hüseyin Serhat; Knulst, André; Lapeere, Hilde; Parthasaradhi, Anchala; Stingl, Georg; Tagka, Anna; Valenzuela, Fernando; Yeung, Jensen; Thomsen, Simon Francis

    2017-01-01

    Omalizumab (a recombinant, humanized anti-immunoglobulin-E antibody) has been shown in three pivotal Phase III trials (ASTERIA I, II and GLACIAL) and real-world studies to be effective and well-tolerated for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), and is the only licensed third-line

  7. Learning Fire Investigation the Clean Way: The Virtual Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Amanda; Dalgarno, Barney

    2009-01-01

    The effective teaching of fire investigation skills presents logistical challenges because of the difficulty of providing students with access to suitable fire damaged buildings so that they can undertake authentic investigation tasks. At Charles Sturt University (CSU), in the subject JST415, "Fire Investigation Cause and Origin…

  8. Longer operating times of nuclear power plants. Options for compensating public utility advantages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bode, Sven; Kondziella, Hendrik; Bruckner, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    The current German government of CDU/CSU and FDP intends to prolong the operating time of existing nuclear power plants in Germany. The advantages resulting for public utilities are to be compensated. The authors discuss how compensation may be achieved and outline the available instruments. (orig.)

  9. Omalizumab in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria – literature review and own experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Dawicka

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Chronic urticaria is a condition characterized by the appearance of wheals and/or angioedema that last for at least 6 weeks. According to the recent recommendations, if H1-antihistamines used in four times licensed doses remain ineffective, add-on treatment with omalizumab, cyclosporine A or montelukast should be applied. This paper offers a literature review of the studies on using omalizumab in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU treatment. Moreover, it presents our own experience with the use of omalizumab in the treatment of two patients with CSU. Both patients were treated with H1-antihistamines in four times licensed doses recommended by European guidelines, oral corticosteroids, montelukast, and methotrexate – all without satisfactory results. During the time of the omalizumab therapy both patients achieved a significant improvement measured by the decrease in the Average Urticaria Activity Score for 7 days (UAS7 – the first patient from 34 to 11.8 points, the second one from 41 to 5.76.

  10. LDAP: a web server for lncRNA-disease association prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, Wei; Li, Min; Zhao, Kaijie; Liu, Jin; Wu, Fang-Xiang; Pan, Yi; Wang, Jianxin

    2017-02-01

    Increasing evidences have demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in many human diseases. Therefore, predicting novel lncRNA-disease associations would contribute to dissect the complex mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. Some computational methods have been developed to infer lncRNA-disease associations. However, most of these methods infer lncRNA-disease associations only based on single data resource. In this paper, we propose a new computational method to predict lncRNA-disease associations by integrating multiple biological data resources. Then, we implement this method as a web server for lncRNA-disease association prediction (LDAP). The input of the LDAP server is the lncRNA sequence. The LDAP predicts potential lncRNA-disease associations by using a bagging SVM classifier based on lncRNA similarity and disease similarity. The web server is available at http://bioinformatics.csu.edu.cn/ldap jxwang@mail.csu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  11. An analysis of combined standard uncertainty for radiochemical measurements of environmental samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berne, A.

    1996-01-01

    It is anticipated that future data acquisitions intended for use in radiological risk assessments will require the incorporation of uncertainty analysis. Often, only one aliquot of the sample is taken and a single determination is made. Under these circumstances, the total uncertainty is calculated using the open-quotes propagation of errorsclose quotes approach. However, there is no agreement in the radioanalytical community as to the exact equations to use. The Quality Assurance/Metrology Division of the Environmental Measurements Laboratory has developed a systematic process to compute uncertainties in constituent components of the analytical procedure, as well as the combined standard uncertainty (CSU). The equations for computation are presented here, with examples of their use. They have also been incorporated into a code for use in the spreadsheet application, QuattroPro trademark. Using the spreadsheet with appropriate inputs permits an analysis of the variations in the CSU as a function of several different variables. The relative importance of the open-quotes counting uncertaintyclose quotes can also be ascertained

  12. Improving Science Teacher Preparation through the APS PhysTEC and NSF Noyce Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Tasha; Tyler, Micheal; van Duzor, Andrea; Sabella, Mel

    2013-03-01

    Central to the recruitment of students into science teaching at a school like CSU, is a focus on the professional nature of teaching. The purpose of this focus is twofold: it serves to change student perceptions about teaching and it prepares students to become teachers who value continued professional development and value the science education research literature. The Noyce and PhysTEC programs at CSU place the professional nature of teaching front and center by involving students in education research projects, paid internships, attendance at conferences, and participation in a new Teacher Immersion Institute and a Science Education Journal Reading Class. This poster will focus on specific components of our teacher preparation program that were developed through these two programs. In addition we will describe how these new components provide students with diverse experiences in the teaching of science to students in the urban school district. Supported by the NSF Noyce Program (0833251) and the APS PhysTEC Program.

  13. 43 CFR 36.1 - Applicability and scope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ACROSS, AND ACCESS INTO, CONSERVATION SYSTEM UNITS IN ALASKA § 36.1 Applicability and scope. (a) The regulations in this part apply to any application for access in the following forms within any conservation system unit (CSU), national recreation area or national conservation area within the State of Alaska...

  14. The Impact of Organizational Conditions and User Perceptions on Adoption of a Technological Innovation: An Instrumental Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwedler, Jennifer Green

    2017-01-01

    Enterprise software implementations are subject to high failure rates. Organizations of higher education can be particularly resistant to technology implementations as they can be perceived as eroding the traditions of the institution. The California State University (CSU) system is moving into a new phase of data-driven accountability for…

  15. Project ALERT: Forging New Partnerships to Improve Earth System Science Education for Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metzger, E. P.; Ambos, E. L.; Ng, E. W.; Skiles, J.; Simila, G.; Garfield, N.

    2002-05-01

    Project ALERT (Augmented Learning Environment and Renewable Teaching) was founded in 1998, with funding from NASA and the California State University (CSU), to improve earth system science education for pre-service teachers. Project ALERT has formed linkages between ten campuses of the CSU, which prepares about 60 percent of California's teachers, and two NASA centers, Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ALERT has also fostered alliances between earth science and science education faculty. The combined expertise of Project ALERT's diverse partners has led to a wide array of activities and products, including: 1) incorporation in university classrooms of NASA-developed imagery, data, and educational resources; 2) creation and/or enhancement of several courses that bring earth systems science to pre-service teachers; 3) fellowships for CSU faculty to participate in collaborative research and education projects at the NASA Centers; 4) development of teaching modules on such varied topics as volcanoes, landslides, and paleoclimate; and 5) a central web site that highlights resources for teaching introductory Earth system science. An outgrowth of Project ALERT is the increased interest on the part of CSU earth scientists in education issues. This has catalyzed their participation in other projects, including NASA's Project NOVA, Earth System Science Education Alliance, and Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, the Digital Library for Earth System Science Education, and the California Science Project. Project ALERT has also expanded to provide professional development opportunities for in-service teachers, as exemplified by its support of the Bay Area Earth Science Institute (BAESI) at San Jose State University. Each year, BAESI offers 10-15 full-day workshops that supply teachers and teachers-to-be with a blend of science concepts and classroom activities, free instructional materials, and the opportunity to earn inexpensive university credit. These

  16. On Developing the Writing Skills Course for Accounting Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Firch, Tim; Campbell, Annhenrie; Lindsay, David H.; Garner, Don E.

    2010-01-01

    The CSU, Stanislaus, accounting program is providing a new course that meets the university-wide upper-division writing requirement and offers accounting students additional professional study. While a writing skills course is not unusual in a business program, few offer an alternative centered on the accounting body of knowledge. Undergraduate…

  17. The New Tax Credits: How Much Will They Offset Higher Student Fees in California? Report 09-22

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jessika

    2009-01-01

    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) significantly increases federal tax credits for people who pay for college education. For many families, these tax credits will offset most of the recent fee increases at University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and the community colleges. Some students will likely be…

  18. Leveraging Technology to Alleviate Student Bottlenecks: The Self-Paced Online Tutorial--Writing (SPOT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Scott D.; Sanchez, Rudolph J.; Inoue, Asao B.; Statham, Russel D.; Zelezny, Lynnette; Covino, William A.

    2014-01-01

    The Self-Paced Online Tutorial (SPOT) represents the best kind of innovation because it uses digital technologies wisely and because it is based on well-established theory, research, and practice. Extended education plays a pivotal role in the attainment of the California State University's (CSU) vision of providing a high-quality, affordable, and…

  19. [Smoļenskas-Rīgas aktis 13. gs.-14. gs. pirmā puse : kompleksa "Moscowitica-Ruthenica" dokumenti par Smoļenskas un Rīgas attiecībām = Смоленско-рижские акты XIII в.-первая половина XIV в. : документ�

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Levans, Andris, 1968-

    2011-01-01

    Arvustus: Smoļenskas-Rīgas aktis 13. gs.-14. gs. pirmā puse : kompleksa "Moscowitica-Ruthenica" dokumenti par Smoļenskas un Rīgas attiecībām = Смоленско-рижские акты XIII в.-первая половина XIV в. : документы комплекса Moscowitica-Ruthenica об отношениях Смоленска и Риги /koostajad Leksanders Ivanovs, Anatolijs Kuzņcovs. Vēstures avoti ; 6 (Riga: Latvijas Valsts vēstures arcīva izdevniecība, 2009)

  20. Mao Dzeduna personības ietekme uz Ķīnas tautu un kultūru

    OpenAIRE

    Skrinda, Ramona

    2008-01-01

    Darbā „Mao Dzeduna personības ietekme uz Ķīnas Tautu un kultūru” tiek aplūkoti Mao Dzeduna personības un uzskatu veidošanās apstākļi, izpētot tā laika politisko atmosfēru valstī, Mao izcelsmi, skolas gaitas, jaunības gadus. Tiek apskatīta arī Mao varas biogrāfija līdz Tautas Republikas proklamēšanas brīdim. Lai gūtu pilnīgāku priekšstatu par Mao Dzeduna personību tiek sniegts arī ģimenes dzīves apskats- Mao četras sievas un viņa attieksme pret tām, kopīgie bērni un to liktenis. Tiek minēti ar...

  1. Uzņēmuma "Starbucks" ieviešana un virzīšana Latvijas tirgū.

    OpenAIRE

    Bloka, Līva

    2014-01-01

    Uzņēmums „Starbucks” ir viens no pasaulē populārākajiem savas nozares uzņēmumiem un pastāv jau vairāk nekā 40 gadus. Lai gan tas uzsācis darbību jau 22 Eiropas valstīs, Latvija joprojām nav starp tām. Darba mērķis ir, pamatojoties uz teorētiskajiem aspektiem par uzņēmuma ieviešanu un virzīšanu jaunā tirgū un potenciālās mērķauditorijas aptaujas rezultātiem, noteikt uzņēmuma „Starbucks” ieviešanas un virzīšanas iespējas Latvijas tirgū. Pētījuma periods mārketinga ārējās vides faktoriem...

  2. Līvānu novada centrālās bibliotēkas vēsturiskā attīstība

    OpenAIRE

    Kokina, Sarmīte

    2007-01-01

    Publikāciju klāsts par Līvānu novada centrālās bibliotēkas vēsturi ir ierobežots. Tajās ietvertā informācijas ir fragmentāra. Informācija ir pieejama arī izkliedētajos un nepietiekami izpētītajos nepublicētajos materiālos, kuri atrodas gan Līvānos, gan arī Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvā. Informācija šim darbam tika iegūta arī no bijušo un tagadējo bibliotēkas darbinieku stāstījumiem. Kaut arī senākais ieraksts bibliotēkas inventāra grāmatā saglabājies no 1947. gada, ir zināms, ka jau pirm...

  3. Administratīvi teritoriālās reformas ietekme uz bāriņtiesu darbības efektivitāti socioloģiskās sistēmteorijas diskursā

    OpenAIRE

    Elksne, Dace

    2011-01-01

    Maģistra darba tēmu „Administratīvi teritoriālās reformas ietekme uz bāriņtiesu darbības efektivitāti socioloģiskās sistēmteorijas diskursā” autore ir izvēlējusies, jo administratīvi teritoriālā reforma, kas noslēdzās 2009.gadā, ir ieviesusi būtiskas korekcijas pašvaldību teritoriju kontūrās Latvijas kartē, vienlaikus atstājot lielu ietekmi arī uz pašvaldību sniegto pakalpojumu kvalitāti un pieejamību. Viena no valsts nozīmīgākajām funkcijām – aizsargāt nepilngadīgo un citu rīcībnespējīgo tie...

  4. Latvijas kā medicīnas tūrisma galamērķa konkurētspēju ietekmējošie faktori

    OpenAIRE

    Sidorenko, Anna

    2012-01-01

    Bakalaura darba temats ir «Latvijas kā medicīnas tūrisma galamērķa konkurētspēju ietekmējošie faktori». Ņemot vērā starptautisko pieredzi, medicīnas pakalpojumu sniegšana ārvalstniekiem var nodrošināt papildus ienākumu avotu nacionālajai ekonomikai. Bakalaura darba mērķis ir identificēt un izpētīt faktorus, kas ietekmē Latvijas kā medicīnas tūrisma galamērķa konkurētspēju un izstrādāt priekšlikumus medicīnas pakalpojumu sniedzējiem un valsts pārvaldes institūcijām ar nolūku veicināt Latvij...

  5. Konkurētspējas analīze medicīnas tūrisma attīstībai Latvijā.

    OpenAIRE

    Kadincovs, Artūrs

    2013-01-01

    Maģistra darba tēma ir „Konkurētspējas analīze medicīnas tūrisma attīstībai Latvijā”. Medicīnas tūrisms mūsdienās ir eksporta pakalpojums ar augstu pievienoto vērtību, kurš pozitīva scenārija rezultātā nes lielus ienākumus uzņēmējdarbības videi un valsts ekonomikai un rada labi apmaksātu speciālistu pieprasījumu. Pēc autora domām, medicīnas tūrisma attīstībai Latvijā ir perspektīvs scenārijs, jo Latvijai ir visss nepieciešamais, gan kvalificēts darbaspēks, gan resursi, turklāt pietiekoši ...

  6. Sabiedriskās ēdināšanas uzņēmuma konkurētspējas analīze

    OpenAIRE

    Beinaroviča, Kristīne

    2011-01-01

    Bakalaura darbs „Sabiedriskās ēdināšanas uzņēmuma konkurētspējas analīze”. Darba mērķis ir izpētīt SIA „G & K” restorāna „Zilā govs” konkurētspēju un izstrādāt priekšlikumus tās uzlabošanai. Bakalaura darba pirmajā nodaļā pētīti konkurences un konkurētspējas teorētiskie aspekti, otrajā nodaļā raksturota nozare, kurā uzņēmums darbojas, valsts ekonomiskās lejupslīdes kontekstā, veikta nozares vides analīze, izmantojot M.E.Portera 5 spēku modeli. Trešajā nodaļā raksturota uzņēmuma vēsturiskā ...

  7. 3-4 gadīgu bērnu runas prasmju attīstīšana didaktiskajās spēlēs

    OpenAIRE

    Zavicka, Vita

    2017-01-01

    . Darba tēma – 3-4 gadīgu bērnu runas prasmju attīstīšana didaktiskajās spēlēs Kvalifikācijas darba autore – Vita Zavicka. Zinātniskā darba vadītāja – Aija Kalve. Teorijas darba daļā raksturota bērnu valodas prasmju attīstība pedagoģijas, psiholoģijas skatījumā, bērna runas attīstības pēctecības nodrošināšana. Raksturotas pirmskolas bērnu vārdu krājuma likumsakarības, vadoties pēc MK noteikumiem Nr. 533 par valsts pirmsskolas izglītības vadlīnijām, ka galvenais bērna darbības vei...

  8. CSU Digital Ambassadors: An Empowering and Impactful Faculty Learning Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soodjinda, Daniel; Parker, Jessica K.; Ross, Donna L.; Meyer, Elizabeth J.

    2014-01-01

    This article chronicles the work of the California State University Digital Ambassador Program (DA), a Faculty Learning Community (FLC), which brought together 13 faculty members across the state to create ongoing, targeted spaces of support for colleagues and educational partners to learn about innovative technological and pedagogical practices…

  9. CSU's MWV Observatory: A Facility for Research, Education and Outreach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hood, John; Carpenter, N. D.; McCarty, C. B.; Samford, J. H.; Johnson, M.; Puckett, A. W.; Williams, R. N.; Cruzen, S. T.

    2014-01-01

    The Mead Westvaco Observatory (MWVO), located in Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center, is dedicated to education and research in astronomy through hands-on engagement and public participation. The MWVO has recently received funding to upgrade from a 16-inch Meade LX-200 telescope to a PlaneWave CDK 24-inch Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph telescope. This and other technological upgrades will allow this observatory to stream live webcasts for astronomical events, allowing a worldwide public audience to become a part of the growing astronomical community. This poster will explain the upgrades that are currently in progress as well as the results from the current calibrations. The goal of these upgrades is to provide facilities capable of both research-class projects and widespread use in education and public outreach. We will present our initial calibration and tests of the observatory equipment, as well as its use in webcasts of astronomical events, in solar observing through the use of specialized piggy-backed telescopes, and in research into such topics as asteroids, planetary and nebula imaging. We will describe a pilot research project on asteroid orbit refinement and light curves, to be carried out by Columbus State University students. We will also outline many of the K-12 educational and public outreach activities we have designed for these facilities. Support and funding for the acquisition and installation of the new PlaneWave CDK 24 has been provided by the International Museum and Library Services via the Museums for America Award.

  10. Similar Efficacy with Omalizumab in Chronic Idiopathic/Spontaneous Urticaria Despite Different Background Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casale, Thomas B; Bernstein, Jonathan A; Maurer, Marcus; Saini, Sarbjit S; Trzaskoma, Benjamin; Chen, Hubert; Grattan, Clive E; Gimenéz-Arnau, Ana; Kaplan, Allen P; Rosén, Karin

    2015-01-01

    Data from the 3 omalizumab pivotal trials in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria/chronic spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) represent the largest database of patients reported to date with refractory disease (omalizumab, n = 733; placebo, n = 242). The objective of this study was to compare results from ASTERIA I and II, which included only approved doses of H1-antihistamine as background therapy based on regulatory authority requirements, to those from GLACIAL, which permitted higher doses of H1-antihistamines as well as other types of background therapy, in a post hoc analysis. Efficacy data from the placebo, omalizumab 150-mg, and omalizumab 300-mg treatment arms of ASTERIA I and II were pooled and analyzed (n = 162 and n = 160, respectively). The 300-mg treatment arm analyses were compared with the analysis of data from GLACIAL (n = 252) using analysis of covariance models. The key efficacy endpoint was change from baseline to week 12 in mean weekly itch severity score (ISS); other endpoints were also evaluated. Safety data were pooled from all 3 studies. Mean ISS was significantly reduced from baseline at week 12 in the pooled ASTERIA I and II omalizumab 150- and 300-mg treatment arms and in the GLACIAL omalizumab 300-mg arm. The weekly ISS reduction magnitude at week 12 was similar between the omalizumab 300-mg groups in the ASTERIA I and II pooled and GLACIAL studies. Similar treatment effect sizes were observed across multiple endpoints. Omalizumab was well tolerated and the adverse-event profile was similar regardless of background therapy for CIU/CSU. The overall safety profile was generally consistent with omalizumab therapy in allergic asthma. Omalizumab 300 mg was safe and effective in reducing CIU/CSU symptoms regardless of background therapy. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Effects of pasture management and off-stream water on temporal/spatial distribution of cattle and stream bank characteristics in cool-season grass pastures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarte, K A; Russell, J R; Morrical, D G

    2011-10-01

    A 2-yr grazing experiment was conducted to assess the effects of grazing management on cattle distribution and pasture and stream bank characteristics. Six 12.1-ha cool-season grass pastures in central Iowa were allotted to 1 of 3 treatments: continuous stocking with unrestricted stream access (CSU), continuous stocking with stream access restricted to 4.9-m-wide stabilized crossings (CSR), or rotational stocking with stream access restricted to a riparian paddock (RP). Pastures were stocked with 15 fall-calving Angus cows (Bos taurus L.) from mid-May to mid-October for 153 d in 2008 and 2009. A global positioning system (GPS) collar recording cow position every 10 min was placed on at least 1 cow per pasture for 2 wk of each month from May through September. Off-stream water was provided to cattle in CSU and CSR treatments during the second of the 2 wk when GPS collars were on the cattle. A black globe temperature relative humidity index (BGTHI) was measured at 10-min intervals to match the time of the GPS measurements. Each month of the grazing season, forage characteristics (sward height, forage mass, and CP, IVDMD, and P concentrations) and bare and fecal-covered ground were measured. Stream bank erosion susceptibility was visually scored in May, August, and October (pre-, mid-, and post-stocking). Cattle in RP and CSR treatments spent less time (P CSR treatment reduced the probability (P CSR and RP treatments in the stream and streamside zones in September and October and in July and September. Streams in pastures with the CSU treatment had less stable banks (P CSR treatments. Results show that time spent by cattle near pasture streams can be reduced by RP or CSR treatments, thereby decreasing risks of sediment and nutrient loading of pasture streams even during periods of increased BGTHI.

  12. Hacia la cobertura sanitaria universal en la detección neonatal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Ascurra

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available La cobertura sanitaria universal (CSU está ocupando el centro de los debates sobre las reformas de los sistemas de salud. Desde el 2.000, los desafíos planteados para cumplir con los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio han señalado la necesidad de un “retorno del Estado” en el campo de la salud. Consecuentemente, se renovaron los compromisos y responsabilidades que competen a los Gobiernos en cuanto a sus obligaciones para con los ciudadanos y, con ello, una nueva forma de participación comprometida y solidaria para resolver problemas específicos e impostergables para el desarrollo de los pueblos. Con la CSU se podrá asegurar que todas las personas reciban los servicios sanitarios que necesitan, sin tener que pasar penurias financieras para pagarlos. Para que una comunidad o un país pueda alcanzar la CSU se deben cumplir varios requisitos como: un sistema de salud sólido, un sistema de financiación de los servicios de salud, acceso a medicamentos y tecnologías esenciales y personal sanitario bien capacitado. Los programas de detección neonatal forman parte esencial de todo servicio de salud. El país debe garantizar que todos los RN tengan acceso a la detección y el tratamiento oportunos, sin que las familias incurran en gastos considerables y tengan que realizar el pago directo en el momento de recibir el servicio. Paraguay está realizando grandes esfuerzos para el logro de la cobertura universal en la detección neonatal. En el presente artículo se pone de manifiesto la situación actual de la DN en el país en el contexto latinoamericano.

  13. A Holocaust Exhibit ePortfolio: Actively Engaging Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordine, Melissa

    2015-01-01

    California State University, Fresno is currently considering implementing an ePortfolio requirement for all undergraduate students. The ePortfolio requirement would be introduced primarily to engage students in a HIP (high impact practice) but would also be used for assessment purposes. As a faculty member and a member of the CSU Fresno ePortfolio…

  14. Leveraging the Libguides Platform for Electronic Resources Access Assistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erb, Rachel A.; Erb, Brian

    2014-01-01

    This case study offers an alternative use of LibGuides beyond its intended purpose to offer course and subject guides. LibGuides have become an integral part of the virtual instruction landscape at Colorado State University (CSU) Libraries. We discovered that the LibGuides platform can also be effectively harnessed to provide support for…

  15. Opinion on the guidelines determined by the Party of Christian Democratic and Christian Social Unions in the Bundestag on May 13, 1993: 'Energy policy for Germany as an industrial site'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    The VIK (Association of the Electric and Mechanical Power Industry) approves of the energy-political guidelines developed by the Party of the CDU/CSU in the Bundestag. It sees numerous agreed positions, which can form a common ground for joint efforts of industry and politics to secure the industrial site of Germany. (orig.) [de

  16. Recovery Act - Sustainable Transportation: Advanced Electric Drive Vehicle Education Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caille, Gary

    2013-12-13

    The collective goals of this effort include: 1) reach all facets of this society with education regarding electric vehicles (EV) and plug–in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), 2) prepare a workforce to service these advanced vehicles, 3) create web–based learning at an unparalleled level, 4) educate secondary school students to prepare for their future and 5) train the next generation of professional engineers regarding electric vehicles. The Team provided an integrated approach combining secondary schools, community colleges, four–year colleges and community outreach to provide a consistent message (Figure 1). Colorado State University Ventures (CSUV), as the prime contractor, plays a key program management and co–ordination role. CSUV is an affiliate of Colorado State University (CSU) and is a separate 501(c)(3) company. The Team consists of CSUV acting as the prime contractor subcontracted to Arapahoe Community College (ACC), CSU, Motion Reality Inc. (MRI), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and Ricardo. Collaborators are Douglas County Educational Foundation/School District and Gooru (www.goorulearning.org), a nonprofit web–based learning resource and Google spin–off.

  17. Comparison of the uncertainties calculated for the results of radiochemical determinations using the law of propagation of uncertainty and a Monte Carlo simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berne, A.

    2001-01-01

    Quantitative determinations of many radioactive analytes in environmental samples are based on a process in which several independent measurements of different properties are taken. The final results that are calculated using the data have to be evaluated for accuracy and precision. The estimate of the standard deviation, s, also called the combined standard uncertainty (CSU) associated with the result of this combined measurement can be used to evaluate the precision of the result. The CSU can be calculated by applying the law of propagation of uncertainty, which is based on the Taylor series expansion of the equation used to calculate the analytical result. The estimate of s can also be obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation. The data used in this simulation includes the values resulting from the individual measurements, the estimate of the variance of each value, including the type of distribution, and the equation used to calculate the analytical result. A comparison is made between these two methods of estimating the uncertainty of the calculated result. (author)

  18. Prognóza počtu a velikosti vybraných typů hospodařících domácností v České republice pro období 2013–2040

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Habartová, P.; Hulíková Tesárková, K.; Sivková, Olga

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 65, č. 1 (2014), s. 21-36 ISSN 0011-8265 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP404/11/0145 Institutional support: RVO:68378025 Keywords : household, forecast * Czech Republic * headship rate Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography http://www.czso.cz/csu/2014edicniplan.nsf/t/A1002EE02A/$File/130053_14-01.pdf

  19. MCDonalds mārketinga komunikācijas analīze : Latvija-Īrija

    OpenAIRE

    Kazakova, Nataļja

    2010-01-01

    Diplomdarba tēma; pētāmās problēmas apraksts: McDonalds pielietoto mārketinga komunikāciju analīze Latvijā un Īrijā; pētījuma veikšanas laikā daudzus uzņēmumus šajās valstīs (un īpaši Latvijā) skar ekonomiskās krīzes sekas, tāpēc ir nepieciešami aplūkot tādu uzņēmumu pieredzi, kas veiksmīgi darbojas starptautiskajā tirgū ilglaicīgi. Atslēgas vārdi: McDonalds, mārketinga komunikācijas, reklāma, preces virzīšana tirgū, e-mārketings, sabiedriskās attiecības, tiešā pārdošana, personiskā apkalp...

  20. Nodokļu apiešanas ierobežošanas ietekme uz mūsdienu globālo ekonomiku

    OpenAIRE

    Goluboviča, Maija

    2015-01-01

    Bakalaura darba tēma ir „Nodokļu apiešanas ierobeţošanas ietekme uz mūsdienu globālo ekonomiku”. Darba mērķis ir izpētīt valsts iejaukšanās ekonomikā ar nodokļu politiku ietekmi uz tautsaimniecību un izstrādāt potenciālo scenāriju kapitāla kustībai pēc automātiskās informācijas apmaiľas nodokļu jautājumos ieviešanas. Bakalaura darbs sastāv no trim daļām. Pirmajā daļā tiek pētīta publiskā sektora ekonomikas teorētiskai aspekti un teorijas attīstība, kā arī taksācijas, kā publ...

  1. Metodiskā darba organizēšana un izvērtēšana skolā.

    OpenAIRE

    Jakubovska, Solvita

    2010-01-01

    Maģistra darbā „Metodiskā darba organizēšana un izvērtēšana skolā” aplūkoti jautājumi par metodiskā darba organizēšanu valsts, pašvaldības un skolas līmenī, kā arī metodisko komisiju darbības izvērtēšanu, balstoties uz skolu darba kvalitātes izvērtēšanu akreditācijas procesā. Maģistra darba mērķis ir izpētīt skolas metodiskā darba organizēšanas un izvērtēšanas iespējas, veidojot priekšlikumus darba uzlabošanai. Pētījuma ietveros tika izstrādāti skolas metodisko komisiju darbības izvērtēša...

  2. Akcīzes nodokļa sociālekonomiskā loma Latvijā

    OpenAIRE

    Ēķe, Sintija

    2009-01-01

    Maģistra darba tēma : Akcīzes nodokļa sociālekonomiskā loma Latvijā. Maģistra darba mērķis ir analizēt akcīzes nodokļa lomu ekonomikā un budžeta ieņēmumos, analizēt tā politiku un izstrādāt priekšlikumus akcīzes nodokļa palielināšanai valsts budžetā. Darbs sastāv no ievada, trīs nodaļām, secinājumiem, priekšlikumiem un izmantotās literatūras saraksta. Maģistra darbs ir izstrādāts latviešu valodā un tajā ir 94 lapaspuses, kur ir iekļautas 22 tabulas un 52 attēli. Izmantotās literat...

  3. Naudas atmazgāšana būtība, mehānismi un ietekme uz komercattiecību vidi Eiropā

    OpenAIRE

    Tilcēns, Mārtiņš

    2016-01-01

    Mūsdienās ikvienas valsts izaicinājums ir cīņa ar tādu ēnu ekonomikas parādību kā naudas atmazgāšana. Aizvien pieaugot vispārējai globalizācijas tendencei, mainoties gan starptautiskajiem, gan valstu iekšējiem likumiskajiem regulējumiem, attīstoties tehnoloģiskajām iespējām un noziegumu īstenotāju izdomai, šī cīņa kļūst aizvien sarežģītāka. Bakalaura darba mērķis ir parādīt noziedzīgi iegūto līdzekļu atmazgāšanas nozīmi un ietekmi uz ekonomiskajām sistēmām. Bakalaura darbs sastāv no trim da...

  4. Alkohols un biznesa lietišķā etiķete starp vīriešiem japāņu kompānijās

    OpenAIRE

    Stepčenko, Agnese

    2011-01-01

    Darbā tiek apskatīta alkohola nozīme un tā funkcijas japāņu biznesa lietišķās etiķetes ietvaros. Lai varētu izprast alkohola nozīmi mūsdienu japāņu biznesa vidē, alkohols tiek aplūkots Japānas ietvaros no vēsturiska skatpunkta, aplūkota kompānijas nozīme indivīda dzīvē un kulturālie uzvedības principi, kas ietekmē indivīda uzvedību, tajā skaitā arī kopīgos dzeršanas pasākumos. Turklāt tiek apskatīti alkoholisma apmēri un veidi kā valstī ar to cīnās, Japānas jaunāko paaudžu attieksmes un vērtī...

  5. On sums of q-independent SUq(2) quantum variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lenczewski, R.

    1993-01-01

    A representation-free approach to the q-analog of the quantum central limit theorem for C=SU 1 (2) is presented. It is shown that for certain functions φε-C* one can derive a version of a quantum central limit theorem (qclt) with √[N] as a scaling parameter, which may be viewed as a q-analog of qclt. (orig.)

  6. Position statement for the use of omalizumab in the management of chronic spontaneous urticaria in Indian patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiran Godse

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU affects 1% of the world population and also their quality of life, and 50% of these patients are refractory to H1-antihistamines. Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody that binds with free IgE antibodies and reduces the circulating levels of free IgE. This reduction in free IgE prevents mast-cell degranulation. The EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO guidelines recommend omalizumab as the third-line of therapy as an add-on to antihistamines. The recommended dose of omalizumab is 300 mg, 4 weekly in the management of CSU refractory to standard of care with H1-antihistamines in adults and adolescents ≥12 years of age. In some patients, a dose of 150 mg may be acceptable. Omalizumab has a good safety profile. However, due to the biologic nature of the drug, all patients administered omalizumab must be observed for 2 h after administration for anaphylactoid reactions. There have been no studies on the effect of impaired renal or hepatic function on the pharmacokinetics of omalizumab. While no particular dose adjustment is recommended, omalizumab should be administered with caution in these patients.

  7. CERT tribal internship program. Final intern report: Maria Perez, 1994

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-09-01

    Historically, American Indian Tribes have lacked sufficient numbers of trained, technical personnel from their communities to serve their communities; tribal expertise in the fields of science, business and engineering being extremely rare and programs to encourage these disciplines almost non-existent. Subsequently, Tribes have made crucial decisions about their land and other facets of Tribal existence based upon outside technical expertise, such as that provided by the United States government and/or private industries. These outside expert opinions rarely took into account the traditional and cultural values of the Tribes being advised. The purpose of this internship was twofold: Create and maintain a working relationship between CERT and Colorado State University (CSU) to plan for the Summit on Tribal human resource development; and Evaluate and engage in current efforts to strengthen the Tribal Resource Institute in Business, Engineering and Science (TRIBES) program. The intern lists the following as the project results: Positive interactions and productive meetings between CERT and CSU; Gathered information from Tribes; CERT database structure modification; Experience as facilitator in participating methods; Preliminary job descriptions for staff of future TRIBES programs; and Additions for the intern`s personal database of professional contacts and resources.

  8. Physical modeling of river spanning rock structures: Evaluating interstitial flow, local hydraulics, downstream scour development, and structure stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, K.L.; Thornton, C.I.; Mefford, B.; Holmquist-Johnson, C. L.

    2009-01-01

    Rock weir and ramp structures uniquely serve a necessary role in river management: to meet water deliveries in an ecologically sound manner. Uses include functioning as low head diversion dams, permitting fish passage, creating habitat diversity, and stabilizing stream banks and profiles. Existing information on design and performance of in-stream rock structures does not provide the guidance necessary to implement repeatable and sustainable construction and retrofit techniques. As widespread use of rock structures increases, the need for reliable design methods with a broad range of applicability at individual sites grows as well. Rigorous laboratory testing programs were implemented at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and at Colorado State University (CSU) as part of a multifaceted research project focused on expanding the current knowledge base and developing design methods to improve the success rate of river spanning rock structures in meeting project goals. Physical modeling at Reclamation is being used to measure, predict, and reduce interstitial flow through rock ramps. CSU is using physical testing to quantify and predict scour development downstream of rock weirs and its impact on the stability of rock structures. ?? 2009 ASCE.

  9. The Cal-Bridge Program: Increasing the Gender and Ethnic Diversity of Astrophysics Students in Southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smecker-Hane, Tammy A.; Rudolph, Alexander L.

    2016-06-01

    The mission of the Cal-Bridge program is to increase the number of underrepresented minority and women students completing a bachelor’s degree and entering a PhD program in astronomy, physics, or closely-related fields. The program has created a network of faculty at diverse higher education institutions, including 5 University of California (UC) campuses, 9 California State Universities (CSUs), and 10 community colleges in southern California, dedicated to this goal. Students selected for the program are know as “Cal-Bridge Scholars” and they are given a wide variety of support: (1) scholarships in their junior/senior years at CSU and their first year of graduate school at a UC, (2) intensive mentoring by a pair of CSU and UC faculty members, (3) tutoring, when needed, (4) professional development workshops, (5) exposure to research opportunities at various universities, and (6) membership in a growing cohort of like-minded students. We report on the structure of our program, lessons learned with our current 12 Cal-Bridge scholars, and the results of our first two years of operation. Funding for this program is provided by NSF-SSTEM Grant #1356133.

  10. Monitoring Based Commissioning: Benchmarking Analysis of 24 UC/CSU/IOU Projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mills, Evan; Mathew, Paul

    2009-04-01

    Buildings rarely perform as intended, resulting in energy use that is higher than anticipated. Building commissioning has emerged as a strategy for remedying this problem in non-residential buildings. Complementing traditional hardware-based energy savings strategies, commissioning is a 'soft' process of verifying performance and design intent and correcting deficiencies. Through an evaluation of a series of field projects, this report explores the efficacy of an emerging refinement of this practice, known as monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx). MBCx can also be thought of as monitoring-enhanced building operation that incorporates three components: (1) Permanent energy information systems (EIS) and diagnostic tools at the whole-building and sub-system level; (2) Retro-commissioning based on the information from these tools and savings accounting emphasizing measurement as opposed to estimation or assumptions; and (3) On-going commissioning to ensure efficient building operations and measurement-based savings accounting. MBCx is thus a measurement-based paradigm which affords improved risk-management by identifying problems and opportunities that are missed with periodic commissioning. The analysis presented in this report is based on in-depth benchmarking of a portfolio of MBCx energy savings for 24 buildings located throughout the University of California and California State University systems. In the course of the analysis, we developed a quality-control/quality-assurance process for gathering and evaluating raw data from project sites and then selected a number of metrics to use for project benchmarking and evaluation, including appropriate normalizations for weather and climate, accounting for variations in central plant performance, and consideration of differences in building types. We performed a cost-benefit analysis of the resulting dataset, and provided comparisons to projects from a larger commissioning 'Meta-analysis' database. A total of 1120 deficiency-intervention combinations were identified in the course of commissioning the projects described in this report. The most common location of deficiencies was in HVAC equipment (65% of sites), followed by air-handling and distributions systems (59%), cooling plant (29%), heating plants (24%), and terminal units (24%). The most common interventions were adjusting setpoints, modifying sequences of operations, calibration, and various mechanical fixes (each done in about two-thirds of the sites). The normalized rate of occurrence of deficiencies and corresponding interventions ranged from about 0.1/100ksf to 10/100ksf, depending on the issue. From these interventions flowed significant and highly cost-effective energy savings For the MBCx cohort, source energy savings of 22 kBTU/sf-year (10%) were achieved, with a range of 2% to 25%. Median electricity savings were 1.9 kWh/sf-year (9%), with a range of 1% to 17%. Peak electrical demand savings were 0.2 W/sf-year (4%), with a range of 3% to 11%. The aggregate commissioning cost for the 24 projects was $2.9 million. We observed a range of normalized costs from $0.37 to 1.62/sf, with a median value of $1.00/sf for buildings that implemented MBCx projects. Per the program design, monitoring costs as a percentage of total costs are significantly higher in MBCx projects (median value 40%) than typical commissioning projects included in the Meta-analysis (median value of 2% in the commissioning database). Half of the projects were in buildings containing complex and energy-intensive laboratory space, with higher associated costs. Median energy cost savings were $0.25/sf-year, for a median simple payback time of 2.5 years. Significant and cost-effective energy savings were thus obtained. The greatest absolute energy savings and shortest payback times were achieved in laboratory-type facilities. While impacts varied from project to project, on a portfolio basis we find MBCx to be a highly cost-effective means of obtaining significant program-level energy savings across a variety of building types. Energy savings are expected to be more robust and persistent for MBCx projects than for conventionally commissioned ones. Impacts of future programs can be maximized by benchmarking energy use and targeting the commissioning towards particularly energy-intensive facilities such as laboratories.

  11. Efficacy and Safety of Omalizumab in Patients with Chronic Idiopathic/Spontaneous Urticaria Who Remain Symptomatic on H1 Antihistamines: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saini, Sarbjit S; Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten; Maurer, Marcus; Grob, Jean-Jacques; Bülbül Baskan, Emel; Bradley, Mary S; Canvin, Janice; Rahmaoui, Abdelkader; Georgiou, Panayiotis; Alpan, Oral; Spector, Sheldon; Rosén, Karin

    2015-01-01

    ASTERIA I was a 40-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous omalizumab as add-on therapy for 24 weeks in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria/spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) who remained symptomatic despite H1 antihistamine treatment at licensed doses. Patients aged 12–75 years with CIU/CSU who remained symptomatic despite treatment with approved doses of H1 antihistamines were randomized (1:1:1:1) in a double-blind manner to subcutaneous omalizumab 75 mg, 150 mg, or 300 mg or placebo every 4 weeks for 24 weeks followed by 16 weeks of follow-up. The primary end point was change from baseline in weekly itch severity score (ISS) at week 12. Among randomized patients (N=319: placebo n=80, omalizumab 75 mg n=78, 150 mg n=80, 300 mg n=81), 262 (82.1%) completed the study. Compared with placebo (n=80), mean weekly ISS was reduced from baseline to week 12 by an additional 2.96 points (95% confidence interval (CI): −4.71 to −1.21; P=0.0010), 2.95 points (95% CI: −4.72 to −1.18; P=0.0012), and 5.80 points (95% CI: −7.49 to −4.10; Pomalizumab 75-mg (n=77), 150-mg (n=80), and 300-mg groups (n=81), respectively. The omalizumab 300-mg group met all nine secondary end points, including a significant decrease in the duration of time to reach minimally important difference response (⩾5-point decrease) in weekly ISS (Pomalizumab 75-mg, 150-mg, 300-mg, and placebo groups, respectively, experienced a serious adverse event. Omalizumab 300 mg administered subcutaneously every 4 weeks reduced weekly ISS and other symptom scores versus placebo in CIU/CSU patients who remained symptomatic despite treatment with approved doses of H1 antihistamines. PMID:25046337

  12. Long-term management of chronic spontaneous urticaria with omalizumab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto Gouveia, M; Gameiro, A; Pinho, A; Gonçalo, M

    2017-10-01

    Clinical trials have shown the efficacy of omalizumabs efficacy in refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU), but real-life management strategies are lacking. To assess the long-term efficacy and safety of omalizumab, and to identify predictive factors and optimum dosage regimens. This was a prospective study of 13 patients (11 women, 2 men) with severe CSU [weekly urticaria activity score (UAS7) > 28] resistant to anti-H1 antihistamines. Patients were started on omalizumab 150 mg subcutaneously every 4 weeks. Dose and interval between administrations were adjusted according to clinical response (189 administrations; treatment duration range 2-38 months). Mean UAS7 was 36.3 ± 5.4. Of the 13 patients, all had experienced angio-oedema, while in addition, 7 had delayed pressure urticaria (DPU) and 1 had solar urticaria (SU). After omalizumab treatment, 4 (30.8%) of the 13 patients had complete response (CR), and the remaining 8 (61.5%) had partial response. CR was achieved with a dose of 150 mg every 4 (n = 2 patients) or 5 (n = 2) weeks. One of these patients remained disease-free after stopping treatment. Partial responses were achieved with 150 mg every 4 weeks (n = 4) and with 300 mg (n = 4) at intervals of 5 weeks (n = 1), 4 weeks (n = 2) or 3 weeks (n = 1). Only one patient (7.7%) did not show significant improvement, despite a dose of 300 mg every 4 weeks. There were no significant differences in epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data between the different response groups. Only two adverse events were observed: one was mild headache and the other was severe angio-oedema and aggravation of urticaria within 6 h of omalizumab administration. Omalizumab dose and interval between administrations could be individualized for long-term management of CSU. © 2017 British Association of Dermatologists.

  13. CAMPARE and Cal-Bridge: Two Institutional Networks Increasing Diversity in Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudolph, Alexander L.; Impey, Chris David; Phillips, Cynthia B.; Povich, Matthew S.; Prather, Edward E.; Smecker-Hane, Tammy A.

    2015-01-01

    We describe two programs, CAMPARE and Cal-Bridge, with the common mission of increasing participation of groups traditionally underrepresented in astronomy, particularly underrepresented minorities and women, through summer research opportunities, in the case of CAMPARE, scholarships in the case of Cal-Bridge, and significant mentoring in both programs, leading to an increase in their numbers successfully pursuing a PhD in the field.CAMPARE is an innovative REU-like summer research program, currently in its sixth year, comprising a network of comprehensive universities and community colleges in Southern California and Arizona (most of which are minority serving institutions), and ten major research institutions (University of Arizona Steward Observatory, the SETI Institute, JPL, Caltech, and the five Southern California UC campuses, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, UCR, and UCSB).In its first five summers, CAMPARE sent a total of 49 students from 10 different CSU and community college campuses to 5 research sites of the program. Of these 49 participants, 25 are women and 24 are men; 22 are Hispanic, 4 are African American, and 1 is Native American, including 6 female Hispanic and 2 female African-American participants. Twenty-one (21) CAMPARE participants have graduated from college, and more than half (11) have attended or are attending a graduate program, including 8 enrolled in PhD or Master's-to-PhD programs. Over twenty CAMPARE students have presented at the AAS and other national meetings.The Cal-Bridge program is a diverse network of higher education institutions in Southern California, including 5 UC campuses, 8 CSU campuses, and 7 community colleges dedicated to the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minority and female students attending graduate school in astronomy or related fields. We have recently selected our inaugural group of five 2014 Cal-Bridge Scholars, including four women (two Hispanic and one part Native American), and one Hispanic man

  14. Modeling post-wildfire hydrological processes with ParFlow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, I. S.; Lopez, S. R.; Kinoshita, A. M.

    2017-12-01

    to the presenter, Isabel Escobar: Research is funded by the NASA-DIRECT STEM Program. Travel expenses for this presentation is funded by CSU-LSAMP. CSU-LSAMP is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant # HRD-1302873 and the CSU Office of Chancellor.

  15. Cal-Bridge and CAMPARE: Engaging Underrepresented Students in Physics and Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudolph, Alexander L.; Smecker-Hane, Tammy A.; Cal-Bridge Team; CAMPARE Team

    2018-06-01

    We describe two programs, Cal-Bridge and CAMPARE, with the common mission of increasing participation of groups traditionally underrepresented in astronomy, through summer research opportunities, in the case of CAMPARE, scholarships in the case of Cal-Bridge, and significant mentoring in both programs, creating a national impact on their numbers successfully pursuing a PhD in the field. In 9 years, the CAMPARE program has sent 150 students, >80% from underrepresented groups, to conduct summer research at one of 14 major research institutions throughout the country. Of the CAMPARE scholars who have graduated with a Bachelor’s degree, almost two-thirds (65%) have completed or are pursuing graduate education in physics, astronomy, or a related field, at institutions including UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, USC, Stanford, Univ. of Arizona, Univ. of Washington, Univ. of Rochester, Michigan State Univ., Georgia Tech, Georgia State Univ., Kent State, Indiana Univ., Univ. of Oregon, Syracuse Univ., Montana State Univ., and the Fisk- Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD program. Now in its fourth year, the Cal-Bridge program is a CSU-UC Bridge program comprised of physics and astronomy faculty from 9 University of California (UC), 15 California State University (CSU), and more than 30 California Community College (CCC) campuses throughout California. In the first four years, 34 Cal-Bridge Scholars have been selected, including 22 Hispanic, 3 African-American and 13 women students, 10 of whom are from URM groups. Thirty (30) of the 34 Cal-Bridge Scholars are first generation college students. In the last three years, 17 of 21 Cal-Bridge Scholars have begun or been accepted PhD programs in physics or astronomy at top PhD programs nationally. Three (3) of these scholars have won NSF Graduate Research Fellowships; one more received an Honorable Mention. Once selected, Cal-Bridge Scholars benefit from substantial financial support, intensive, joint mentoring by CSU

  16. IK "HOLS" attīstības stratēģija

    OpenAIRE

    Zvirgzds, Jānis

    2011-01-01

    Tā kā gan valsts, gan starptautiskā līmenī nepārtraukti notiek straujas un bieži vien pretrunīgas izmaiņas, tad, lai tām pielāgotos vai tās izmantotu, uzņēmumam jāanalizē šo pārmaiņu ietekme uz tā saimniecisko darbību un nepārtraukti jāattīstās. Darba mērķis: izstrādāt individuālā komersanta „Hols” attīstības stratēģiju, pamatojoties uz uzņēmējdarbības iekšējās un ārējās vides analīzi. Bakalaura darba rezultātā noskaidrots, ka pēdējos gados uzņēmējdarbības ārējā vide, ir īpaši ekonomisk...

  17. Pierādījumu vērtēšana kriminālprocesā

    OpenAIRE

    Griķe, Madara

    2011-01-01

    Pierādījumu vērtēšana ir viena no būtiskākajām valsts atzīto un aizsargāto cilvēka pamattiesību garantijām kriminālprocesā, tā nosaka tiesas nolēmuma tiesiskumu un pamatotību. Attiecībā uz pierādījumu vērtēšanu likumā nav konkrēta panta, ir reglamentēti pierādīšanas teorijas centrālie jēdzieni, principi un prasības, pēc kurām jāatbilst pierādījumiem un pēc kurām tie jāvērtē. Autore darbā pievēršas sastopamām problēmām praksē, kas saistītas ar pierādījumu vērtēšanu. Autore aktualizē jautājumu...

  18. Augsnes un zemes kvalitātes novērtējuma karšu digitizēšana

    OpenAIRE

    Stalīdzāns, Didzis

    2014-01-01

    Maģistra darba mērķis ir nodrošināt augšņu agroķīmiskās izpētes izstrādes procesa kartogrāfiskā materiāla lietošanas efektivitātes pieaugumu. Maģistra darbā tiek aprakstīts līdzšinējais augšņu agroķīmiskās izstrādes process Valsts augu aizsardzības dienestā un digitālo augšņu karšu izmantošanas iespējas. Pamatojoties uz darbā veiktās izpētes rezultātiem ir definēta problēma: augšņu agroķīmiskās kartes nav pieejamas telpisko datu formātā. Problēmas risinājumam tiek piedāvātas projekta alternat...

  19. Japānas populārās kultūras ietekme uz jauniešiem

    OpenAIRE

    Leščenko, Jekaterina

    2016-01-01

    Šī darba nosaukums ir “Japānas populārās kultūras ietekme uz jauniešiem”. Ir zināms, ka pēdējos gados Japānas populāra kultūra iegūst arvien vairāk popularitātes visā pasaulē. Gandrīz katrā valstī var atrast kaut ko, kas ir saistīts ar Japānas populāro kultūru. Mūzika, drāmas, anime un manga ir bieži sastopami un zināmi Japānas populārās kultūras objekti. Tā kā Japānas populārā kultūra ir tik izplatīta, ir jābūt kādam popularitātes iemeslam. Pirmkārt, Japānas populārā kultūra ir pilnīgi atš...

  20. Banku loma noziedzīgi iegūtu līdzekļu legalizācijas un terorisma finansēšanas novēršanā

    OpenAIRE

    Beirote, Laura

    2017-01-01

    Bankas līdz pat šim brīdim ir bijušas lielākā privātā sektora pārstāves, kas ir veicinājušas naudas atmazgāšanas un terorisma finansēšanas atklāšanu, tādēļ autors ar šī darba palīdzību vēlas norādīt tieši uz banku nozīmīgo lomu noziedzīgi iegūtu līdzekļu legalizācijas un terorisma finansēšanas novēršanā. Valsts institūcijas nevar bez finanšu iestāžu starpniecības šādus nelikumīgus darījumus izsekot, un saukt pie kriminālās atbildības vainīgās personas. Darbā ir analizēts noziedzīgi iegūtu lī...

  1. Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States

    OpenAIRE

    Bush, Seth D; Pelaez, Nancy; Rudd, James A, II; Stevens, Michael T; Tanner, Kimberly D; Williams, Kathy, PhD

    2011-01-01

    Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university ...

  2. Modeled Aerosol Optical Properties From Measurement-Based Mixtures of Chemical Species: Assessing the Impacts of Particle Morphology and Absorption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidenweis, Sonia

    2002-01-01

    This report serves as the final report for the Colorado State University portion of this grant. The original grant was awarded to CSU under the direction of co-Principal Investigators Kirk Fuller and Sonia Kreidenweis. Upon Dr. Fuller's relocation to the University of Alabama - Huntsville, the major portion of the award was also relocated. The following summarizes only that work completed by Prof. Kreidenweis under her remaining award.

  3. Positive impact of omalizumab on angioedema and quality of life in patients with refractory chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria: analyses according to the presence or absence of angioedema.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, M; Sofen, H; Ortiz, B; Kianifard, F; Gabriel, S; Bernstein, J A

    2017-06-01

    Approximately 50% of patients with chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) report hives and angioedema; some experience hives/angioedema only. Assess omalizumab's effect on angioedema and quality of life (QoL) in subgroups with refractory CIU/CSU: those with and without angioedema. Patients received omalizumab (75, 150 or 300 mg) or placebo every 4 weeks for 12/24 weeks. Angioedema and QoL were assessed [Urticaria Patient Daily Diary and Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI)]. Subgroups were based on the presence/absence of baseline angioedema 7 days prior to randomization. Patients with baseline angioedema randomized to omalizumab 300 mg had a greater reduction in mean weekly incidence of angioedema and mean number of days/week with angioedema vs. placebo at 12 and 24 weeks. A 3.3- to 4.5-point greater mean reduction in DLQI score was achieved with omalizumab 300 mg treatment vs. placebo, above the minimal clinically important difference threshold. Results with lower doses vs. placebo were variable. Compared with placebo, omalizumab 300 mg treatment over 12-24 weeks resulted in marked reduction in incidence and number of days/week with angioedema accompanied by clinically relevant improvement in QoL. © 2016 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

  4. The Cal-Bridge Program: Supporting Diverse Graduate Students in Astrophysics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smecker-Hane, Tammy A.; Rudolph, Alexander L.; Abazajian, Kevork; Povich, Matthew S.

    2018-06-01

    The mission of the Cal-Bridge program is to increase the number of underrepresented minority and women students completing a bachelor’s degree and entering a PhD program in astronomy, physics, or closely-related fields. To do so, we have built a network of faculty at diverse higher education institutions, including University of California (UC) campuses, California State Universities (CSUs), and community colleges dedicated to this goal. Students selected for our program are known as Cal-Bridge Scholars, and we give them a wide variety of support: (1) financial scholarships in their junior/senior years at CSU and their first year of graduate school at a UC, (2) intensive mentoring by a pair of CSU and UC faculty members, (3) tutoring, (4) professional development workshops, (5) exposure to research opportunities at various universities, and (6) membership in a growing cohort of like-minded students. In this poster, we report on our work in designing an effective mentoring program and developing tools like our mentoring and graduate application handbooks, and we discuss our tutoring program and the professional development workshops we have designed, and we report on their effectiveness. Funding for this program is provided by NSF-SSTEM Grant #1356133.

  5. Fiber Optic Biosensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-12-01

    CDM Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. CSU Colorado State University DCA dichloroethane DO dissolved oxygen DoD Department of Defense EA EA...Ph.D. (PI), Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. (CDM); John Eisenbeis, Ph.D., CDM; Kristy Warren, CDM; Dan Adams, CDM; Michael Allen, Bangor Naval Submarine Base...alcohol (PVA) using cyanuric chloride, and the resulting product was cross -linked with glutaraldehyde in presence of HCl to form a hydrogel that was

  6. Cal-Bridge and CAMPARE: Engaging Underrepresented Students in Physics and Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudolph, Alexander L.; Cal-Bridge and CAMPARE Teams

    2018-01-01

    We describe two programs, Cal-Bridge and CAMPARE, with the common mission of increasing participation of groups traditionally underrepresented in astronomy, through summer research opportunities, in the case of CAMPARE, scholarships in the case of Cal-Bridge, and significant mentoring in both programs, creating a national impact on their numbers successfully pursuing a PhD in the field.In 8 years, the CAMPARE program has sent 112 students, >80% from underrepresented groups, to conduct summer research at one of 14 major research institutions throughout the country. Of the CAMPARE scholars who have graduated with a Bachelor’s degree, almost two-thirds (65%) have completed or are pursuing graduate education in physics, astronomy, or a related field, at institutions including UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, USC, Stanford, Univ. of Arizona, Univ. of Washington, Univ. of Rochester, Michigan State Univ., Georgia Tech, Georgia State Univ., Kent State, Indiana Univ., Univ. of Oregon, Syracuse Univ., Montana State Univ., and the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD program.Now entering its fourth year, the Cal-Bridge program is a CSU-UC Bridge program comprised of >140 physics and astronomy faculty from 9 University of California (UC), 15 California State University (CSU), and 30 California Community College (CCC) campuses throughout California. In the first four years, 34 Cal-Bridge Scholars have been selected, including 22 Hispanic, 3 African-American and 13 women students, 10 of whom are from URM groups. Thirty (30) of the 34 Cal-Bridge Scholars are first generation college students. In the last two years, 11 of 13 Cal-Bridge Scholars have begun PhD programs in physics or astronomy at top PhD programs nationally. Three (3) of these 11 scholars have won NSF Graduate Research Fellowships; one more received an Honorable Mention. The next cohort applies this fall.Cal-Bridge provides much deeper mentoring and professional development experiences over the last

  7. Vērtības izglītības sistēmas tiesību aktos un izglītības procesa dalībnieku izpratnē

    OpenAIRE

    Bokta, Rūta

    2016-01-01

    Latvijas valsts vērtības ir deklarētas LR Satversmē. Izglītībā svarīgākās vērtības ir minētas Izglītības likumā. Izglītības saturā tās aktualizē izglītības standarti. Pētījuma mērķis bija izpētīt, cik lielā mērā Satversmes un Izglītības likuma vērtības ir iekļautas izglītības standartos, kā tās izprot skolēni un kā skolotāji tās piedāvā skolēniem mācību procesā. Tika veikta literatūras un dokumentu analīze, kā arī veikts pētījums, lai noskaidrotu skolotāju un skolēnu personiskās vērtības, mā...

  8. Using an Ongoing Study of Terrestrial Plant Response to Ultraviolet Radiation in Project ALERT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Condon, Estelle; Skiles, J. W.; Seitz, Jeffery C.; Dantoni, Hector L.

    1998-01-01

    The ALERT (Augmented Learning Environment for Renewable Teaching) Project is a cooperative California-based program with two main partners: California State University (CSU) geoscience and education departments and two NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena and the Ames Research Center (ARC) in Mountain View. This paper presents an example of how a NASA research effort can be used in the undergraduate classroom. A study, now in the fourth year, subjects test plants to exposures of varying solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation (280 - 340 nm); a full solar UV exposure, a solar UV exposure less about 14% of ambient UV flux, and a UV-blocked regime. This experiment is simple in that only modest amounts of expense are required yet it is elegant since only one variable, UV-flux is involved. The experiment lends itself to teaching several of the Earth Sciences because it uses information from botany, taxonomy, and ecology. Aspects of physics are inherent in the study since portions of the electromagnetic spectrum are studied. Further, since only one of many variables are manipulated, UV flux, the study demonstrates how the scientific method is used in formulating and testing hypotheses. Based on the ALERT experience this summer, this study will be implemented at a CSU campus with the expectation that it will serve as a pedagogical tool and where it will involve students in actual research.

  9. Assessment of heavy metals in Averrhoa bilimbi and A. carambola fruit samples at two developmental stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soumya, S L; Nair, Bindu R

    2016-05-01

    Though the fruits of Averrhoa bilimbi and A. carambola are economically and medicinally important, they remain underutilized. The present study reports heavy metal quantitation in the fruit samples of A. bilimbi and A. carambola (Oxalidaceae), collected at two stages of maturity. Heavy metals are known to interfere with the functioning of vital cellular components. Although toxic, some elements are considered essential for human health, in trace quantities. Heavy metals such as Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Pb, and Cd were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The samples under investigation included, A. bilimbi unripe (BU) and ripe (BR), A. carambola sour unripe (CSU) and ripe (CSR), and A. carambola sweet unripe (CTU) and ripe (CTR). Heavy metal analysis showed that relatively higher level of heavy metals was present in BR samples compared to the rest of the samples. The highest amount of As and Se were recorded in BU samples while Mn content was highest in CSU samples and Co in CSR. Least amounts of Cr, Zn, Se, Cd, and Pb were noted in CTU while, Mn, Cu, and As were least in CTR. Thus, the sweet types of A. carambola (CTU, CTR) had comparatively lower heavy metal content. There appears to be no reason for concern since different fruit samples of Averrhoa studied presently showed the presence of various heavy metals in trace quantities.

  10. Design, construction, and testing of a residential solar heating and cooling system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, D.S.; Loef, G.O.G.

    1976-06-01

    The NSF/CSU Solar House I solar heating and cooling system became operational on 1 July 1974. During the first months of operation the emphasis was placed on adjustment, ''tuning,'' and fault correction in the solar collection and the solar/fuel/cooling subsystems. Following this initial check out period, analysis and testing of the system utilizing a full year of data were accomplished. This report discusses the results of this analysis of the full year of operation. (WDM)

  11. Ombres et facettes des élections allemandes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre Riquet

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available En Allemagne, élections législatives confuses en septembre 2005: le SPD a perdu mais moins que prévu, la CDU-CSU a nettement moins gagné qu’attendu. Le mode complexe de scrutin (le double vote y est pour beaucoup: à ce jeu les déports de voix au sein de la droite révèlent la permanence de comportements politiques régionaux mais aussi les progrès de l’extrême droite.

  12. Education, Outreach, and Diversity Partnerships and Science Education Resources From the Center for Multi-scale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, S. Q.; Randall, D.; Denning, S.; Jones, B.; Russell, R.; Gardiner, L.; Hatheway, B.; Johnson, R. M.; Drossman, H.; Pandya, R.; Swartz, D.; Lanting, J.; Pitot, L.

    2007-12-01

    The need for improving the representation of cloud processes in climate models has been one of the most important limitations of the reliability of climate-change simulations. The new National Science Foundation- funded Center for Multi-scale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes (CMMAP) at Colorado State University (CSU) is a major research program addressing this problem over the next five years through a revolutionary new approach to representing cloud processes on their native scales, including the cloud-scale interactions among the many physical and chemical processes that are active in cloud systems. At the end of its first year, CMMAP has established effective partnerships between scientists, students, and teachers to meet its goals to: (1) provide first-rate graduate education in atmospheric science; (2) recruit diverse undergraduates into graduate education and careers in climate science; and (3) develop, evaluate, and disseminate educational resources designed to inform K-12 students, teachers, and the general public about the nature of the climate system, global climate change, and career opportunities in climate science. This presentation will describe the partners, our challenges and successes, and measures of achievement involved in the integrated suite of programs launched in the first year. They include: (1) a new high school Colorado Climate Conference drawing prestigious climate scientists to speak to students, (2) a summer Weather and Climate Workshop at CSU and the National Center for Atmospheric Research introducing K-12 teachers to Earth system science and a rich toolkit of teaching materials, (3) a program from CSU's Little Shop of Physics reaching 50 schools and 20,000 K-12 students through the new "It's Up In the Air" program, (4) expanded content, imagery, and interactives on clouds, weather, climate, and modeling for students, teachers, and the public on The Windows to the Universe web site at University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

  13. Using the Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation of the Rocky Mountain West to Develop a Collaborative, Experiential Course on Science Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, L.; Morse, M.; Maxwell, R. M.; Cottrell, S.; Mattor, K.

    2016-12-01

    An ongoing NSF-WSC project was used as a launchpad for implementing a collaborative honors course at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and Colorado State University (CSU). The course examined current physical and social science research on the effects of the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) on regional social and hydro-ecological systems in the Rocky Mountain West. In addition to general classroom content delivery, community outreach experience and development for the participating undergraduate students was integrated into the course. Upon learning about ongoing MPB research from project PIs and researchers, students were guided to develop their own methodology to educate students and the community about the main project findings. Participants at CSM and CSU worked together to this end in a synchronous remote classroom environment. Students at both universities practiced their methods and activities with various audiences, including local elementary students, other undergraduate and graduate peers, and delivered their activities to sixth-grade students at a local outdoor lab program (Windy Peak Outdoor Lab, Jefferson County, CO). Windy Peak Outdoor Lab has integrated the student-developed content into their curriculum, which reaches approximately 6,000 students in the Jefferson County, CO school district each year. This experiential learning course will be used as a template for future Honors STEM education course development at CSM and was a unique vessel for conveying the studied effects of the MPB to a K-12 audience.

  14. Anti-adhesion and antibiotic modulatory evaluation of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi juice and seed extract on bacteria isolated from urine and catheter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Oluwole Osungunna

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Context: The in vivo use of grapefruit seed in the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs has been reported but the mechanism of action is yet to be explained. Aims: Evaluate the anti-adhesion and antibiotic modulatory activities of grapefruit seed extract and juice as their possible mechanisms of action. Methods: Sub-inhibitory concentrations of 2.5 and 5 mg/mL as well as 10.3 and 5.15 mg/mL of grapefruit seed extract and juice respectively were evaluated for modulatory activity of ciprofloxacin, streptomycin and nalidixic acid against one hundred and twenty seven bacterial isolates from mid-stream urine (MSU (100, catheter-stream urine (CSU (14 and catheter tips (CT (13 using the agar dilution method. Anti-adhesion activity of grapefruit seed extract and juice at sub-inhibitory concentrations of 2.5 and 1.03 mg/mL respectively was evaluated against twenty three (23 moderately adherent bacterial isolates from MSU (10, CSU (7 and CT (6 using the tissue culture plate method. Results: The results revealed that grapefruit juice (5.15 mg/mL showed more effect on nalidixic acid activity than seed extract (2.5 mg/mL. Grapefruit juice showed more anti-adhesion activity than grapefruit seed extract at the concentration tested. Conclusions: The study concluded that grapefruit seed extract and juice had anti-adhesion and antibiotic modulatory effects on bacteria associated with UTIs.

  15. Night-time sedating H1 -antihistamine increases daytime somnolence but not treatment efficacy in chronic spontaneous urticaria: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staevska, M; Gugutkova, M; Lazarova, C; Kralimarkova, T; Dimitrov, V; Zuberbier, T; Church, M K; Popov, T A

    2014-07-01

    Many physicians believe that the most effective way to treat chronic urticaria is to take a nonsedating second-generation H1 -antihistamine in the morning and a sedating first-generation H1 -antihistamine, usually hydroxyzine, at night to enhance sleep. But is this belief well founded? To test this belief by comparing the effectiveness and prevalence of unwanted sedative effects when treating patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) with levocetirizine 15 mg daily plus hydroxyzine 50 mg at night (levocetirizine plus hydroxyzine) vs. levocetirizine 20 mg daily (levocetirizine monotherapy). In this randomized, double-blind, cross-over study, 24 patients with difficult-to-treat CSU took levocetirizine plus hydroxyzine or levocetirizine monotherapy for periods of 5 days each. At the end of each treatment period, assessments were made of quality of life (Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire, CU-Q2 oL), severity of urticaria symptoms (Urticaria Activity Score, UAS), sleep disturbance during the night and daytime somnolence. Both treatments significantly decreased UAS, night-time sleep disturbances and CU-Q2 oL scores (P generation H1 -antihistamine, usually hydroxyzine, at night is not supported. These results are in line with the urticaria guidelines, which state that first-line treatment for urticaria should be new-generation, nonsedating H1 -antihistamines only. © 2014 The Authors. British Association of Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists.

  16. Relationship between harmonic analysis on SU(2) and on SL(2,C)/SU(2)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Healy, D.M. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    A topic of interest in harmonic analysis is the comparison of Fourier transforms on compact and noncompact spaces. The Poisson summation formula provides a classical example of this idea by providing an explicit relationship between harmonic analysis on the real line R and on the circle S 1 . This dissertation provides a new geometric proof of this formula, and then generalizes this approach to obtain a relationship between Fourier transforms on Upsilon, the space of positive matrices in SL(2,C), and Fourier transforms on SU(2)

  17. Numerical simulation of tropical-temperate troughs over Southern Africa using the CSU RAMS model

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Van den Heever, SC

    1997-08-01

    Full Text Available ) and the wet (1981) late summer case studies has been examined. Model simulations reveal that the tropical-temperate troughs form when an upper westerly wave coincides with an easterly, wave or depression in lower levels. These systems occur preferentially over...

  18. Using Oil and Gas Well Log Records to Understand Possible Connections Between Wastewater Injection Zones and Usable Groundwater Aquifers in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimabukuro, D.; Haugen, E. A.; Battistella, C.; Treguboff, E. W.; Kale, J. M.

    2015-12-01

    Although the disposal of produced water in wastewater injection wells has been occurring in California for decades, it is not clear whether injected fluids may be migrating into usable groundwater aquifers. One problem is the poor characterization of federally-protected (oil and gas well records collected by the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). These scanned records contain two useful sources of information. First, geophysical well logs, such those measuring resistivity and porosity, can be used to determine aquifer salinity. This allows a three-dimensional understanding of the distribution of protected groundwater. Second, driller's logs contain lithological descriptions at depth. These lithologies can be used to construct a three-dimensional texture model, which can then be used in a groundwater flow model. A large number of undergraduate researchers at CSU Sacramento and CSU Long Beach have been collecting information on well records in the Ventura Basin and the Southern San Joaquin Valley. Each well record is examined with basic metadata entered into an online database in an effort to identify appropriate geophysical well logs and driller's logs. High-quality driller's logs are coded and used to create three-dimensional framework models for each well field. The geophysical logs are digitized and will be used to determine aquifer salinity. In addition, we are using information from the DOGGR well records to investigate wellbore integrity, waste disposal and waterflood injection volumes, and the possibility of induced seismicity. This project is part of the broader effort of the California State Water Resources Control Board to implement Senate Bill 4.

  19. Ice Nucleation Activity of Black Carbon and Organic Aerosol Emitted from Biomass Burning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauker, A. M.; Schill, G. P.; Hill, T. C. J.; Levin, E. J.; DeMott, P. J.; Kreidenweis, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) must be present in clouds warmer than approximately -36 °C for initial ice crystal formation to occur. Although rare, they modify the lifetime, albedo and precipitation rates of clouds. Black carbon (BC) particles are present in the upper troposphere, and have been implicated as possible INPs, but recent research has not led to a consensus on their importance as INPs. Biomass burning is known to be a source of INPs as well as a major contributor to BC concentrations. Preliminary research from both prescribed burns (Manhattan, Kanas) and wildfires (Boise, Idaho and Weldon, Colorado), using the Colorado State University Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (CSU-CFDC) coupled to a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2), suggest that BC contributed ≤ 10% to INP concentrations in biomass burning conditions. To evaluate the identity of non-BC as an INP, filters were collected downwind from the same prescribed burns and wildfires, and particles re-suspended in water were subjected to the immersion freezing method to quantify INP concentrations. The contributions of biological and total organic species to INP concentrations were determined through heat and hydrogen peroxide pre-treatments. Total INPs ranged from 0.88 - 31 L-1 air at -20 °C with 82 - 99 % of the INPs at that temperature being organic (i.e., deactivated by H2O2 digestion). Results are consistent with CSU-CFDC-SP2 derived rBC INP contributions from the same fires. The results from the study also support previous findings that prescribed burns and wildfires produce plumes enriched in INPs.

  20. Tools for Management of Chlorinated Solvent - Contaminated Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-03

    Movie Lee Ann Doner – (2008) MS CSU “Sandy aquifers” Image from Fred Payne /ARCADIS New Paradigm After NRC 2005 l~r SERDP. Advancing solvent plume...Situ Bioremediation Using Emulsified  Edible  Oil”   AFCEE (http://www.afcee.brooks.af.mil/products/techtrans/) - “Principles and Practices of Enhanced...Anaerobic Bioremediation of  Chlorinated Solvents”  - “Protocol for In Situ Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents Using  Edible  Oil” 232 Short Course

  1. Modelling internal boundary-layer development in a region with a complex coastline

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Batchvarova, E.; Cai, X.; Gryning, Sven-Erik

    1999-01-01

    , and the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (CSU-RAMS) are tested by comparison with data gathered during a field study (called Pacific '93) of photochemical pollution in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The data utilised here are drawn from tethered balloon flights......, free flying balloon ascents, and downlooking lidar operated from an aircraft flown at roughly 3500 m above sea level. Both models are found to represent the temporal and spatial development of the internal boundary-layer depth over the Lower Fraser Valley very well, and reproduce many of the finer...

  2. Timing and duration of omalizumab response in patients with chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplan, Allen; Ferrer, Marta; Bernstein, Jonathan A; Antonova, Evgeniya; Trzaskoma, Benjamin; Raimundo, Karina; Rosén, Karin; Omachi, Theodore A; Khalil, Sam; Zazzali, James L

    2016-02-01

    Few data are available that describe response patterns in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU)/chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) treated with omalizumab. We sought to describe response patterns by using data from the 3 pivotal omalizumab CIU/CSU trials. Every 4 weeks, randomized patients received dosing with placebo or 75, 150, or 300 mg of omalizumab (ASTERIA I: n = 318, 24 weeks; ASTERIA II: n = 322, 12 weeks) or placebo or 300 mg of omalizumab (GLACIAL: n = 335, 24 weeks). Response was defined as well-controlled urticaria (weekly Urticaria Activity Score [UAS7] ≤ 6) or complete response (UAS7 = 0). Response rates were dose dependent and highest with 300 mg of omalizumab. Some patients responded early (before week 4). At week 12, a higher proportion of patients treated with 300 mg of omalizumab reported a UAS7 ≤ 6 (26.0% [75 mg of omalizumab], 40.0% [150 mg of omalizumab], 51.9% [300 mg of omalizumab], and 11.3% [placebo] for ASTERIA I; 26.8% [75 mg of omalizumab], 42.7% [150 mg of omalizumab], 65.8% [300 mg of omalizumab], and 19.0% [placebo] for ASTERIA II; and 52.4% [300 mg of omalizumab] and 12.0% [placebo] for GLACIAL) or a UAS7 = 0 (11.7% [75 mg of omalizumab], 15.0% [150 mg of omalizumab], 35.8% [300 mg of omalizumab], and 8.8% [placebo] for ASTERIA I; 15.9% [75 mg of omalizumab], 22.0% [150 mg of omalizumab], 44.3% [300 mg of omalizumab], and 5.1% [placebo] for ASTERIA II; and 33.7% [300 mg of omalizumab] and 4.8% [placebo] for GLACIAL). In patients receiving 300 mg of omalizumab with 24 weeks of treatment, median time to achieve a UAS7 ≤ 6 was 6 weeks (ASTERIA I and GLACIAL) and median time to achieve a UAS7 = 0 was 12 or 13 weeks (ASTERIA I and GLACIAL, respectively). Some patients who achieved well-controlled urticaria or complete response sustained response throughout the treatment period. Benefits of omalizumab treatment were evident early (before week 4) in some patients and persisted to week

  3. Phosphorylation of inhibitor-2 and activation of MgATP-dependent protein phosphatase by rat skeletal muscle glycogen synthase kinase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hegazy, M.G.; Reimann, E.M.; Thysseril, T.J.; Schlender, K.K.

    1986-01-01

    Rat skeletal muscle contains a glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-M) which is not stimulated by Ca 2+ or cAMP. This kinase has an apparent Mr of 62,000 and uses ATP but not GTP as a phosphoryl donor. GSK-M phosphorylated glycogen synthase at sites 2 and 3. It phosphorylated ATP-citrate lyase and activated MgATP-dependent phosphatase in the presence of ATP but not GTP. As expected, the kinase also phosphorylated phosphatase inhibitor 2 (I-2). Phosphatase incorporation reached approximately 0.3 mol/mol of I-2. Phosphopeptide maps were obtained by digesting 32 P-labeled I-2 with trypsin and separating the peptides by reversed phase HPLC. Two partially separated 32 P-labeled peaks were obtained when I-2 was phosphorylated with either GSK-M or glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) and these peptides were different from those obtained when I-2 was phosphorylated with the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (CSU) or casein kinase II (CK-II). When I-2 was phosphorylated with GSK-M or GSK-3 and cleaved by CNBr, a single radioactive peak was obtained. Phosphoamino acid analysis showed that I-2 was phosphorylated by GSK-M or GSK-3 predominately in Thr whereas CSU and CK-II phosphorylated I-2 exclusively in Ser. These results indicate that GSK-M is similar to GSK-3 and to ATP-citrate lyase kinase. However, it appears to differ in Mr from ATP-citrate lyase kinase and it differs from GSK-3 in that it phosphorylates glycogen synthase at site 2 and it does not use GTP as a phosphoryl donor

  4. Inflammable materials stores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nandagopan, V.

    2017-01-01

    A new Inflammable Materials Stores has been constructed by A and SED, BARC near Gamma Field for storage of inflammable materials falling into Petroleum Class ‘A’ ‘B’ and “C” mainly comprising of oils and lubricants, Chemicals like Acetone, Petroleum Ether etc. which are regularly procured by Central Stores Unit (CSU) for issue to the various divisions of BARC. The design of the shed done by A and SED, BARC was duly got approved from Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organization (PESO) which is a mandatory requirement before commencement of the construction. The design had taken into account various safety factors which is ideally required for an inflammable materials stores

  5. Basal cell nevus syndrome: 2 case reports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Duk; Seo, Yo Seob; Kim, Jin Soo

    2008-01-01

    The basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS) is an autosomal dominant disorder, characterized by basal cell carcinomas, odontogenic keratocysts and skeletal abnormalities. We experienced two cases that represented several characteristics of BCNS. Case 1: a thirty three year-old man visited CSU hospital. His radiographs showed four cystic lesions at both maxillary sinus and both mandibular angle, with bifid rib and ectopic calcification of falx cerebri. After marsupialization and enucleation, recurrent and newly developing tendency were found on his follow-up radiographs. Case 2: a seventeen year-old man had four large cystic lesions which were diagnosed as odontogenic keratocysts. He had craniofacial anomalies which included ectopic calcification and frontal bossing.

  6. United States Air Force Summer Research Program -- 1991. High School Apprenticeship Program (HSAP) Reports, Volume 12: Rome Laboratory, Arnold Engineering Development Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-12-01

    convenient document retrieval and internal voice communications system. 12-12 AFOSR High School Apprenticeship Program July 22-August 16 1991 Gene ...with the computer software packages used here at Sverdrup; Gene Smith and Gail Arnold for their aid in faxing my pay voucher every two weeks. GENERAL...10M .,.n Z~ w z .; z z ZZ r3r M z X E X 2 z Y ZiMZ . Z Z Z Z X2X Z X Z X 2 rZ Z Z W: I. I 1 It W6 hfe II 1 - -- m _ V m-! ’ =t2Csu C1 M 0 oNt - ;I

  7. Use of ARM Data to address the Climate Change Further Development and Applications of A Multi-scale Modeling Framework

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David A. Randall; Marat Khairoutdinov

    2007-12-14

    The Colorado State University (CSU) Multi-scale Modeling Framework (MMF) is a new type of general circulation model (GCM) that replaces the conventional parameterizations of convection, clouds and boundary layer with a cloud-resolving model (CRM) embedded into each grid column. The MMF that we have been working with is a “super-parameterized” version of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). As reported in the publications listed below, we have done extensive work with the model. We have explored the MMF’s performance in several studies, including an AMIP run and a CAPT test, and we have applied the MMF to an analysis of climate sensitivity.

  8. College Costs and Family Income: The Affordability Issue at UC and CSU. Report 11-02

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jessika

    2011-01-01

    Rising costs are putting an education at California's public universities out of reach for many Californians. Eroding state funding for higher education has meant that more costs are passed on to students and their families in the form of increased fees. Room and board and other costs have grown much faster than inflation. Incomes have not kept…

  9. Hirshfeld atom refinement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capelli, Silvia C; Bürgi, Hans-Beat; Dittrich, Birger; Grabowsky, Simon; Jayatilaka, Dylan

    2014-09-01

    Hirshfeld atom refinement (HAR) is a method which determines structural parameters from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data by using an aspherical atom partitioning of tailor-made ab initio quantum mechanical molecular electron densities without any further approximation. Here the original HAR method is extended by implementing an iterative procedure of successive cycles of electron density calculations, Hirshfeld atom scattering factor calculations and structural least-squares refinements, repeated until convergence. The importance of this iterative procedure is illustrated via the example of crystalline ammonia. The new HAR method is then applied to X-ray diffraction data of the dipeptide Gly-l-Ala measured at 12, 50, 100, 150, 220 and 295 K, using Hartree-Fock and BLYP density functional theory electron densities and three different basis sets. All positions and anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs) are freely refined without constraints or restraints - even those for hydrogen atoms. The results are systematically compared with those from neutron diffraction experiments at the temperatures 12, 50, 150 and 295 K. Although non-hydrogen-atom ADPs differ by up to three combined standard uncertainties (csu's), all other structural parameters agree within less than 2 csu's. Using our best calculations (BLYP/cc-pVTZ, recommended for organic molecules), the accuracy of determining bond lengths involving hydrogen atoms from HAR is better than 0.009 Å for temperatures of 150 K or below; for hydrogen-atom ADPs it is better than 0.006 Å(2) as judged from the mean absolute X-ray minus neutron differences. These results are among the best ever obtained. Remarkably, the precision of determining bond lengths and ADPs for the hydrogen atoms from the HAR procedure is comparable with that from the neutron measurements - an outcome which is obtained with a routinely achievable resolution of the X-ray data of 0.65 Å.

  10. A new trilocus sequence-based multiplex-PCR to detect major Acinetobacter baumannii clones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Natacha; Picão, Renata Cristina; Cerqueira-Alves, Morgana; Uehara, Aline; Barbosa, Lívia Carvalho; Riley, Lee W; Moreira, Beatriz Meurer

    2016-08-01

    A collection of 163 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates detected in a large Brazilian hospital, was potentially related with the dissemination of four clonal complexes (CC): 113/79, 103/15, 109/1 and 110/25, defined by University of Oxford/Institut Pasteur multilocus sequence typing (MLST) schemes. The urge of a simple multiplex-PCR scheme to specify these clones has motivated the present study. The established trilocus sequence-based typing (3LST, for ompA, csuE and blaOXA-51-like genes) multiplex-PCR rapidly identifies international clones I (CC109/1), II (CC118/2) and III (CC187/3). Thus, the system detects only one (CC109/1) out of four main CC in Brazil. We aimed to develop an alternative multiplex-PCR scheme to detect these clones, known to be present additionally in Africa, Asia, Europe, USA and South America. MLST, performed in the present study to complement typing our whole collection of isolates, confirmed that all isolates belonged to the same four CC detected previously. When typed by 3LST-based multiplex-PCR, only 12% of the 163 isolates were classified into groups. By comparative sequence analysis of ompA, csuE and blaOXA-51-like genes, a set of eight primers was designed for an alternative multiplex-PCR to distinguish the five CC 113/79, 103/15, 109/1, 110/25 and 118/2. Study isolates and one CC118/2 isolate were blind-tested with the new alternative PCR scheme; all were correctly clustered in groups of the corresponding CC. The new multiplex-PCR, with the advantage of fitting in a single reaction, detects five leading A. baumannii clones and could help preventing the spread in healthcare settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Saksa Bundestag'i väliskomisjoni CDU/CSU grupi esindaja hr. Andreas Schokenhoffi ettekanne / Andreas Schokenhoff

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Schokenhoff, Andreas

    2002-01-01

    Ilmunud ka: Proceedings of the 8th International conference Estonia and the European Union : Estonia on its way to a changing Europe : October 31-November 2, 2001. - Tallinn, lk., lk. 91-93. Euroopa julgeoleku- ja kaitsepoliitika vallas on kolme liiki vastutust: ennetav, tsiviilkriiside lahendamine ja sõjaline sekkumine

  12. Can Skateboarding Save the Planet? A Curricular Unit on Global Climate Change Developed Through the NASA LIFT-OFF Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pruett, L. E.; Burrell, S.; Chidester, C.; Metzger, E. P.

    2010-12-01

    The inclusion of global climate change education in California public high schools is constrained by several factors, including the planning time needed to effectively correlate state content standards to the multidisciplinary science of climate change, the lack of time in the curriculum, and budget constraints that limit resources for teachers. Recent efforts by the NASA LIFT-OFF program to support classroom teachers in the development of inquiry-based curricular materials have helped to alleviate many of these burdens. NASA LIFT-OFF is funded by a grant to the Alameda County Office of Education and involves a partnership between the Alameda, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles county offices of education and science faculty at California State University (CSU) East Bay, San Jose State University (SJSU), and Cal Poly Pomona. LIFT-OFF goals are to improve high school science teachers’ content knowledge through interactions with scientists from the CSU campuses, NASA, and the SETI Institute and to enhance their ability to plan and implement high-quality science inquiry in their classrooms. LIFT-OFF teachers at the three CSU campuses are developing instructional cases that use NASA resources and research-based pedagogical practices to explore engaging real-world questions. We participated in SJSU’s 2010 LIFT-OFF summer institute and worked as a team to develop a 12-day unit for high school students that focuses on the science behind global climate change. In addition to delivering science content, the unit engages students in critical thinking and evaluation. Students generate, access and interpret data, and use the knowledge gained to make small lifestyle changes that aid in the reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions. Not only does this unit of study empower students to make science-based decisions, it also incorporates diverse learning strategies, such as the use of visuals aids, language acquisition techniques to improve literacy, formative assessments and daily

  13. STAR - Research Experiences at National Laboratory Facilities for Pre-Service and Early Career Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, J. M.; Rebar, B.; Buxner, S.

    2012-12-01

    The STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Program provides pre-service and beginning teachers the opportunity to develop identity as both teachers and researchers early in their careers. Founded and implemented by the Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME) at California Polytechnic State University on behalf of the California State University (CSU) system, STAR provides cutting edge research experiences and career development for students affiliated with the CSU system. Over the past three summers, STAR has also partnered with the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to include Noyce Scholars from across the country. Key experiences are one to three summers of paid research experience at federal research facilities associated with the Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). Anchoring beginning teachers in the research community enhances participant understanding of what it means to be both researchers and effective teachers. Since its inception in 2007, the STAR Program has partnered with 15 national lab facilities to provide 290 research experiences to 230 participants. Several of the 68 STAR Fellows participating in the program during Summer 2012 have submitted abstracts to the Fall AGU Meeting. Through continued partnership with the Noyce Scholar Program and contributions from outside funding sources, the CSU is committed to sustaining the STAR Program in its efforts to significantly impact teacher preparation. Evaluation results from the program continue to indicate program effectiveness in recruiting high quality science and math majors into the teaching profession and impacting their attitudes and beliefs towards the nature of science and teaching through inquiry. Additionally, surveys and interviews are being conducted of participants who are now teaching in the classroom as

  14. Effects of Low-Dose Alpha-Particle Irradiation in Human Cells: The Role of Induced Genes and the Bystander Effect. Final Technical Report (9/15/1998-5/31/2005)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Little, John B.

    2013-09-17

    This grant was designed to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms for the bystander effect of radiation (initially described in this laboratory) whereby damage signals are passed from irradiated to non-irradiated cells in a population. These signals induce genetic effects including DNA damage, mutations and chromosomal aberrations in the nonirradiated cells. Experiments were carried out in cultured mammalian cells, primarily human diploid cells, irradiated with alpha particles. This research resulted in 17 publications in the refereed literature and is described in the Progress Report where it is keyed to the publication list. This project was initiated at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and continued in collaboration with students/fellows at Colorado State University (CSU) and the New Jersey Medical School (NJMS).

  15. CO Cleavage and CO2 Functionalization under Mild Conditions by a Multimetallic CsU2 Nitride Complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcone, Marta; Chatelain, Lucile; Scopelliti, Rosario; Mazzanti, Marinella

    2017-04-26

    Novel efficient chemical processes involving cheap and widely accessible carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide under mild conditions for the production of valuable chemical products are highly desirable in the current energetic context. Uranium nitride materials act as high activity catalysts in the Haber-Bosch process but the reactivity of molecular nitride compounds remains unexplored. Here we review recent results obtained in our group showing that a multimetallic nitride complex [Cs{[U(OSi(OtBu)3)3]2(μ-N)}] (1) with a CsUIV-N-UIV core, is able to promote N-C bond formation due to its strong nucleophile behaviour. In particular, complex 1, in the presence of excess CO2 leads to a remarkable dicarbamate product. The multimetallic CsUIV-N-UIV nitride also readily cleaves the C≡O bond under mild conditions.

  16. Restriction fragment length polymorphism markers associated with silk maysin, antibiosis to corn earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae, in a dent and sweet corn cross.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, B Z; Zhang, Z J; Li, R G; Widstrom, N W; Snook, M E; Lynch, R E; Plaisted, D

    2001-04-01

    Maysin, a C-glycosylflavone in maize silk, has insecticidal activity against corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), larvae. Sweet corn, Zea mays L., is a vulnerable crop to ear-feeding insects and requires pesticide protection from ear damage. This study was conducted to identify maize chromosome regions associated with silk maysin concentration and eventually to transfer and develop high silk maysin sweet corn lines with marker-assisted selection (MAS). Using an F2 population derived from SC102 (high maysin dent corn) and B31857 (low maysin sh2 sweet corn), we detected two major quantitative trait loci (QTL). It was estimated that 25.6% of the silk maysin variance was associated with segregation in the genomic region of npi286 (flanking to p1) on chromosome 1S. We also demonstrated that a1 on chromosome 3L had major contribution to silk maysin (accounted for 15.7% of the variance). Locus a1 has a recessive gene action for high maysin with the presence of functional p1 allele. Markers umc66a (near c2) and umc105a on chromosome 9S also were detected in this analysis with minor contribution. A multiple-locus model, which included npi286, a1, csu3 (Bin 1.05), umc245 (Bin 7.05), agrr21 (Bin 8.09), umc105a, and the epistatic interactions npi286 x a1, a1 x agrr21, csu3 x umc245, and umc105a x umc245, accounted for 76.3% of the total silk maysin variance. Tester crosses showed that at the a1 locus, SC102 has functional A1 alleles and B31857 has homozygous recessive a1 alleles. Individuals of (SC102 x B31857) x B31857 were examined with MAS and plants with p1 allele from SC102 and homozygous a1 alleles from B31857 had consistent high silk maysin. Marker-assisted selection seems to be a suitable method to transfer silk maysin to sweet corn lines to reduce pesticide application.

  17. Impact of aerosol intrusions on sea-ice melting rates and the structure Arctic boundary layer clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton, W.; Carrio, G.; Jiang, H.

    2003-04-01

    The Los Alamos National Laboratory sea-ice model (LANL CICE) was implemented into the real-time and research versions of the Colorado State University-Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS@CSU). The original version of CICE was modified in its structure to allow module communication in an interactive multigrid framework. In addition, some improvements have been made in the routines involved in the coupling, among them, the inclusion of iterative methods that consider variable roughness lengths for snow-covered ice thickness categories. This version of the model also includes more complex microphysics that considers the nucleation of cloud droplets, allowing the prediction of mixing ratios and number concentrations for all condensed water species. The real-time version of RAMS@CSU automatically processes the NASA Team SSMI F13 25km sea-ice coverage data; the data are objectively analyzed and mapped to the model grid configuration. We performed two types of cloud resolving simulations to assess the impact of the entrainment of aerosols from above the inversion on Arctic boundary layer clouds. The first series of numerical experiments corresponds to a case observed on May 4 1998 during the FIRE-ACE/SHEBA field experiment. Results indicate a significant impact on the microstructure of the simulated clouds. When assuming polluted initial profiles above the inversion, the liquid water fraction of the cloud monotonically decreases, the total condensate paths increases and downward IR tends to increase due to a significant increase in the ice water path. The second set of cloud resolving simulations focused on the evaluation of the potential effect of aerosol concentration above the inversion on melting rates during spring-summer period. For these multi-month simulations, the IFN and CCN profiles were also initialized assuming the 4 May profiles as benchmarks. Results suggest that increasing the aerosol concentrations above the boundary layer increases sea-ice melting

  18. Electric portfolio modeling with stochastic water - climate interactions: Implications for co-management of water and electric utilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woldeyesus, Tibebe Argaw

    Water supply constraints can significantly restrict electric power generation, and such constraints are expected to worsen with future climate change. The overarching goal of this thesis is to incorporate stochastic water-climate interactions into electricity portfolio models and evaluate various pathways for water savings in co-managed water-electric utilities. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is used as a case study to explore the above issues. The thesis consists of three objectives: Characterize seasonality of water withdrawal intensity factors (WWIF) for electric power generation and develop a risk assessment framework due to water shortages; Incorporate water constraints into electricity portfolio models and evaluate the impact of varying capital investments (both power generation and cooling technologies) on water use and greenhouse gas emissions; Compare the unit cost and overall water savings from both water and electric sectors in co-managed utilities to facilitate overall water management. This thesis provided the first discovery and characterization of seasonality of WWIF with distinct summertime and wintertime variations of +/-17% compared to the power plant average (0.64gal/kwh) which itself is found to be significantly higher than the literature average (0.53gal/kwh). Both the streamflow and WWIF are found to be highly correlated with monthly average temperature (r-sq = 89%) and monthly precipitation (r-sq of 38%) enabling stochastic simulation of future WWIF under moderate climate change scenario. Future risk to electric power generation also showed the risk to be underestimated significantly when using either the literature average or the power plant average WWIF. Seasonal variation in WWIF along with seasonality in streamflow, electricity demand and other municipal water demands along with storage are shown to be important factors for more realistic risk estimation. The unlimited investment in power generation and/or cooling technologies is also

  19. CSU Final Report on the Math/CS Institute CACHE: Communication-Avoiding and Communication-Hiding at the Extreme Scale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strout, Michelle [Colorado State University

    2014-06-10

    The CACHE project entails researching and developing new versions of numerical algorithms that result in data reuse that can be scheduled in a communication avoiding way. Since memory accesses take more time than any computation and require the most power, the focus on turning data reuse into data locality is critical to improving performance and reducing power usage in scientific simulations. This final report summarizes the accomplishments at Colorado State University as part of the CACHE project.

  20. Factors motivating Latino college students to pursue STEM degrees on CSU campuses in the southern San Joaquin Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, Gabriel

    The purpose of this study was to determine what factors were motivating Latino/a students in the southern San Joaquin Valley to pursue STEM degrees and whether these factors were specific to the Latino/a culture. A 12-question survey was administered to STEM majors at California State University, Bakersfield and California State University, Fresno and interviews were conducted with those survey respondents who agreed to be part of the process. The results of the survey suggested that factors such as STEM subject matter, STEM career knowledge, the possibility of a high paying salary, high school STEM grades, and family influence were significant in motivating Latino/a students to pursue STEM degrees. The results of the Chi Square Test suggested the Latino/a students' responses about college STEM degree granting statistics, the possibility of a high salary, and the effects of setbacks were significantly different to those of their non-Latino/a counterparts.

  1. Methane production by anaerobic digestion of biomass. Final report of innovative research program subtask, December 1977--September 1978

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murphy, V G

    1978-10-01

    It has long been known that methane is produced during the anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes, but this potential source of fuel has not been greatly exploited in the United States. The chief reason is that anaerobic decomposition of lignocellulosic materials occurs very slowly, resulting in a need for long detention times and large digestion vessels, both of which markedly increase process costs. However, recent work at CSU has shown that pretreatment of manure fibers (an abundant agricultural waste) with saturated steam at 130 to 210/sup 0/C renders this material more susceptible to attack by microbial enzymes. The main objectives of this project were to identify the chemical events occurring during the steam treatment and to correlate these with the rate of methane generating during subsequent anaerobic digestion. The study was expected to lead to an optimal pretreatment strategy.

  2. A Big Social Media Data Study of the 2017 German Federal Election Based on Social Set Analysis of Political Party Facebook Pages with SoSeVi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flesch, Benjamin; Vatrapu, Ravi; Mukkamala, Raghava Rao

    2017-01-01

    We present a big social media data study that comprises of 1 million individuals who interact with Facebook pages of the seven major political parties CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke and AfD during the 2017 German federal election. Our study uses the Social Set Analysis (SSA) approach, which...... is based on the sociology of associations, mathematics of set theory, and advanced visual analytics of event studies. We illustrate the capabilities of SSA through the most recent version of our Social Set Analysis (SoSeVi) tool, which enables us to deep dive into Facebook activity concerning the election....... We explore a significant gender-based difference between female and male interactions with political party Facebook pages. Furthermore, we perform a multi-faceted analysis of social media interactions using gender detection, user segmentation and retention analysis, and visualize our findings...

  3. Simulating the 2012 High Plains Drought Using Three Single Column Models (SCM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, I. D.; Baker, I. T.; Denning, S.; Dazlich, D. A.

    2015-12-01

    The impact of changes in the frequency and severity of drought on fresh water sustainability is a great concern for many regions of the world. One such location is the High Plains, where the local economy is primarily driven by fresh water withdrawals from the Ogallala Aquifer, which accounts for approximately 30% of total irrigation withdrawals from all U.S. aquifers combined. Modeling studies that focus on the feedback mechanisms that control the climate and eco-hydrology during times of drought are limited, and have used conventional General Circulation Models (GCMs) with grid length scales ranging from one hundred to several hundred kilometers. Additionally, these models utilize crude statistical parameterizations of cloud processes for estimating sub-grid fluxes of heat and moisture and have a poor representation of land surface heterogeneity. For this research, we focus on the 2012 High Plains drought and perform numerical simulations using three single column model (SCM) versions of BUGS5 (Colorado State University (CSU) GCM coupled to the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB3)). In the first version of BUGS5, the model is used in its standard bulk setting (single atmospheric column coupled to a single instance of SiB3), secondly, the Super-Parameterized Community Atmospheric Model (SP-CAM), a cloud resolving model (CRM) (CRM consists of 32 atmospheric columns), replaces the single CSU GCM atmospheric parameterization and is coupled to a single instance of SiB3, and for the third version of BUGS5, an instance of SiB3 is coupled to each CRM column of the SP-CAM (32 CRM columns coupled to 32 instances of SiB3). To assess the physical realism of the land-atmosphere feedbacks simulated by all three versions of BUGS5, differences in simulated energy and moisture fluxes are computed between the 2011 and 2012 period and are compared to those calculated using observational data from the AmeriFlux Tower Network for the same period at the ARM Site in Lamont, OK. This research

  4. Cardiovascular Risk is not Increased in Patients with Chronic Urticaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Egeberg, Alexander; Gislason, Gunnar H; Vestergaard, Christian

    2016-01-01

    in an Italian cohort as between 0.02% and 0.38%, whereas a German study showed a lifetime prevalence of CU at 1.8% (2, 3). While an association between CU and certain autoimmune diseases is well-established (3), CSU was surprisingly associated with obesity in a recent Italian study (4). Moreover, in a South...... was significantly associated with having received a prior diagnosis of hyperlipidaemia (6). Despite the above observations, no study has examined a possible association between CU and cardiovascular (CV) disease. We therefore investigated the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), ischaemic stroke, CV death, and major...... Korean cohort of 131 patients with CU, metabolic syndrome was present in 30% of patients, and these individuals had particularly poor clinical outcomes and a more severe disease course (5). Finally, a population-based Taiwanese study of 9798 adults with CU recently showed that the condition...

  5. Nuclear energy as a 'golden bridge'? Constitutional legal problems of the negotiation of the prolongation of the running time against skimming of profits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waldhoff, Christian; Aswege, Hanka von

    2010-01-01

    The coalition agreement of Christian Demographic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 26th October, 2009 characterizes the nuclear energy as a bridge technology. The coalition parties explain to prolong the running times of German nuclear power stations up to a reliable replacement by renewable energies. The conditions for the prolongation of the running times are to be regulated in agreement with energy supply companies. In the contribution under consideration, the authors report on the fiscal legal problems of the skimming of profits. Constitutional legal problems of the earmaking of a skimming of profits as well as a consensual agreement are discussed in this contribution. In the result, a financial constitutionally reliable way for the skimming of added profits due to prolongation of the running time is not evident. The legal earmaking of the duty advent for the promotion of renewable energies increases the constitutional doubts.

  6. Nuclear energy as a 'golden bridge'? Constitutional legal problems of the negotiation of the prolongation of the running time against skimming of profits; Kernenergie als 'goldene Bruecke'? Verfassungsrechtliche Probleme der Aushandlung von Laufzeitverlaengerungen gegen Gewinnabschoepfungen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waldhoff, Christian; Aswege, Hanka von [Bonn Univ. (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Oeffentliches Recht

    2010-07-15

    The coalition agreement of Christian Demographic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 26th October, 2009 characterizes the nuclear energy as a bridge technology. The coalition parties explain to prolong the running times of German nuclear power stations up to a reliable replacement by renewable energies. The conditions for the prolongation of the running times are to be regulated in agreement with energy supply companies. In the contribution under consideration, the authors report on the fiscal legal problems of the skimming of profits. Constitutional legal problems of the earmaking of a skimming of profits as well as a consensual agreement are discussed in this contribution. In the result, a financial constitutionally reliable way for the skimming of added profits due to prolongation of the running time is not evident. The legal earmaking of the duty advent for the promotion of renewable energies increases the constitutional doubts.

  7. A New Campus Built on Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harding, Ari [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mercado, Andrea [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Regnier, Cindy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2015-08-01

    The University of California (UC), Merced partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and implement solutions to reduce energy consumption by as part of DOE’s Commercial Buildings Partnerships (CBP) Program. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) provided technical expertise in support of this DOE program. This case study reports on the process and outcome of this project including the achieved savings from design improvements for the campus. The intent of the project was to retrofit the Science & Engineering (S&E) building and the central plant at UC Merced to achieve up to 30% energy reduction. The anticipated savings from these retrofits represented about 17% of whole-campus energy use. If achieved, the savings contribution from the CBP project would have brought overall campus performance to 56% of the 1999 UC/CSU benchmark performance for their portfolio of buildings. However, the final design that moved forward as part of the CBP program only included the retrofit measures for the S&E building.

  8. Improving the Amazonian Hydrologic Cycle in a Coupled Land-Atmosphere, Single Column Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, A. B.; Denning, S.; Baker, I.; Prihodko, L.; Branson, M.

    2006-12-01

    We have coupled a land-surface model, the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB3), to a single column of the Colorado State University General Circulation Model (CSU-GCM) in the Amazon River Basin. This is a preliminary step in the broader goal of improved simulation of Basin-wide hydrology. A previous version of the coupled model (SiB2) showed drought and catastrophic dieback of the Amazon rain forest. SiB3 includes updated soil hydrology and root physiology. Our test area for the coupled single column model is near Santarem, Brazil, where measurements from the km 83 flux tower in the Tapajos National Forest can be used to evaluate model output. The model was run for 2001 using NCEP2 Reanalysis as driver data. Preliminary results show that the updated biosphere model coupled to the GCM produces improved simulations of the seasonal cycle of surface water balance and precipitation. Comparisons of the diurnal and seasonal cycles of surface fluxes are also being made.

  9. Aging of Black Carbon during Atmospheric Transport: Understanding Results from the DOE's 2010 CARES and 2012 ClearfLo Campaigns

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Subramanian, R. [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Mazzoleni, Claudio [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States)

    2016-08-31

    Over the course of this project, we have analyzed data and samples from the CARES and ClearfLo campaigns, as well as conducted or participated in laboratory experiments designed to better understand black carbon mixing state and climate-relevant properties. The laboratory campaigns took place at PNNL and CMU to study various climate-relevant aerosol properties of different sources of soot mixing with secondary organic aerosol precursors. The DMT photoacoustic extinctiometers (PAXs) procured by CMU through this grant were deployed for these experiments, as well as experiments characterizing the optical properties of cookstove soot emissions at Colorado State University (CSU). Results from some of these activities were summarized in the previous progress report. This final report presents the manuscripts that have been published (many in the period since the last progress report), lists presentations at different conferences based on grant-related activities, and presents some results that are likely to be submitted for publication in 2016.

  10. Delivering Online Examinations: A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John MESSING

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Delivering Online Examinations: A Case Study Jason HOWARTH John MESSING Irfan ALTAS Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga-AUSTRALIA ABSTRACT This paper represents a brief case study of delivering online examinations to a worldwide audience. These examinations are delivered in partnership with a commercial online testing company as part of the Industry Master’s degree at Charles Sturt University (CSU. The Industry Master’s degree is an academic program for students currently employed in the IT industry. Using Internet Based Testing (IBT, these students are examined in test centres throughout the world. This offers many benefits. For example, students have the freedom of sitting exams at any time during a designated interval. Computer-based testing also provides instructors with valuable feedback through test statistics and student comments. In this paper, we document CSU’s use of the IBT system, including how tests are built and delivered, and how both human and statistical feedback is used to evaluate and enhance the testing process.

  11. Incorporating isolated molybdenum (Mo) atoms into Bilayer Epitaxial Graphene on 4H-SiC(0001)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Han; Wan, Wen; Li, Hui; Wong, Swee Liang; Lv, Lu; Gao, Yongli; Wee, Andrew T. S.

    2014-03-01

    The atomic structures and electronic properties of isolated Mo atoms in bilayer epitaxial graphene (BLEG) on 4H-SiC(0001) are investigated by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM). LT-STM results reveal that isolated Mo dopants prefer to substitute C atoms at α-sites, and preferentially locate between the graphene bilayers. First-principles calculations confirm that the embedding of single Mo dopants within BLEG is energetically favorable as compared to monolayer graphene. The calculated bandstructures show that Mo-doped BLEG is n-doped, and each Mo atom introduces a local magnetic moment of 1.81 μB. Our findings demonstrate a simple and stable method to incorporate single transition metal dopants into the graphene lattice to tune its electronic and magnetic properties for possible use in graphene spin devices. NRF-CRP (Singapore) grants R-143-000-360-281and R-144-000-295-281. ``Shenghua Professorship'' startup funding from CSU and the support from the NSF of China (Grant No.11304398).

  12. Leadership's Role in Recruitment and Retention of First Generation, Low-Income Latino Students into STEM Majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Eliseo A.

    Fostering resiliency and educational success in students that are faced with adversity is not a simple task. The gap in educational success and achievement among low-income, first generation, traditionally marginalized students continues to be significant. California's educational system needs to stop the hemorrhaging from its educational pipeline, also known as the P-20 pipeline, of all students, especially those groups of students with larger gaps in educational attainment. One potential path towards fixing California's educational pipeline for all students is to form and keep partnerships with programs such as Upward Bound, AVID, and Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA). In 2010-11, the California Department of Education (CDE) reported that over 51% of students enrolled in California's school system and 51% of all California high school seniors were Latino were Latino. Of the 231,231 Latino high school seniors, 79%, graduated. However, of those that graduated, only 26%, met University of California/California State University (UC/CSU) college entrance requirements. Even though 79% of Latinos graduated, 74% did not qualify to apply to a UC or CSU. If the majority of Latino students continue to fall through holes in the educational pipeline, companies will continue to look abroad to fill STEM jobs that remain unfilled by American workers (California Department of Education [CDE], 2012). Alongside the U.S.'s current economic woes, the lack of college preparedness and knowledge by parents and students has led to a decrease in first generation, low-income Latino students' higher education enrollment (Camacho & Lord, 2011). With strong and positive leadership from family, supplemented by the MESA program, these youths can exert their resiliency, face adversity, and overcome extraordinary barriers. Leaders in education such as teachers, coordinators, advisers, administrators, and parents are in the best position to teach students about resilience (Ginsburg, 2007

  13. Simulating the 2012 High Plains drought using three single column versions (SCM) of BUGS5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, I. D.; Denning, S.

    2013-12-01

    The impact of changes in the frequency and severity of drought on fresh water sustainability is a great concern for many regions of the world. One such location is the High Plains, where the local economy is primarily driven by fresh water withdrawals from the Ogallala Aquifer, which accounts for approximately 30% of total irrigation withdrawals from all U.S. aquifers combined. Modeling studies that focus on the feedback mechanisms that control the climate and eco-hydrology during times of drought are limited, and have used conventional General Circulation Models (GCMs) with grid length scales ranging from one hundred to several hundred kilometers. Additionally, these models utilize crude statistical parameterizations of cloud processes for estimating sub-grid fluxes of heat and moisture and have a poor representation of land surface heterogeneity. For this research, we will focus on the 2012 High Plains drought and will perform numerical simulations using three single column versions (SCM) of BUGS5 (Colorado State University (CSU) GCM coupled to the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB3)) at multiple sites overlying the Ogallala Aquifer for the 2011-2012 periods. In the first version of BUGS5, the model will be used in its standard bulk setting (single atmospheric column coupled to a single instance of SiB3), secondly, the Super-Parameterized Community Atmospheric Model (SP-CAM), a cloud resolving model (CRM consists of 64 atmospheric columns), will replace the single CSU GCM atmospheric parameterization and will be coupled to a single instance of SiB3, and for the third version of BUGS5, an instance of SiB3 will be coupled to each CRM column of the SP-CAM (64 CRM columns coupled to 64 instances of SiB3). To assess the physical realism of the land-atmosphere feedbacks simulated at each site by all versions of BUGS5, differences in simulated energy and moisture fluxes will be computed between the 2011 and 2012 period and will be compared to differences calculated using

  14. Paper 5944 Changing Climates @ Colorado State: It's Everybody's Business

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, S.; Calderazzo, J.; Denning, S.; Betsill, M.; Klein, J. A.; Fiege, M.

    2014-12-01

    With the help of faculty from all eight colleges, twenty-seven departments, and numerous other entities on and off the Colorado State University campus, this education and outreach initiative is based on the premises that climate change is everybody's business and that everyone has something to offer in meeting its challenges. Beginning in 2007, CC@CSU has organized some 120 talks to audiences totaling some 6,000, helping inform the student body and community and catalyzing relationships among faculty and researchers across campus. It has offered communication coaching to scientists (and others) who want to translate their expertise for the public. And it has developed a multidisciplinary website (http://changingclimates.colostate.edu) with over 450 annotated entries, all college-level content, primer-level clarity, on topics that include climate science and ecology, economics and emotions, ethics and policy, communication and activism, paleoclimate and human history, and much more. This presentation will address the basic questions of why, who, how, what, for whom, and so what, concluding with some of the key lessons learned about communicating across disciplinary boundaries on this important subject.

  15. BIMA CO (1-0) Observations of the Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC 404

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, C. L.; Petitpas, G. R.

    2004-12-01

    We present high resolution observations of the CO emission in NGC 404, a nearby dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxy (D = 3.3 Mpc). NGC 404 is only the third dwarf elliptical to have its CO emission mapped by interferometric observations, and is the first outside the Local Group. Our observations show a very concentrated, marginally resolved structure about 9 × 9 arcseconds in diameter. This corresponds to a very small cloud at the center of a much larger distribution of stars. NGC 404 is surrounded by a doughnut shaped distribution of HI gas centered on the stellar component. The CO and HI appear to be kinematically distinct components, suggesting that the HI may be part of the galaxy's original gas distribution, while the CO may be recycled from the products of stellar evolution. C.L.T. has been supported by CSU Sacramento via a Research and Creative Activity Award. G.R.P. has been supported by the Laboratory for Millimeter-Wave Astronomy through NSF grant AST 99-81289

  16. Analysis of tethered balloon data from San Nicolas Island on 8 July 1987

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Stephen K.; Duda, David P.; Guinn, Thomas A.; Johnson-Pasqua, Christopher M.; Schubert, Wayne H.; Snider, Jack B.

    1990-01-01

    Analysis of the 8 July 1987 (Julian Day 189) tethered balloon flight from San Nicolas Island is summarized. The flight commenced at about 14:30 UTC (7:30 Pacific Daylight Time) and lasted six and one-half hours. The position of the Colorado State University (CSU) instrument package as a function of time is shown. For the purpose of presentation of results, researchers divided the flight into 13 legs. These legs consist of 20 minute constant level runs, with the exception of leg 1, which is a sounding from the surface to just above 930 mb. The laser ceilometer record of cloud base is also shown. The cloud base averaged around 970 mb during much of the flight but was more variable near the end. Before the tethered balloon flight commenced, a Communications Link Analysis and Simulation System (CLASS) sounding was released at 12:11 UTC (5:11 PDT). Temperature and moisture data below 927 mb for this sounding is shown. The sounding indicates a cloud top around 955 mb at this time.

  17. Modelling the internal boundary layer over the lower fraser valley, British Columbia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batchvarova, E. [National Inst. of Meteorology and Hydrology, Sofia (Bulgaria); Steyn, D. [Univ. of British Columbia, Dept. of Geography, Vancouver (Canada); Cai, X. [Univ. of Birmingham, School of Geography, Edgbaston (United Kingdom); Gryning, S.E. [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark); Baldi, M. [Inst. for Atmospheric Physics, IFA-CNR, Rome (Italy)

    1997-10-01

    In this study we use the very extensive data-set on temporal and spatial structure of the internal boundary layer on the Lower Faser Valley, Canada, collected during the so-called Pacific `93 field campaign, to study the ability of the simple applied model by Gryning and Batchvarova (1996) and the CSU-RAMS meso-scale model summarised in Pielke et al. (1992) to describe the development and variability of the internal boundary layer depth during the course of a day. Given the complexity of topography, coastline and land-use in the Lower Fraser Valley region, both models perform remarkably well. The simple applied model performs extremely well, given its simplicity. It is clear that correct specification of spatially resolved surface sensible heat flux and wind field are crucial to the success of this model which can be operated at very fine spatial resolution. The 3D model performs extremely well, though it too must capture the local wind field correctly for complete success. Its limited horizontal resolution results in strongly smoothed internal boundary layer height fields. (LN)

  18. Dzimumu līdztiesība darba tirgū vērsta uz sieviešu tiesībām Latvijā un Amerikas Savienotajās Valstīs

    OpenAIRE

    Grandaua, Monta

    2017-01-01

    Grandaua M. Dzimumu līdztiesība darba tirgū vērsta uz sieviešu tiesībām Latvijā un ASV: diplomdarbs. Rīga: Latvijas Universitātes Biznesa, vadības un ekonomikas fakultāte, 2017. 89 lpp. Tajā iekļautas 7 tabulas, 19 attēli un izmantotā literatūra ietver 74 avotus. Dzimumu nevienlīdzība ir aspekts, kas ietekmē daudzas valstis. ASV valda samērā liela dzimumu nevienlīdzība, it īpaši darba samaksas jautājumā – vīrieši par vienu un to pašu darbu saņem vairāk nekā sievietes. Latvijā savukārt dzimumu...

  19. STAR: Preparing future science and math teachers through authentic research experiences at national laboratories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, John; Rebar, Bryan

    2012-11-01

    The STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Program provides 9-week paid summer research experiences at national research laboratories for future science and math teachers. The program, run by the Cal Poly Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME) on behalf of the entire California State University (CSU) System, has arranged 290 research internships for 230 STEM undergraduates and credential candidates from 43 campuses over the past 6 years. The program has partnered with seven Department of Energy labs, four NASA centers, three NOAA facilities, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). Primary components of the summer experience include a) conducting research with a mentor or mentor team, b) participating in weekly 2-3 hour workshops focused on translating lessons learned from summer research into classroom practice, and c) presenting a research poster or oral presentation and providing a lesson plan linked to the summer research experience. The central premise behind the STAR Program is that future science and math teachers can more effectively prepare the next generation of science, math, and engineering students if they themselves have authentic experiences as researchers.

  20. Raindrop Size Distribution in Different Climatic Regimes from Disdrometer and Dual-Polarized Radar Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bringi, V. N.; Chandrasekar, V.; Hubbert, J.; Gorgucci, E.; Randeu, W. L.; Schoenhuber, M.

    2003-01-01

    The application of polarimetric radar data to the retrieval of raindrop size distribution parameters and rain rate in samples of convective and stratiform rain types is presented. Data from the Colorado State University (CSU), CHILL, NCAR S-band polarimetric (S-Pol), and NASA Kwajalein radars are analyzed for the statistics and functional relation of these parameters with rain rate. Surface drop size distribution measurements using two different disdrometers (2D video and RD-69) from a number of climatic regimes are analyzed and compared with the radar retrievals in a statistical and functional approach. The composite statistics based on disdrometer and radar retrievals suggest that, on average, the two parameters (generalized intercept and median volume diameter) for stratiform rain distributions lie on a straight line with negative slope, which appears to be consistent with variations in the microphysics of stratiform precipitation (melting of larger, dry snow particles versus smaller, rimed ice particles). In convective rain, `maritime-like' and `continental-like' clusters could be identified in the same two-parameter space that are consistent with the different multiplicative coefficients in the Z = aR1.5 relations quoted in the literature for maritime and continental regimes.

  1. 2007 Winter meeting - nuclear power in a relationship of tension between politics, society, and the economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2007-01-01

    Some 300 interested representatives of the power industry, industry at large, politics, administration, science and research met in Berlin on February 7 and 8, 2007 by invitation of the Deutsches Atomforum e.V. to exchange ideas and experience at the '2007 Winter Meeting'. This year's event was dedicated to the basic conditions underlying the use of nuclear power in Germany, Europe and worldwide. Seven contributions and statements by representatives from politics, industry, and society reflected a broad spectrum of divergent aspects and opinions about the topic of the meeting. Hans-Ulrich Joerges (stern, Berlin) chaired a discussion among Baerbel Hoehn (MP, Alliance 90/The Greens), Dr. Gerd Jaeger (RWE Power AG, Essen), Herbert Reul (MEP, energy policy spokesman of the CDU/CSU group of the European Parliament), and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Wagner (Munich Technical University) about current and future aspects of power supply with or without nuclear energy. At the beginning of the year, the '2007 Winter Meeting' offered an interesting start of the debates accompanying this year's climate discussions, the problems associated with gas and oil deliveries from Russia, and the goal to adopt politically a sustainable energy program in the course of the year. (orig.)

  2. Microstructure and Macrosegregation Study of Directionally Solidified Al-7Si Samples Processed Terrestrially and Aboard the International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angart, Samuel; Erdman, R. G.; Poirier, David R.; Tewari, S.N.; Grugel, R. N.

    2014-01-01

    This talk reports research that has been carried out under the aegis of NASA as part of a collaboration between ESA and NASA for solidification experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). The focus has been on the effect of convection on the microstructural evolution and macrosegregation in hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys during directional solidification (DS). The DS-experiments have been carried out under 1-g at Cleveland State University (CSU) and under low-g on the International Space Station (ISS). The thermal processing-history of the experiments is well defined for both the terrestrially-processed samples and the ISS-processed samples. We have observed that the primary dendrite arm spacings of two samples grown in the low-g environment of the ISS show good agreement with a dendrite-growth model based on diffusion controlled growth. The gravity-driven convection (i.e., thermosolutal convection) in terrestrially grown samples has the effect of decreasing the primary dendrite arm spacings and causes macrosgregation. In order to process DS-samples aboard the ISS, dendritic-seed crystals have to partially remelted in a stationary thermal gradient before the DS is carried out. Microstructural changes and macrosegregation effects during this period are described.

  3. Economic consequences of alternative nuclear power plant lifetimes in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindenberger, D.; Wissen, R.; Bartels, M.; Buttermann, H.G.; Hillebrand, B.

    2006-01-01

    The coalition agreement of the Christian Democratic (CDU), Christian Social (CSU), and Social Democratic (SPD) parties contains a provision under which the existing regulations about phasing out the peaceful use of nuclear power will remain in force because of different opinions about the use of nuclear power in Germany. This article studies the consequences of longer lifetimes of the nuclear power plants currently in operation as compared to the provisions in opt-out legislation. The details examined include the effects of longer nuclear power plant lifetimes on the development of generating capacities in Germany, electricity generation, fuel consumption and fuel imports, the resultant CO 2 emissions, costs of electricity generation and electricity prices as well as the associated impact on production and employment in this sector and in industry as a whole. A summary is presented of the findings of a comprehensive study published under the same title in October 2005. The study was compiled by the Institute of Power Economics of the University of Cologne (EWI) and by Energy Environment Forecast Analysis GmbH, and had been commissioned by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). (orig.)

  4. Successful Omalizumab treatment in HIV positive patient with chronic spontaneous urticaria: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iemoli, E; Niero, F; Borgonovo, L; Cossu, M V; Piconi, S

    2017-03-01

    We described a case of a 56 year old homosexual HIV positive man who presented a history of CSU since one year (2012). All the allergologic, immunologic and microbiologic tests to evaluate the pathogenesis of wheals resulted negative. Therefore in June 2015 we decided to start therapy with Omalizumab while the patient kept on effective antiretroviral therapy with 310 cells/mm3 TCD4 counts and undetectable HIV viremia. After two monthly subcutaneuous injection of 150 mg of Omalizumab the patient had no more urticarial symptoms. UAS7 (Urticaria Activity Score over 7 days) and Cu-Q2oL (chronic urticarial quality of life questionnaire) dropped respectively to 14 from 42 and to 0 from 40 with increase of TCD4 counts while viral load remained undetectable. In November 2015, i.e. 4 months after the end of Omalizumab therapy, the patient was still asymptomatic with persistent effective immune-virological response to antiretroviral therapy. This case report confirms the excellent tolerability and efficacy of anti-IgE therapy in the treatment of spontaneous chronic urticarial even in an immunodepressed patient for HIV infection. Omalizumab therapy shows a remarkable clinical success and had no effect on peripheral TCD4 counts and HIV viral load.

  5. Between participation and consultation: The nuclear question in the Alliance policy of Germany between 1959 and 1966

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoppe, C.

    1993-01-01

    The study examines the leeway for action - with respect to both foreign and domestic policy available to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the nuclear question in the period from 1959 to 1966. This issue had, after the political and strategic changes occurring at the end of the 1950s, come increasingly to the fore of the Alliance policy pursued by the FRG. Thus the growing doubts as to the American nuclear guarantee exacerbated the strategic insecurity of the Germans, while the - both political and arms control related - cooperation with the Soviet Union demanded by the USA appeared to further remove the prospect of reunification. At the same time, the FRG saw itself, in view of the independent British and French nuclear programmes, placed in an inferior position, and its goal endangered of achieving more equality in foreign policy, which it had pursued by means of developing its armed forces and acceding to NATO. In the domestic arena, the nuclear question was linked to a controversy that placed the internal cohesion of the CDU/CSU coalition under great strain in the middle of the 1960s: the debate between those oriented to the ''Atlantic'' and the ''Gaullists''. (orig.) [de

  6. Acupuncture and pharmacopuncture are as effective as morphine or carprofen for postoperative analgesia in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luna, Stelio Pacca Loureiro; Martino, Irene Di; Lorena, Silvia Elaine Rodolfo de Sá; Capua, Maria Luisa Buffo de; Lima, Alfredo Feio da Maia; Santos, Bianca Paiva Costa Rodrigues dos; Brondani, Juliana Tabarelli; Vesce, Giancarlo

    2015-12-01

    To investigate the analgesic effect of acupuncture (AP) or micro-dose pharmacopuncture (PA), using carprofen or morphine, in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy (OHE). Thirty five dogs were randomly assigned to five groups after sedation with acepromazine IM: AP, 0.5 mg.kg(-1) of morphine subcutaneously (SC), 4 mg.kg(-1) of carprofen SC, and PA with 0.05 mg.kg(-1) of morphine or 0.4 mg.kg(-1) of carprofen. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with isoflurane. Pain was assessed after OHE by a blind observer for 24h, by dynamic visual analogue scale (DIVAS), Glasgow (CMPS-SF), Melbourne (UMPS) and Colorado University pain scale (CSU). Animals reaching 33% of the UMPS score received rescue analgesia with morphine IM. Non parametric data were analysed by Kruskal-Wallis or Friedman tests where applicable, followed by Dunn's test. Parametric data were analysed by two way ANOVA, followed by Tukey test. There were no differences among groups in number of rescue analgesia. Except for the DIVAS score where animals treated with morphine had the lowest score compared with AP and carprofen, at 1h after surgery, there were no other differences among groups. Acupuncture or pharmacopuncture were equally effective as morphine or carprofen to control postoperative pain in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

  7. DeepMirTar: a deep-learning approach for predicting human miRNA targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Ming; Cong, Peisheng; Zhang, Zhimin; Lu, Hongmei; Li, Tonghua

    2018-06-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that function in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by targeting messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Because the underlying mechanisms associated with miRNA binding to mRNA are not fully understood, a major challenge of miRNA studies involves the identification of miRNA-target sites on mRNA. In silico prediction of miRNA-target sites can expedite costly and time-consuming experimental work by providing the most promising miRNA-target-site candidates. In this study, we reported the design and implementation of DeepMirTar, a deep-learning-based approach for accurately predicting human miRNA targets at the site level. The predicted miRNA-target sites are those having canonical or non-canonical seed, and features, including high-level expert-designed, low-level expert-designed, and raw-data-level, were used to represent the miRNA-target site. Comparison with other state-of-the-art machine-learning methods and existing miRNA-target-prediction tools indicated that DeepMirTar improved overall predictive performance. DeepMirTar is freely available at https://github.com/Bjoux2/DeepMirTar_SdA. lith@tongji.edu.cn, hongmeilu@csu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  8. The neutral beam test facility cryopumping operation: preliminary analysis and design of the cryogenic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gravil, B.; Henry, D.; Cordier, J.J.; Hemsworth, R.; Van Houtte, D.

    2004-01-01

    The ITER neutral beam heating and current drive system is to be equipped with a cryosorption cryopump made up of 12 panels connected in parallel, refrigerated by 4.5 K 0.4 MPa supercritical helium. The pump is submitted to a non homogeneous flux of H 2 or D 2 molecules, and the absorbed flux varies from 3 Pa.m -3 .s -1 to 35 Pa.m -3 .s -1 . In the frame of the 'ITER first injector and test facility CSU-EFDA task' (TW3-THHN-IITF1), the ITER reference cryo-system and cryo-plant designs have been assessed and compared to optimised designs devoted to the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF). The 4.5 K cryo-panel, which has a mass of about 1000 kg, must be periodically regenerated up to 90 K and occasionally to 470 K. The cool-down time after regeneration depends strongly on the refrigeration capacity. Fast regeneration and cool-down of the cryo-panels are not considered a priority for the test facility operation, and an analysis of the consequences of a limited cold power refrigerator on the cooling down time has been carried out and will be discussed. This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of the NBTF cryo-plant and the associated process flow diagram. (authors)

  9. Use of a GCM to Explore Sampling Issues in Connection with Satellite Remote Sensing of the Earth Radiation Budget

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Laura D.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Randall, David A.; Branson, Mark D.; Gibson, Gary G.; Denn, Fredrick M.

    2000-01-01

    Collocated in time and space, top-of-the-atmosphere measurements of the Earth radiation budget (ERB) and cloudiness from passive scanning radiometers, and lidar- and radar-in-space measurements of multilayered cloud systems, are the required combination to improve our understanding of the role of clouds and radiation in climate. Experiments to fly multiple satellites "in formation" to measure simultaneously the radiative and optical properties of overlapping cloud systems are being designed. Because satellites carrying ERB experiments and satellites carrying lidars- or radars-in space have different orbital characteristics, the number of simultaneous measurements of radiation and clouds is reduced relative to the number of measurements made by each satellite independently. Monthly averaged coincident observations of radiation and cloudiness are biased when compared against more frequently sampled observations due, in particular, to the undersampling of their diurnal cycle, Using the Colorado State University General Circulation Model (CSU GCM), the goal of this study is to measure the impact of using simultaneous observations from the Earth Observing System (EOS) platform and companion satellites flying lidars or radars on monthly averaged diagnostics of longwave radiation, cloudiness, and its cloud optical properties. To do so, the hourly varying geographical distributions of coincident locations between the afternoon EOS (EOS-PM) orbit and the orbit of the ICESAT satellite set to fly at the altitude of 600 km, and between the EOS PM orbit and the orbits of the PICASSO satellite proposed to fly at the altitudes of 485 km (PICA485) or 705 km (PICA705), are simulated in the CSU GCM for a 60-month time period starting at the idealistic July 1, 2001, launch date. Monthly averaged diagnostics of the top-of-the-atmosphere, atmospheric, and surface longwave radiation budgets and clouds accumulated over grid boxes corresponding to satellite overpasses are compared against

  10. Manufacturing routes for stainless steel first wall panels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bucci, Ph.; Federzoni, L.; Le Marois, G.; Lorenzetto, P.

    2001-01-01

    Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) techniques are being considered in the European Home Team as one of the fabrication routes to produce ITER-FEAT primary first wall panels (PFWP). To demonstrate the potential and the availability of such techniques, material development, innovative mock-up fabrications and numerical modeling for the production of near-net shape components are currently been studied by CEA/CEREM in collaboration with the EFDA-CSU Garching. The aim of this work is to investigate the manufacturing feasibility of advanced PFWP concepts, with reduced pitch between FW cooling channels and reduced material thickness between the FW cooling channels and the front surface, in order to improve the thermal fatigue performance of these concepts. In order to select the best fabrication route, two different manufacturing methods based on the HIP process are being considered. The first one consists in manufacturing of the first wall panel by a HIP forming technique. Mock-ups are made of a serpentine tube expanded into a proper matrix. 2-D computer modeling has been performed to estimate the serpentine deformation. The second manufacturing route is based on the powder HIP technique. Mock-ups have been made of a serpentine embedded into SS powder. In both cases, the objective was to obtain the minimum pitch between the stainless steel (SS) tubes and between the SS tubes and the front face

  11. Interactions: A Study of Office Reference Statistics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naomi Lederer

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective – The purpose of this study was to analyze the data from a referencestatistics-gathering mechanism at Colorado State University (CSU Libraries. It aimedprimarily to better understand patron behaviours, particularly in an academic librarywith no reference desk.Methods – The researchers examined data from 2007 to 2010 of College LiaisonLibrarians’ consultations with patrons. Data were analyzed by various criteria,including patron type, contact method, and time spent with the patron. Theinformation was examined in the aggregate, meaning all librarians combined, andthen specifically from the Liberal Arts and Business subject areas.Results – The researchers found that the number of librarian reference consultationsis substantial. Referrals to librarians from CSU’s Morgan Library’s one public servicedesk have declined over time. The researchers also found that graduate students arethe primary patrons and email is the preferred contact method overall.Conclusion – The researchers found that interactions with patrons in librarians’ offices – either in person or virtually – remain substantial even without a traditional reference desk. The data suggest that librarians’ efforts at marketing themselves to departments, colleges, and patrons have been successful. This study will be of value to reference, subject specialist, and public service librarians, and library administrators as they consider ways to quantify their work, not only for administrative purposes, but in order to follow trends and provide services and staffing accordingly.

  12. Computational identification of binding energy hot spots in protein-RNA complexes using an ensemble approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Yuliang; Wang, Zixiang; Zhan, Weihua; Deng, Lei

    2018-05-01

    Identifying RNA-binding residues, especially energetically favored hot spots, can provide valuable clues for understanding the mechanisms and functional importance of protein-RNA interactions. Yet, limited availability of experimentally recognized energy hot spots in protein-RNA crystal structures leads to the difficulties in developing empirical identification approaches. Computational prediction of RNA-binding hot spot residues is still in its infant stage. Here, we describe a computational method, PrabHot (Prediction of protein-RNA binding hot spots), that can effectively detect hot spot residues on protein-RNA binding interfaces using an ensemble of conceptually different machine learning classifiers. Residue interaction network features and new solvent exposure characteristics are combined together and selected for classification with the Boruta algorithm. In particular, two new reference datasets (benchmark and independent) have been generated containing 107 hot spots from 47 known protein-RNA complex structures. In 10-fold cross-validation on the training dataset, PrabHot achieves promising performances with an AUC score of 0.86 and a sensitivity of 0.78, which are significantly better than that of the pioneer RNA-binding hot spot prediction method HotSPRing. We also demonstrate the capability of our proposed method on the independent test dataset and gain a competitive advantage as a result. The PrabHot webserver is freely available at http://denglab.org/PrabHot/. leideng@csu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  13. The future energy supply in Germany in a common Europe with special emphasis on the role of nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopp, G.

    2003-01-01

    The decision by the red-green federal government to opt out of the use of nuclear power has considerable consequences for the power industry and the national economy of Germany. In addition, there are additional burdens resulting from the Renewable Energies Act and the Cogeneration Act. Besides economic aspects, there are ecological benefits to be considered in favor of nuclear power. In addition to renewable energy sources, it is one of the important sources of energy which are free from CO 2 emissions. In opt-out decision also jeopardizes the role of Germany as a partner in international cooperation, with an acknowledged standard of nuclear know-how and a cutting-edge position in technical safety. The approaches towards a future energy supply system were put into specific terms together with the CDU/CSU within the activities of the parliamentary committee of inquiry on 'sustainable Energy Supply Under Conditions of Globalization and Deregulation'. The growing dependence on external energy sources, and the goals of climate protection, are other important tasks of future energy policy within the European framework. The Green Book by the EU Commission constitutes a remarkable basis for discussion in this respect. Current problems connected with nuclear power should be discussed seriously in order for nuclear power to continue successfully to contribute to energy supply in Europe. (orig.) [de

  14. The European Nb3Sn advanced strand development programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vostner, A.; Salpietro, E.

    2005-01-01

    Strands relevant for fusion with high critical current densities and moderate hysteresis losses were developed and already produced on industrial scale. Based on these achievements EFDA-CSU Garching has launched a Nb 3 Sn strand development and procurement action inside Europe in order to assess the current status of the Nb 3 Sn strand production capability. All six addressed companies have replied positively to the strand R and D programme which includes the three major Nb 3 Sn production techniques namely the bronze, internal-tin and powder-in-tube (PIT) route. According to the strand requirements for the ITER TF conductor a critical current density of 800 A/mm 2 (at 12 T, 4.2 K and 10 μV/m) and overall strand hysteresis losses below 500 kJ/m 3 have been specified as the minimum guaranteed strand performance. The second major objective of this programme is to motivate the strand manufacturers to develop and design high performance Nb 3 Sn strands optimised for the ITER conductor. For this purpose, a target critical current density of 1100 A/mm 2 has been added to the specification. This paper describes the strategy behind the strand development programme, the actual status of the strand production as well as first preliminary results obtained from the strand suppliers

  15. Comparison of Directionally Solidified Samples Solidified Terrestrially and Aboard the International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angart, S.; Lauer, M.; Tewari, S. N.; Grugel, R. N.; Poirier, D. R.

    2014-01-01

    This article reports research that has been carried out under the aegis of NASA as part of a collaboration between ESA and NASA for solidification experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). The focus has been on the effect of convection on the microstructural evolution and macrosegregation in hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys during directional solidification (DS). Terrestrial DS-experiments have been carried out at Cleveland State University (CSU) and under microgravity on the International Space Station (ISS). The thermal processing-history of the experiments is well defined for both the terrestrially processed samples and the ISS-processed samples. As of this writing, two dendritic metrics was measured: primary dendrite arm spacings and primary dendrite trunk diameters. We have observed that these dendrite-metrics of two samples grown in the microgravity environment show good agreements with models based on diffusion controlled growth and diffusion controlled ripening, respectively. The gravity-driven convection (i.e., thermosolutal convection) in terrestrially grown samples has the effect of decreasing the primary dendrite arm spacings and causes macrosegregation. Dendrite trunk diameters also show differences between the earth- and space-grown samples. In order to process DS-samples aboard the ISS, the dendritic seed crystals were partially remelted in a stationary thermal gradient before the DS was carried out. Microstructural changes and macrosegregation effects during this period are described and have modeled.

  16. Ontological function annotation of long non-coding RNAs through hierarchical multi-label classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jingpu; Zhang, Zuping; Wang, Zixiang; Liu, Yuting; Deng, Lei

    2018-05-15

    Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an enormous collection of functional non-coding RNAs. Over the past decades, a large number of novel lncRNA genes have been identified. However, most of the lncRNAs remain function uncharacterized at present. Computational approaches provide a new insight to understand the potential functional implications of lncRNAs. Considering that each lncRNA may have multiple functions and a function may be further specialized into sub-functions, here we describe NeuraNetL2GO, a computational ontological function prediction approach for lncRNAs using hierarchical multi-label classification strategy based on multiple neural networks. The neural networks are incrementally trained level by level, each performing the prediction of gene ontology (GO) terms belonging to a given level. In NeuraNetL2GO, we use topological features of the lncRNA similarity network as the input of the neural networks and employ the output results to annotate the lncRNAs. We show that NeuraNetL2GO achieves the best performance and the overall advantage in maximum F-measure and coverage on the manually annotated lncRNA2GO-55 dataset compared to other state-of-the-art methods. The source code and data are available at http://denglab.org/NeuraNetL2GO/. leideng@csu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  17. The use of meteorological station in Science Park during May floods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marković-Topalović, Tatjana; Božić, Mirjana; Stojićević, Goran

    2015-04-01

    A lot of educators and education process researchers have noticed and pointed out the need of broader learning space than a mere classroom, in learning physics and natural sciences. Many cognitive installations and didactic patterns for an extended school space have been proposed and implemented in schools [1, 2] and outdoor science parks [3]. From their side, school designers have argued that the learning environments can be more educationally and optimally useful if the architecture of the built, natural and cultural environment would be used as a teaching tool [4]. Through the merge of these two tendencies the concept of a school as a three-dimensional textbook was created [2]. The growing team of educators and researchers in Serbia [2] has been promoting this idea among students, teachers, and cultural and educational authorities, ranging from individual schools and municipality to state level, with emphasis on the school buildings investors and public. The net of schools and educational institutions has been implementing this concept [5]. Their activities have attracted the attention of newspapers and e-media [5]. The Science Park in Šabac, developed in the town in the vicinity of Belgrade, was completed in 2010. The Science Park is a part of the Center for professional advancement of educators (CSU) [6] that is surrounded by the eight-year Primary school, kindergarten, water tower and the church. Twenty-six interactive installations are connected to teaching units from all science subjects. For example: The periodic system of elements was placed on the building facade, the structure of graphene, sodium-chloride crystal structure, planetary model of atom (Chemistry) Pythagorean theorem, pyramid related to Tales doubt, golden ratio (Mathematics); model of DNA (Biology); globe-DING, educative fountain, brachistochrone, Newton's pendulum (Physics), the Greenwich meridian replica, sundial and meteorological station (Earth's science). During May 2014, when big

  18. Identification of Protein Complexes Using Weighted PageRank-Nibble Algorithm and Core-Attachment Structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Wei; Wang, Jianxin; Zhao, Bihai; Wang, Lusheng

    2015-01-01

    Protein complexes play a significant role in understanding the underlying mechanism of most cellular functions. Recently, many researchers have explored computational methods to identify protein complexes from protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. One group of researchers focus on detecting local dense subgraphs which correspond to protein complexes by considering local neighbors. The drawback of this kind of approach is that the global information of the networks is ignored. Some methods such as Markov Clustering algorithm (MCL), PageRank-Nibble are proposed to find protein complexes based on random walk technique which can exploit the global structure of networks. However, these methods ignore the inherent core-attachment structure of protein complexes and treat adjacent node equally. In this paper, we design a weighted PageRank-Nibble algorithm which assigns each adjacent node with different probability, and propose a novel method named WPNCA to detect protein complex from PPI networks by using weighted PageRank-Nibble algorithm and core-attachment structure. Firstly, WPNCA partitions the PPI networks into multiple dense clusters by using weighted PageRank-Nibble algorithm. Then the cores of these clusters are detected and the rest of proteins in the clusters will be selected as attachments to form the final predicted protein complexes. The experiments on yeast data show that WPNCA outperforms the existing methods in terms of both accuracy and p-value. The software for WPNCA is available at "http://netlab.csu.edu.cn/bioinfomatics/weipeng/WPNCA/download.html".

  19. Liposomes containing cationic dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium bromide: formulation, quality control, and lipofection efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dass, Crispin R; Walker, Todd L; Burton, Mark A

    2002-01-01

    This article describes a novel, simple, and relatively inexpensive method to prepare cationic liposomes using an ethanol injection/pressure extrusion method. The study also demonstrated that binding erythrosine dye to cationic liposomes results in a shift of the absorption maximum of the dye from 528 nm to 549 nm at pH 4.25, allowing quantification and visualization of these vesicles. In addition, a relatively simple Ficoll-based gradient centrifugation method for separation of lipoplexes from unbound molecules is presented. Laboratory-formulated dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium bromide (DDAB) containing liposomes were just as efficient in complexing nucleic acids as commercially available types, and binding increased as the positive to neutral lipid ratio was increased. Transfection efficiency of the DDAB-containing liposomes increased as the ratio of cationic to neutral lipid was increased from 1:1 to 4:1 with either PtdChol or DOPE as the neutral lipid. A concomitant increase in cytotoxicity of CSU-SA1 cancer cells was noted as the ratio of positive to neutral lipid of the liposomes was increased. Nevertheless, our present study showed that the 2:1 liposome is a good choice since it delivers functional plasmids at a comparable rate to commercial liposome formulations, has similar toxicities to the less harmful commercial liposomes, and is at least 1000-fold more economical to prepare inhouse, a major factor to be considered in preclinical and clinical studies with these carriers.

  20. Modelling study of sea breezes in a complex coastal environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, X.-M.; Steyn, D. G.

    This study investigates a mesoscale modelling of sea breezes blowing from a narrow strait into the lower Fraser valley (LFV), British Columbia, Canada, during the period of 17-20 July, 1985. Without a nudging scheme in the inner grid, the CSU-RAMS model produces satisfactory wind and temperature fields during the daytime. In comparison with observation, the agreement indices for surface wind and temperature during daytime reach about 0.6 and 0.95, respectively, while the agreement indices drop to 0.4 at night. In the vertical, profiles of modelled wind and temperature generally agree with tethersonde data collected on 17 and 19 July. The study demonstrates that in late afternoon, the model does not capture the advection of an elevated warm layer which originated from land surfaces outside of the inner grid. Mixed layer depth (MLD) is calculated from model output of turbulent kinetic energy field. Comparison of MLD results with observation shows that the method generates a reliable MLD during the daytime, and that accurate estimates of MLD near the coast require the correct simulation of wind conditions over the sea. The study has shown that for a complex coast environment like the LFV, a reliable modelling study depends not only on local surface fluxes but also on elevated layers transported from remote land surfaces. This dependence is especially important when local forcings are weak, for example, during late afternoon and at night.

  1. Assessing variability in Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) XCO2 using high spatial resolution color slices and other retrieval parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrelli, A. J.; Taylor, T.; O'Dell, C.; Cronk, H. Q.; Eldering, A.; Crisp, D.

    2017-12-01

    The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) measures reflected sunlight in the Oxygen A-band (0.76 μm), Weak CO2 band (1.61 μm) and Strong CO2 band (2.06 μm) with resolving powers 18,000, 19,500 and 19,500, respectively. Soundings are collected at 3Hz, yielding 8 contiguous cities, the variability of XCO2 over small scales, e.g., tens of kilometers, is expected to be less than 1 ppm. However, deviations on the order of +/- 2 ppm, or more, are often observed in the production Version 7 (B7) data product. We hypothesize that most of this variability is spurious, with contributions from both retrieval errors and undetected cloud and aerosol contamination. The contiguous nature of the OCO-2 spatial sampling allows for analysis of the variability in XCO2 and correlation with variables, such as the full spatial resolution "color slices" and other retrieved parameters. Color slices avoid the on-board averaging across the detector focal plane array, providing increased spatial information compared to the nominal spectra. This work explores the new B8 production data set using MODIS visible imagery from the CSU Vistool to provide visual context to the OCO-2 parameters. The large volume of data that has been collected since September 2014 allows for statistical analysis of parameters in relation to XCO2 variability. Some detailed case studies are presented.

  2. Emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii producing OXA-23 Carbapenemase in Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-M. Rolain

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of our study was to describe the molecular support of carbapenem resistance from randomly selected clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant (MDR Acinetobacter baumannii as a pilot study from the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC, Qatar. Results of our report will be used to study carbapenemases using molecular techniques in all isolated MDR A. baumannii. Forty-eight MDR A. baumannii were randomly selected from isolates preserved at HMC. Identification of all isolates was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Antibiotic resistance was tested phenotypically by Phoenix and confirmed by Etest. The molecular support of carbapenemases (blaOXA-23, blaOXA-24, blaOXA-58, blaNDM was investigated by real-time PCR. The epidemiologic relatedness of the isolates was verified by phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of CsuE and blaOXA-51 genes. All 48 isolates were identified as A. baumannii and were confirmed to be resistant to most antibiotics, especially meropenem, imipenems, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, amikacin, gentamicin and most of the β-lactams; they were sensitive to colistin. All the isolates were positive for blaOXA-23 and negative for the other tested carbapenemase genes. Clonality analysis demonstrated that different lineages were actually circulating in Qatar; and we suggest that an outbreak occurred in the medical intensive care unit of HMC between 2011 and 2012. Here we report the emergence of MDR A. baumannii producing the carbapenemase OXA-23 in Qatar.

  3. Performance and Metastability of CdTe Solar Cells with a Te Back-Contact Buffer Layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Andrew

    Thin-film CdTe photovoltaics are quickly maturing into a viable clean-energy solution through demonstration of competitive costs and performance stability with existing energy sources. Over the last half decade, CdTe solar technology has achieved major gains in performance; however, there are still aspects that can be improved to progress toward their theoretical maximum efficiency. Perhaps equally valuable as high photovoltaic efficiency and a low levelized cost of energy, is device reliability. Understanding the root causes for changes in performance is essential for accomplishing long-term stability. One area for potential performance enhancement is the back contact of the CdTe device. This research incorporated a thin-film Te-buffer layer into the contact structure, between the CdTe and contact metal. The device performance and characteristics of many different back contact configurations were rigorously studied. CdTe solar cells fabricated with the Te-buffer contact showed short-circuit current densities and open-circuit voltages that were on par with the traditional back-contacts used at CSU. However, the Te-buffer contact typically produced 2% larger fill-factors on average, leading to greater conversation efficiency. Furthermore, using the Te buffer allowed for incorporation of 50% less Cu, which is used for p-type doping but is also known to decrease lifetime and stability. This resulted in an additional 3% fill-factor gain with no change in other parameters compared to the standard-Cu treated device. In order to better understand the physical mechanisms of the Te-buffer contact, electrical and material properties of the Te layer were extracted and used to construct a simple energy band diagram. The Te layer was found to be highly p-type (>1018 cm-3) and possess a positive valence-band offset of 0.35-0.40 eV with CdTe. An existing simulation model incorporating the Te-layer properties was implemented and validated by comparing simulated results of Cd

  4. Lightning mapping and dual-polarization radar observations of electrified storms at Langmuir Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krehbiel, P. R.; Hyland, P. T.; Edens, H. E.; Rison, W.

    2013-12-01

    Observations being made at Langmuir Laboratory with the NM Tech Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and the University of Oklahoma ARRC PX-1000 dual polarization X-band radar strongly confirm and expand upon the normal polarity tripolar electrical structure of central New Mexico storms. This is in sharp contrast with the anomalously electrified storm structures observed in northern Colorado during and subsequent to the 2012 DC3 field campaign, as seen with North Colorado LMA and CSU CHILL dual-polarization radar observations. In this presentation we focus on the New Mexico observations, and several modes in which the tripolar structure appears initially to develop and evolve with time. Central New Mexico storms are often prolific producers of negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes, but rarely produce positive CGs. By contrast, many or most north Colorado storms are CG-deficient, with the relatively few CG discharges being of predominantly positive polarity. In addition, NM storms commonly produce bolt-from-the-blue (BFB) negative CGs, whereas anomalously electrified Colorado storms produce none. The occurrence of BFBs is indicative of a relatively weak lower positive charge region, while the occurrence of normal downward -CGs is indicative of a somewhat stronger lower positive charge. The lack of -CGs in Colorado storms results from lower positive charge being a dominant storm charge that is elevated in altitude. These and other basic features of the electrically activity of storms, coupled with dual polarization and Doppler radar observations of hydrometeor types and motions, are leading to a better understanding of the storm electrification processes.

  5. The success of acinetobacter species; genetic, metabolic and virulence attributes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton Y Peleg

    Full Text Available An understanding of why certain Acinetobacter species are more successful in causing nosocomial infections, transmission and epidemic spread in healthcare institutions compared with other species is lacking. We used genomic, phenotypic and virulence studies to identify differences between Acinetobacter species. Fourteen strains representing nine species were examined. Genomic analysis of six strains showed that the A. baumannii core genome contains many genes important for diverse metabolism and survival in the host. Most of the A. baumannii core genes were also present in one or more of the less clinically successful species. In contrast, when the accessory genome of an individual A. baumannii strain was compared to a strain of a less successful species (A. calcoaceticus RUH2202, many operons with putative virulence function were found to be present only in the A. baumannii strain, including the csu operon, the acinetobactin chromosomal cluster, and bacterial defence mechanisms. Phenotype microarray analysis showed that compared to A. calcoaceticus (RUH2202, A. baumannii ATCC 19606(T was able to utilise nitrogen sources more effectively and was more tolerant to pH, osmotic and antimicrobial stress. Virulence differences were also observed, with A. baumannii ATCC 19606(T, A. pittii SH024, and A. nosocomialis RUH2624 persisting and forming larger biofilms on human skin than A. calcoaceticus. A. baumannii ATCC 19606(T and A. pittii SH024 were also able to survive in a murine thigh infection model, whereas the other two species were eradicated. The current study provides important insights into the elucidation of differences in clinical relevance among Acinetobacter species.

  6. Walking out of the nuclear state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haug, H.J.

    1988-01-01

    Wackersdorf and Gorleben, these are two major stations on the way into the nuclear state. But resistance is gaining strength. More and more people - and not only from affected areas - refuse to accept a development that is a threat to their health, their home, and democracy. Various Christian groups, supported by local citizens' initiatives, have organised a nine-week protest march through the Federal Republic of Germany, intended as a parallel to the 'way of the Cross', uttering protest against the nuclear threat and concern about creation at every station on the way from the site of the planned nuclear waste reprocessing plant at Wackersdorf in Bavaria to the site of the waste repository at Gorleben in Lower Saxony, making a route of more than 900 kilometers. The author of the book describes the experiences of the marching people, their hopes and their fears. His report explains how traditionally minded, conservative people of the Oberpfalz region became self-conscious, alert, disobedient citizens who no longer trust in the policy of appeasement, and how brutal police actions destroyed their trust in justice and the rule of law. The author presents the feeling of the citizens in their own words, and reports in a separate chapter about the documentation film 'Spaltprozesse' which shows the development and events that made even convinced CSU adherents change their mind and develop in them a different understanding of the political situation. Another chapter deals with the well-known Robert Jungk and the legal proceedings commenced against him. (orig.) [de

  7. NSF Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) in support of science and education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baeuerle, B.; Rockwell, A.

    2012-12-01

    Researchers, students and teachers who want to understand and describe the Earth System require high quality observations of the atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere. Making these observations requires state-of-the-art instruments and systems, often carried on highly capable research platforms. To support this need of the geosciences community, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) provides multi-user national facilities through its Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) Program at no cost to the investigator. These facilities, which include research aircraft, radars, lidars, and surface and sounding systems, receive NSF financial support and are eligible for deployment funding. The facilities are managed and operated by five LAOF partner organizations: the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); Colorado State University (CSU); the University of Wyoming (UWY); the Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR); and the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS). These observational facilities are available on a competitive basis to all qualified researchers from US universities, requiring the platforms and associated services to carry out various research objectives. The deployment of all facilities is driven by scientific merit, capabilities of a specific facility to carry out the proposed observations, and scheduling for the requested time. The process for considering requests and setting priorities is determined on the basis of the complexity of a field campaign. The poster will describe available observing facilities and associated services, and explain the request process researchers have to follow to secure access to these platforms for scientific as well as educational deployments. NSF/NCAR GV Aircraft

  8. Integrated Decision Tools for Sustainable Watershed/Ground Water and Crop Health using Predictive Weather, Remote Sensing, and Irrigation Decision Tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, A. S.; Andales, A.; McGovern, C.; Smith, G. E. B.; David, O.; Fletcher, S. J.

    2017-12-01

    US agricultural and Govt. lands have a unique co-dependent relationship, particularly in the Western US. More than 30% of all irrigated US agricultural output comes from lands sustained by the Ogallala Aquifer in the western Great Plains. Six US Forest Service National Grasslands reside within the aquifer region, consisting of over 375,000 ha (3,759 km2) of USFS managed lands. Likewise, National Forest lands are the headwaters to many intensive agricultural regions. Our Ogallala Aquifer team is enhancing crop irrigation decision tools with predictive weather and remote sensing data to better manage water for irrigated crops within these regions. An integrated multi-model software framework is used to link irrigation decision tools, resulting in positive management benefits on natural water resources. Teams and teams-of-teams can build upon these multi-disciplinary multi-faceted modeling capabilities. For example, the CSU Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships program has formed a new multidisciplinary team that will address "Rural Wealth Creation" focusing on the many integrated links between economic, agricultural production and management, natural resource availabilities, and key social aspects of govt. policy recommendations. By enhancing tools like these with predictive weather and other related data (like in situ measurements, hydrologic models, remotely sensed data sets, and (in the near future) linking to agro-economic and life cycle assessment models) this work demonstrates an integrated data-driven future vision of inter-meshed dynamic systems that can address challenging multi-system problems. We will present the present state of the work and opportunities for future involvement.

  9. The Success of Acinetobacter Species; Genetic, Metabolic and Virulence Attributes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peleg, Anton Y.; de Breij, Anna; Adams, Mark D.; Cerqueira, Gustavo M.; Mocali, Stefano; Galardini, Marco; Nibbering, Peter H.; Earl, Ashlee M.; Ward, Doyle V.; Paterson, David L.; Seifert, Harald; Dijkshoorn, Lenie

    2012-01-01

    An understanding of why certain Acinetobacter species are more successful in causing nosocomial infections, transmission and epidemic spread in healthcare institutions compared with other species is lacking. We used genomic, phenotypic and virulence studies to identify differences between Acinetobacter species. Fourteen strains representing nine species were examined. Genomic analysis of six strains showed that the A. baumannii core genome contains many genes important for diverse metabolism and survival in the host. Most of the A. baumannii core genes were also present in one or more of the less clinically successful species. In contrast, when the accessory genome of an individual A. baumannii strain was compared to a strain of a less successful species (A. calcoaceticus RUH2202), many operons with putative virulence function were found to be present only in the A. baumannii strain, including the csu operon, the acinetobactin chromosomal cluster, and bacterial defence mechanisms. Phenotype microarray analysis showed that compared to A. calcoaceticus (RUH2202), A. baumannii ATCC 19606T was able to utilise nitrogen sources more effectively and was more tolerant to pH, osmotic and antimicrobial stress. Virulence differences were also observed, with A. baumannii ATCC 19606T, A. pittii SH024, and A. nosocomialis RUH2624 persisting and forming larger biofilms on human skin than A. calcoaceticus. A. baumannii ATCC 19606T and A. pittii SH024 were also able to survive in a murine thigh infection model, whereas the other two species were eradicated. The current study provides important insights into the elucidation of differences in clinical relevance among Acinetobacter species. PMID:23144699

  10. Arctic tundra shrub invasion and soot deposition: Consequences for spring snowmelt and near-surface air temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strack, John E.; Pielke, Roger A.; Liston, Glen E.

    2007-12-01

    Invasive shrubs and soot pollution both have the potential to alter the surface energy balance and timing of snow melt in the Arctic. Shrubs reduce the amount of snow lost to sublimation on the tundra during the winter leading to a deeper end-of-winter snowpack. The shrubs also enhance the absorption of energy by the snowpack during the melt season by converting incoming solar radiation to longwave radiation and sensible heat. Soot deposition lowers the albedo of the snow, allowing it to more effectively absorb incoming solar radiation and thus melt faster. This study uses the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System version 4.4 (CSU-RAMS 4.4), equipped with an enhanced snow model, to investigate the effects of shrub encroachment and soot deposition on the atmosphere and snowpack in the Kuparuk Basin of Alaska during the May-June melt period. The results of the simulations suggest that a complete invasion of the tundra by shrubs leads to a 2.2°C warming of 3 m air temperatures and a 108 m increase in boundary layer depth during the melt period. The snow-free date also occurred 11 d earlier despite having a larger initial snowpack. The results also show that a decrease in the snow albedo of 0.1, owing to soot pollution, caused the snow-free date to occur 5 d earlier. The soot pollution caused a 1.0°C warming of 3 m air temperatures and a 25 m average deepening of the boundary layer.

  11. Halftime - a balance in matters nuclear of the grand coalition; Halbzeit - Bilanz der Grossen Koalition in Sachen Kernenergie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heller, W.

    2007-10-15

    On November 11, 2005, the coalition partners, CDU/CSU and SPD, signed the agreement establishing a coalition in the German federal parliament under the heading of ''Together for Germany''. Among other things, this raised the question of what would happen in the fields of energy policy and nuclear power. After 2 years of a grand coalition, it is time to draw some interim conclusions. The coalition agreement contains statements to the effect that energy policy means fundamental economic, structural and climate policies, and that secure, low-cost, non-polluting energy supplies are elementary prerequisites of a modern, capable national economy. A sustainable overall energy policy concept should be based on a balanced energy mix. This overall concept, one of the results of ''energy summit'' talks with Federal Chancellor Merkel, was announced for the end of 2007. The 3 energy summit discussions with Federal Chancellor Merkel deliberately avoided the subject of nuclear power. There is no debate about the implications of nuclear energy. This in no way improved the status of nuclear power in Germany. What remains is hope for the second half of this government's term of office. The beginning of that term is marked by the McKinsey study, initiated by the Federation of German Industries (BDI), on ''Cost and Potential of Avoiding Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Germany,'' which says that operating German nuclear power plants for 60 or even 45 years would result in a CO2 avoidance potential for 2020 which would be approximately 90 million tons higher, and in avoidance costs lower by 4.5 billion euro per year. (orig.)

  12. Molecular Analysis and Expression of bap Gene in Biofilm-Forming Multi-Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omid Azizi

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is commonly resistant to nearly all antibiotics due to presence of antibiotic resistance genes and biofilm formation. In this study we determined the presence of certain antibiotic-resistance genes associated with biofilm production and the influence of low iron concentration on expression of the biofilm-associated protein gene (bap in development of biofilm among multi-drug-resistant A. baumannii (MDRAB. Methods: Sixty-five MDRAB isolates from clinical samples were collected. Molecular typing was carried out by random amplified polymorphism DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR. Biofilm formation was assayed by the microtiter method. Results: The sequence of bap was determined and deposited in the GenBank database (accession no. KR080550.1. Expression of bap in the presence of low iron was analyzed by relative quantitative real time PCR (rqRT-PCR. Nearly half of the isolates belonged to RAPD-types A and B remaining were either small clusters or singleton. The results of biofilm formation revealed that 23 (35.4%, 18 (27.7%, 13 (20%, and 11 (16.9% of the isolates had strong, moderate, weak, and no biofilm activities, respectively. ompA and csuE genes were detected in all, while bap and blaPER-1 were detected in 43 (66% and 42 (64% of the isolates that showed strong and moderate biofilm activities (p ≤ 0.05, respectively. Analysis of bap expression by rqRT-PCR revealed five isolates with four-fold bap overexpression in the presence of low iron concentration (20 μM. Conclusion: The results suggest that bap overexpression may influence biofilm formation in presence of low iron concentration.

  13. Resorting to the Federal Constitutional Court against the atomic energy act consequences of events in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, Horst

    2011-01-01

    When the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition, which had won the federal elections, prepared the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act as announced in the election campaign, i.e. extend the operating life of nuclear power plants in Germany, the political opposition considered resorting to the Federal Constitutional Court. Several legal opinions were commissioned by federal states and other opposition groups with the intention, above all, to obtain confirmation of the need for consent to any plant life extension. Private persons filed complaints for unconstitutionality against the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act. Several federal states followed suit by filing proceedings for judicial review of the constitutionality of the amendment because of the missing consent of the Federal Council, and more than 210 Members of Parliament of SPD and Alliance 90/the Greens filed for judicial review of constitutionality listing as violations of the Constitution the missing approval by the Federal Council, insufficient safety standards, and the reduction of safety requirements. The Federal Constitutional Court has not yet continued proceedings by requesting comments mainly from the federal government, the federal states, and the nuclear power plant operators. What consequences, if any, are drawn from the events in Japan after the earthquake and the tsunami of March 11, 2011 for the operation of German nuclear power plants and worldwide cannot yet be assessed. In Germany, the anti-nuclear debate was triggered immediately in the absence of any exact knowledge of technical safety events and causes at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. International reactions in politics or by competent authorities turned out to be less pointed than in Germany. (orig.)

  14. Berlin and nuclear power. Courage to assume responsibility?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knorr, Juergen

    2009-01-01

    On October 28, 2009, the Kerntechnische Gesellschaft e.V. (KTG) awarded to Professor Dr. Juergen Knorr its 32 nd honorary membership in recognition of his untiring commitment and his decades of work for the peaceful uses of, and research into, nuclear power in Germany. Between 1992 and 2006 the scientist, now retired, held the Nuclear Power Technology chair at the Technical University of Dresden and, temporarily, also headed the university's Institute for Power Technology at the same time. From 1990, Professor Knorr was a member of the Executive Board of the Kerntechnische Gesellschaft; he was KTG Chairman between 1993 and 2000. At the same time and beyond, until 2005, Professor Knorr was a member also of the Board of the Deutsches Atomforum. At the awarding ceremony in Berlin on October 28, KTG Chairman Dr. Helmut Blaesig welcomed the fact that, on the basis of the coalition agreement of CDU, CSU and FDP, the new federal government 'had clearly recognized the advantages of nuclear power.' It appreciated the safety of German plants and, in addition to the non-polluting characteristics due to CO 2 emissions saved and the security of supply, also the economic benefit of electricity generation from nuclear power. This supported the German economy in a situation which continued to be difficult. In his vote of thanks for the 32 nd honorary membership of KTG, Professor Knorr emphasized what he considered a key expectation of the re-evaluation of nuclear power by the new federal government: Creating framework conditions for a societal consensus that fair competition among conventional, renewable and nuclear power technologies will give rise to an optimum mix enabling sustainable development to be achieved. (orig.)

  15. Successes, Challenges and Lessons Learned for Recruiting, Engaging and Preparing a Diverse Student Population for 21st Century Careers in Ocean Sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarkston, B. E.; Garza, C.

    2015-12-01

    Diversity within the Ocean Sciences workforce is still underperforming relative to other scientific disciplines, a problem that will be only be solved by recruiting, engaging and retaining a more diverse student population. The Monterey Bay Regional Ocean Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates program is housed at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), an HSI with strong connections to multiple regional community colleges and other Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) in the CSU system. From this unique position, 11 sophomore and junior-level undergraduate students are recruited per year from academic institutions where research opportunities in STEM are limited and from groups historically underrepresented in the Ocean Sciences, including women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans. During the program, students engage in a 10-week original research project guided by a faculty research mentor in one of four themes: Oceanography, Marine Biology and Ecology, Ocean Engineering, and Marine Geology. In addition to research, students engage in rigorous weekly professional development workshops in which they practice critical thinking, ethical decision-making, peer review, writing and oral communication skills. These workshops include tangible products such as an NSF-style proposal paper, Statement of Purpose and CV modelled for the SACNAS Travel Award Application, research abstract, scientific report and oral presentation. To help retain students in Ocean Sciences, students build community during the REU by living together in the CSUMB dormitories; post-REU, students stay connected through an online facebook group, LinkedIn page and group webinars. To date, the REU has supported 22 students in two cohorts (2014, 2015) and here we present successes, challenges and lessons learned for a program designed to prepare students for 21st century Ocean Science careers.

  16. Coupled fvGCM-GCE Modeling System, 3D Cloud-Resolving Model and Cloud Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Wei-Kuo

    2005-01-01

    Recent GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) model comparison projects have indicated that cloud- resolving models (CRMs) agree with observations better than traditional single-column models in simulating various types of clouds and cloud systems from different geographic locations. Current and future NASA satellite programs can provide cloud, precipitation, aerosol and other data at very fine spatial and temporal scales. It requires a coupled global circulation model (GCM) and cloud-scale model (termed a super-parameterization or multi-scale modeling framework, MMF) to use these satellite data to improve the understanding of the physical processes that are responsible for the variation in global and regional climate and hydrological systems. The use of a GCM will enable global coverage, and the use of a CRM will allow for better and more sophisticated physical parameterization. NASA satellite and field campaign cloud related datasets can provide initial conditions as well as validation for both the MMF and CRMs. A seed fund is available at NASA Goddard to build a MMF based on the 2D Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model and the Goddard finite volume general circulation model (fvGCM). A prototype MMF in being developed and production runs will be conducted at the beginning of 2005. In this talk, I will present: (1) A brief review on GCE model and its applications on precipitation processes, ( 2 ) The Goddard MMF and the major difference between two existing MMFs (CSU MMF and Goddard MMF), (3) A cloud library generated by Goddard MMF, and 3D GCE model, and (4) A brief discussion on the GCE model on developing a global cloud simulator.

  17. Neural Networks for Modeling and Control of Particle Accelerators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edelen, A. L.; Biedron, S. G.; Chase, B. E.; Edstrom, D.; Milton, S. V.; Stabile, P.

    2016-04-01

    Particle accelerators are host to myriad nonlinear and complex physical phenomena. They often involve a multitude of interacting systems, are subject to tight performance demands, and should be able to run for extended periods of time with minimal interruptions. Often times, traditional control techniques cannot fully meet these requirements. One promising avenue is to introduce machine learning and sophisticated control techniques inspired by artificial intelligence, particularly in light of recent theoretical and practical advances in these fields. Within machine learning and artificial intelligence, neural networks are particularly well-suited to modeling, control, and diagnostic analysis of complex, nonlinear, and time-varying systems, as well as systems with large parameter spaces. Consequently, the use of neural network-based modeling and control techniques could be of significant benefit to particle accelerators. For the same reasons, particle accelerators are also ideal test-beds for these techniques. Many early attempts to apply neural networks to particle accelerators yielded mixed results due to the relative immaturity of the technology for such tasks. The purpose of this paper is to re-introduce neural networks to the particle accelerator community and report on some work in neural network control that is being conducted as part of a dedicated collaboration between Fermilab and Colorado State University (CSU). We describe some of the challenges of particle accelerator control, highlight recent advances in neural network techniques, discuss some promising avenues for incorporating neural networks into particle accelerator control systems, and describe a neural network-based control system that is being developed for resonance control of an RF electron gun at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility, including initial experimental results from a benchmark controller.

  18. Halftime - a balance in matters nuclear of the grand coalition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heller, W.

    2007-01-01

    On November 11, 2005, the coalition partners, CDU/CSU and SPD, signed the agreement establishing a coalition in the German federal parliament under the heading of ''Together for Germany''. Among other things, this raised the question of what would happen in the fields of energy policy and nuclear power. After 2 years of a grand coalition, it is time to draw some interim conclusions. The coalition agreement contains statements to the effect that energy policy means fundamental economic, structural and climate policies, and that secure, low-cost, non-polluting energy supplies are elementary prerequisites of a modern, capable national economy. A sustainable overall energy policy concept should be based on a balanced energy mix. This overall concept, one of the results of ''energy summit'' talks with Federal Chancellor Merkel, was announced for the end of 2007. The 3 energy summit discussions with Federal Chancellor Merkel deliberately avoided the subject of nuclear power. There is no debate about the implications of nuclear energy. This in no way improved the status of nuclear power in Germany. What remains is hope for the second half of this government's term of office. The beginning of that term is marked by the McKinsey study, initiated by the Federation of German Industries (BDI), on ''Cost and Potential of Avoiding Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Germany,'' which says that operating German nuclear power plants for 60 or even 45 years would result in a CO2 avoidance potential for 2020 which would be approximately 90 million tons higher, and in avoidance costs lower by 4.5 billion euro per year. (orig.)

  19. Latvian Waste Management Modelling in View of Environmental Impact Reduction / Latvijas Atkritumu SAIMNIECĪBAS ATTĪSTĪBA un TĀS RADĪTĀS Ietekmes UZ Vidi SAMAZINĀŠANAS MODELĒŠANA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teibe, I.; Bendere, R.; Arina, D.

    2013-12-01

    In the work, the life-cycle assessment approach is applied to the planning of waste management development in a seaside region (Piejūra) using the Waste Management Planning System (WAMPS) program. In Latvia, the measures to be taken for the climate change mitigation are of utmost importance - especially as related to the WM performance, since a disposal of biodegradable waste presents the primary source of GHG emissions. To reduce the amount of such waste is therefore one of the most significant goals in the State WM plan for 2013-2020, whose adoption is the greatest challenge for municipalities. The authors analyse seven models which involve widely employed biomass processing methods, are based on experimental data and intended for minimising the direct disposal of organic mass at the solid waste landfills. The numerical results obtained evidence that the thermal or biotechnological treatment of organic waste substantially reduces the negative environmental impact of WM practices - by up to 6% as compared with the currently existing. Klimata pārmaiņu samazināšanas pasākumi Latvijā atkritumu saimniecības sektorā ir īpaši svarīgi. jo bioloģiski sadalāmo atkritumu apglabāšana ir viens no būtiskākajiem SEG emisiju avotiem valstī. Pētījumā modelēti virkne sadzīves atkritumu apsaimniekošanas modeļi. kas ietver plašāk izmantotās biomasas pārstrādes metodes un samazina tiešu organiskās masas apglabāšanu cieto sadzīves atkritumu poligonos. Atkritumu apsaimniekošanas modeļu radītās vides ietekmes novērtēšanai izmantota WAMPS (Waste Management Planning System) programma, kas balstīta uz atkritumu apsaimniekošanas procesu dzīves cikla novērtējumu vienā no desmit Latvijas atkritumu apsaimniekošanas reģioniem - Piejūra. Iegūtie kvantitatīvie rezultāti norāda. ka organiskās atkritumu masas pārstrāde un stabilizēšana, izmantojot biotehnoloģijas vai termisko pārstrādi, būtiski samazina atkritumu apsaimniekošanas rad

  20. Identity of Innovative Multifunctional Material Manufacturing Business in Latvia / Inovatīvu Daudzfunkcionālo Materiālu Ražotāju Identitāte Latvijā

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geipele, I.; Staube, T.; Ciemleja, G.; Zeltins, N.; Ekmanis, Yu.

    2015-08-01

    The publication comprises the results from the practical scientific investigation to define the profile and distinctions of the Latvian innovative multifunctional material manufacturing industry. The research is carried out by a holistic approach, including expert interviews, qualitative analysis of the official register data, practical survey, and financial data analysis. The paper seeks to give the detailed data on a technological profile of the mentioned representative companies, if there is a synergy or tough competition in the Latvian market. The current research is topical, because it is unique and does not have analogues in Latvia, and the research is timely due to correspondence with recently stated Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation in Latvia. The main findings are associated with recognition of the factors that make impact on commercialisation of the finished goods, obtained financial results and planned directions of development of the respondent companies. Publikācija sniedz veiktā zinātniski praktiskā pētījuma rezultātus, kura ietvaros tika noteikts Latvijas inovatīvu daudzfunkcionālo materiālu ražotāju darbības profils un identitāte. Pētījumā tika izmantota kompleksās analīzes metode, kas ietvēra ekspertu intervijas, uzņēmumu oficiāli reģistrēto datu kvalitatīvo analīzi, zinātniski praktisko aptauju, kā arī pētāmo uzņēmumu finanšu darbības rezultātu analīzi. Zinātniskais darbs sniedz izsmeļošu informāciju par mērķa uzņēmumu tehnoloģisko profilu un pēta, vai Latvijas mērķa ražošanas nozarē ir sinerģijas vai sīvās konkurences pazīmes. Šim zinātniskajam pētījumam ir noteikta aktualitāte saskaņā ar tā unikalitāti Latvijas valsts mērogā un atbilstība Viedās specializācijas stratēģijai. Pētījuma galvenie secinājumi ir saistīti ar uzņēmumu produkcijas komercializācijas ietekmējošo faktoru apzināšanu, sasniegtajiem finansiālajiem rezultātiem un pl

  1. Stellungnahme für die öffentliche Anhörung des Gesundheitsausschusses des Deutschen Bundestages zum Gesetzentwurf der Fraktionen der CDU/CSU und F.D.P. zur Änderung des Gentechnikgesetzes

    OpenAIRE

    Hohmeyer, O.; Hüsing, B.; Reiß, T.

    1993-01-01

    On the basis of their study "Regulations of gentic engineering abroad and practical experience with their execution" the authors comment on a bill for an amendment of the German genetic engineering law. The proposed amendments conform with the relevant EU guidelines 90/219/EWG and 90/220/EWG. The authors welcome amendmends which aim at making approval procedures more efficient or adjust the regulations to the dynamic development in science and technology (e.g. shortening of time requirements ...

  2. CSU-FDA (Colorado State Univ.-Food and Drug Administration) Collaborative Radiological Health Laboratory. Annual report - 1982: health effects of prenatal and postnatal whole-body exposure to ionizing radiation in the beagle dog

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benjamin, S.A.

    1984-09-01

    The Collaborative Radiological Health Laboratory was established in 1962 by the U.S. Public Health Service and Colorado State University for the purpose of determining in a carefully controlled animal experiment the life-time hazards associated with prenatal and early postnatal exposure to ionizing radiation. The CRHL study is designed to provide information that will facilitate the evaluation of risks to human beings from medical exposure during early development. The study is a long-term (lifespan) study of a moderately large and long-lived mammal exposed at one of several times during development to a relatively small and discrete dose of external radiation. Ages at irradiation selected for comparison reflect the primary concern with medical exposures during the development period. This annual report summarizes the current status of the study for the reporting period of January 1 through December 31, 1982

  3. Precipitation Processes Developed During ARM (1997), TOGA COARE (1992), GATE (1974), SCSMEX (1998), and KWAJEX (1999): Consistent 2D, Semi-3D and 3D Cloud Resolving Model Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, W-K.

    2003-01-01

    Real clouds and cloud systems are inherently three-dimensional (3D). Because of the limitations in computer resources, however, most cloud-resolving models (CRMs) today are still two-dimensional (2D). A few 3D CRMs have been used to study the response of clouds to large-scale forcing. In these 3D simulations, the model domain was small, and the integration time was 6 hours. Only recently have 3D experiments been performed for multi-day periods for tropical cloud systems with large horizontal domains at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NACAR) and at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center . At Goddard, a 3D Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model was used to simulate periods during TOGA COARE, SCSMEX and KWAJEX using 512 by 512 km domain (with 2 km resolution). The results indicate that surface precipitation and latent heating profiles are very similar between the 2D and 3D GCE model simulations. The reason for the strong similarity between the 2D and 3D CRM simulations is that the same observed large-scale advective tendencies of potential temperature, water vapor mixing ratio, and horizontal momentum were used as the main focusing in both the 2D and 3D models. Interestingly, the 2D and 3D versions of the CRM used at CSU showed significant differences in the rainfall and cloud statistics for three ARM cases. The major objectives of this paper are: (1) to assess the performance of the super-parameterization technique, (2) calculate and examine the surface energy (especially radiation) and water budgets, and (3) identify the differences and similarities in the organization and entrainment rates of convection between simulated 2D and 3D cloud systems.

  4. Clouds, Wind and the Biogeography of Central American Cloud Forests: Remote Sensing, Atmospheric Modeling, and Walking in the Jungle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawton, R.; Nair, U. S.

    2011-12-01

    Cloud forests stand at the core of the complex of montane ecosystems that provide the backbone to the multinational Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which seeks to protect a biodiversity conservation "hotspot" of global significance in an area of rapidly changing land use. Although cloud forests are generally defined by frequent and prolonged immersion in cloud, workers differ in their feelings about "frequent" and "prolonged", and quantitative assessments are rare. Here we focus on the dry season, in which the cloud and mist from orographic cloud plays a critical role in forest water relations, and discuss remote sensing of orographic clouds, and regional and atmospheric modeling at several scales to quantitatively examine the distribution of the atmospheric conditions that characterize cloud forests. Remote sensing using data from GOES reveals diurnal and longer scale patterns in the distribution of dry season orographic clouds in Central America at both regional and local scales. Data from MODIS, used to calculate the base height of orographic cloud banks, reveals not only the geographic distributon of cloud forest sites, but also striking regional variation in the frequency of montane immersion in orographic cloud. At a more local scale, wind is known to have striking effects on forest structure and species distribution in tropical montane ecosystems, both as a general mechanical stress and as the major agent of ecological disturbance. High resolution regional atmospheric modeling using CSU RAMS in the Monteverde cloud forests of Costa Rica provides quantitative information on the spatial distribution of canopy level winds, insight into the spatial structure and local dynamics of cloud forest communities. This information will be useful in not only in local conservation planning and the design of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, but also in assessments of the sensitivity of cloud forests to global and regional climate changes.

  5. Resourcing speech-language pathologists to work with multilingual children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Sharynne

    2014-06-01

    Speech-language pathologists play important roles in supporting people to be competent communicators in the languages of their communities. However, with over 7000 languages spoken throughout the world and the majority of the global population being multilingual, there is often a mismatch between the languages spoken by children and families and their speech-language pathologists. This paper provides insights into service provision for multilingual children within an English-dominant country by viewing Australia's multilingual population as a microcosm of ethnolinguistic minorities. Recent population studies of Australian pre-school children show that their most common languages other than English are: Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Greek. Although 20.2% of services by Speech Pathology Australia members are offered in languages other than English, there is a mismatch between the language of the services and the languages of children within similar geographical communities. Australian speech-language pathologists typically use informal or English-based assessments and intervention tools with multilingual children. Thus, there is a need for accessible culturally and linguistically appropriate resources for working with multilingual children. Recent international collaborations have resulted in practical strategies to support speech-language pathologists during assessment, intervention, and collaboration with families, communities, and other professionals. The International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children's Speech was assembled to prepare a position paper to address issues faced by speech-language pathologists when working with multilingual populations. The Multilingual Children's Speech website ( http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech ) addresses one of the aims of the position paper by providing free resources and information for speech-language pathologists about more than 45 languages. These international

  6. Native American Indian Successes in Natural Resources, Science and Engineering: PreK through Ph.D.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolman, J. R.

    2005-12-01

    We are living in a definite time of change. Distinct changes are being experienced in our most sacred and natural environments. This is especially true on Native lands. Native people have lived for millennia in distinct and unique ways. The knowledge of balancing the needs of people with the needs of our natural environments is paramount in all tribal societies. This inherent knowledge has become the foundation on which to build a "blended" contemporary understanding of western science. The Dakota's and Northern California have recognized the critical need in understanding successful tribal strategies to engage educational systems (K-12 and higher education), to bring to prominence the professional development opportunities forged through working with tribal peoples and ensure the growth of Native people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) professions. The presentation will highlight: 1) current philosophies on building a STEM Native workforce; 2) successful educational programs/activities in PreK-Ph.D. systems; 3) current Native professionals, their research and tribal applicability; and 4) forwarding thinking for creating sustainable environmental and social infrastructures for all people. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) and Humboldt State University (HSU) have been recognized nationally for their partnerships with Native communities. SDSM&T has set record numbers for graduating Native students in science and engineering. SDSM&T had 27 graduates in five years (2000-2005) and hosted more than 1000+ Native students for programs and activities. Humboldt State University is the only university in the CSU system with a program focusing specifically on Natives in natural resources, science and engineering as well as a Native American Studies degree. Both universities have designed programs to meet current needs and address challenging issues in Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. The programs are funded through NASA, NSF, NIH and

  7. Earth Systems Science Curriculum Choices for Pre-Service Teachers at San Jose State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messina, P.; Metzger, E. P.

    2008-12-01

    San José State University was a member of the original ESSEA consortium (2003-05), and it continues its participation with the broadening ESSEA community. Having hosted the original Middle- and High School Teachers' ESSEA courses, the Geology Department and Program in Science Education have maintained their commitments toward supporting pre- and in-service teachers in geoscience concept competency and effective pedagogy. We have witnessed an encouraging trend in the numbers of K-8 (multiple subject) pre-service teachers who have enrolled in our in-house ESSEA-inspired course: Geology 103 (Earth Systems and the Environment). We have also seen an influx of prospective secondary (single subject) teachers seeking credentials in non- geoscience disciplines. California teacher credentialing requirements, especially when layered on the increasing demands of major fields of study and the California State University System's hefty General Education mandates, give prospective teachers little latitude in their academic programs. Geology 103 was developed to satisfy three logistical objectives: to comply with "geoscience content competency" as defined by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC); to fulfill one of the CSU's upper-division General Education requirements, and to develop science process skills in a population that may never have had similar prior opportunities. The course is offered in two modalities: online and on-campus. The Web-based sections are currently comparing the relative effectiveness of two dissimilar online learning modalities and assessments: one delivers video/audio/animated "podcasts," while the other requires student involvement through interactive Flash media. The course is taught by professors with joint appointments in the Department of Geology and Program in Science Education, and by current and former classroom teachers to ensure that geoscience content knowledge is achieved through inquiry, systems analyses, and other

  8. A Research Experiences for Undergraduates program (REU) Program Designed to Recruit, Engage and Prepare a Diverse Student Population for Careers in Ocean Sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarkston, B. E.; Garza, C.

    2016-02-01

    The problem of improving diversity within the Ocean Sciences workforce—still underperforming relative to other scientific disciplines—can only be addressed by first recruiting and engaging a more diverse student population into the discipline, then retaining them in the workforce. California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) is home to the Monterey Bay Regional Ocean Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. As an HSI with strong ties to multiple regional community colleges and other Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) in the CSU system, the Monterey Bay REU is uniquely positioned to address the crucial recruitment and engagement of a diverse student body. Eleven sophomore and junior-level undergraduate students are recruited per year from academic institutions where research opportunities in STEM are limited and from groups historically underrepresented in the Ocean Sciences, including women, underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans. During the program, students engage in a 10-week original research project guided by a faculty research mentor in one of four themes: Oceanography, Marine Biology and Ecology, Ocean Engineering, and Marine Geology. In addition to research, students develop scientific self-efficacy and literacy skills through rigorous weekly professional development workshops in which they practice critical thinking, ethical decision-making, peer review, writing and oral communication skills. These workshops include tangible products such as an NSF-style proposal paper, Statement of Purpose and CV modelled for the SACNAS Travel Award Application, research abstract, scientific report and oral presentation. To help retain students in Ocean Sciences, students build community during the REU by living together in the CSUMB dormitories; post-REU, students stay connected through an online facebook group, LinkedIn page and group webinars. To date, the REU has supported 22 students in two

  9. A Coupled GCM-Cloud Resolving Modeling System, and a Regional Scale Model to Study Precipitation Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Wei-Kuo

    2007-01-01

    Recent GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) model comparison projects have indicated that cloud-resolving models (CRMs) agree with observations better than traditional single-column models in simulating various types of clouds and cloud systems from different geographic locations. Current and future NASA satellite programs can provide cloud, precipitation, aerosol and other data at very fine spatial and temporal scales. It requires a coupled global circulation model (GCM) and cloud-scale model (termed a superparameterization or multi-scale modeling framework, MMF) to use these satellite data to improve the understanding of the physical processes that are responsible for the variation in global and regional climate and hydrological systems. The use of a GCM will enable global coverage, and the use of a CRM will allow for better and more sophisticated physical parameterization. NASA satellite and field campaign cloud related datasets can provide initial conditions as well as validation for both the MMF and CRMs. The Goddard MMF is based on the 2D Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model and the Goddard finite volume general circulation model (fvGCM), and it has started production runs with two years results (1998 and 1999). Also, at Goddard, we have implemented several Goddard microphysical schemes (2ICE, several 31CE), Goddard radiation (including explicitly calculated cloud optical properties), and Goddard Land Information (LIS, that includes the CLM and NOAH land surface models) into a next generatio11 regional scale model, WRF. In this talk, I will present: (1) A brief review on GCE model and its applications on precipitation processes (microphysical and land processes), (2) The Goddard MMF and the major difference between two existing MMFs (CSU MMF and Goddard MMF), and preliminary results (the comparison with traditional GCMs), and (3) A discussion on the Goddard WRF version (its developments and applications).

  10. New Program for New Faculty Mentoring at California State University, Chico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teasdale, R.; McCarthy, K.; Phillips, C.; Silliman, K.; Fosen, C.; Thomas, M.

    2015-12-01

    CSU, Chico is a comprehensive university with high expectations for both teaching (4 courses per semester) and scholarly work. In an attempt to introduce faculty to their new positions, a two-day New Faculty Orientation has been offered for the last two decades. In AY 2014-15, in an attempt to improve the first year experience for new faculty, the Office of Faculty Affairs established and assessed a New Faculty Mentoring program. Eight college-based mentors were selected based on recommendations by College Deans who suggested successful teachers and scholars who could provide the social and leadership skills to effectively guide others. Based on a needs-assessment survey new faculty completed during orientation, mentors met with their new faculty cohort at least monthly to discuss campus resources, host workshops and provide other support in areas of time management, work-life balance, teaching pedagogies, discipline-specific internal and external funding resources, student support resources, and the preparation of Review/Retention documents. Mentors were paid a small stipend for their work and met twice each semester to discuss readings on mentoring best practices, their mentoring activities with new faculty and to compare the needs of their mentees. Survey results from 28 of 37 new faculty respondents indicate they valued Review/Retention workshops, mentor reviews of teaching and the opportunity to visit mentor classrooms for examples of good teaching practices. Social events helped establish cohorts, although some mentees indicated that some cohorts were too large. An unforeseen outcome was recognition that mid-year hires need to also be included in new faculty cohort groups. Moving forward, mentors will continue to work with their original mentees for a 2nd year. A new group of mentors will be identified for faculty starting in fall 2015 who will work with smaller first-year faculty cohorts and will coordinate with the first generation mentors for peer support.

  11. Investigating the Impacts of Wildfires on Air Quality in the Western US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, E. L.; Iraci, L. T.; Singh, H. B.; Ambrosia, V. G.; Clements, C. B.; Gore, W.; Lareau, N.; Quayle, B.; Ryoo, J. M.; Schroeder, W.; Tanaka, T.

    2015-12-01

    Wildfire emissions are an important source of a wide range of trace gases and particles that can impact local, regional and global air quality, climate forcing, biogeochemical cycles and human health. In the western US, wildfires dominate over prescribed fires. However, limited sampling of wildfire emissions means western US emission estimates rely largely on data from prescribed fires, which may not be a suitable proxy for wildfire emissions. Further, interactions of wildfire emissions with urban pollution, commonly the case with California wildfires, are complex and poorly understood. The Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) sampled a variety of Californian wildfire plumes during 2013 and 2014. In addition to wildfire plumes, flights sample upwind, background conditions allowing for an assessment of enhancement ratios of trace gas species (carbon dioxide, methane and ozone). This paper presents airborne measurements of multiple trace constituents downwind of a variety of Californian wildfires, with a focus on the exceptionally large Yosemite Rim wildfire during summer 2013. During its intense burning phases, the Rim wildfire was sampled by AJAX on 29 August as well as by the NASA DC-8, as part of its SEAC4RS mission, on 26 and 27 August. AJAX revisited the wildfire on 10 September when it had reached its smoldering phase. The more extensive payload of the DC-8 helped to bridge key measurements that were not available as part of the AJAX payload (e. g. carbon monoxide). The emission ratios (ER), emission factors (EF) and combustion efficiency are compared with previous wildfire studies. Integration of AJAX data with other available datasets, such as SEAC4RS, Lidar data from the California State University Mobile Atmospheric Profiling System (CSU-MAPS), MODIS/VIIRS Fire Radiative Power (FRP) and surface ozone and meteorology measurements is explored to assess the impacts of wildfires on downwind air quality including the densely populated California central

  12. Orbit Refinement of Asteroids and Comets Using a Robotic Telescope Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lantz Caughey, Austin; Brown, Johnny; Puckett, Andrew W.; Hoette, Vivian L.; Johnson, Michael; McCarty, Cameron B.; Whitmore, Kevin; UNC-Chapel Hill SKYNET Team

    2016-01-01

    We report on a multi-semester project to refine the orbits of asteroids and comets in our Solar System. One of the newest fields of research for undergraduate Astrophysics students at Columbus State University is that of asteroid astrometry. By measuring the positions of an asteroid in a set of images, we can reduce the overall uncertainty in the accepted orbital parameters of that object. These measurements, using our WestRock Observatory (WRO) and several other telescopes around the world, are being published through the Minor Planet Center (MPC) and benefit the global community.Three different methods are used to obtain these observations. First, we use our own 24-inch telescope at WRO, located in at CSU's Coca-Cola Space Science Center in downtown Columbus, Georgia . Second, we have access to data from the 20-inch telescope at Stone Edge Observatory in El Verano, California. Finally, we may request images remotely using Skynet, an online worldwide network of robotic telescopes. Our primary and long-time collaborator on Skynet has been the "41-inch" reflecting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Thus far, we have used these various telescopes to refine the orbits of more than 15 asteroids and comets. We have also confirmed the resulting reduction in orbit-model uncertainties using Monte Carlo simulations and orbit visualizations, using Find_Orb and OrbitMaster software, respectively.Before any observatory site can be used for official orbit refinement projects, it must first become a trusted source of astrometry data for the MPC. We have therefore obtained Observatory Codes not only for our own WestRock Observatory (W22), but also for 3 Skynet telescopes that we may use in the future: Dark Sky Observatory in Boone, North Carolina (W38) Hume Observatory in Santa Rosa, California (U54) and Athabasca University Geophysical Observatory in Athabasca, Alberta, Canada (U96).

  13. The California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE): A New Model for Promoting Minority Participation in Astronomy Research and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudolph, Alexander L.; Impey, C. D.; Bieging, J. H.; Phillips, C. B.; Tieu, J.; Prather, E. E.; Povich, M. S.

    2013-01-01

    The California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education (CAMPARE) program represents a new and innovative kind of research program for undergraduates: one that can effectively carry out the goal of recruiting qualified minority and female students to participate in Astronomy and Planetary Science research opportunities, while mentoring them in a way to maximize the chance that these students will persist in obtaining their undergraduate degrees in STEM fields, and potentially go on to obtain their PhDs or pursue careers in those fields. The members of CAMPARE comprise a network of comprehensive universities and community colleges in Southern California and Arizona (most of which are minority serving institutions), and four major research institutions (University of Arizona Steward Observatory, the SETI Institute, and JPL/Caltech). Most undergraduate research programs focus on a single research institution. By having multiple institutions, we significantly broaden the opportunities for students, both in terms of breadth of research topics and geographical location. In its first three years, the CAMPARE program has had 20 undergraduates from two CSU campuses, both Hispanic Serving Institutions, take part in research and educational activities at four research institutions, the University of Arizona Steward Observatory, the SETI Institute, and JPL/Caltech. Of the 20 participants, 9 are women and 11 are men, a much more even split than is typical in Astronomy research programs; 10 are Hispanic, 2 are African American, and 1 is part Native American, including 2 female Hispanic and 2 female African-American participants, an exceptionally high participation rate (65%) for students from underrepresented minority groups. Of the five participants who have graduated since the program began, two are in graduate programs in Physics or Astronomy, two are pursuing a K-12 teaching credential, and one has enlisted in the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate

  14. Precipitation Processes developed during ARM (1997), TOGA COARE(1992), GATE(1 974), SCSMEX(1998) and KWAJEX(1999): Consistent 2D and 3D Cloud Resolving Model Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, W.-K.; Shie, C.-H.; Simpson, J.; Starr, D.; Johnson, D.; Sud, Y.

    2003-01-01

    Real clouds and clouds systems are inherently three dimensional (3D). Because of the limitations in computer resources, however, most cloud-resolving models (CRMs) today are still two-dimensional (2D). A few 3D CRMs have been used to study the response of clouds to large-scale forcing. In these 3D simulations, the model domain was small, and the integration time was 6 hours. Only recently have 3D experiments been performed for multi-day periods for tropical cloud system with large horizontal domains at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The results indicate that surface precipitation and latent heating profiles are very similar between the 2D and 3D simulations of these same cases. The reason for the strong similarity between the 2D and 3D CRM simulations is that the observed large-scale advective tendencies of potential temperature, water vapor mixing ratio, and horizontal momentum were used as the main forcing in both the 2D and 3D models. Interestingly, the 2D and 3D versions of the CRM used in CSU and U.K. Met Office showed significant differences in the rainfall and cloud statistics for three ARM cases. The major objectives of this project are to calculate and axamine: (1)the surface energy and water budgets, (2) the precipitation processes in the convective and stratiform regions, (3) the cloud upward and downward mass fluxes in the convective and stratiform regions; (4) cloud characteristics such as size, updraft intensity and lifetime, and (5) the entrainment and detrainment rates associated with clouds and cloud systems that developed in TOGA COARE, GATE, SCSMEX, ARM and KWAJEX. Of special note is that the analyzed (model generated) data sets are all produced by the same current version of the GCE model, i.e. consistent model physics and configurations. Trajectory analyse and inert tracer calculation will be conducted to identify the differences and similarities in the organization of convection between simulated 2D and 3D cloud systems.

  15. Improvement in the quality of life of patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria treated with omalizumab in real life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larrea-Baca, Itzíar; Gurpegui-Resano, María

    Evaluation of the impact on the quality of life (QOL) relating to health in patients with chronic urticaria (CSU) treated with omalizumab. Longitudinal descriptive observational study of quality of life based on18 patients with chronic urticaria ≥12 years treated with omalizumab. Changes in QOL examined at 1 month (T1), at 6 months (T6) and 12 months (T12), by: Visual Analogical Scale (UAS), specific urticaria QOL questionnaire (CU-Q2oL), general health questionnaire (SF-36) and activity of urticaria questionnaire (Score UAS7). The most disabling symptoms for patients were: pruritus (61.1%); decrease in health and physical activity (55.5%), wheals, swelling and nervousness (50%); depression and shame of marks (38.89%); side effects to drugs (33.33%); sleepiness and tiredness (27.78%); work (22.22%); "choosing clothes and pain" 16.67% and social relations (11.11%). Statistically significant differences were observed in T1, T6 and T12. In T1, UAS -4.72 (p=.001); CU-Q2oL -16.38 (p<.001); SF-36 15.44 (p=.006); UAS7 wheals -7.27 (p=.001), UAS7 pruritus -8.72 (p=.003). In T6, UAS -4.26 (p=.001); CU-Q2oL -18.94 (p<.001); SF-36 15.41 (p<.001); UAS7 wheals -7.41 (p=.001), UAS7 pruritus -7.11 (p=.001). In T12 UAS -9.61 (p=.004); CU-Q2oL -21.38 (p=.01); SF-36 17.53 (p=.04); UAS7 wheals -8.23 (p=.004), UAS7 pruritus -10.69 (p=.004). There was a very good response in T1, which was maintained in T6 and T12. Patients with chronic urticaria treated with omalizumab presented good results with a reduction of CUE activity and improvement of their QOL. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  16. Transcriptome profiling in imipenem-selected Acinetobacter baumannii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Kai-Chih; Kuo, Han-Yueh; Tang, Chuan Yi; Chang, Cheng-Wei; Lu, Chia-Wei; Liu, Chih-Chin; Lin, Huei-Ru; Chen, Kuan-Hsueh; Liou, Ming-Li

    2014-09-26

    Carbapenem-resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii has gradually become a global challenge. To identify the genes involved in carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii, the transcriptomic responses of the completely sequenced strain ATCC 17978 selected with 0.5 mg/L (IPM-2 m) and 2 mg/L (IPM-8 m) imipenem were investigated using RNA-sequencing to identify differences in the gene expression patterns. A total of 88 and 68 genes were differentially expressed in response to IPM-2 m and IPM-8 m selection, respectively. Among the expressed genes, 50 genes were highly expressed in IPM-2 m, 30 genes were highly expressed in IPM-8 m, and 38 genes were expressed common in both strains. Six groups of genes were simultaneously expressed in IPM-2 m and IPM-8 m mutants. The three gene groups involved in DNA recombination were up-regulated, including recombinase, transposase and DNA repair, and beta-lactamase OXA-95 and homologous recombination. The remaining gene groups involved in biofilm formation were down-regulated, including quorum sensing, secretion systems, and the csu operon. The antibiotic resistance determinants, including RND efflux transporters and multidrug resistance pumps, were over-expressed in response to IPM-2 m selection, followed by a decrease in response to IPM-8 m selection. Among the genes over-expressed in both strains, blaOXA-95, previously clustered with the blaOXA-51-like family, showed 14-fold (IPM-2 m) to 330-fold (IPM-8 m) over-expression. The expression of blaOXA-95 in IPM-2 m and IPM-8 m cells was positively correlated with the rate of imipenem hydrolysis, as demonstrated through Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry, suggesting that blaOXA-95 plays a critical role in conferring carbapenem resistance. In addition, A. baumannii shows an inverse relationship between carbapenem resistance and biofilm production. Gene recombination and blaOXA-95 play critical roles in carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii. Taken together, the results of

  17. Opting out of the peaceful use of nuclear power in Germany. A promising special approach in the European context?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buedenbender, Martin

    2009-01-01

    Nuclear power is in the focus of politics and public attention in Germany not only because of the federal elections. Again and again, voices are heard which doubt the decision taken in 2000 to opt out of the use of nuclear power. The change in parliamentary majority in favor of the alliance of CDU/CSU and FDP as a result of the elections on September 27 is leading to another review of the opt-out decision, as the three parties in their platforms expressed themselves in favor of extending nuclear power plant life. This makes a stocktaking exercise of all salient arguments imperative at the present juncture. The perspective in that case should not be restricted to national aspects but include especially the influence of the European dimension of the subject. Present political positions in the 27 EU countries indicate a renaissance of nuclear power. Numerous countries, such as Italy, Sweden, Poland or the United Kingdom, revoked their historic opt-out decisions, are using nuclear power for the first time, or want to expand greatly the nuclear share in their electricity generation mix. All 3 European agencies with clear majorities advocate the extensive use of nuclear power as a long-term component of the mix of energy resources. Germany, with its decision to opt out of the use of nuclear power, is part of a minority. Being part of a European electricity market which will grow together more and more closely up to complete integration, Germany will always be supplied electricity from nuclear sources in the long run. This will be true irrespective of nuclear power plants being operated in the country. So, shutting down German nuclear power plants will not achieve the goals of nuclear opponents but merely give rise to additional challenges in power technology in an effort to ensure Germany's electricity supply. For this reason, the new German federal government should revoke the decision to opt out of the peaceful use of nuclear power. (orig.)

  18. Mesoscale Climate Evaluation Using Grid Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos Velho, H. F.; Freitas, S. R.; Souto, R. P.; Charao, A. S.; Ferraz, S.; Roberti, D. R.; Streck, N.; Navaux, P. O.; Maillard, N.; Collischonn, W.; Diniz, G.; Radin, B.

    2012-04-01

    The CLIMARS project is focused to establish an operational environment for seasonal climate prediction for the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The dynamical downscaling will be performed with the use of several software platforms and hardware infrastructure to carry out the investigation on mesoscale of the global change impact. The grid computing takes advantage of geographically spread out computer systems, connected by the internet, for enhancing the power of computation. The ensemble climate prediction is an appropriated application for processing on grid computing, because the integration of each ensemble member does not have a dependency on information from another ensemble members. The grid processing is employed to compute the 20-year climatology and the long range simulations under ensemble methodology. BRAMS (Brazilian Regional Atmospheric Model) is a mesoscale model developed from a version of the RAMS (from the Colorado State University - CSU, USA). BRAMS model is the tool for carrying out the dynamical downscaling from the IPCC scenarios. Long range BRAMS simulations will provide data for some climate (data) analysis, and supply data for numerical integration of different models: (a) Regime of the extreme events for temperature and precipitation fields: statistical analysis will be applied on the BRAMS data, (b) CCATT-BRAMS (Coupled Chemistry Aerosol Tracer Transport - BRAMS) is an environmental prediction system that will be used to evaluate if the new standards of temperature, rain regime, and wind field have a significant impact on the pollutant dispersion in the analyzed regions, (c) MGB-IPH (Portuguese acronym for the Large Basin Model (MGB), developed by the Hydraulic Research Institute, (IPH) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil) will be employed to simulate the alteration of the river flux under new climate patterns. Important meteorological input variables for the MGB-IPH are the precipitation (most relevant

  19. E2 = Energy concept x final storage [+ the law?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, Horst

    2010-01-01

    The world is changing all the time, opinions and evaluations assume new shapes. It is the function of the law to ensure reliability and confidence by its very continuity. However, it is not only the revisions of the law which are subject to the zeitgeist; also the interpretations and applications of the law are not exempt from current trends of thought. The coalition agreement signed by the CDU/CSU and FDP parties on October 26, 2009 announced an energy concept encompassing life extension of nuclear power plants and a continued exploration of the Gorleben salt dome as a repository for high-level waste producting heat. The Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) tries to prove in a legal opinion that an extension of nuclear power plant life was illegal and unconstitutional because the problem of the back end of the fuel cycle was not likely to be solved in a foreseeable time. Continuing exploration of the Gorleben salt dome is based on mining law. The agency responsible for filing an application under the German Atomic Energy Act is the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). In Germany, the final storage issue has always been an area of violent political debate. Given the strategic purpose of the DUH legal opinion as a tool furthering opt-out of the use of nuclear power, several points are presented and discussed in this article which were overlooked in that opinion. The equation, 'energy concept x final storage =..?', seems to be open today. The law can support results. Existing legal regulations especially about the nuclear power sector must be used as starting points for new ideas: The existence of legal norms is to ensure reliability and confidence. Consequently, changes in the law must be prepared very thoroughly and weighed comprehensively. In current thinking, after all, transparency is part of political action, especially so in defining and implementing goals in topics such as the energy concept and final storage. Yet, unnecessary delays would not be justified

  20. The location selection act or 'the Emperor's new clothes'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feldmann, Ulrike

    2013-01-01

    As is generally known, the governing parties CDU/CSU and FDP agreed a few weeks ago in the 17 th legislative period of the German Bundestag in a rare show of unanimity, together with the parties SPD and Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen, as well as with the Laender, on a 'law to search and select a location for a permanent disposal site for heat-generating radioactive waste products and to change other laws', in brief a location selection act also called StandAG. The law was received with animated approval from the ranks of the parties - with the exception of the (left-wing) party Die Linke. This praise is a tad bewildering, since the Bundesumweltministerium (Federal Department of the Environment) named solving the task within a single generation as one of the principles for the StandAG, and it was emphasised again and again in the debates about the StandAG that the problem of permanent disposal must not be shifted to the next generation. Conclusion: - The StandAG leads to a postponement of solving the permanent disposal site issue by a least several generations with its predictable, long-winded selection method. - The decision not to explore Gorleben conclusively could lead to the site being permanently ('wasted' or) 'burned'. - The de-central, interim disposal site Gorleben is likewise 'burned' without having a resilient alternative solution for the glass coquilles that must be taken back. - The people's protest is exponentiated by the number of the potential sites for the StandAG. - The costs for the alternative site search will not be shifted to the producers of the waste that are obliged by law to deliver the waste because of the financial provisions of the constitution. - The third party protection dogma has not been broken up, which will at least lead to delays in the procedure and will have effects on other major projects in the long run. (orig.)

  1. Exploring The Limits Of Variational Passive Microwave Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, David Ian

    Passive microwave observations from satellite platforms constitute one of the most important data records of the global observing system. Operational since the late 1970s, passive microwave data underpin climate records of precipitation, sea ice extent, water vapor, and more, and contribute significantly to numerical weather prediction via data assimilation. Detailed understanding of the observation errors in these data is key to maximizing their utility for research and operational applications alike. However, the treatment of observation errors in this data record has been lacking and somewhat divergent when considering the retrieval and data assimilation communities. In this study, some limits of passive microwave imager data are considered in light of more holistic treatment of observation errors. A variational retrieval, named the CSU 1DVAR, was developed for microwave imagers and applied to the GMI and AMSR2 sensors for ocean scenes. Via an innovative method to determine forward model error, this retrieval accounts for error covariances across all channels used in the iteration. This improves validation in more complex scenes such as high wind speed and persistently cloudy regimes. In addition, it validates on par with a benchmark dataset without any tuning to in-situ observations. The algorithm yields full posterior error diagnostics and its physical forward model is applicable to other sensors, pending intercalibration. This retrieval is used to explore the viability of retrieving parameters at the limits of the available information content from a typical microwave imager. Retrieval of warm rain, marginal sea ice, and falling snow are explored with the variational retrieval. Warm rain retrieval shows some promise, with greater sensitivity than operational GPM algorithms due to leveraging CloudSat data and accounting for drop size distribution variability. Marginal sea ice is also detected with greater sensitivity than a standard operational retrieval

  2. Investigation of hydrometeor classification uncertainties through the POLARRIS polarimetric radar simulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolan, B.; Rutledge, S. A.; Barnum, J. I.; Matsui, T.; Tao, W. K.; Iguchi, T.

    2017-12-01

    POLarimetric Radar Retrieval and Instrument Simulator (POLARRIS) is a framework that has been developed to simulate radar observations from cloud resolving model (CRM) output and subject model data and observations to the same retrievals, analysis and visualization. This framework not only enables validation of bulk microphysical model simulated properties, but also offers an opportunity to study the uncertainties associated with retrievals such as hydrometeor classification (HID). For the CSU HID, membership beta functions (MBFs) are built using a set of simulations with realistic microphysical assumptions about axis ratio, density, canting angles, size distributions for each of ten hydrometeor species. These assumptions are tested using POLARRIS to understand their influence on the resulting simulated polarimetric data and final HID classification. Several of these parameters (density, size distributions) are set by the model microphysics, and therefore the specific assumptions of axis ratio and canting angle are carefully studied. Through these sensitivity studies, we hope to be able to provide uncertainties in retrieved polarimetric variables and HID as applied to CRM output. HID retrievals assign a classification to each point by determining the highest score, thereby identifying the dominant hydrometeor type within a volume. However, in nature, there is rarely just one a single hydrometeor type at a particular point. Models allow for mixing ratios of different hydrometeors within a grid point. We use the mixing ratios from CRM output in concert with the HID scores and classifications to understand how the HID algorithm can provide information about mixtures within a volume, as well as calculate a confidence in the classifications. We leverage the POLARRIS framework to additionally probe radar wavelength differences toward the possibility of a multi-wavelength HID which could utilize the strengths of different wavelengths to improve HID classifications. With

  3. EDITORIAL: Special section on recent progress on radio frequency heating and current drive studies in the JET tokamak Special section on recent progress on radio frequency heating and current drive studies in the JET tokamak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ongena, Jef; Mailloux, Joelle; Mayoral, Marie-Line

    2009-04-01

    This special cluster of papers summarizes the work accomplished during the last three years in the framework of the Task Force Heating at JET, whose mission it is to study the optimisation of heating systems for plasma heating and current drive, launching and deposition questions and the physics of plasma rotation. Good progress and new physics insights have been obtained with the three heating systems available at JET: lower hybrid (LH), ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) and neutral beam injection (NBI). Topics covered in the present issue are the use of edge gas puffing to improve the coupling of LH waves at large distances between the plasma separatrix and the LH launcher. Closely linked with this topic are detailed studies of the changes in LH coupling due to modifications in the scrape-off layer during gas puffing and simultaneous application of ICRH. We revisit the fundamental ICRH heating of D plasmas, include new physics results made possible by recently installed new diagnostic capabilities on JET and point out caveats for ITER when NBI is simultaneously applied. Other topics are the study of the anomalous behaviour of fast ions from NBI, and a study of toroidal rotation induced by ICRH, both again with possible implications for ITER. In finalizing this cluster of articles, thanks are due to all colleagues involved in preparing and executing the JET programme under EFDA in recent years. We want to thank the EFDA leadership for the special privilege of appointing us as Leaders or Deputies of Task Force Heating, a wonderful and hardworking group of colleagues. Thanks also to all other European and non-European scientists who contributed to the JET scientific programme, the Operations team of JET and the colleagues of the Close Support Unit (CSU). Thanks are also due to the Editors, Editorial Board and referees of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion together with the publishing staff of IOP Publishing who have supported and contributed substantially to

  4. A Coupled fcGCM-GCE Modeling System: A 3D Cloud Resolving Model and a Regional Scale Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Wei-Kuo

    2005-01-01

    Recent GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) model comparison projects have indicated that cloud-resolving models (CRMs) agree with observations better than traditional single-column models in simulating various types of clouds and cloud systems from different geographic locations. Current and future NASA satellite programs can provide cloud, precipitation, aerosol and other data at very fine spatial and temporal scales. It requires a coupled global circulation model (GCM) and cloud-scale model (termed a super-parameterization or multi-scale modeling framework, MMF) to use these satellite data to improve the understanding of the physical processes that are responsible for the variation in global and regional climate and hydrological systems. The use of a GCM will enable global coverage, and the use of a CRM will allow for better and ore sophisticated physical parameterization. NASA satellite and field campaign cloud related datasets can provide initial conditions as well as validation for both the MMF and CRMs. The Goddard MMF is based on the 2D Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model and the Goddard finite volume general circulation model (fvGCM), and it has started production runs with two years results (1998 and 1999). Also, at Goddard, we have implemented several Goddard microphysical schemes (21CE, several 31CE), Goddard radiation (including explicity calculated cloud optical properties), and Goddard Land Information (LIS, that includes the CLM and NOAH land surface models) into a next generation regional scale model, WRF. In this talk, I will present: (1) A Brief review on GCE model and its applications on precipitation processes (microphysical and land processes), (2) The Goddard MMF and the major difference between two existing MMFs (CSU MMF and Goddard MMF), and preliminary results (the comparison with traditional GCMs), (3) A discussion on the Goddard WRF version (its developments and applications), and (4) The characteristics of the four-dimensional cloud data

  5. The location selection act or 'the Emperor's new clothes'; Das Standortauswahlgesetz oder 'Des Kaisers neue Kleider'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feldmann, Ulrike

    2013-10-15

    As is generally known, the governing parties CDU/CSU and FDP agreed a few weeks ago in the 17{sup th} legislative period of the German Bundestag in a rare show of unanimity, together with the parties SPD and Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen, as well as with the Laender, on a 'law to search and select a location for a permanent disposal site for heat-generating radioactive waste products and to change other laws', in brief a location selection act also called StandAG. The law was received with animated approval from the ranks of the parties - with the exception of the (left-wing) party Die Linke. This praise is a tad bewildering, since the Bundesumweltministerium (Federal Department of the Environment) named solving the task within a single generation as one of the principles for the StandAG, and it was emphasised again and again in the debates about the StandAG that the problem of permanent disposal must not be shifted to the next generation. Conclusion: - The StandAG leads to a postponement of solving the permanent disposal site issue by a least several generations with its predictable, long-winded selection method. - The decision not to explore Gorleben conclusively could lead to the site being permanently ('wasted' or) 'burned'. - The de-central, interim disposal site Gorleben is likewise 'burned' without having a resilient alternative solution for the glass coquilles that must be taken back. - The people's protest is exponentiated by the number of the potential sites for the StandAG. - The costs for the alternative site search will not be shifted to the producers of the waste that are obliged by law to deliver the waste because of the financial provisions of the constitution. - The third party protection dogma has not been broken up, which will at least lead to delays in the procedure and will have effects on other major projects in the long run. (orig.)

  6. Numerical and Observational Investigations of Long-Lived Mcs-Induced Severe Surface Wind Events: the Derecho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Jerome Michael

    This study addresses the production of sustained, straight-line, severe surface winds associated with mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) of extratropical origin otherwise known as derechos. The physical processes which govern the observed derecho characteristics are identified and their possible forcing mechanisms are determined. Detailed observations of two derechos are presented along with simulations using the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (CSU-RAMS). The observations revealed a derecho environment characterized by strong vertical wind shear through the depth of the troposphere and large values of convective available potential energy (CAPE). The thermodynamic environment of the troposphere in each case had a distinct three-layer structure consisting of: (i) a surface-based stable layer of 1-to-2 km in depth, (ii) an elevated well -mixed layer of 2-4 km in depth, and (iii) an upper tropospheric layer of intermediate stability that extended to the tropopause. Two primary sets of simulations were performed to assess the impact of the observed environmental profiles on the derecho structure, propagation, and longevity. The first set consisted of nested-grid regional-scale simulations initialized from the standard NMC analyses on a domain having relatively coarse horizontal resolution (75 km). The second set of simulations consisted of two and three-dimensional experiments initialized in a horizontally homogeneous environment having a relatively fine horizontal resolution (2 km) and explicit microphysics. The results from these experiments indicate the importance of convectively -induced gravity waves on the MCS structure, propagation, longevity, and severe surface wind development. The sensitivity of the simulated convection and gravity waves to variations in the vertical wind shear and moisture profiles are described. Detailed Doppler radar analyses and 3-D simulations of a severe, bow echo squall line are presented which reveal

  7. Advanced Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine(s)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwok, Doris; Boucher, Cheryl

    2009-09-30

    Energy independence and fuel savings are hallmarks of the nation’s energy strategy. The advancement of natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology is critical to the nation’s future. A new engine platform that meets the efficiency, emissions, fuel flexibility, cost and reliability/maintainability targets will enable American manufacturers to have highly competitive products that provide substantial environmental and economic benefits in the US and in international markets. Along with Cummins and Waukesha, Caterpillar participated in a multiyear cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy to create a 50% efficiency natural gas powered reciprocating engine system with a 95% reduction in NOx emissions by the year 2013. This platform developed under this agreement will be a significant contributor to the US energy strategy and will enable gas engine technology to remain a highly competitive choice, meeting customer cost of electricity targets, and regulatory environmental standard. Engine development under the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program was divided into phases, with the ultimate goal being approached in a series of incremental steps. This incremental approach would promote the commercialization of ARES technologies as soon as they emerged from development and would provide a technical and commercial foundation of later-developing technologies. Demonstrations of the Phase I and Phase II technology were completed in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Program tasks in Phase III included component and system development and testing from 2009-2012. Two advanced ignition technology evaluations were investigated under the ARES program: laser ignition and distributed ignition (DIGN). In collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU), a laser ignition system was developed to provide ignition at lean burn and high boost conditions. Much work has been performed in Caterpillar’s DIGN program under the ARES program. This work

  8. International aspirations for speech-language pathologists' practice with multilingual children with speech sound disorders: development of a position paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Sharynne; Verdon, Sarah; Bowen, Caroline

    2013-01-01

    A major challenge for the speech-language pathology profession in many cultures is to address the mismatch between the "linguistic homogeneity of the speech-language pathology profession and the linguistic diversity of its clientele" (Caesar & Kohler, 2007, p. 198). This paper outlines the development of the Multilingual Children with Speech Sound Disorders: Position Paper created to guide speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') facilitation of multilingual children's speech. An international expert panel was assembled comprising 57 researchers (SLPs, linguists, phoneticians, and speech scientists) with knowledge about multilingual children's speech, or children with speech sound disorders. Combined, they had worked in 33 countries and used 26 languages in professional practice. Fourteen panel members met for a one-day workshop to identify key points for inclusion in the position paper. Subsequently, 42 additional panel members participated online to contribute to drafts of the position paper. A thematic analysis was undertaken of the major areas of discussion using two data sources: (a) face-to-face workshop transcript (133 pages) and (b) online discussion artifacts (104 pages). Finally, a moderator with international expertise in working with children with speech sound disorders facilitated the incorporation of the panel's recommendations. The following themes were identified: definitions, scope, framework, evidence, challenges, practices, and consideration of a multilingual audience. The resulting position paper contains guidelines for providing services to multilingual children with speech sound disorders (http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/position-paper). The paper is structured using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (World Health Organization, 2007) and incorporates recommendations for (a) children and families, (b) SLPs' assessment and intervention, (c) SLPs' professional

  9. Design analysis of the ITER divertor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samuelli, G.; Marin, A.; Roccella, M.; Lucca, F.; Merola, M.; Riccardi, B.; Petrizzi, L.; Villari, R.

    2007-01-01

    The divertor is one of the most challenging components of the ITER machine. Its function is to reduce the impurity in the plasma and consists essentially of two parts: the plasma facing components (PFCs) and a massive support structure called the cassette body (CB). Considerable R and D effort (developed by EFDA CSU GARCHING and the ITER International Team together with the EU Associations and the EU Industries) has been spent in designing divertor components capable of withstanding the expected electromagnetic (EM) loads and to take into account the latest ITER design conditions. In support of such efforts extensive and very detailed Neutronic, Thermal, EM and Structural analyses have been performed. A summary of the analyses performed will be presented. One of the main result is a typical exercise of integration between the different kind of analyses and the importance of keeping the consistency between the different assumptions and simplifications. The models used for the numerical analyses include a detailed geometrical description of the CB, the inlet, outlet hydraulic manifolds, the CB to vacuum vessel locking system and three configurations of the PFU. The effect of electrical bridging, both in poloidal and toroidal direction, of the PFU castellation, due to a possible melting at the W mono-block or tiles, occurring during the plasma disruptions, has been analyzed. For all these configurations 2 VDE scenarios including the effect of the Toroidal Field Variation and the HaloCurrent with the related out of plane induced EM forces have been extensively analyzed and a detailed poloidal and radial distribution of the nuclear heating has been used for the neutronic flux on the divertor components. The aim of this activity is to produce a comprehensive design and assessment of the ITER divertor via: -The estimation of the neutronic heat deposition and shielding capability; -The calculation of the related thermal and mechanical effects and the comparison of the

  10. Rainfall Estimation and Performance Characterization Using an X-band Dual-Polarization Radar in the San Francisco Bay Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cifelli, R.; Chen, H.; Chandra, C. V.

    2016-12-01

    The San Francisco Bay area is home to over 5 million people. In February 2016, the area also hosted the NFL Super bowl, bringing additional people and focusing national attention to the region. Based on the El Nino forecast, public officials expressed concern for heavy rainfall and flooding with the potential for threats to public safety, costly flood damage to infrastructure, negative impacts to water quality (e.g., combined sewer overflows) and major disruptions in transportation. Mitigation of the negative impacts listed above requires accurate precipitation monitoring (quantitative precipitation estimation-QPE) and prediction (including radar nowcasting). The proximity to terrain and maritime conditions as well as the siting of existing NEXRAD radars are all challenges in providing accurate, short-term near surface rainfall estimates in the Bay area urban region. As part of a collaborative effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory, Colorado State University (CSU), and Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD), an X-band dual-polarization radar was deployed in Santa Clara Valley in February of 2016 to provide support for the National Weather Service during the Super Bowl and NOAA's El Nino Rapid Response field campaign. This high-resolution radar was deployed on the roof of one of the buildings at the Penitencia Water Treatment Plant. The main goal was to provide detailed precipitation information for use in weather forecasting and assists the water district in their ability to predict rainfall and streamflow with real-time rainfall data over Santa Clara County especially during a potentially large El Nino year. The following figure shows the radar's coverage map, as well as sample reflectivity observations on March 06, 2016, at 00:04UTC. This paper presents results from a pilot study from February, 2016 to May, 2016 demonstrating the use of X-band weather radar for quantitative precipitation

  11. Design analysis of the ITER divertor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samuelli, G.; Marin, A.; Roccella, M.; Lucca, F. [L.T. Calcoli SaS, Merate (Lecco) (Italy); Merola, M. [ITER Team, Cadarache (France); Riccardi, B. [EFDA CSU Garching (Germany); Petrizzi, L.; Villari, R. [CRE ENEA sulla Fusione Frascati, Roma (Italy)

    2007-07-01

    The divertor is one of the most challenging components of the ITER machine. Its function is to reduce the impurity in the plasma and consists essentially of two parts: the plasma facing components (PFCs) and a massive support structure called the cassette body (CB). Considerable R and D effort (developed by EFDA CSU GARCHING and the ITER International Team together with the EU Associations and the EU Industries) has been spent in designing divertor components capable of withstanding the expected electromagnetic (EM) loads and to take into account the latest ITER design conditions. In support of such efforts extensive and very detailed Neutronic, Thermal, EM and Structural analyses have been performed. A summary of the analyses performed will be presented. One of the main result is a typical exercise of integration between the different kind of analyses and the importance of keeping the consistency between the different assumptions and simplifications. The models used for the numerical analyses include a detailed geometrical description of the CB, the inlet, outlet hydraulic manifolds, the CB to vacuum vessel locking system and three configurations of the PFU. The effect of electrical bridging, both in poloidal and toroidal direction, of the PFU castellation, due to a possible melting at the W mono-block or tiles, occurring during the plasma disruptions, has been analyzed. For all these configurations 2 VDE scenarios including the effect of the Toroidal Field Variation and the HaloCurrent with the related out of plane induced EM forces have been extensively analyzed and a detailed poloidal and radial distribution of the nuclear heating has been used for the neutronic flux on the divertor components. The aim of this activity is to produce a comprehensive design and assessment of the ITER divertor via: -The estimation of the neutronic heat deposition and shielding capability; -The calculation of the related thermal and mechanical effects and the comparison of the

  12. An Evaluation of Lightning Flash Rate Parameterizations Based on Observations of Colorado Storms during DC3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basarab, B.; Fuchs, B.; Rutledge, S. A.

    2013-12-01

    Predicting lightning activity in thunderstorms is important in order to accurately quantify the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) by lightning (LNOx). Lightning is an important global source of NOx, and since NOx is a chemical precursor to ozone, the climatological impacts of LNOx could be significant. Many cloud-resolving models rely on parameterizations to predict lightning and LNOx since the processes leading to charge separation and lightning discharge are not yet fully understood. This study evaluates predicted flash rates based on existing lightning parameterizations against flash rates observed for Colorado storms during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment (DC3). Evaluating lightning parameterizations against storm observations is a useful way to possibly improve the prediction of flash rates and LNOx in models. Additionally, since convective storms that form in the eastern plains of Colorado can be different thermodynamically and electrically from storms in other regions, it is useful to test existing parameterizations against observations from these storms. We present an analysis of the dynamics, microphysics, and lightning characteristics of two case studies, severe storms that developed on 6 and 7 June 2012. This analysis includes dual-Doppler derived horizontal and vertical velocities, a hydrometeor identification based on polarimetric radar variables using the CSU-CHILL radar, and insight into the charge structure using observations from the northern Colorado Lightning Mapping Array (LMA). Flash rates were inferred from the LMA data using a flash counting algorithm. We have calculated various microphysical and dynamical parameters for these storms that have been used in empirical flash rate parameterizations. In particular, maximum vertical velocity has been used to predict flash rates in some cloud-resolving chemistry simulations. We diagnose flash rates for the 6 and 7 June storms using this parameterization and compare

  13. 2006 annual nuclear technology conference - opening address

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hohlefelder, W.

    2006-01-01

    The Energy Summit organized by Federal Chancellor Merkel set the right course in energy research. The funds to be made available by the federal government for energy research and innovation are to be raised by more than 30% by 2009. However, the Red-Green ban on research into reactor development still needs to be lifted. For Germany, 2005 was a year of change. As far as energy policy is concerned, it was a year more of disenchantment, as the diametrally opposed positions held by CDU/CSU and SPD in matters nuclear mean that, for the time being, the current regulations about residual plant lifetimes will continue to be valid. The Energy Summit as the first round in a process at the end of which, in 2007, there is to be a complete energy policy concept for the next few decades, does raise hopes. Clear emphasis must be given to worldwide developments, however. The assumption that others would follow Germany's 'good' example in opting out of the use of nuclear power has turned out to be naive. Ultimate clarity about which technology will turn out to be a bridge or an interim technology will be obtained in retrospect only. We should buy time now by extending nuclear power plant life so as to be able later to decide more freely about our options. The repository question, which is still considered a point of dispute, is less a technical than a political problem. The sequence of steps to be taken for solution is outlined in great detail and with high precision in the nuclear agreement. Following the ruling by the Lueneburg higher administrative court, Konrad can be installed and commissioned by 2013. After handling the so-called points of doubt, exploration of Gorleben can be completed. Nuclear power is an important building block in the energy mix in peaceful coexistence of various energy resources in accordance with their respective possible uses. For this reason, the renewables and nuclear power should no longer by played off one against the other. Both of them have a

  14. Occurrence and spatial distribution of intestinal parasites in an agricultural center in Paraná State, Brazil = Ocorrência e distribuição espacial de parasitos intestinais em polo agrícola, Estado do Paraná, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dina Lúcia Moraes Falavigna

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available We determined the occurrence of human cases of intestinal parasites and their spatial distribution in an agricultural center of the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. Results from 5,219 stool examinations carried out in 2003 and 2004 in public and private clinical-pathologylaboratories were analyzed. The overall occurrence of intestinal parasites was 19.8%. Entamoeba coli (7.2% and Giardia duodenalis (5.2% were the most frequent species. E. coli was present in 36.4%, G. duodenalis in 26.2% and E. nana in 13.6% of positive cases. According to spatial distribution, the highest occurrence of intestinal parasites was observed in the Piquiri/Guarujá area (p O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a ocorrência de casos humanos e a distribuição espacial de parasitos intestinais em município agroindustrial do Estado do Paraná, Sul do Brasil. Foram investigados resultados de 5.219 exames coproparasitológicos realizados em 2003 e 2004, em laboratórios de Análises Clínicas da rede pública e privada. A ocorrência de parasitos intestinais foi de 19,8%, sendo Entamoeba coli (7,2% e Giardia duodenalis (5,2% as espécies mais encontradas. Entre os resultados positivos E. coli estava presente em 36,4%, G. duodenalis em 26,2% e E. nana em 13,6%. A mais alta ocorrência de parasitos intestinais foi observada na área do Piquiri/Guarujá (p < 0,05 e a mais baixa no CSU, Urupês e Paulista. No Piquiri/Guarujá, as espécies mais frequentes foram G. duodenalis (22,2% e E. coli (7,4%. Diferenças significativas na ocorrência de enteroparasitos foram observadas para o gênero feminino (p < 0,05 e para a faixa etária de zero a dez anos (p < 0,05. A ocorrência de parasitos intestinais no município está mais relacionada às crianças, ao gênero feminino e à área que apresenta características rurais e de periferia de centros urbanos onde o risco de infecção é maior. Esta informação irá permitir o desenvolvimento de medidas apropriadas para

  15. Gap Winds in a Fjord: Howe Sound, British Columbia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Peter L.

    1993-01-01

    Gap, outflow, or Squamish wind, is the cold low level seaward flow of air through fjords which dissect the coastal mountain barrier of northwestern North America. These flows, occurring mainly during winter, can be strong, threatening safety, economic activity and comfort. Howe Sound gap winds were studied using a combination of observations and several types of models. Observations of winds in Howe Sound showed that gap wind strength varied considerably along the channel, across the channel and vertically. Generally, winds increase down the channel, are strongest along the eastern side, and are below 1000 m depth. Observations were unable to answer all questions about gap winds due to data sparseness, particularly in the vertical direction. Therefore, several modelling approaches were used. The modelling began with a complete 3-dimensional quasi-Boussinesq model (CSU RAMS) and ended with the creation and testing of models which are conceptually simpler, and more easily interpreted and manipulated. A gap wind simulation made using RAMS was shown to be mostly successful by statistical evaluation compared to other mesoscale simulations, and by visual inspection of the fields. The RAMS output, which has very high temporal and spatial resolution, provided much additional information about the details of gap flow. In particular, RAMS results suggested a close analogy between gap wind and hydraulic channel flow, with hydraulic features such as supercritical flow and hydraulic jumps apparent. These findings imply gap wind flow could potentially be represented by much simpler models. The simplest possible models containing pressure gradient, advection and friction but not incorporating hydraulic effects, were created, tested, and found lacking. A hydraulic model, which in addition incorporates varying gap wind height and channel geometry, was created and shown to successfully simulate gap winds. Force balance analysis from RAMS and the hydraulic model showed that pressure

  16. Response of a veterinary college to career development needs identified in the KPMG LLP study and the executive summary of the Brakke study: a combined MBA/DVM program, business certificate program, and curricular modifications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogan, Lori R; McConnell, Sherry L; Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina

    2005-04-01

    marketing skills than that reported by males. As a result of these pressing needs, CSU CVMBS has undertaken a major initiative to improve the veterinary practice management and business skills training of veterinary students by offering a variety of options to gain this knowledge: a combined MBA/DVM degree program, a Business Certificate Program for Health Professions, and core curriculum courses. In this way, students can select the amount of focus they want to place on career development and business skills as they earn their DVM degree, to best ensure that they become successful veterinarians.

  17. Regional Ecosystem-Atmosphere CO2 Exchange Via Atmospheric Budgets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, K J; Richardson, S J; Miles, N L

    2007-03-07

    are captured. Influence functions, derived using a Lagrangian Particle Dispersion model driven by the CSU Regional Atmospheric Modeling System and nudged to NCEP reanalysis meteorological fields, are used to determine source regions for the towers. The influence functions are combined with satellite vegetation observations to interpret the observed trends in CO2 concentration. Full inversions will combine these elements in a more formal analytic framework.

  18. Smart Grid Integration Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Troxell, Wade [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)

    2011-12-22

    The initial federal funding for the Colorado State University Smart Grid Integration Laboratory is through a Congressionally Directed Project (CDP), DE-OE0000070 Smart Grid Integration Laboratory. The original program requested in three one-year increments for staff acquisition, curriculum development, and instrumentation all which will benefit the Laboratory. This report focuses on the initial phase of staff acquisition which was directed and administered by DOE NETL/ West Virginia under Project Officer Tom George. Using this CDP funding, we have developed the leadership and intellectual capacity for the SGIC. This was accomplished by investing (hiring) a core team of Smart Grid Systems engineering faculty focused on education, research, and innovation of a secure and smart grid infrastructure. The Smart Grid Integration Laboratory will be housed with the separately funded Integrid Laboratory as part of CSU's overall Smart Grid Integration Center (SGIC). The period of performance of this grant was 10/1/2009 to 9/30/2011 which included one no cost extension due to time delays in faculty hiring. The Smart Grid Integration Laboratory's focus is to build foundations to help graduate and undergraduates acquire systems engineering knowledge; conduct innovative research; and team externally with grid smart organizations. Using the results of the separately funded Smart Grid Workforce Education Workshop (May 2009) sponsored by the City of Fort Collins, Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster, Colorado State University Continuing Education, Spirae, and Siemens has been used to guide the hiring of faculty, program curriculum and education plan. This project develops faculty leaders with the intellectual capacity to inspire its students to become leaders that substantially contribute to the development and maintenance of Smart Grid infrastructure through topics such as: (1) Distributed energy systems modeling and control; (2) Energy and power conversion; (3

  19. Undergraduate Research as a Process for STEM Teaching and Learning Systemic Change: Lessons Learned from the Council on Undergraduate Research NSF CCLI and TUES Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambos, E. L.; Havholm, K. G.; Malachowski, M.; Osborn, J.; Karukstis, K.

    2013-12-01

    For more than seven years, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), the primary organization supporting programs, services, and advocacy for undergraduate research, has been working with support from the NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) to enhance, sustain, and institutionalize undergraduate research in diverse STEM disciplines and higher education settings. The Council on Undergraduate Research comprises more than 9000 individual and 670 institutional members within a divisional structure that includes geosciences, as well as 11 other thematic areas. Through its most recent grant: 'Transformational Learning through Undergraduate Research: Comprehensive Support for Faculty, Institutions, State Systems and Consortia' (NSF DUE CCLI III Award #09-20275), CUR has been collaborating with six higher education systems, each selected after a rigorous national application process in 2010 and 2011. These six systems, which collectively represent 79 individual institutions, are the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), University of Wisconsin System (UWS), California State University System (CSU), City University of New York (CUNY), Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA), and Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The more than 350 participants of faculty and senior-level administrators from the six systems are engaged in shared multi-faceted and multi-year professional development experiences. Teams from each system attended customized institutes facilitated by CUR experts in 2011-2012, during which the teams developed specific action plans focused on institutionalizing undergraduate research on their campus and within their system. The systems were reconvened as a group a year after the first institute, to chart progress toward achieving their goals. Based on interviews and surveys with participants, campus teams are making substantial progress toward implementation of robust undergraduate research programs, and are making

  20. Mesoscale energetics and flows induced by sea-land and mountain-valley contrasts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Federico

    2000-02-01

    Full Text Available We study the relative importance of sea-land and mountain-valley thermal contrasts in determining the development of thermally forced mesoscale circulations (TFMCs over a mountainous peninsula. We first analyse the energetics of the problem, and using this theory, we interprete the numerical simulations over Calabria, a mountainous peninsula in southern Italy. The CSU 3-D nonlinear numerical model is utilised to simulate the dynamics and the thermodynamics of the atmospheric fields over Calabria. Results show the importance of orography in determining the pattern of the flow and the local climate in a region as complex as Calabria. Analysis of the results shows that the energetics due to the sea-land interactions are more efficient when the peninsula is flat. The importance of the energy due to the sea-land decreases as the mountain height of the peninsula increases. The energy stored over the mountain gains in importance, untill it is released by the readjustment of the warm mountain air as it prevails over the energy released by the inland penetration of the sea breeze front. For instance, our results show that over a peninsula 100 km wide the energy over the mountain and the energy in the sea-land contrast are of the same order when the height of the mountain is about 700 m, for a 1500 m convective boundary layer (CBL depth. Over the Calabrian peninsula, the energy released by the hot air in the CBL of the mountain prevails over the energy released by the inland penetration of the sea air. Calabria is about 1500 m high and about 50 km wide, and the CBL is of the order of 1500 m. The energy over the mountain is about four time larger than the energy contained in the sea-land contrast. Furthermore, the energetics increase with the patch width of the peninsula, and when its half width is much less than the Rossby radius, the MAPE of the sea breeze is negligible. When its half width is much larger than the Rossby radius, the breezes from the two

  1. Do not do in COPD: consensus statement on overuse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Villar-Álvarez F

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Felipe Villar-Álvarez,1 Raúl Moreno-Zabaleta,2 Jose Joaquin Mira-Solves,3 Eduardo Calvo-Corbella,4 Salvador Díaz-Lobato,5 Fernando González-Torralba,6 Ascensión Hernando-Sanz,7 Sara Núñez-Palomo,8 Sergio Salgado-Aranda,9 Beatriz Simón-Rodríguez,10 Paz Vaquero-Lozano,11 Isabel María Navarro-Soler12On behalf of “Do not do in COPD” Working Group of the Madrid Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Neumomadrid1Department of Pulmonology, IIS–Fundación Jiménez Díaz, CIBERES, UAM, 2Pulmonology, Inpatient and Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation, Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía, Madrid, 3Alicante-Sant Joan Health District, Alicante/Universidad Miguel Hernández Elche/REDISEC, 4Family and Community Medicine, CSU Pozuelo Estación, School of Medicine, UAM, 5Department of Pulmonology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, 6Pulmonology Section, Hospital Universitario del Tajo, Aranjuez, 7Department of Pulmonology, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, 8C.S. Torrelaguna, 9Pulmonology Section, Hospital del Sureste, 10FisioRespiración-Respiratory Physiotherapy Unit, Escuela Universitaria Gimbernat Cantabria, 11S. Pulmonology, CEP Hnos. Sangro HGU Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, 12Calitè Research Group, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Elche, SpainBackground: To identify practices that do not add value, cause harm, or subject patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD to a level of risk that outweighs possible benefits (overuse.Methods: A qualitative approach was applied. First, a multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals used the Metaplan technique to draft and rank a list of overused procedures as well as self-care practices in patients with stable and exacerbated COPD. Second, in successive consensus-building rounds, description files were created for each “do not do” (DND recommendation, consisting of a definition, description, quality of supporting evidence for the recommendation, and the indicator

  2. Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Due to Improvement of Biodegradable Waste Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bendere, R.; Teibe, I.; Arina, D.; Lapsa, J.

    2014-12-01

    ārdāmo atkritumu apsaimniekošanas statistikas datu novērtējums atbilstoši likumdošanas prasībām. Izmantojot matemātisko modelēšanas programmu WAMPS, analizēti trīs dažādi bioloģisko noārdāmo atkritumu apsaimniekošanas scenāriji, kuriem veikts vides ietekmes novērtējums, kas izteikts klimata pārmaiņu potenciālā - tonnas CO2 ekv. Darbā secināts, ka lielākais siltumnīcefektu (SEG) avots atkritumu apsaimniekošanas ir atkritumu poligoni (Bāzes scenārijs), ko galvenokārt ietekmē CH4 rašanās, organiskajiem atkritumiem sadaloties anaerobos apstākļos. Būtisku pozitīvo efektu SEG emisiju samazināšanā dod atkritumu pārstrāde otrreizējās izejvielās un sadedzināšana cementa ražotnē, kas ļauj samazināt dabīgo izejmateriālu un fosilo enerģijas resursu patēriņu. Attīstot pārtikas atkritumu pārstrādi biogāzē, lietderīgi veidot alternatīvās vai izmantot esošās sistēmas, kas nodrošina iegūtās enerģijas un digestāta patēriņu, t.i lauksaimniecība, transports vai komunālie pakalpojumi. Lai no zaļajiem dārza atkritumiem iegūtu augstvērtīgu kompostu, valstī jārada tam nepieciešami likumdošanas un ekonomiskie instrumenti, kas veicina komposta tirgus attīstību.

  3. Physical and biological studies with protons and HZE particles in a NASA supported research center in radiation health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, A.; Borak, T. H.

    2001-01-01

    NASA has established and supports a specialized center for research and training (NSCORT) to specifically address the potential deleterious effects of HZE particles on human health. The NSCORT in radiation health is a joint effort between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Colorado State University (CSU). The overall scope of research encompasses a broad range of subjects from microdosimetric studies to cellular and tissue responses to initial damage produced by highly energetic protons and heavy charged particles of the type found in galactic cosmic rays (GCR) spectrum. The objectives of the microdosimetry studies are to determine the response of Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) to cosmic rays using ground based accelerators. This includes evaluation of energy loss due to the escape of high-energy delta rays and increased energy deposition due to the enhanced delta ray production in the wall of the detector. In this report major results are presented for 56Fe at 1000, 740, 600 and 400 MeV/nucleon. An assessment of DNA repair and early development of related chromosomal changes is extremely important to our overall understanding of enhanced biological effectiveness of high LET particle radiation. Results are presented with respect to the fidelity of the rejoining of double strand breaks and the implications of misrejoining. The relationship between molecular and cytogenetic measurements is presented by studying damage processing in highly heterochromatic supernumerary (correction of sypernumerary) X chromosomes and the active X-chromosome. One of the important consequences of cell's inability to handle DNA damage can be evaluated through mutation studies. Part of our goal is the assessment of potential radioprotectors to reduce the mutation yield following HZE exposures, and some promising results are presented on one compound. A second goal is the integration of DNA repair and mutation studies. Results are presented on a direct

  4. New Technique for Barium Daughter Ion Identification in a Liquid Xe-136 Double Beta Decay Experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fairbank, William

    2016-01-01

    This work addresses long-standing issues of fundamental interest in elementary particle physics. The most important outcome of this work is a new limit on neutrinoless double beta decay. This is an extremely rare and long-sought-after type of radioactive decay. If discovered, it would require changes in the standard model of the elementary constituents of matter, and would prove that neutrinos and antineutrinos are the same, a revolutionary concept in particle physics. Neutrinos are major components of the matter in the universe that are so small and so weakly interacting with other matter that their masses have not yet been discovered. A discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay could help determine the neutrino masses. An important outcome of the work on this project was the Colorado State University role in operating the EXO-200 neutrinoless double beta decay experiment and in analysis of the data from this experiment. One type of double beta decay of the isotope "1"3"6Xe, the two-neutrino variety, was discovered in this work. Although the other type of double beta decay, the neutrinoless variety, was not yet discovered in this work, a world's best sensitivity of 1.9x10"2"5 year half-life was obtained. This result rules out a previous claim of a positive result in a different isotope. This work also establishes that the masses of the neutrinos are less than one millionth of that of electrons. A unique EXO-200 analysis, in which the CSU group had a leading role, has established for the first time ever in a liquid noble gas the fraction of daughter atoms from alpha and beta decay that are ionized. This result has important impact on other pending studies, including nucleon decay and barium tagging. Novel additional discoveries include multiphoton ionization of liquid xenon with UV pulsed lasers, which may find application in calibration of future noble liquid detectors, and studies of association and dissociation reactions of Ba"+ ions in gaseous xenon. Through

  5. Changing Climates @ Colorado State: 100 (Multidisciplinary) Views of Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, S.; Calderazzo, J.; Changing Climates, Cmmap Education; Diversity Team

    2011-12-01

    We would like to talk about a multidisciplinary education and outreach program we co-direct at Colorado State University, with support from an NSF-funded STC, CMMAP, the Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes. We are working to raise public literacy about climate change by providing information that is high quality, up to date, thoroughly multidisciplinary, and easy for non-specialists to understand. Our primary audiences are college-level students, their teachers, and the general public. Our motto is Climate Change is Everybody's Business. To encourage and help our faculty infuse climate-change content into their courses, we have organized some 115 talks given by as many different speakers-speakers drawn from 28 academic departments, all 8 colleges at CSU, and numerous other entities from campus, the community, and farther afield. We began with a faculty-teaching-faculty series and then broadened our attentions to the whole campus and surrounding community. Some talks have been for narrowly focused audiences such as extension agents who work on energy, but most are for more eclectic groups of students, staff, faculty, and citizens. We count heads at most events, and our current total is roughly 6,000. We have created a website (http://changingclimates.colostate.edu) that includes videotapes of many of these talks, short videos we have created, and annotated sources that we judge to be accurate, interesting, clearly written, and aimed at non-specialists, including books, articles and essays, websites, and a few items specifically for college teachers (such as syllabi). Pages of the website focus on such topics as how the climate works / how it changes; what's happening / what might happen; natural ecosystems; agriculture; impacts on people; responses from ethics, art, literature; communication; daily life; policy; energy; and-pulling all the pieces together-the big picture. We have begun working on a new series of very short videos that can be

  6. New Technique for Barium Daughter Ion Identification in a Liquid Xe-136 Double Beta Decay Experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fairbank, William [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)

    2016-06-08

    This work addresses long-standing issues of fundamental interest in elementary particle physics. The most important outcome of this work is a new limit on neutrinoless double beta decay. This is an extremely rare and long-sought-after type of radioactive decay. If discovered, it would require changes in the standard model of the elementary constituents of matter, and would prove that neutrinos and antineutrinos are the same, a revolutionary concept in particle physics. Neutrinos are major components of the matter in the universe that are so small and so weakly interacting with other matter that their masses have not yet been discovered. A discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay could help determine the neutrino masses. An important outcome of the work on this project was the Colorado State University role in operating the EXO-200 neutrinoless double beta decay experiment and in analysis of the data from this experiment. One type of double beta decay of the isotope 136Xe, the two-neutrino variety, was discovered in this work. Although the other type of double beta decay, the neutrinoless variety, was not yet discovered in this work, a world’s best sensitivity of 1.9x1025 year half-life was obtained. This result rules out a previous claim of a positive result in a different isotope. This work also establishes that the masses of the neutrinos are less than one millionth of that of electrons. A unique EXO-200 analysis, in which the CSU group had a leading role, has established for the first time ever in a liquid noble gas the fraction of daughter atoms from alpha and beta decay that are ionized. This result has important impact on other pending studies, including nucleon decay and barium tagging. Novel additional discoveries include multiphoton ionization of liquid xenon with UV pulsed lasers, which may find application in calibration of future noble liquid detectors, and studies of association and dissociation reactions of Ba

  7. Recommendation for a resolution and report of 2. Bundestag committee of investigation according to section 44 of Basic Law concerning resolutions of the Bundestag of January 21, 1988 according to the motions of the parliamentary parties of CDU/CSU and FDP - BT publication 11/1680 - setting up of a committee of investigation of the parliamentary party of SPD - BT publication 11/1683 (neu) - setting up of a committee of investigation and concerning resolution of January 25, 1989 according to the motions of parliamentary parties of CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP and parliamentary party of the Greens - BT publication 11/3911 - extension of the scope of the inquiry for the 2. committee of investigation. Recommendation for a resolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    The final report of the Bundestag's 'Transnuklear' Committee, including annexes and deviating reports and assessments by the reporters of the SPD and the Greens comprises 1420 pages. It is divided into: Setting up the committee and course of the procedure; determination of state of affairs: international nuclear material safeguards - physical protection of nuclear material - drums - bribes - nuclear exports - examination of the suspicion of proliferation of January 1988 - the special incidents on 16./17. December 1987 in Biblis A; assessment of investigation results with recommendations. Considering the consequences for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the committee could not find grounds which would make it necessary, or just only sensible, to do without this source of energy. (HSCH) [de

  8. Evaluating Microphysics in Cloud-Resolving Models using TRMM and Ground-based Precipitation Radar Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krueger, S. K.; Zulauf, M. A.; Li, Y.; Zipser, E. J.

    2005-05-01

    Global satellite datasets such as those produced by ISCCP, ERBE, and CERES provide strong observational constraints on cloud radiative properties. Such observations have been widely used for model evaluation, tuning, and improvement. Cloud radiative properties depend primarily on small, non-precipitating cloud droplets and ice crystals, yet the dynamical, microphysical and radiative processes which produce these small particles often involve large, precipitating hydrometeors. There now exists a global dataset of tropical cloud system precipitation feature (PF) properties, collected by TRMM and produced by Steve Nesbitt, that provides additional observational constraints on cloud system properties. We are using the TRMM PF dataset to evaluate the precipitation microphysics of two simulations of deep, precipitating, convective cloud systems: one is a 29-day summertime, continental case (ARM Summer 1997 SCM IOP, at the Southern Great Plains site); the second is a tropical maritime case: the Kwajalein MCS of 11-12 August 1999 (part of a 52-day simulation). Both simulations employed the same bulk, three-ice category microphysical parameterization (Krueger et al. 1995). The ARM simulation was executed using the UCLA/Utah 2D CRM, while the KWAJEX simulation was produced using the 3D CSU CRM (SAM). The KWAJEX simulation described above is compared with both the actual radar data and the TRMM statistics. For the Kwajalein MCS of 11 to 12 August 1999, there are research radar data available for the lifetime of the system. This particular MCS was large in size and rained heavily, but it was weak to average in measures of convective intensity, against the 5-year TRMM sample of 108. For the Kwajalein MCS simulation, the 20 dBZ contour is at 15.7 km and the 40 dBZ contour at 14.5 km! Of all 108 MCSs observed by TRMM, the highest value for the 40 dBZ contour is 8 km. Clearly, the high reflectivity cores are off scale compared with observed cloud systems in this area. A similar

  9. Pollution Status of Trace Metals in Groundwater Due to Industrail Activities in and Around Dhaka Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GOLAM AHMED

    2012-06-01

    .69, Ga-U (0.77, Sr-Pb (0.85 and Ba-Ag (0.99 in the grounwater samples inside DEPZ, and for Cu-Cs (0.78, Cu-Ba (0.73, Pb-Cu (0.69, Cu-U (0.70, Cr-Cd (0.71, Ni-Cu (0.83, Ni-Se (0.70, Li-Se (0.72, Li-Cd (0.84, Cu-V (0.78, V-Ga (0.82, Sr-V (0.68, Ba-V (0.67, Zn-Ga (0.75, Zn-Ag (0.69, Se-Ga (0.67, As-Rb (0.84, Se-Ba (0.67, Sr-Ba (0.79, Sr-Pb (0.71, Cs-U (0.83 and Pb-Ba (0.98 in the groundwater around DEPZ at 0.05 to 0.01 level. Considering the elemental load, it was assumed that the groundwater of DTWs inside DEPZ are still isolated from potential contaminated sources, whereas groundwater of STWs around DEPZ seemed to be gradually affected by the sources of these toxic trace metal.

  10. Trabalho do enfermeiro no Centro de Material e seu lugar no processo de cuidar pela enfermagem Trabajo del enfermero en el centro de material y su lugar en el proceso de cuidar de la enfermería The nurse's work at a hospital supply center and his/her place in the care for nursing work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Ricci Tonelli Bartolomei

    2006-09-01

    ífico en el CME que por el administrativo.This is a study on nurses' work at central supply units (CSUs with the aim of analyzing his/her social reality and transforming role in the caring process in health and nursing. It's a strategic research, with speech analysis of CSU nurses. Results show that their main activity is management, in a structured process that confirms the traditional nursing practice, having as object the coordination of medical-hospital material processing used for care. Their work is characterized by indirect care, and is instrumental not only for nurses' work, but for the work of other professionals as well. As a result, it not identified as specific nursing care, nor as care provided by the nurse. Its transforming potential upon relations and new production modes of care in health, and by the nurse, will occur first through his/her competence in the specific knowledge about CSUs than through his/her administrative skills.

  11. A simple parameterization of aerosol emissions in RAMS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Letcher, Theodore

    Throughout the past decade, a high degree of attention has been focused on determining the microphysical impact of anthropogenically enhanced concentrations of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) on orographic snowfall in the mountains of the western United States. This area has garnered a lot of attention due to the implications this effect may have on local water resource distribution within the Region. Recent advances in computing power and the development of highly advanced microphysical schemes within numerical models have provided an estimation of the sensitivity that orographic snowfall has to changes in atmospheric CCN concentrations. However, what is still lacking is a coupling between these advanced microphysical schemes and a real-world representation of CCN sources. Previously, an attempt to representation the heterogeneous evolution of aerosol was made by coupling three-dimensional aerosol output from the WRF Chemistry model to the Colorado State University (CSU) Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) (Ward et al. 2011). The biggest problem associated with this scheme was the computational expense. In fact, the computational expense associated with this scheme was so high, that it was prohibitive for simulations with fine enough resolution to accurately represent microphysical processes. To improve upon this method, a new parameterization for aerosol emission was developed in such a way that it was fully contained within RAMS. Several assumptions went into generating a computationally efficient aerosol emissions parameterization in RAMS. The most notable assumption was the decision to neglect the chemical processes in formed in the formation of Secondary Aerosol (SA), and instead treat SA as primary aerosol via short-term WRF-CHEM simulations. While, SA makes up a substantial portion of the total aerosol burden (much of which is made up of organic material), the representation of this process is highly complex and highly expensive within a numerical

  12. La compatibilidad vegetativa: un método para diferenciar razas fisiológicas y formas especiales de Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Posada Buitrago Martha Lucia

    1994-12-01

    ;">Díanthi raza 4 Colombia y el CSCSU (de baja patogenicidad formaron el VCG2. Los aislamientos extranjeros de F. oxysporum f. sp. díantí raza 1 y raza 8 Italia, el C14CSU y el colombiano 71 conformaron, cada uno, su propio grupo.

  13. Mantle End-Members: The Trace Element Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willbold, M.; Stracke, A.; Hofmann, A. W.

    2004-12-01

    . Although there are some trace element characteristics common to all EM-type basalts, which distinguish them from HIMU-type basalts (e.g. uniformly high Th/U ratios of 4.7 ± 0.3, and enrichment in Cs-U), each suite of EM-type basalts has unique trace element signatures that distinguish them from any other suite of EM-type basalts. This is especially obvious when comparing the trace element composition of EM basalts from one isotopic family, for example EM1-type basalts from Tristan, Gough and Pitcairn. Consequently, the trace element systematics of EM-type basalts suggest that there are many different EM-type sources, whereas the isotopic composition of EM-type basalts suggest derivation from two broadly similar sources, i.e. EM1 and EM2. The large variability in subducting sediments with respect to both parent-daughter (e.g. Rb/Sr, Sm/Nd, U/Pb, Th/Pb,...) and other trace element ratios makes it unlikely that there are reproducible mixtures of sediments leading to two different isotopic evolution paths (EM1 and EM2) while preserving a range of incompatible element contents for each isotopic family, as would be required to reconcile the isotopic and trace element characteristics of EM-type basalts. Although this does not a priori argue against sediments as possible source components for OIB, it does argue against two distinct groups of sediments as EM1 and EM2 sources. Further characterization of sources with the same general origin (e.g. a certain type of crust or lithosphere) or identification of processes leading to reservoirs with similar parent-daughter ratio characteristics but different incompatible trace element contents could resolve the apparent conundrum.

  14. Actividad clínica en la consulta médica a demanda de un Centro Penitenciario frente a la de un Centro de Salud Comparisons between clinical practice consultation in a prison and in community health centres: differences and repercussions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Chérrez

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Objetivos: Describir y cuantificar la actividad clínica en las consultas de demanda de un Centro Penitenciario (CP para valorar las posibles diferencias respecto a un Centro de Salud (CS. Identificar los posibles requerimientos de formación específica ante eventuales traslados de profesionales entre uno y otro medio, resultantes de una supuesta integración de la Sanidad Penitenciaria (SP en el conjunto del Sistema Público de Salud (SPS. Método: Estudio descriptivo transversal. Se aplica en tres equipos de Atención Primaria (AP: un Centro de Salud Urbano de alta carga asistencial (CSU, un Centro de Salud Rural de baja carga asistencial (CSR y un CP provincial -no tipo macro cárcel-. Muestreo aleatorio secuencial que incluye toda la actividad médica generada en la consulta de demanda. Se excluye toda la actividad programada por el profesional sanitario y las consultas administrativas. Se realiza un intento de reconocimiento de consultas conflictivas para el profesional. Las comparaciones se realizan mediante el test estadístico de Contraste de Diferencia de Proporciones. Resultados: En el CP se halla significación estadística (SE de mayor actividad clínica en las áreas de salud mental, toxicomanías, manejo de infección VIH-VHC y de problemas específicos de AP (integración biopsicosocial prioritaria en su tratamiento. En ambos CS hay SE de mayor actividad en el conjunto del área de Medicina Interna (MI y de Geriatría (G. En el medio penitenciario hay SE de mayor conflictividad en la consulta. Conclusiones: En un futuro contexto de integración de derecho de la SP, puede ser necesaria formación en salud mental, particularmente en trastornos adictivos, y en manejo de infección VIH-VHC para ejercer en un CP. Puede ser necesaria formación en el conjunto de Medicina Interna, particularmente en Geriatría, de médicos de CP para que se trasladen a CS. La significación obtenida, en la asistencia sanitaria de una prisión, de la AP

  15. PREFACE: 11th IAEA Technical Meeting on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takizuka, Tomonori

    2008-07-01

    Takizuka (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan: Chair) R J Groebner (General Atomics, USA) T S Hahm (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) A E Hubbard (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) K Ida (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S V Lebedev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) G Saibene (EFDA CSU Garching, Germany) W Suttrop (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) Additional information about this meeting (H-mode-TM-11) is available in its homepage http://www-jt60.naka.jaea.go.jp/h-mode-tm-11/. List of Participants N Aiba (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) T Akiyama (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) N Asakura (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) L G Askinazi (Ioffe Institute, Russia) M N A Beurskens (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) J D Callen (University of Wisconsin, USA) T Cho (University of Tsukuba, Japan) P C DeVries (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) X T Ding (Southwestern Institute of Physics, China) E J Doyle (University of California, Los Angels, USA) A Fukuyama (Kyoto University, Japan) P Gohil (General Atomics, USA) R J Groebner (General Atomics, USA) T S Hahm (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) N Hayashi (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) Y Higashiyama (Nagoya University, Japan) Y Higashizono (University of Tsukuba, Japan) M Hirata (University of Tsukuba, Japan) G T Hoang (Association Euratom-CEA sur la Fusion Controle, France) G M D Hogeweij (FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, The Netherlands) M Honda (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) L D Horton (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) W A Houlberg (ITER Organization) A E Hubbard (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) J W Hughes (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) M Ichimura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Ida (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Ido (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Imai (University of Tsukuba, Japan) F Imbeaux (Association Euratom-CEA sur la Fusion Controle, France) A Itakura