Making expert knowledge through the image: connections between antiquarian and early modern scientific illustration.

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, Stephanie

2014-03-01

This essay examines drawings of antiquities in the context of the history of early modern scientific illustration. The role of illustrations in the establishment of archaeology as a discipline is assessed, and the emergence of a graphic style for representing artifacts is shown to be closely connected to the development of scientific illustration in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The essay argues that the production of conventionalized drawings of antiquities during this period represents a fundamental shift in the approach to ancient material culture, signifying the recognition of objects as evidence. As has been demonstrated in other scientific fields, the creation of a visual system for recording objects was central to the acceptance of artifacts as "data" that could be organized into groups, classified as types, and analyzed to gain knowledge of the past.

Gristhorpe Man: an Early Bronze Age log-coffin burial scientifically defined

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melton, Nigel; Montgomery, Janet; Knüsel, Christopher J.

2010-01-01

A log-coffin excavated in the early nineteenth century proved to be well enough preserved in the early twenty-first century for the full armoury of modern scientific investigation to give its occupants and contents new identity, new origins and a new date. In many ways the interpretation is much ...... the same as before: a local big man buried looking out to sea. Modern analytical techniques can create a person more real, more human and more securely anchored in history. This research team shows how....

Gristhorpe Man : an early Bronze Age log-coffin burial scientifically defined.

OpenAIRE

Melton, N.; Montgomery, J.; Knusel, C.J.; Batt, C.; Needham, S.; Pearson, M.P.; Sheridan, A.; Heron, C.; Horsley, T.; Schmidt, A.; Evans, A.; Carter, E.; Edwards, H.; Hargreaves, M.; Janaway, R.

2010-01-01

A log-coffin excavated in the early nineteenth century proved to be well enough preserved in the early twenty-first century for the full armoury of modern scientific investigation to give its occupants and contents new identity, new origins and a new date. In many ways the interpretation is much the same as before: a local big man buried looking out to sea. Modern analytical techniques can create a person more real, more human and more securely anchored in history. This research team shows how.

Scientific spirit in early childhood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Samacá Bohórquez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Play and fun are key elements in the pedagogical work with five-year school children, since the teacher is required to carry out a hermeneutical and phenomenological exercise coming from the interaction among the different languages used by children to communicate their thoughts, emotions and ideas. In order to reflect about the scientific spirit in early childhood, it is necessary firstly to think about how its logic develops and operates and about the need to recognize in the sociocultural environment the possibilities to stimulate talents or the limitations demarcating their development, secondly, teaching practice must be thought in order to establish dialogue forums with students to know their needs and interests and guide their searches. To meet other is possible for children to the extent that the dialogical principle of knowledge interaction is recognized and the discovery of tensions and meeting points around the educational praxis, as an approach to infant’s rationality and his/her ways of learning, towards the social construction of boy and girl gender identity in our society.

Extensional scientific realism vs. intensional scientific realism.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seungbae

2016-10-01

Extensional scientific realism is the view that each believable scientific theory is supported by the unique first-order evidence for it and that if we want to believe that it is true, we should rely on its unique first-order evidence. In contrast, intensional scientific realism is the view that all believable scientific theories have a common feature and that we should rely on it to determine whether a theory is believable or not. Fitzpatrick argues that extensional realism is immune, while intensional realism is not, to the pessimistic induction. I reply that if extensional realism overcomes the pessimistic induction at all, that is because it implicitly relies on the theoretical resource of intensional realism. I also argue that extensional realism, by nature, cannot embed a criterion for distinguishing between believable and unbelievable theories. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distinguishing between Poor/Dysfunctional Parenting and Child Emotional Maltreatment

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfe, David A.; McIsaac, Caroline

2011-01-01

Objective: This paper was intended to distinguish between poor parenting and child emotional maltreatment (CEM), to inform child welfare and public health policymakers of the need for differentiated responses. Methods: Scientific literature was integrated with current practice and assumptions relating to poor/dysfunctional parenting and child…

A Convenient Model for the Evolution of Early Psychology as a Scientific Discipline.

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein, Robert

1981-01-01

To help college students understand psychology, the article suggests that instructors develop curriculum based on the relationship between scientific and technological advances and the development of early psychology. Views of many nineteenth century psychologists are summarized, including Johann Friedrich Herbart, Hermann Lotze, and Georg…

Early-stage detection of breakthrough-class scientific research : using micro-level citation dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Winnink, J.J.

2017-01-01

The research presented in this PhD thesis describes ways of identifying at an early-stage, 2-3 years after their publication, discoveries in science that are expected to have a major impact on science. Bibliographic information extracted from those scientific publications is analysed to select

Plasma complement biomarkers distinguish multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hakobyan, Svetlana; Luppe, Sebastian; Evans, David Rs; Harding, Katharine; Loveless, Samantha; Robertson, Neil P; Morgan, B Paul

2017-06-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. Although distinguished by clinicoradiological and demographic features, early manifestations can be similar complicating management. Antibodies against aquaporin-4 support the diagnosis of NMOSD but are negative in some patients. Therefore, there is unmet need for biomarkers that enable early diagnosis and disease-specific intervention. We investigated whether plasma complement proteins are altered in MS and NMOSD and provide biomarkers that distinguish these diseases. Plasma from 54 NMOSD, 40 MS and 69 control donors was tested in multiplex assays measuring complement activation products and proteins. Using logistic regression, we tested whether combinations of complement analytes distinguished NMOSD from controls and MS. All activation products were elevated in NMOSD compared to either control or MS. Four complement proteins (C1inh, C1s, C5 and FH) were higher in NMOSD compared to MS or controls. A model comprising C1inh and terminal complement complex (TCC) distinguished NMOSD from MS (area under the curve (AUC): 0.98), while C1inh and C5 distinguished NMOSD from controls (AUC: 0.94). NMOSD is distinguished from MS by plasma complement biomarkers. Selected complement analytes enable differential diagnosis. Findings support trials of anti-complement therapies in NMOSD.

Initiation to scientific literacy in early years of elementary school: contributions of a didactic sequence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Pinto Viecheneski

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents the results of a research professional, which was developed in the context of the early years of elementary school, from the application of a didactic sequence, with a view to initiation of scientific literacy of students in the literacy process of language. The methodological approach was qualitative, interpretative nature. The subjects were the students of 1st year 1st Cycle of Basic Education in a public school in Ponta Grossa - PR. The data were collected through observation, application of diagnostic testing, audio recordings, photographs, written records, illustrations and posttest. The theory History Cultural Development made the analysis of pedagogical actions and reflections on them. The main results indicate that the activities of the instructional sequence, contributed to the progressive advancement of the students' knowledge in relation to the area of science and basic scientific literacy, and also contributed to make learning the language more contextualized and interdisciplinary. It is noted that this work requires a teacher to assume the role of mediator between the scientific and the children, as well as requires the understanding that, as the subject entered the technological means, students in the early years have a right to access scientific culture. In this perspective, respecting the level of development of the children, the teacher can provide challenges and mediations necessary for the gradual construction of scientific knowledge, the first years of elementary school.

The craft of scientific writing

CERN Document Server

Alley, Michael

2019-01-01

The Craft of Scientific Writing uses scores of examples to show the differences between scientific writing that informs and persuades and scientific writing that does not. Focusing on technical papers, dissertations, and reports, this text shows engineers, scientists, and technical professionals the five keys of style that distinguish the best scientific documents: (1) having the details presented in a methodical fashion, (2) having the important details emphasized, (3) having ideas cast into clear and precise sentences, (4) having clear connections between those ideas, and (5) having illustrations that persuade.

Alfred Owre: revisiting the thought of a distinguished, though controversial, early twentieth-century dental educator.

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, David A

2013-08-01

Many in dental education are unfamiliar with the professional life and thought of Dr. Alfred Owre, a distinguished though controversial dental educator in the early twentieth century. Owre served as dean of dentistry at both the University of Minnesota, 1905-27, and Columbia University, 1927-33. He was also a member of the Carnegie Foundation's commission that developed the report Dental Education in the United States and Canada, written by Dr. William J. Gies. Owre was a controversial leader due to his creative and original ideas that challenged dental education and the profession. His assessment and critique of the problems of dental education in his era can readily be applied to contemporary dental education and the profession, just as his vision for transformative change resonates with ideas that continue to be advocated by some individuals today. This article also documents his tumultuous relationship with Gies.

Neural Indices of Semantic Processing in Early Childhood Distinguish Eventual Stuttering Persistence and Recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Kreidler, Kathryn; Wray, Amanda Hampton; Usler, Evan; Weber, Christine

2017-01-01

Purpose: Maturation of neural processes for language may lag in some children who stutter (CWS), and event-related potentials (ERPs) distinguish CWS who have recovered from those who have persisted. The current study explores whether ERPs indexing semantic processing may distinguish children who will eventually persist in stuttering…

Early Science Education: Exploring Familiar Contexts To Improve the Understanding of Some Basic Scientific Concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, Isabel P.; Veiga, Luisa

2001-01-01

Argues that science education is a fundamental tool for global education and that it must be introduced in early years as a first step to a scientific culture for all. Describes testing validity of a didactic strategy for developing the learning of concepts, which was based upon an experimental work approach using everyday life contexts. (Author)

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 37: NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES IN PHYSICS FOR 2000-2004

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.I. Baranov

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Implementation of brief analytical review of the distinguished scientific achievements of the world scientists-physicists, awarded the Nobel bonus on physics for period 2000-2004. Methodology. Scientific methods of collection, analysis and analytical treatment of scientific and technical information of world level in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics. Results. The brief analytical review of the scientific openings and distinguished achievements of scientists-physicists is resulted in area of modern physical and technical problems which were marked the Nobel Prizes on physics for period 2000-2004. Originality. Systematization is executed with exposition in the short concentrated form of the known scientific and technical materials, devoted creation of semiconductor geterostructures scientists-physicists, integral microcircuit, to the receipt of condensation of Boze-Einstein in rarefied gases of alkaline metals, finding out a space neutrino, opening of space sources of X-rays, development of theory of superconductors and superfluid liquids and opening of asymptotic freedom in the theory of strong interactions of elementary particles. Practical value. Popularization and deepening of scientific and technical knowledges for students, engineers and technical specialists and research workers in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics, extending their scientific range of interests and cooperant of further development of scientific and technical progress in human society.

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 36: NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES IN PHYSICS FOR 1995-1999

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.I. Baranov

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Implementation of brief analytical review of the distinguished scientific achievements of the world scientists-physicists, awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for period 1995-1999. Methodology. Scientific methods of collection, analysis and analytical treatment of scientific and technical information of world level in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics. Results. The brief analytical review of the scientific openings and distinguished achievements of scientists-physicists is resulted in area of modern physical and technical problems which were marked the Nobel bonuses on physics for period 1995-1999. Originality. Systematization is executed with exposition in the short concentrated form of the known scientific and technical materials, devoted opening of tau-lepton, experimental discovery of electronic neutrino, opening of superfluidity of liquid helium-3, creation of methods of cooling and «capture» of atoms by a laser ray, opening of new form of quantum liquid with excitations of fractional electric charge and clearing up of quantum structure of electroweak interactions of elementary particles scientists-physicists. Practical value. Popularization and deepening of scientific and technical knowledges for students, engineer and technical specialists and research workers in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics, extending their scientific range of interests and further development of scientific and technical progress in human society.

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 39: NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES IN PHYSICS FOR 2011-2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. I. Baranov

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Implementation of brief analytical review of the distinguished scientific achievements of the world scientists-physicists, awarded the Nobel Prize on physics for the period 2011-2015. Methodology. Scientific methods of collection, analysis and analytical treatment of scientific and technical information of world level in area of astrophysics, physics of elementary particles, physics of high energies, of modern theoretical and experimental physics. Results. The brief analytical review of the scientific openings and distinguished achievements of scientists-physicists is resulted in area of modern physical and technical problems which were marked the Nobel Prizes on physics for the period 2011-2015. Originality. Systematization is executed with exposition in the short concentrated form of the known scientific and technical materials, devoted opening of acceleration of expansion of Universe, creation of breach technologies of manipulation the quantum systems, theoretical discovery of mechanism of origin of mass of under-atomic particles, invention of effective power sources of light − blue light-emitting diodes and opening of neutrino oscillations. Practical value. Popularization and deepening of scientific and technical knowledges for students, engineers and technical specialists and research workers in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics, extending their scientific range of interests and cooperation in further development of scientific and technical progress in human society.

The scientific use of technological instruments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boon, Mieke; Hansson, Sven Ove

2015-01-01

One of the most obvious ways in which the natural sciences depend on technology is through the use of instruments. This chapter presents a philosophical analysis of the role of technological instruments in science. Two roles of technological instruments in scientific practices are distinguished:

Trieste's lesson in scientific communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1968-01-01

The opening of the new home of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste also marked the start of a most important manifestation in science - a review of the whole of contemporary physics carried out by world leaders of scientific thought. Eight Nobel Laureates were included among more than 300 distinguished participants. (author)

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 35: NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES IN PHYSICS FOR 1990-1994

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. I. Baranov

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Implementation of brief analytical review of the distinguished scientific achievements of the world scientists-physicists, awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for period 1990-1994. Methodology. Scientific methods of collection, analysis and analytical treatment of scientific and technical information of world level in area physics of elementary particles, physics of high energies, of astrophysics, of modern theoretical and experimental physics. Results. The brief analytical review of the scientific openings and distinguished achievements of scientists-physicists is resulted in area of modern physical and technical problems which were marked the Nobel Prize in physics for period 1990-1994. Originality. Systematization is executed with exposition in the short concentrated form of the known scientific and technical materials, devoted pioneer researches results on dispersion of relativism electrons on protons (neutrons, to opening of likenesses of physics of hard matter and physics of the condensed state of matter, creation of revolutionary detector of elementary particles, to opening of new pulsars and new possibilities in the study of gravitation, to creation of neutron spectroscopy and method of neutron diffraction. Practical value. Popularization and deepening of scientific and technical knowledges for students, engineer and technical specialists and research workers in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics, extending their scientific range of interests and cooperant further development of scientific and technical progress in human society.

Scientific Competencies in the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Heike; Zhang, Ying; Klopp, Eric; Brünken, Roland; Krause, Ulrike-Marie; Spinath, Frank M.; Stark, Robin; Spinath, Birgit

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to introduce a general theoretical model of scientific competencies in higher education and to adapt it to three social sciences, namely psychology, sociology, and political science, by providing evidence from expert interviews and program regulations. Within our general model, we distinguished and specified four…

Can early MRI distinguish between Kingella kingae and Gram-positive cocci in osteoarticular infections in young children?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kanavaki, Aikaterini; Hanquinet, Sylviane; Merlini, Laura [Geneva University Hospital HUG, Unit of Pediatric Radiology, Geneva (Switzerland); Ceroni, Dimitri [Geneva University Hospital, Unit of Pediatric Orthopedics, Geneva (Switzerland); Tchernin, David [Geneva University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Geneva (Switzerland)

2012-01-15

K. kingae is a common causative organism in acute osteoarticular infections (OAIs) in children under 4 years of age. Differentiation between K. kingae and Gram-positive cocci (GPC) is of great interest therapeutically. Our aim was to identify early distinguishing MRI features of OAIs. Thirty-one children younger than 4 years of age with OAI underwent MRI at presentation. Of these, 21 were caused by K. kingae and ten by GPC. Bone and soft tissue reaction, epiphyseal cartilage involvement, bone and subperiosteal abscess formation were compared between the two groups. Interobserver agreement was measured. Bone reaction was less frequent (P=0.0066) and soft tissue reaction less severe (P=0.0087) in the K. kingae group. Epiphysis cartilage abscesses were present only in the K. kingae group (P=0.0118). No difference was found for bone abscess (P=0.1411), subperiosteal abscess (P=1) or joint effusion (P=0.4414). Interobserver agreement was good for all criteria. MRI is useful in differentiating K. kingae from GPC in OAI. Cartilaginous involvement and modest soft tissue and bone reaction suggest K. kingae. (orig.)

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 38: NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES IN PHYSICS FOR 2005-2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.I. Baranov

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Implementation of brief analytical review of the distinguished scientific achievements of the world scientists-physicists, awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for period 2005-2010 yy. Methodology. Scientific methods of collection, analysis and analytical treatment of scientific and technical information of world level in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics. Results. The brief analytical review of the scientific openings and distinguished achievements of scientists-physicists is resulted in area of modern physical and technical problems which were marked by the Nobel Prizes in physics for the period 2005-2010. Originality. Systematization is executed with exposition in the short concentrated form of the known scientific and technical materials, devoted creation of quantum theory of optical coherentness by scientists-physicists, development of laser exact spectroscopy, opening form of spectrum for a black body and anisotropy of space microwave base-line radiation, opening of effect of giant magnetoresistance, opening of mechanism of spontaneous violation of symmetry in subatomic physics, development of new technology of transmission of light in optical fibres, invention of a semiconductor circuit for registration of images and results of innovative experiments on research of 2D material of graphen. Practical value. Popularization and deepening of scientific and technical knowledges for students, engineers and technical specialists and research workers in area of modern theoretical and experimental physics, extending their scientific range of interests and collaboration in further development of scientific and technical progress in human society.

EARLY PRINTED CYRILLIC BOOKS OF THE MAKSYMOVYCH SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY OF THE TARAS SHEVCHENKO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF KYIV: THE NEW RESEARCH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Д. В. Лукін

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The article describes the latest research activities on early printed cyrillic books of the Maksymovych Scientific Library, being conducted in 2016-2017. The main attention is paid to the identification of early print editions and the publication of “provenientia”, marginalia, hand-written notes which reveal the origins and history of use of the certain printed documents. The several early Kievan prints are mentioned as well as personalities and locations which are connected with during their long history of use. The latest investigation of two copies of Didactic Gospel, printed in1606 inKrylos, is described. One of them, which was indentified recently, has its origin in TranscarpathianUkraine, while the second copy was donated to the church in Podillya region in 1624, and reappeared much later in private collection of Nikolai Maklakov (1805–1881. A brief description of the scientific project “The interaction of Ukrainian and Belarusian printed book traditions from the 16th till the beginning of the 19th century” is included. The article has its practical purpose in filling the gap in knowledge of certain parts of ukrainian early printed book heritage, which may be valuable to bibliogists and codicologists, dealing with cyrillic prints and manuscripts respectively.

The Scientific Method - Critical and Creative Thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Cotton, John; Scarlise, Randall

2011-10-01

The ``scientific method'' is not just for scientists! Combined with critical thinking, the scientific method can enable students to distinguish credible sources of information from nonsense and become intelligent consumers of information. Professors John Cotton and Randall Scalise illustrate these principles using a series of examples and demonstrations that is enlightening, educational, and entertaining. This lecture/demonstration features highlights from their course (whose unofficial title is ``debunking pseudoscience'' ) which enables students to detect pseudoscience in its many guises: paranormal phenomena, free-energy devices, alternative medicine, and many others.

From the EEL to the EGO: psychoanalysis and the remnants of Freud's early scientific practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieser, Martin

2013-01-01

While numerous historiographical works have been written to shed light on Freud's early theoretical education in biology, physiology, and medicine and on the influence of that education on psychoanalysis, this paper approaches Freud's basic comprehension of science and methodology by focusing on his early research practice in physiology and neuranatomy. This practice, taking place in the specific context of Ernst Brücke's physiological laboratory in Vienna, was deeply concerned with problems of visuality and the revelation of hidden organic structures by use of proper preparation techniques and optical instruments. The paper explores the connection between such visualizing practices, shaped by a physiological context as they were, and Freud's later convictions of the scientific status of psychoanalysis and the function of its method as means to unveil the concealed structure of the "psychical apparatus". © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hippocrates' complaint and the scientific ethos in early modern England.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Richard

2018-04-01

Among the elements of the modern scientific ethos, as identified by R.K. Merton and others, is the commitment of individual effort to a long-term inquiry that may not bring substantial results in a lifetime. The challenge this presents was encapsulated in the aphorism of the ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates of Kos: vita brevis, ars longa (life is short, art is long). This article explores how this complaint was answered in the early modern period by Francis Bacon's call for the inauguration of the sciences over several generations, thereby imagining a succession of lives added together over time. However, Bacon also explored another response to Hippocrates: the devotion of a 'whole life', whether brief or long, to science. The endorsement of long-term inquiry in combination with intensive lifetime involvement was embraced by some leading Fellows of the Royal Society, such as Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. The problem for individuals, however, was to find satisfaction in science despite concerns, in some fields, that current observations and experiments would not yield material able to be extended by future investigations.

The scientific careers of Robert Sinclair and Nestor Zaluzec - A brief sketch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fraser, Hamish L. [The Ohio State University (United States); Smith, David J., E-mail: david.smith@asu.edu [Arizona State University (United States); Wittig, James E. [Vanderbilt University (United States)

2017-05-15

Robert (Bob) Sinclair and Nestor Zaluzec have been working for many years at the leading edge of developments in electron microscopy techniques and applications. Their distinguished careers and some of their notable scientific achievements are briefly highlighted. - Highlights: • Biographical sketch of Bob Sinclair • Biographical Sketch of Nestor Zaluzec • Scientific career highlights.

The scientific careers of Robert Sinclair and Nestor Zaluzec - A brief sketch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraser, Hamish L.; Smith, David J.; Wittig, James E.

2017-01-01

Robert (Bob) Sinclair and Nestor Zaluzec have been working for many years at the leading edge of developments in electron microscopy techniques and applications. Their distinguished careers and some of their notable scientific achievements are briefly highlighted. - Highlights: • Biographical sketch of Bob Sinclair • Biographical Sketch of Nestor Zaluzec • Scientific career highlights

Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy: Charlotte J. Patterson

Science.gov (United States)

American Psychologist, 2009

2009-01-01

Charlotte J. Patterson, winner of the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, is cited as the world's expert on psychological research on children and youths raised by lesbian and gay parents. Her early analytic syntheses of the literature on the subject greatly influenced other researchers in child and family…

Distinguishing How from Why the Mind Wanders: A Process-Occurrence Framework for Self-Generated Mental Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Smallwood, Jonathan

2013-01-01

Cognition can unfold with little regard to the events taking place in the environment, and such self-generated mental activity poses a specific set of challenges for its scientific analysis in both cognitive science and neuroscience. One problem is that the spontaneous onset of self-generated mental activity makes it hard to distinguish the events…

The development of scientific literacy assessment to measure student’s scientific literacy skills in energy theme

Science.gov (United States)

Rusilowati, A.; Nugroho, S. E.; Susilowati, E. S. M.; Mustika, T.; Harfiyani, N.; Prabowo, H. T.

2018-03-01

The research were aimed to develop and find out of validity, reliability, characteristic of scientific literacy assessment, and find out of the profile of students’ scientific literacy skills in Energy themed. The research is conducted in 7th grade of Secondary School at Demak, Central of Java Indonesia. The research design used R&D (Research and Development). The results of the research showed that the scientific literacy assessment was valid and reliable with 0.68 value in the first try out and 0.73 value in the last try out. The characteristics of the scientific literacy assessment are the difficulty index and the discrimination power. The difficulty index and distinguishing are 56.25% easy, 31.25% medium, and 12.5% very difficult with good discrimination power. The proportion of category of scientific literacy as the body of knowledge, the science as a way of investigating, science as a way of thinking, and the interaction among science, environment, technology, and society was 37.5%:25%:18.75%:18.75%. The highest to the lowest profile of students’ scientific literacy skills at Secondary School Demak was 72% in the category of science as a way of thinking and the lowest was 59% in the category of science as the body of knowledge.

The GTC Scientific Data Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Solano, E.

2005-12-01

Since the early stages of the GTC project, the need of a scientific archive was already identified as an important tool for the scientific exploitation of the data. In this work, the conceptual design and the main functionalities of the Scientific Data Archive of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GSA) are described. The system will be developed, implemented and maintained at the Laboratorio de Astrofísica Espacial y Física Fundamental (LAEFF).

Cognitive Development in Early Readers.

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Chari; Elkind, David

Some studies of early readers are discussed. It is pointed out that study of early readers has relevance for practical and theoretical issues in psychology and education. Of interest in this document are the following questions: (1) Are there any special talents or traits distinguishing early from non-early readers? (2) Do children who read early…

Tracing Young Children's Scientific Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Tytler, Russell; Peterson, Suzanne

2003-08-01

This paper explores the scientific reasoning of 14 children across their first two years of primary school. Children's view of experimentation, their approach to exploration, and their negotiation of competing knowledge claims, are interpreted in terms of categories of epistemological reasoning. Children's epistemological reasoning is distinguished from their ability to control variables. While individual children differ substantially, they show a relatively steady growth in their reasoning, with some contextual variation. A number of these children are reasoning at a level well in advance of curriculum expectations, and it is argued that current recommended practice in primary science needs to be rethought. The data is used to explore the relationship between reasoning and knowledge, and to argue that the generation and exploration of ideas must be the key driver of scientific activity in the primary school.

[The scientific revolution in medicine of second half of XX - early XXI centuries: occurrence of new conceptions about human organism and essence of diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Stepin, V S; Zatravkin, S N

2016-01-01

The article presents the results of analysis of works of supreme Russian physiologists and pathologists of XX-XXI centuries. The analysis was applied on the basis concept of structure and dynamics of scientific cognition developed by one o the authors of the present article. The applied analysis permits affirming that during second half of XX-early XXI centuries in medicine occurred and continues to occurring transformations whose character and scope totally corresponds to scientific revolution and occurring and establishing in medicine new conceptions have all signs permitting referring them to post-neoclassic type of scientific rationality.

Hauntings, homeopathy, and the Hopkinsville Goblins: using pseudoscience to teach scientific thinking

OpenAIRE

Schmaltz, Rodney; Lilienfeld, Scott O.

2014-01-01

With access to information ever increasing, it is essential that students acquire the skills to distinguish fact from fiction. By incorporating examples of pseudoscience into lectures, instructors can provide students with the tools needed to understand the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific or paranormal claims. We discuss examples involving psychics, ghosts, aliens, and other phenomena in relation to scientific thinking. In light of research literature demonstrating that pre...

Hauntings, homeopathy, and the Hopkinsville Goblins: using pseudoscience to teach scientific thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Schmaltz, Rodney; Lilienfeld, Scott O.

2014-01-01

With access to information ever increasing, it is essential that students acquire the skills to distinguish fact from fiction. By incorporating examples of pseudoscience into lectures, instructors can provide students with the tools needed to understand the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific or paranormal claims. We discuss examples involving psychics, ghosts, aliens, and other phenomena in relation to scientific thinking. In light of research literature demonstrating that presenting and dispelling scientific misconceptions in the classroom is an effective means of countering non-scientific or pseudoscientific beliefs, we provide examples of pseudoscience that can be used to help students acquire healthy skepticism while avoiding cynicism. PMID:24860520

Hauntings, homeopathy, and the Hopkinsville Goblins: Using pseudoscience to teach scientific thinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodney Michael Schmaltz

2014-04-01

Full Text Available With access to information ever increasing, it is essential that students acquire the skills to distinguish fact from fiction. By incorporating examples of pseudoscience into lectures, instructors can provide students with the tools needed to understand the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific or paranormal claims. We discuss examples involving psychics, ghosts, aliens, and other phenomena in relation to scientific thinking. In light of research literature demonstrating that presenting and dispelling scientific misconceptions in the classroom is an effective means of countering non-scientific or pseudoscientific beliefs, we provide examples of pseudoscience that can be used to help students acquire healthy skepticism while avoiding cynicism.

Hauntings, homeopathy, and the Hopkinsville Goblins: using pseudoscience to teach scientific thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmaltz, Rodney; Lilienfeld, Scott O

2014-01-01

With access to information ever increasing, it is essential that students acquire the skills to distinguish fact from fiction. By incorporating examples of pseudoscience into lectures, instructors can provide students with the tools needed to understand the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific or paranormal claims. We discuss examples involving psychics, ghosts, aliens, and other phenomena in relation to scientific thinking. In light of research literature demonstrating that presenting and dispelling scientific misconceptions in the classroom is an effective means of countering non-scientific or pseudoscientific beliefs, we provide examples of pseudoscience that can be used to help students acquire healthy skepticism while avoiding cynicism.

The configuration of the Brazilian scientific field.

Science.gov (United States)

Barata, Rita B; Aragão, Erika; de Sousa, Luis E P Fernandes; Santana, Taris M; Barreto, Mauricio L

2014-03-01

This article describes the configuration of the scientific field in Brazil, characterizing the scientific communities in every major area of knowledge in terms of installed capacity, ability to train new researchers, and capacity for academic production. Empirical data from several sources of information are used to characterize the different communities. Articulating the theoretical contributions of Pierre Bourdieu, Ludwik Fleck, and Thomas Kuhn, the following types of capital are analyzed for each community: social capital (scientific prestige), symbolic capital (dominant paradigm), political capital (leadership in S & T policy), and economic capital (resources). Scientific prestige is analyzed by taking into account the volume of production, activity index, citations, and other indicators. To characterize symbolic capital, the dominant paradigms that distinguish the natural sciences, the humanities, applied sciences, and technology development are analyzed theoretically. Political capital is measured by presidency in one of the main agencies in the S & T national system, and research resources and fellowships define the economic capital. The article discusses the composition of these different types of capital and their correspondence to structural capacities in various communities with the aim of describing the configuration of the Brazilian scientific field.

The Early Scientific Contributions of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Why Did the Scientific Community Miss the Black Hole Opportunity?

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega-Rodríguez, M.; Solís-Sánchez, H.; Boza-Oviedo, E.; Chaves-Cruz, K.; Guevara-Bertsch, M.; Quirós-Rojas, M.; Vargas-Hernández, S.; Venegas-Li, A.

2017-04-01

We assess the scientific value of Oppenheimer's research on black holes in order to explain its neglect by the scientific community, and even by Oppenheimer himself. Looking closely at the scientific culture and conceptual belief system of the 1930s, the present article seeks to supplement the existing literature by enriching the explanations and complicating the guiding questions. We suggest a rereading of Oppenheimer as a figure both more intriguing for the history of astrophysics and further ahead of his time than is commonly supposed.

Comments on "Distinguishing science from pseudoscience in school psychology:" Evidence-based interventions for grandiose bragging.

Science.gov (United States)

Kratochwill, Thomas R

2012-02-01

The purpose of this article is to provide some perspectives on Lilienfeld, Ammirati, and David's (2012) paper on distinguishing science from pseudoscience in school psychology. In many respects their work represents an intervention for "grandiose bragging," a problem that has occasionally occurred when various non-evidence-based or discredited interventions receive sensationalized positive endorsement for adoption in school psychology practice. In this paper, the implications of the Lilienfeld et al. work are discussed within the context of the scientist-practitioner gap, scientific thinking and evaluation of scientific thinking, and negative results research. The authors have advanced our thinking on evidence-based practices in school psychology and education. Copyright © 2011 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distinguishing Hidden Markov Chains

OpenAIRE

Kiefer, Stefan; Sistla, A. Prasad

2015-01-01

Hidden Markov Chains (HMCs) are commonly used mathematical models of probabilistic systems. They are employed in various fields such as speech recognition, signal processing, and biological sequence analysis. We consider the problem of distinguishing two given HMCs based on an observation sequence that one of the HMCs generates. More precisely, given two HMCs and an observation sequence, a distinguishing algorithm is expected to identify the HMC that generates the observation sequence. Two HM...

Nikolaj Nikolaevich Bogolubov. Sketch of the scientific work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogolyubov, N.N.; Sankovich, D.P.

1993-01-01

The article contains the review of main scientific results of the distinguished mathematician and physicist-theorist, Academician N.N.Bouolubov. The results were obtained in the differential equation theory, calculus of variations, theory of almost periodical functions, nonlinear mechanics, statistical physics and quantum field theory. A significance of the fundamental investigations of Bogolubov for development of the modern mathematical physics is shown. 115 refs

Measuring the development of a common scientific lexicon in nanotechnology

Science.gov (United States)

Arora, Sanjay K.; Youtie, Jan; Carley, Stephen; Porter, Alan L.; Shapira, Philip

2014-01-01

Over the last two decades, nanotechnology has not only grown considerably but also evolved in its use of scientific terminology. This paper examines the growth in nano-prefixed terms in a corpus of nanotechnology scholarly publications over a 21-year time period. The percentage of publications using a nano-prefixed term has increased from nanotechnology papers oriented toward biomedical and clinical medicine applications has risen from just over 5 % to more than 11 %. While these results cannot fully distinguish between the use of nano-prefixed terms in response to broader policy or societal influences, they do suggest that there are intellectual and scientific underpinnings to the growth of a collectively shared vocabulary. We consider whether our findings signify the maturation of a scientific field and the extent to which this denotes the emergence of a shared scientific understanding regarding nanotechnology.

Cray XT4: An Early Evaluation for Petascale Scientific Simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alam, Sadaf R.; Barrett, Richard F.; Fahey, Mark R.; Kuehn, Jeffery A.; Sankaran, Ramanan; Worley, Patrick H.; Larkin, Jeffrey M.

2007-01-01

The scientific simulation capabilities of next generation high-end computing technology will depend on striking a balance among memory, processor, I/O, and local and global network performance across the breadth of the scientific simulation space. The Cray XT4 combines commodity AMD dual core Opteron processor technology with the second generation of Cray's custom communication accelerator in a system design whose balance is claimed to be driven by the demands of scientific simulation. This paper presents an evaluation of the Cray XT4 using microbenchmarks to develop a controlled understanding of individual system components, providing the context for analyzing and comprehending the performance of several petascale-ready applications. Results gathered from several strategic application domains are compared with observations on the previous generation Cray XT3 and other high-end computing systems, demonstrating performance improvements across a wide variety of application benchmark problems.

The Nature of Scientific Revolutions from the Vantage Point of Chaos Theory: Toward a Formal Model of Scientific Change

Science.gov (United States)

Perla, Rocco J.; Carifio, James

2005-01-01

In sharp contrast to the early positivist view of the nature of science and scientific knowledge, Kuhn argues that the scientific enterprise involves states of continuous, gradual development punctuated by comparatively rare instances of turmoil and change, which ultimately brings about a new stability and a qualitatively changed knowledge base.…

75 FR 66388 - Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-28

..., including the multi-hazards demonstration project and earthquake early warning prototype development. The... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. Geological Survey [USGS-GX11GG009950000] Scientific Earthquake... Public Law 106-503, the Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee (SESAC) will hold its next...

Distinguishing differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress: recommendations for evaluating interaction effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Roisman, Glenn I; Newman, Daniel A; Fraley, R Chris; Haltigan, John D; Groh, Ashley M; Haydon, Katherine C

2012-05-01

This report describes the state of the art in distinguishing data generated by differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models. We discuss several limitations of existing practices for probing interaction effects and offer solutions that are designed to better differentiate differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models and quantify their corresponding implications. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of these methods by revisiting published evidence suggesting that temperamental difficulty serves as a marker of enhanced susceptibility to early maternal caregiving across a range of outcome domains in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We find that, with the exception of mother reports of psychopathology, there is consistent evidence in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development that the predictive significance of early sensitivity is moderated by difficult temperament over time. However, differential susceptibility effects emerged primarily for teacher reports of academic skills, social competence, and symptomatology. In contrast, effects more consistent with the diathesis-stress model were obtained for mother reports of social skills and objective tests of academic skills. We conclude by discussing the value of the application of this work to the next wave of Gene × Environment studies focused on early caregiving experiences.

Development of Formal Agricultural Education in Canada (Based on the Analysis of Scientific Periodicals of the 19th-Early 20th Centuries)

Science.gov (United States)

Havrylenko, Kateryna

2016-01-01

The article states that one of the world leaders in agricultural sector training is Canada, which has gained a great scientific and practical experience. The paper examines the role of periodicals of the 19th-early 20th centuries, preserved in the Canadian book funds for the establishment and development of formal agricultural education of this…

78 FR 19004 - Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-28

... Hazards Program. Focus topics for this meeting include induced seismicity, earthquake early warning and... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. Geological Survey [GX13GG009950000] Scientific Earthquake Studies... Law 106-503, the Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee (SESAC) will hold its next meeting...

Scientific biography, cognitive deficits, and laboratory practice. James McKeen Cattell and early American experimental psychology, 1880-1904.

Science.gov (United States)

Sokal, Michael M

2010-09-01

Despite widespread interest in individual life histories, few biographies of scientists make use of insights derived from psychology, another discipline that studies people, their thoughts, and their actions. This essay argues that recent theoretical work in psychology and tools developed for clinical psychological practice can help biographical historians of science create and present fuller portraits of their subjects' characters and temperaments and more nuanced analyses of how these traits helped shape their subjects' scientific work. To illustrate this thesis, the essay examines the early career of James McKeen Cattell--an influential late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century experimental psychologist--through a lens offered by psychology and argues that Cattell's actual laboratory practices derived from an "accommodation" to a long-standing "cognitive deficit." These practices in turn enabled Cattell to achieve more precise experimental results than could any of his contemporaries; and their students readily adopted them, along with their behavioral implications. The essay concludes that, in some ways, American psychology's early twentieth-century move toward a behavioral understanding of psychological phenomena can be traced to Cattell's personal cognitive deficit. It closes by reviewing several "remaining general questions" that this thesis suggests.

A Distinguish Attack on COSvd Cipher

OpenAIRE

Mohammad Ali Orumiehchi ha; R. Mirghadri

2007-01-01

The COSvd Ciphers has been proposed by Filiol and others (2004). It is a strengthened version of COS stream cipher family denoted COSvd that has been adopted for at least one commercial standard. We propose a distinguish attack on this version, and prove that, it is distinguishable from a random stream. In the COSvd Cipher used one S-Box (10×8) on the final part of cipher. We focus on S-Box and use weakness this S-Box for distinguish attack. In addition, found a leak on HNLL that the sub s-bo...

Local and Global Distinguishability in Quantum Interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durkin, Gabriel A.; Dowling, Jonathan P.

2007-01-01

A statistical distinguishability based on relative entropy characterizes the fitness of quantum states for phase estimation. This criterion is employed in the context of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and used to interpolate between two regimes of local and global phase distinguishability. The scaling of distinguishability in these regimes with photon number is explored for various quantum states. It emerges that local distinguishability is dependent on a discrepancy between quantum and classical rotational energy. Our analysis demonstrates that the Heisenberg limit is the true upper limit for local phase sensitivity. Only the ''NOON'' states share this bound, but other states exhibit a better trade-off when comparing local and global phase regimes

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 31: PORTRAIT OF THE KHARKIV PHYSICIST ALEXANDER ILYICH AKHIEZER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.I. Baranov

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Description is in the short form of the basic distinguished scientific achievements, features of personality and way of life of the known Kharkov physicist-theorist A.I. Akhiezer. Methodology. Existent scientific approaches for treatment and systematization of physical knowledges. Methods of historical method at research of development in human society of basic sections of theoretical physics. Results. Short information is resulted about the basic creative and vital stages, and also fundamental scientific achievements of the indicated prominent physicist of the XX century. Some personal qualities of this Kharkov physicist-theorist, becoming a founder known in the world of physical school are described. Originality. First the Kharkov scientist-electro-physicist for the wide circle of readers imagined a short scientifically-historical essay the known physicist of contemporaneity, being based on his scientific labours and published materials about him. Practical value. Scientific popularization of creative activity of the known Kharkov physicist and his achievements in area of theoretical physics. Next reminder a wide reader on the example of creative life in science and got prominent scientific results of labour of one human personality known in the scientific world about incessant in modern society connection of times and generations.

Distinguished trajectories in time dependent vector fields

OpenAIRE

Madrid, J. A. Jimenez; Mancho, Ana M.

2008-01-01

We introduce a new definition of distinguished trajectory that generalizes the concepts of fixed point and periodic orbit to aperiodic dynamical systems. This new definition is valid for identifying distinguished trajectories with hyperbolic and nonhyperbolic types of stability. The definition is implemented numerically and the procedure consists of determining a path of limit coordinates. It has been successfully applied to known examples of distinguished trajectories. In the context of high...

Recent Developments in Scientific Research Ballooning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, W. Vernon

2007-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Balloon Program is committed to meeting the need for extended duration scientific investigations by providing advanced balloon vehicles and support systems. A sea change in ballooning capability occurred with the inauguration of 8 - 20 day flights around Antarctica in the early 1990's. The attainment of 28-31 day flights and a record-breaking 42-day flight in, respectively, two and three circumnavigations of the continent has greatly increased the expectations of the scientific users. A new super-pressure balloon is currently under development for future flights of 60-100 days at any latitude, which would bring another sea change in scientific research ballooning

The dialectic as scientific form of exposition

OpenAIRE

César Ruíz Sanjuán

2014-01-01

The aim of this work is to point out the specific characters that present Marx’s conception of the dialectic as scientific form of exposition. In order to it we distinguish the conception of the dialectic that appears in his writings of youth from the one that appears in his mature work, and we show that in the latter the dialectic is not referred to the historical development, but to the theoretical exposition of the developed capitalist system. Then we deal with the issue of the succession ...

Integral and Multidimensional Linear Distinguishers with Correlation Zero

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogdanov, Andrey; Leander, Gregor; Nyberg, Kaisa

2012-01-01

Zero-correlation cryptanalysis uses linear approximations holding with probability exactly 1/2. In this paper, we reveal fundamental links of zero-correlation distinguishers to integral distinguishers and multidimensional linear distinguishers. We show that an integral implies zero-correlation li...... weak key assumptions. © International Association for Cryptologic Research 2012....

Scientific workflows as productivity tools for drug discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Shon, John; Ohkawa, Hitomi; Hammer, Juergen

2008-05-01

Large pharmaceutical companies annually invest tens to hundreds of millions of US dollars in research informatics to support their early drug discovery processes. Traditionally, most of these investments are designed to increase the efficiency of drug discovery. The introduction of do-it-yourself scientific workflow platforms has enabled research informatics organizations to shift their efforts toward scientific innovation, ultimately resulting in a possible increase in return on their investments. Unlike the handling of most scientific data and application integration approaches, researchers apply scientific workflows to in silico experimentation and exploration, leading to scientific discoveries that lie beyond automation and integration. This review highlights some key requirements for scientific workflow environments in the pharmaceutical industry that are necessary for increasing research productivity. Examples of the application of scientific workflows in research and a summary of recent platform advances are also provided.

Validation of the early childhood attitude toward women in science scale (ECWiSS): A pilot administration

Science.gov (United States)

Mulkey, Lynn M.

The intention of this research was to measure attitudes of young children toward women scientists. A 27-item instrument, the Early Childhood Women in Science Scale (ECWiSS) was validated in a test case of the proposition that differential socialization predicts entry into the scientific talent pool. Estimates of internal consistency indicated that the scale is highly reliable. Known groups and correlates procedures, employed to determine the validity of the instrument, revealed that the scale is able to discriminate significant differences between groups and distinguishes three dimensions of attitude (role-specific self-concept, home-related sex-role conflict, and work-related sex-role conflict). Results of the analyses also confirmed the anticipated pattern of correlations with measures of another construct. The findings suggest the utility of the ECWiSS for measurement of early childhood attitudes in models of the ascriptive and/or meritocratic processes affecting recruitment to science and more generally in program and curriculum evaluation where attitude toward women in science is the construct of interest.

The Evidence Base for How We Learn: Supporting Students' Social, Emotional, and Academic Development. Consensus Statements of Evidence from the Council of Distinguished Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Stephanie M.; Kahn, Jennifer

2017-01-01

"The Evidence Base for How We Learn: Supporting Students' Social, Emotional, and Academic Development" articulates the scientific consensus regarding how people learn. The research brief presents a set of consensus statements--developed and unanimously signed onto by the Commission's Council of Distinguished Scientists--that affirm the…

The scientific renaissance 1450-1630

CERN Document Server

Hall, Marie Boas

1994-01-01

Stimulating, illuminating, and thoughtfully presented, this study explores the early stages of the scientific revolution. A noted historian of science examines the Copernican revolution, the anatomical work of Vesalius, the work of Paracelsus, Harvey's discovery of the circulatory system, the effects of Galileo's telescopic discoveries, and much more.

Developing Scientific Thinking Methods and Applications in Islamic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Sharaf, Adel

2013-01-01

This article traces the early and medieval Islamic scholarship to the development of critical and scientific thinking and how they contributed to the development of an Islamic theory of epistemology and scientific thinking education. The article elucidates how the Qur'an and the Sunna of Prophet Muhammad have also contributed to the…

[August Gottlieb Richter: urological aspects of his comprehensive operative and scientific work].

Science.gov (United States)

Seifert, D

2013-06-01

August Gottlieb Richter (1742-1812) was one of the most distinguished surgeons in the second half of the eighteenth century. In this article his life and scientific career during an age shaken by wars and radical changes are described. Particular attention is paid to his achievements as a doctor, teacher and scientific author. The latter activity finds its foremost expression in the"Chirurgische Bibliothek" ("Surgical library"), a practice-oriented scientific journal, as well as in his later work"Anfangsgründe der Wundarzneykunst" ("Elements of wound surgery"). This article concentrates on the urological aspects of his work and compares these aspects with contemporary publications. Particular emphasis is placed on Richter's dispute about fashionable medical trends typical for that era as well as his culture of criticism and self-criticism.

Method for distinguishing fuel pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagami, Masaharu; Kurihara, Kunitoshi.

1978-01-01

Purpose: To distinguish correctly and efficiently the kind of fuel substance enclosed in a cladding tube. Method: Elements such as manganess 55, copper 65, vanadium 51, zinc 64, scandium 45 and the like, each having a large neutron absorption cross section and discharging gamma rays of inherent bright line spectra are applied to or mixed in fuel pellets of different kinds in uranium enrichment degree, plutonium concentration, burnable poison concentration or the like. These fuel rods are irradiated with neutron beams, and energy spectra of gamma rays discharged upon this occasion are observed to carry out distinguishing of fuel pellets. (Aizawa, K.)

Scientific Playworlds: a Model of Teaching Science in Play-Based Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Fleer, Marilyn

2017-09-01

Eminent scientists, like Einstein, worked with theoretical contradiction, thought experiments, mental models and visualisation—all characteristics of children's play. Supporting children's play is a strength of early childhood teachers. Promising research shows a link between imagination in science and imagination in play. A case study of 3 preschool teachers and 26 children (3.6-5.9 years; mean age of 4.6 years) over 6 weeks was undertaken, generating 59.6 h of digital observations and 788 photographs of play practices. The research sought to understand (1) how imaginative play promotes scientific learning and (2) examined how teachers engaged children in scientific play. Although play pedagogy is a strength of early childhood teachers, it was found that transforming imaginary situations into scientific narratives requires different pedagogical characteristics. The study found that the building of collective scientific narratives alongside of discourses of wondering were key determinants of science learning in play-based settings. Specifically, the pedagogical principles of using a cultural device that mirrors the science experiences, creating imaginary scientific situations, collectively building scientific problem situations, and imagining the relations between observable contexts and non-observable concepts, changed everyday practices into a scientific narrative and engagement. It is argued that these unique pedagogical characteristics promote scientific narratives in play-based settings. An approach, named as Scientific Playworlds, is presented as a possible model for teaching science in play-based settings.

Should Science be Taught in Early Childhood?

Science.gov (United States)

Eshach, Haim; Fried, Michael N.

2005-09-01

This essay considers the question of why we should teach science to K-2. After initial consideration of two traditional reasons for studying science, six assertions supporting the idea that even small children should be exposed to science are given. These are, in order: (1) Children naturally enjoy observing and thinking about nature. (2) Exposing students to science develops positive attitudes towards science. (3) Early exposure to scientific phenomena leads to better understanding of the scientific concepts studied later in a formal way. (4) The use of scientifically informed language at an early age influences the eventual development of scientific concepts. (5) Children can understand scientific concepts and reason scientifically. (6) Science is an efficient means for developing scientific thinking. Concrete illustrations of some of the ideas discussed in this essay, particularly, how language and prior knowledge may influence the development of scientific concepts, are then provided. The essay concludes by emphasizing that there is a window of opportunity that educators should exploit by presenting science as part of the curriculum in both kindergarten and the first years of primary school.

Framing of scientific knowledge as a new category of health care research.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvador-Carulla, Luis; Fernandez, Ana; Madden, Rosamond; Lukersmith, Sue; Colagiuri, Ruth; Torkfar, Ghazal; Sturmberg, Joachim

2014-12-01

The new area of health system research requires a revision of the taxonomy of scientific knowledge that may facilitate a better understanding and representation of complex health phenomena in research discovery, corroboration and implementation. A position paper by an expert group following and iterative approach. 'Scientific evidence' should be differentiated from 'elicited knowledge' of experts and users, and this latter typology should be described beyond the traditional qualitative framework. Within this context 'framing of scientific knowledge' (FSK) is defined as a group of studies of prior expert knowledge specifically aimed at generating formal scientific frames. To be distinguished from other unstructured frames, FSK must be explicit, standardized, based on the available evidence, agreed by a group of experts and subdued to the principles of commensurability, transparency for corroboration and transferability that characterize scientific research. A preliminary typology of scientific framing studies is presented. This typology includes, among others, health declarations, position papers, expert-based clinical guides, conceptual maps, classifications, expert-driven health atlases and expert-driven studies of costs and burden of illness. This grouping of expert-based studies constitutes a different kind of scientific knowledge and should be clearly differentiated from 'evidence' gathered from experimental and observational studies in health system research. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Scientific and non-scientific information in the uptake of health information: The case of Ebola

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bankole A. Falade

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2013–2016 claimed over 10 000 lives in less than 18 months. Low levels of familiarity with the disease, ease of transmission, scale of infection, gruesomeness of symptoms, lack of cure and high fatality rate created a global panic. From the perspective of the social psychology of communication and content analysis, this study examines media coverage of the crisis in Africa with a view to unpacking the scientific and non-scientific information that may have framed public understanding of the disease. Findings show that accepting scientific advice was not unproblematic, because of the similarity of early symptoms with known diseases such as Lassa, dengue and malaria fevers. Cultural and religious actors and beliefs posed a paradox for believers as the public assimilated disease prevention information into existing norms and practices. Rumours and conspiracy theories about Western governments and pharmaceuticals also contributed to the rejection of the scientific explanation of its origin. Fear of the devastating effects of the disease and the lack of a cure led to the stigmatisation of the infected and treatment centres and ultimately to public revolts. Findings show the importance of non-scientific information and actors in matters of health and illness in Africa. Significance: Scientific knowledge is not enough to change health behaviour. Non-scientific knowledge and actors, traditional and religious practices, rumours and conspiracy theories must all be factored into efforts to address behavioural change.

Using Rubrics as a Scientific Writing Instructional Method in Early Stage Undergraduate Neuroscience Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Clabough, Erin B D; Clabough, Seth W

2016-01-01

Scientific writing is an important communication and learning tool in neuroscience, yet it is a skill not adequately cultivated in introductory undergraduate science courses. Proficient, confident scientific writers are produced by providing specific knowledge about the writing process, combined with a clear student understanding about how to think about writing (also known as metacognition). We developed a rubric for evaluating scientific papers and assessed different methods of using the rubric in inquiry-based introductory biology classrooms. Students were either 1) given the rubric alone, 2) given the rubric, but also required to visit a biology subject tutor for paper assistance, or 3) asked to self-grade paper components using the rubric. Students who were required to use a peer tutor had more negative attitudes towards scientific writing, while students who used the rubric alone reported more confidence in their science writing skills by the conclusion of the semester. Overall, students rated the use of an example paper or grading rubric as the most effective ways of teaching scientific writing, while rating peer review as ineffective. Our paper describes a concrete, simple method of infusing scientific writing into inquiry-based science classes, and provides clear avenues to enhance communication and scientific writing skills in entry-level classes through the use of a rubric or example paper, with the goal of producing students capable of performing at a higher level in upper level neuroscience classes and independent research.

How Old Is Scientific Psychology?

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, John S.

Scientific psychology did not begin with Fechner and Wundt in the 19th century; its roots actually stretch back to 18th century Germany. The only detailed account of this period was published by Max Dessoir more than 80 years ago. Dessoir identified some of the crucial figures in early psychology, including Wolff, Bonnet, Kruger, Hissman, and…

Validation of Candidate Serum Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers for Early Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Su

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: We have previously analyzed protein profi les using Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption and Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectroscopy (SELDI-TOF-MS [Kozak et al. 2003, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100:12343–8] and identified 3 differentially expressed serum proteins for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OC [Kozak et al. 2005, Proteomics, 5:4589–96], namely, apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I, transthyretin (TTR and transferin (TF. The objective of the present study is to determine the efficacy of the three OC biomarkers for the detection of early stage (ES OC, in direct comparison to CA125.Methods: The levels of CA125, apoA-I, TTR and TF were measured in 392 serum samples [82 women with normal ovaries (N, 24 women with benign ovarian tumors (B, 85 women with ovarian tumors of low malignant potential (LMP, 126 women with early stage ovarian cancer (ESOC, and 75 women with late stage ovarian cancer (LSOC], obtained through the GOG and Cooperative Human Tissue Network. Following statistical analysis, multivariate regression models were built to evaluate the utility of the three OC markers in early detection.Results: Multiple logistic regression models (MLRM utilizing all biomarker values (CA125, TTR, TF and apoA-I from all histological subtypes (serous, mucinous, and endometrioid adenocarcinoma distinguished normal samples from LMP with 91% sensitivity (specifi city 92%, and normal samples from ESOC with a sensitivity of 89% (specifi city 92%. MLRM, utilizing values of all four markers from only the mucinous histological subtype showed that collectively, CA125, TTR, TF and apoA-I, were able to distinguish normal samples from mucinous LMP with 90% sensitivity, and further distinguished normal samples from early stage mucinous ovarian cancer with a sensitivity of 95%. In contrast, in serum samples from patients with mucinous tumors, CA125 alone was able to distinguish normal samples from LMP and early stage ovarian cancer with a sensitivity of

SMAP Impact Analysis of Early Adopter Research-Two Case studies on the scientific and societal benefits of SMAP data

Science.gov (United States)

Escobar, V. M.; Wu, H. T.; Moran, S.; O'Neill, P. E.

2016-12-01

To document and evaluate the use of SMAP science products in applications, the SMAP Phase E Applications Plan proposes to "conduct case studies to address a basic question: How are SMAP science products used in decision support systems and how does the new data stream affect the system performance?" The objective is to determine the value of SMAP data to the six categories of applications based on Early Adopters' experiences, where value is defined as the scientific and/or societal benefit. Since SMAP is the first mission with a pre-launch Early Adopter Program, the post-launch case study is also unprecedented. In this talk, we will show some results of the SMAP Early Adopters, with focus on the two case studies in the applications of agriculture and weather forecasting, respectively. For agriculture, we will show the work of USDA/NASS (National Agriculture Statistics Service) scientists (Zhengwei Yang and Rick Mueller). Using SMAP soil moisture products, they have been working on the establishment of a visualization, analytics, and dissemination tool to support and improve US national crop condition monitoring. Scientifically, this study will improve our understanding on the impact of crop canopy on the SMAP SM retrieval and on the mapping relation between SMAP SM and NASS soil moisture survey results. Socio-economically, the use of SMAP data and web-based tool will improve the consistency, reliability, objectivity, and efficiency of cropland soil moisture monitoring and assessment, which will benefit the current end users of the NASS weekly report including farmers, insurance companies, and financial institutes. For weather, we will show the work of NOAA scientists (Xiwu Zhan, Weizhong Zheng, and Mike Ek) on the transition of NASA SMAP research products to NOAA operational numerical weather and seasonal climate predictions and research hydrological forecasts. Results of initial analyses and validation of the assimilation of SMAP soil moisture in NOAA's Global

Distinguishing attack on five-round Feistel networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Lars Ramkilde; Raddum, H

2003-01-01

Recently it was shown (by J. Patarin) how to distinguish a general five-round Feistel network from a random permutation using O(2/sup 3n/2/) chosen plaintexts or O(2/sup 7n/4/) known plaintexts. The present authors report improvement of these results and a distinguisher is presented which uses ro...

Distinguishability of countable quantum states and von Neumann lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawakubo, Ryûitirô; Koike, Tatsuhiko

2016-01-01

The condition for distinguishability of a countably infinite number of pure states by a single measurement is given. Distinguishability is to be understood as the possibility of an unambiguous measurement. For a finite number of states, it is known that the necessary and sufficient condition of distinguishability is that the states are linearly independent. For an infinite number of states, several natural classes of distinguishability can be defined. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a system of pure states to be distinguishable. It turns out that each level of distinguishability naturally corresponds to one of the generalizations of linear independence to families of infinite vectors. As an important example, we apply the general theory to von Neumann’s lattice, a subsystem of coherent states which corresponds to a lattice in the classical phase space. We prove that the condition for distinguishability is that the area of the fundamental region of the lattice is greater than the Planck constant, and also find subtle behavior on the threshold. These facts reveal the measurement theoretical meaning of the Planck constant and give a justification for the interpretation that it is the smallest unit of area in the phase space. The cases of uncountably many states and of mixed states are also discussed. (paper)

Single-Genome Sequencing of Hepatitis C Virus in Donor-Recipient Pairs Distinguishes Modes and Models of Virus Transmission and Early Diversification.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hui; Stoddard, Mark B; Wang, Shuyi; Giorgi, Elena E; Blair, Lily M; Learn, Gerald H; Hahn, Beatrice H; Alter, Harvey J; Busch, Michael P; Fierer, Daniel S; Ribeiro, Ruy M; Perelson, Alan S; Bhattacharya, Tanmoy; Shaw, George M

2016-01-01

Despite the recent development of highly effective anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs, the global burden of this pathogen remains immense. Control or eradication of HCV will likely require the broad application of antiviral drugs and development of an effective vaccine. A precise molecular identification of transmitted/founder (T/F) HCV genomes that lead to productive clinical infection could play a critical role in vaccine research, as it has for HIV-1. However, the replication schema of these two RNA viruses differ substantially, as do viral responses to innate and adaptive host defenses. These differences raise questions as to the certainty of T/F HCV genome inferences, particularly in cases where multiple closely related sequence lineages have been observed. To clarify these issues and distinguish between competing models of early HCV diversification, we examined seven cases of acute HCV infection in humans and chimpanzees, including three examples of virus transmission between linked donors and recipients. Using single-genome sequencing (SGS) of plasma vRNA, we found that inferred T/F sequences in recipients were identical to viral sequences in their respective donors. Early in infection, HCV genomes generally evolved according to a simple model of random evolution where the coalescent corresponded to the T/F sequence. Closely related sequence lineages could be explained by high multiplicity infection from a donor whose viral sequences had undergone a pretransmission bottleneck due to treatment, immune selection, or recent infection. These findings validate SGS, together with mathematical modeling and phylogenetic analysis, as a novel strategy to infer T/F HCV genome sequences. Despite the recent development of highly effective, interferon-sparing anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs, the global burden of this pathogen remains immense. Control or eradication of HCV will likely require the broad application of antiviral drugs and the development of an effective

Educational and Scientific Applications of the \\itTime Navigator}

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, M.; Snow, J. T.; Slatt, R. M.

2001-05-01

Several recent conferences have noted the need to focus on the evolving interface between research and education at all levels of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. This interface, which is a distinguishing feature of graduate education in the U.S., is increasingly in demand at the undergraduate and K-12 levels, particularly in the earth sciences. In this talk, we present a new database for earth systems science and will explore applications to K-12 and undergraduate education, as well as the scientific and graduate role. The University of Oklahoma, College of Geosciences is in the process of acquiring the \\itTime Navigator}, a multi-disciplinary, multimedia database, which will form the core asset of the Center for Earth Systems Science. The Center, whose mission is to further the understanding of the dynamic Earth within both the academic and the general public communities, will serve as a portal for research, information, and education for scientists and educators. \\itTime Navigator} was developed over a period of some twenty years by the noted British geoscience author, Ron Redfern, in connection with the recently published, \\itOrigins, the evolution of continents, oceans and life}, the third in a series of books for the educated layperson. Over the years \\itTime Navigator} has evolved into an interactive, multimedia database displaying much of the significant geological, paleontological, climatological, and tectonic events from the latest Proterozoic (750 MYA) through to the present. The focus is mainly on the Western Hemisphere and events associated with the coalescence and breakup of Pangea and the evolution of the earth into its present form. \\itOrigins} will be available as early as Fall 2001 as an interactive electronic book for the general, scientifically-literate public. While electronic books are unlikely to replace traditional print books, the format does allow non-linear exploration of content. We believe that the

A Fuzzy Expert System for Distinguishing between Bacterial and Aseptic Meningitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa Langarizadeh

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction Bacterial meningitis is a known infectious disease which occurs at early ages and should be promptly diagnosed and treated. Bacterial and aseptic meningitis are hard to be distinguished. Therefore, physicians should be highly informed and experienced in this area. The main aim of this study was to suggest a system for distinguishing between bacterial and aseptic meningitis, using fuzzy logic.    Materials and Methods In the first step, proper attributes were selected using Weka 3.6.7 software. Six attributes were selected using Attribute Evaluator, InfoGainAttributeEval, and Ranker search method items. Then, a fuzzy inference engine was designed using MATLAB software, based on Mamdani’s fuzzy logic method with max-min composition, prod-probor, and centroid defuzzification. The rule base consisted of eight rules, based on the experience of three specialists and information extracted from textbooks. Results Data were extracted from 106 records of patients with meningitis (42 cases with bacterial meningitis in order to evaluate the proposed system. The system accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were 89%, 92 %, and 97%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.93, and Kappa test revealed a good level of agreement (k=0.84, P

Current eugenics: A brand new challenge for scientific disciplines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María de las Mercedes O´Lery

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Until now, the parameters that distinguish the current eugenic practices form those encased in classic eugenics have been the private, individual and therapeutic characteristics of the first as opposed to the collective, coercive and improvement nature of the second. However, the present ethical debate over biotechnologies (particularly, criticism of liberal eugenics by such authors as Jürgen Habermas has given rise to the need to consider, in the future, genetic treatment as an object of the redistribution in order to avoid the discrimination implied in the impossibility of access to such treatment. The present paper attempts to show that this pretension would lead to the future dissolution of those very characteristics of current eugenics that distinguish it from the classic form. we therefore propose an epistemological analysis of present and/or future scientific practices in order to redefine those parameters that prevent their identification with the eugenic movement of the past century.

Sherlock Holmes: scientific detective.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Laura J

2004-09-01

Sherlock Holmes was intended by his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, to be a 'scientific detective'. Conan Doyle criticized his predecessor Edgar Allan Poe for giving his creation - Inspector Dupin - only the 'illusion' of scientific method. Conan Doyle believed that he had succeeded where Poe had failed; thus, he has Watson remark that Holmes has 'brought detection as near an exact science as it will ever be brought into the world.' By examining Holmes' methods, it becomes clear that Conan Doyle modelled them on certain images of science that were popular in mid- to late-19th century Britain. Contrary to a common view, it is also evident that rather than being responsible for the invention of forensic science, the creation of Holmes was influenced by the early development of it.

Smarandachely Adjacent-Vertex-Distinguishing Proper Edge Chromatic Number of Cm∨Kn

OpenAIRE

Shunqin Liu

2016-01-01

According to different conditions, researchers have defined a great deal of coloring problems and the corresponding chromatic numbers. Such as, adjacent-vertex-distinguishing total chromatic number, adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper edge chromatic number, smarandachely-adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper edge chromatic number, smarandachely-adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper total chromatic number. And we focus on the smarandachely adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper edge chromatic...

William Allen Miller (1817-70): a distinguished scientist re-discovered.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashley-Miller, Michael

2008-11-01

Dr William Allen Miller developed an early interest in science and astronomy at secondary school. Although qualifying in medicine, he pursued a career in Chemistry at King's College, London. A particular interest in spectrum analysis led to a collaboration with Dr Huggins in examining the spectra of stars. For this work they each received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. His subsequent work at King's College, the Royal Society, the Courts of Law and for various Government enterprises earned him an outstanding scientific and advisory reputation.

How Historical Experiments Can Improve Scientific Knowledge and Science Education: The Cases of Boiling Water and Electrochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Hasok

2011-01-01

I advance some novel arguments for the use of historical experiments in science education. After distinguishing three different types of historical experiments and their general purposes, I define "complementary experiments", which can recover lost scientific knowledge and extend what has been recovered. Complementary experiments can help science…

George Gamow: Scientific Amateur and Polymath

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Eamon

George Gamow (1904-1968) was among the first of the many brilliant scientists who forsook Europe for the United States in the early 1930s. Although most were fleeing the fascist imperium of Hitler and Mussolini, Gamow was one of a few who managed to escape the burgeoning despotism of Stalin in the Soviet Union. His early application of quantum mechanics to the atomic nucleus and his subsequent insight into the role played by the physics of the atom and its nucleus in stars, galaxies, and the universe identifies him as a scientist of unusual genius. Gamow displayed a boisterous, infectious - almost Rutherfordian - interest in all aspects of pure science. His interests were broad and his industry prodigious. His scientific output covered areas as diverse as nuclear physics, astrophysics, cosmology, biological genetics, and the fascinating question of the relationship of the large-scale structure and development of the universe to the properties of elementary particles and fields. He also was an immensely imaginative and prolific author of popular expositions on scientific subjects. One who is as well-known for his authorship of the Mr. Tompkins series of science popularizations as for his contributions to the development of the physical consequences of the big-bang theory of the expanding universe and the prediction of the cosmic background radiation must be unique in the scientific pantheon.

Distinguishing values from science in decision making: Setting harvest quotas for mountain lions in Montana

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Michael S.; Cooley, Hilary; Gude, Justin A.; Kolbe, Jay; Nowak, J. Joshua; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Sells, Sarah N.; Thompson, Mike

2018-01-01

The relative roles of science and human values can be difficult to distinguish when informal processes are used to make complex and contentious decisions in wildlife management. Structured Decision Making (SDM) offers a formal process for making such decisions, where scientific results and concepts can be disentangled from the values of differing stakeholders. We used SDM to formally integrate science and human values for a citizen working group of ungulate hunting advocates, lion hunting advocates, and outfitters convened to address the contentious allocation of harvest quotas for mountain lions (Puma concolor) in west‐central Montana, USA, during 2014. A science team consisting of mountain lion biologists and population ecologists convened to support the working group. The science team used integrated population models that incorporated 4 estimates of mountain lion density to estimate population trajectories for 5 alternative harvest quotas developed by the working group. Results of the modeling predicted that effects of each harvest quota were consistent across the 4 density estimates; harvest quotas affected predicted population trajectories for 5 years after implementation but differences were not strong. Based on these results, the focus of the working group changed to differences in values among stakeholders that were the true impediment to allocating harvest quotas. By distinguishing roles of science and human values in this process, the working group was able to collaboratively recommend a compromise solution. This solution differed little from the status quo that had been the focus of debate, but the SDM process produced understanding and buy‐in among stakeholders involved, reducing disagreements, misunderstanding, and unproductive arguments founded on informal application of scientific data and concepts. Whereas investments involved in conducting SDM may be unnecessary for many decisions in wildlife management, the investment may be beneficial for

6th Annual Scientific Meeting on Challenges of Quality Assurance in Radiation Medicine. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

Thai Medical Physicist Society was officially founded in the year 2001 with the purpose of the promotion of the cooperation and communication between medical physicists in Thailand. The main purpose is to organize the Scientific Conferences, Meetings or Courses with other scientific organizations. There are currently about 150 members of Society. This meeting was prepared in cooperation with Naresuan University, to bring a meeting of the highest scientific and educational quality. 9 Invited lectures, 2 workshops and 3 Proffered paper sessions of 25 presentations are arranged. While attending the meeting, the participants will have the best opportunity to learn and share new information and recent advance of medical physics, radiology and other relevant fields through lectures, symposium, workshop from distinguished invited speakers, oral presentations and commercial exhibition of advanced products.

Distinguishing computable mixtures of quantum states

Science.gov (United States)

Grande, Ignacio H. López; Senno, Gabriel; de la Torre, Gonzalo; Larotonda, Miguel A.; Bendersky, Ariel; Figueira, Santiago; Acín, Antonio

2018-05-01

In this article we extend results from our previous work [Bendersky et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 230402 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.230402] by providing a protocol to distinguish in finite time and with arbitrarily high success probability any algorithmic mixture of pure states from the maximally mixed state. Moreover, we include an experimental realization, using a modified quantum key distribution setup, where two different random sequences of pure states are prepared; these sequences are indistinguishable according to quantum mechanics, but they become distinguishable when randomness is replaced with pseudorandomness within the experimental preparation process.

Distinguishing pathological from constitutional small for gestational age births in population-based studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ananth, Cande V; Vintzileos, Anthony M

2009-10-01

Small for gestational age (SGA) can occur following a pathological process or may represent constitutionally small fetuses. However, distinguishing these processes is often difficult, especially in large studies, where the term SGA is often used as a proxy for restricted fetal growth. Since biologic variation in fetal size is largely a third trimester phenomenon, we hypothesized that the definition of SGA at term may include a sizeable proportion of constitutionally small fetuses. In contrast, since biologic variation in fetal size is not fully expressed in (early) preterm gestations, it is plausible that SGA in early preterm gestations would comprise a large proportion of growth restricted fetuses. We compared mortality and morbidity rates between SGA and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) babies. A population-based study of over 19million non-malformed, singleton births (1995-04) in the United States was performed. Gestational age (24-44weeks) was based on a clinical estimate. SGA and AGA were defined as sex-specific birthweight constitutionally small.

Communication about scientific uncertainty in environmental nanoparticle research - a comparison of scientific literature and mass media

Science.gov (United States)

Heidmann, Ilona; Milde, Jutta

2014-05-01

The research about the fate and behavior of engineered nanoparticles in the environment is despite its wide applications still in the early stages. 'There is a high level of scientific uncertainty in nanoparticle research' is often stated in the scientific community. Knowledge about these uncertainties might be of interest to other scientists, experts and laymen. But how could these uncertainties be characterized and are they communicated within the scientific literature and the mass media? To answer these questions, the current state of scientific knowledge about scientific uncertainty through the example of environmental nanoparticle research was characterized and the communication of these uncertainties within the scientific literature is compared with its media coverage in the field of nanotechnologies. The scientific uncertainty within the field of environmental fate of nanoparticles is by method uncertainties and a general lack of data concerning the fate and effects of nanoparticles and their mechanisms in the environment, and by the uncertain transferability of results to the environmental system. In the scientific literature, scientific uncertainties, their sources, and consequences are mentioned with different foci and to a different extent. As expected, the authors in research papers focus on the certainty of specific results within their specific research question, whereas in review papers, the uncertainties due to a general lack of data are emphasized and the sources and consequences are discussed in a broader environmental context. In the mass media, nanotechnology is often framed as rather certain and positive aspects and benefits are emphasized. Although reporting about a new technology, only in one-third of the reports scientific uncertainties are mentioned. Scientific uncertainties are most often mentioned together with risk and they arise primarily from unknown harmful effects to human health. Environmental issues itself are seldom mentioned

The Scientific Movement: American Education and the Emergence of the Technological Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Richard; Watras, Joseph

1981-01-01

A review of the scientific movement in education in the early twentieth century: its origins in the scientific management and industrial efficiency theories of Frederich Taylor; its effects on administrative organization and educational research; and the reactions of its critics, who favored the child-centered school. (SJL)

Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Scientific Literacy and Self-Efficacy in Teaching Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Al Sultan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Many educators and educational institutions worldwide have agreed that the main goal of science education is to produce a scientifically literate community. Science teachers are key to the achievement of scientific literacy at all levels of education because of the essential role they play in preparing scientifically literate individuals. Studies show that pre-service elementary teachers need to build more confidence in teaching science and scientific literacy during their teacher education programs in order for them to successfully teach science knowledge to their students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is threefold. First, pre-service elementary teachers' scientific literacy levels were examined. Second, pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs were measured by distinguishing between their personal and subject-specific self-efficacy beliefs. Third, the extent to which pre-service elementary teachers' scientific literacy levels and self-efficacy levels are related was investigated. Participants were 49 pre-service elementary teachers registered in two science methods courses (introductory and advanced at a mid-sized university in the United States. Quantitative data were collected using the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy, the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-Preservice, and Beliefs about Teaching. Results showed that participants had a satisfactory level of scientific literacy. However, pre-service teachers had borderline scores on the Nature of Science scale. Regarding self-efficacy, findings showed that both groups had the highest self-efficacy in teaching biology and the lowest in teaching physics. Participants in the advanced science methods course exhibited a moderate preexisting positive relationship between scientific literacy and subject-specific self-efficacy in teaching science.

Experimental investigation of distinguishable and non-distinguishable grayscales applicable in active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes for quality engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Henglong; Chang, Wen-Cheng; Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Chen, Ming-Hong

2017-08-01

The distinguishable and non-distinguishable 6-bit (64) grayscales of green and red organic light-emitting diode (OLED) were experimentally investigated by using high-sensitive photometric instrument. The feasibility of combining external detection system for quality engineering to compensate the grayscale loss based on preset grayscale tables was also investigated by SPICE simulation. The degradation loss of OLED deeply affects image quality as grayscales become inaccurate. The distinguishable grayscales are indicated as those brightness differences and corresponding current increments are differentiable by instrument. The grayscales of OLED in 8-bit (256) or higher may become nondistinguishable as current or voltage increments are in the same order of noise level in circuitry. The distinguishable grayscale tables for individual red, green, blue, and white colors can be experimentally established as preset reference for quality engineering (QE) in which the degradation loss is compensated by corresponding grayscale numbers shown in preset table. The degradation loss of each OLED colors is quantifiable by comparing voltage increments to those in preset grayscale table if precise voltage increments are detectable during operation. The QE of AMOLED can be accomplished by applying updated grayscale tables. Our preliminary simulation result revealed that it is feasible to quantify degradation loss in terms of grayscale numbers by using external detector circuitry.

The communication of scientific knowledge in society.The role of the media

CERN Multimedia

Göpfert, W

1999-01-01

Why should the media report on science - and how? Increasingly scientific influence is regarded as risky or even dangerous, for example nuclear power or genetic engineering. Societies have to decide on such issues and therefore people have to be informed about these kinds of science. And where science itself is under scrutiny, media have to provide arguments and room or time for discussion. In that view the job of science journalism is not only to translate scientific speech into everyday language - as science journalism is often regarded. Science journalism also has to consider the context the man in the street is interested in. These are two different goals science reporting has to address. And it is necessary to distinguish between the two levels of serving readers interests. Science journalists should orient themselves on journalistic rules, not scientific needs. And scientists should know that journalists are not the translators of scientists. The arising conflicts between scientists and Journalists will...

Phase-modified CTQW unable to distinguish strongly regular graphs efficiently

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahasinghe, A; Wijerathna, J K; Izaac, J A; Wang, J B

2015-01-01

Various quantum walk-based algorithms have been developed, aiming to distinguish non-isomorphic graphs with polynomial scaling, within both the discrete-time quantum walk (DTQW) and continuous-time quantum walk (CTQW) frameworks. Whilst both the single-particle DTQW and CTQW have failed to distinguish non-isomorphic strongly regular graph families (prompting the move to multi-particle graph isomorphism (GI) algorithms), the single-particle DTQW has been successfully modified by the introduction of a phase factor to distinguish a wide range of graphs in polynomial time. In this paper, we prove that an analogous phase modification to the single particle CTQW does not have the same distinguishing power as its discrete-time counterpart, in particular it cannot distinguish strongly regular graphs with the same family parameters with the same efficiency. (paper)

Hornbills can distinguish between primate alarm calls.

Science.gov (United States)

Rainey, Hugo J.; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Slater, Peter J. B.

2004-01-01

Some mammals distinguish between and respond appropriately to the alarm calls of other mammal and bird species. However, the ability of birds to distinguish between mammal alarm calls has not been investigated. Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana) produce different alarm calls to two predators: crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and leopards (Panthera pardus). Yellow-casqued hornbills (Ceratogymna elata) are vulnerable to predation by crowned eagles but are not preyed on by leopards and might therefore be expected to respond to the Diana monkey eagle alarm call but not to the leopard alarm call. We compared responses of hornbills to playback of eagle shrieks, leopard growls, Diana monkey eagle alarm calls and Diana monkey leopard alarm calls and found that they distinguished appropriately between the two predator vocalizations as well as between the two Diana monkey alarm calls. We discuss possible mechanisms leading to these responses. PMID:15209110

A Guide to Scientific Crowdfunding.

Science.gov (United States)

Vachelard, Julien; Gambarra-Soares, Thaise; Augustini, Gabriela; Riul, Pablo; Maracaja-Coutinho, Vinicius

2016-02-01

Crowdfunding represents an attractive new option for funding research projects, especially for students and early-career scientists or in the absence of governmental aid in some countries. The number of successful science-related crowdfunding campaigns is growing, which demonstrates the public's willingness to support and participate in scientific projects. Putting together a crowdfunding campaign is not trivial, however, so here is a guide to help you make yours a success.

A Biology Laboratory Exercise Using Macromolecule Assays to Distinguish Four Types of Milk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte W. Pratt

2011-03-01

Full Text Available One of the drawbacks of cookbook-style laboratory exercises for General Biology courses is that students are not challenged to develop skills in scientific reasoning, such as formulating hypotheses and designing and carrying out experiments. Several traditional laboratory curricula include exercises involving semi-quantitative colorimetric assays to detect proteins (biuret test, reducing sugars (Benedict’s test, starch (Lugol’s test, and lipids (Sudan red test in a variety of easily prepared solutions (glucose, albumin, glycine, etc. and familiar food items (lemon juice, cornstarch, egg white, etc.. An extension of this lab exercise was developed to allow students to use their knowledge of the macromolecule assays to design an experiment to distinguish four types of “milk”: whole milk, skim milk, cream, and soy milk (rice milk or almond milk could also be included.

Information literacy in science writing: how students find, identify, and use scientific literature

Science.gov (United States)

Klucevsek, Kristin M.; Brungard, Allison B.

2016-11-01

For undergraduate students to achieve science literacy, they must first develop information literacy skils. These skills align with Information Literacy Standards and include determining appropriate databases, distinguishing among resource types, and citing resources ethically. To effectively improve information literacy and science literacy, we must identify how students interact with authentic scientific texts. In this case study, we addressed this aim by embedding a science librarian into a science writing course, where students wrote a literature review on a research topic of their choice. Library instruction was further integrated through the use of an online guide and outside assistance. To evaluate the evolution of information literacy in our students and provide evidence of student practices, we used task-scaffolded writing assessments, a reflection, and surveys. We found that students improved their ability and confidence in finding research articles using discipline-specific databases as well as their ability to distinguish primary from secondary research articles. We also identified ways students improperly used and cited resources in their writing assignments. While our results reveal a better understanding of how students find and approach scientific research articles, additional research is needed to develop effective strategies to improve long-term information literacy in the sciences.

A Critique for the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Naji

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to evaluate of Imre Lakatos' MSRP (Methodology of Scientific Research Programs. Presenting the methodology which is based on Popperian Refutationism, Lakatos intended to overcome Pluralism (, Relativism and Skepticism and distinguishes the best theory (/program in science. The question is that did the lakatos' secondary change in the form and content of MSRP -against some historical facts and criticisms- make some serious deficiencies in his methodology? The answer to this question is positive. One of Lakatos' changes in MSRP is to resort to a new concept of "rationality". Presenting a logical analysis, the paper shows that this change causes MSRP to be unable to distinguish the best program among others. Furthermore he gives a new definition of the term 'methodology'. This definition, in its turn, makes MSRP main task to be inactive.Showing the irreparable harms Lakatos' changes produce in MSRP, the paper shows that these changes not only cannot get rid of the deficiencies therein, but it is also unable to meet lakatos' original purpose for MSRP.

Scientific and technical aspects of Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gligalo, V.M.; Nosovs'kij, A.V.

2002-01-01

The collection contains the presentations and scientific articles prepared for and discussed during the Conference titled '2001: International Cooperation For Chernobyl'. The materials outline the outcomes achieved while implementing Chernobyl site scientific-technical researches and projects, as well as activities aimed at enhancing the ChNPP safety, decommissioning and radwaste management. It also highlights the issues related to transforming the Unit Shelter into an ecologically safe system, represents the results of ecological researches in the Exclusion Zone, medical effects of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl NPP, together with social and economic problems the city of Slavutich faces now due to the early ChNPP Units decommissioning, and Slavutich business development opportunities under the circumstances of Special Economic Zone 'Slavutich'

Factors determining early internationalization of entrepreneurial SMEs: Theoretical approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agne Matiusinaite

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose – This study extends the scientific discussion of early internationalization of SMEs. The main purpose of this paper – to develop a theoretical framework to investigate factors determining early internationalization of international new ventures. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual framework is built on the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature. Findings – This paper presents different factors, which determine early internationalization of international new ventures. These factors are divided to entrepreneurial, organizational and contextual factors. We argue that early internationalization of international new ventures is defined by entrepreneurial characteristics and previous experience of the entrepreneur, opportunities recognition and exploitation, risk tolerance, specific of the organization, involvement into networks and contextual factors. Study proved that only interaction between factors and categories has an effect for business development and successful implementation of early internationalization. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted on the theoretical basis of scientific literature. The future studies could include a practical confirmation or denial of such allocation of factors. Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the finding that factor itself has limited effect to early internationalization. Only the interoperability of categories and factors gives a positive impact on early internationalization of entrepreneurial SMEs.

Sir Rudolf Peierls Selected private and scientific correspondence

CERN Document Server

Lee, Sabine

2007-01-01

This edition of the private and scientific correspondence of Sir Rudolf Peierls gives a unique insight into the life and work of one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the 20th century. Rudolf Peierls' scientific work contributed to the early developments in quantum mechanics, and he is well known and much appreciated for his contributions to various disciplines, including solid state physics, nuclear physics, and particle physics. As an enthusiastic and devoted teacher, he passed on his knowledge and understanding and inspired the work of collaborators and students alike. As an effecti

A Guide to Scientific Crowdfunding.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julien Vachelard

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Crowdfunding represents an attractive new option for funding research projects, especially for students and early-career scientists or in the absence of governmental aid in some countries. The number of successful science-related crowdfunding campaigns is growing, which demonstrates the public's willingness to support and participate in scientific projects. Putting together a crowdfunding campaign is not trivial, however, so here is a guide to help you make yours a success.

The enduring scientific contributions of Sigmund Freud.

Science.gov (United States)

Gedo, John E

2002-01-01

Through the development of a novel observational method, Sigmund Freud made possible the collection of reliable data about man's inner life. The scientific hypotheses he formulated about these formed the initial version of psychoanalysis. Many of these first thoughts have had to be revised in the light of subsequent scientific findings about the operations of the central nervous system, but even these refuted propositions often had much heuristic value. Despite the passage of a whole century, many Freudian hypotheses have retained their scientific standing. Most important among these was Freud's realization that human thought is usually unconscious. His understanding of the role of the automatic repetition of basic patterns of behavior, of the fateful consequences of early childhood emotional vicissitudes in structuring enduring mental dispositions, and of the distinction between two distinct modes of thinking are the most significant among his many contributions.

Introductory Biology Textbooks Under-Represent Scientific Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dara B. Duncan

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Attrition of undergraduates from Biology majors is a long-standing problem. Introductory courses that fail to engage students or spark their curiosity by emphasizing the open-ended and creative nature of biological investigation and discovery could contribute to student detachment from the field. Our hypothesis was that introductory biology books devote relatively few figures to illustration of the design and interpretation of experiments or field studies, thereby de-emphasizing the scientific process.To investigate this possibility, we examined figures in six Introductory Biology textbooks published in 2008. On average, multistep scientific investigations were presented in fewer than 5% of the hundreds of figures in each book. Devoting such a small percentage of figures to the processes by which discoveries are made discourages an emphasis on scientific thinking. We suggest that by increasing significantly the illustration of scientific investigations, textbooks could support undergraduates’ early interest in biology, stimulate the development of design and analytical skills, and inspire some students to participate in investigations of their own.

5 CFR 838.612 - Distinguishing between annuities and contributions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Distinguishing between annuities and... Orders Affecting Employee Annuities or Refunds of Employee Contributions Identification of Benefits § 838.612 Distinguishing between annuities and contributions. (a) A court order using “annuities,” “pensions...

Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology: Neil Lutsky

Science.gov (United States)

American Psychologist, 2011

2011-01-01

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology recognizes an outstanding career contribution to the teaching of psychology. The 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award is Neil Lutsky. Dorothy W. Cantor, president of the APF, will present the APF Distinguished Teaching Award…

Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology

Science.gov (United States)

American Psychologist, 2009

2009-01-01

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award recognizes an outstanding career contribution to the teaching of psychology. The 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award is William Buskist. Dorothy W. Cantor, president of the APF, will present the APF Teaching Award at the 117th…

Organizations' ways of employing early retirees: the role of age-based HR policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude Mulders, J.; Henkens, K.; Schippers, J.

2015-01-01

Purpose of the Study: We examine whether from an organizational perspective it is possible to distinguish different ways of employing early retirees and explore how the employment of early retirees is related to the application of 4 age-based human resource (HR) policies, namely demotion, offering

Organizations' Ways of Employing Early Retirees : The Role of Age-Based HR Policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude Mulders, Jaap; Henkens, Kène; Schippers, Joop

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: We examine whether from an organizational perspective it is possible to distinguish different ways of employing early retirees and explore how the employment of early retirees is related to the application of 4 age-based human resource (HR) policies, namely demotion, offering

The Experimental Social Scientific Model in Speech Communication Research: Influences and Consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferris, Sharmila Pixy

A substantial number of published articles in speech communication research today is experimental/social scientific in nature. It is only in the past decade that scholars have begun to put the history of communication under the lens. Early advocates of the adoption of the method of social scientific inquiry were J. A. Winans, J. M. O'Neill, and C.…

Distinguishing method for contamination/radio-activation of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukazawa, Takuji; Kato, Keiichiro; Koda, Satoshi.

1994-01-01

The present invention concerns a method of distinguishing the contamination/radio-activation of radioactive wastes used in processing wastes generated upon dismantling of exhausted nuclear reactors. Especially, contaminated/radio-activation is distinguished for wastes having openings such as pipes and valves, by utilizing scattering of γ-rays or γ-ray to β-ray ratio. That is, ratio of scattered γ-rays and direct γ-rays or ratio of β-rays and γ-rays from radioactive wastes are measured and compared by a radiation detector, to distinguish whether the radioactive wastes contaminated materials or radio-activated materials. For example, when an object to be measured having an opening is contaminated at the inner side, the radiation detector facing to the opening mainly detects high direct γ-rays emitted from the object to be measured while a radiation detector not facing the opening mainly detects high scattered γ-rays relatively. On the other hand, when the object is a radio-activated material, any of the detectors detect scattered γ-rays, so that they can be distinguished by these ratios. (I.S.)

Entropic Lower Bound for Distinguishability of Quantum States

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Seungho Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available For a system randomly prepared in a number of quantum states, we present a lower bound for the distinguishability of the quantum states, that is, the success probability of determining the states in the form of entropy. When the states are all pure, acquiring the entropic lower bound requires only the density operator and the number of the possible states. This entropic bound shows a relation between the von Neumann entropy and the distinguishability.

SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM: FEATURES AND TRENDS IN PEDAGOGIC RESEARCH / RASGOS Y TENDENCIAS DEL PROBLEMA CIENTÍFICO EN LA INVESTIGACIÓN PEDAGÓGICA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaritza Tardo Fernández

2012-12-01

Full Text Available An analysis of the main historical trends in the elaboration of the scientific problem in the pedagogic investigation is carried out starting from assuming and systematizing the features distinguished taking into account some examples of doctoral thesis defended in the field of the Pedagogic Sciences, what allows to reveal their behavior and development as expression of its own transformations in the logic of the scientific thought in a certain moment, as a didactic attempt to contribute to the process of the investigators' formation.

Working with and promoting early career scientists within a larger community

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, K.

2017-12-01

For many scientific communities, engaging early career researchers is critical for success. These young scientists (graduate students, postdocs, and newly appointed professors) are actively forming collaborations and instigating new research programs. They also stand to benefit hugely from being part of a scientific community, gaining access to career development activities, becoming part of strong collaborator networks, and achieving recognition in their field of study — all of which will help their professional development. There are many ways community leaders can work proactively to support and engage early career scientists, and it it is often a community manager's job to work with leadership to implement such activities. In this presentation, I will outline ways of engaging early career scientists at events and tailored workshops, of promoting development of their leadership skills, and of creating opportunities for recognizing early career scientists within larger scientific communities. In this talk, I will draw from my experience working with the Deep Carbon Observatory Early Career Scientist Network, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Distinguishing attack and second-preimage attack on encrypted message authentication codes (EMAC)

Science.gov (United States)

Ariwibowo, Sigit; Windarta, Susila

2016-02-01

In this paper we show that distinguisher on CBC-MAC can be applied to Encrypted Message Authentication Code (EMAC) scheme. EMAC scheme in general is vulnerable to distinguishing attack and second preimage attack. Distinguishing attack simulation on AES-EMAC using 225 message modifications, no collision have been found. According to second preimage attack simulation on AES-EMAC no collision found between EMAC value of S1 and S2, i.e. no second preimage found for messages that have been tested. Based on distinguishing attack simulation on truncated AES-EMAC we found collision in every message therefore we cannot distinguish truncated AES-EMAC with random function. Second-preimage attack is successfully performed on truncated AES-EMAC.

Methods of Scientific Research: Teaching Scientific Creativity at Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Dennis; Ford, K. E. Saavik

2016-01-01

We present a scaling-up plan for AstroComNYC's Methods of Scientific Research (MSR), a course designed to improve undergraduate students' understanding of science practices. The course format and goals, notably the open-ended, hands-on, investigative nature of the curriculum are reviewed. We discuss how the course's interactive pedagogical techniques empower students to learn creativity within the context of experimental design and control of variables thinking. To date the course has been offered to a limited numbers of students in specific programs. The goals of broadly implementing MSR is to reach more students and early in their education—with the specific purpose of supporting and improving retention of students pursuing STEM careers. However, we also discuss challenges in preserving the effectiveness of the teaching and learning experience at scale.

Scientific writing: strategies and tools for students and advisors.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Vikash; Mayer, Philipp

2014-01-01

Scientific writing is a demanding task and many students need more time than expected to finish their research articles. To speed up the process, we highlight some tools, strategies as well as writing guides. We recommend starting early in the research process with writing and to prepare research articles, not after but in parallel to the lab or field work. We suggest considering scientific writing as a team enterprise, which needs proper organization and regular feedback. In addition, it is helpful to select potential target journals early and to consider not only scope and reputation, but also decision times and rejection rates. Before submission, instructions to authors and writing guides should be considered, and drafts should be extensively revised. Later in the process editor's and reviewer's comments should be followed. Our tips and tools help students and advisors to structure the writing and publishing process, thereby stimulating them to develop their own strategies to success. Copyright © 2014 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Socio-Scientific Controversial Issues in 1st Cycle of Basic Education

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Fábio Ribeiro

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Assuming the importance of science education, from early years, aiming to educate citizens capable of thinking critically and act in scientific and technological contexts, a study was carried out in order to develop learning situations focused on controversial socio-scientific issues to promote students’ argumentation skills and scientific knowledge building / mobilization. The study was based on a qualitative methodology, following an action research plan. It was conducted with a class of 3th grade, having been addressed controversial socio-scientific issues, framed in science curriculum topics, using strategies of debate, role-play and argumentative essays. Data was collected using an analyzing instrument of student´s oral and written productions. In data analysis the privileged technique was content analysis. The results suggest that students mobilized requested scientific knowledge, showing improvement in the effective use of argumentation skills required. This allows us to conclude that the approach of controversial socio-scientific issues contributes to the promotion students´ argumentation skills as well as for scientific knowledge construction / mobilization.

A simple centrality index for scientific social recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Kinouchi, Osame; Soares, Leonardo D. H.; Cardoso, George C.

2018-02-01

We introduce a new centrality index for bipartite networks of papers and authors that we call K-index. The K-index grows with the citation performance of the papers that cite a given researcher and can be seen as a measure of scientific social recognition. Indeed, the K-index measures the number of hubs, defined in a self-consistent way in the bipartite network, that cites a given author. We show that the K-index can be computed by simple inspection of the Web of Science platform and presents several advantages over other centrality indexes, in particular Hirsch h-index. The K-index is robust to self-citations, is not limited by the total number of papers published by a researcher as occurs for the h-index and can distinguish in a consistent way researchers that have the same h-index but very different scientific social recognition. The K-index easily detects a known case of a researcher with inflated number of papers, citations and h-index due to scientific misconduct. Finally, we show that, in a sample of twenty-eight physics Nobel laureates and twenty-eight highly cited non-Nobel-laureate physicists, the K-index correlates better to the achievement of the prize than the number of papers, citations, citations per paper, citing articles or the h-index. Clustering researchers in a K versus h plot reveals interesting outliers that suggest that these two indexes can present complementary independent information.

Inquiry in early years science teaching and learning: Curriculum design and the scientific story

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Barbara Alexander

2001-07-01

Inquiry in school science, as conceived by the authors of the Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes K--12, is dependent upon four areas of skills. These are the skills of initiating and planning, performing and recording, analysing and interpreting, and communication and teamwork that map onto what Hodson calls the five phases of scientific inquiry in school science: initiation, design and planning, performance, interpretation, and reporting and communicating. This study looked at initiation in a multiage (Grades 1--3) classroom, and the curriculum, design tools, and inquiry acts believed to be necessary precursors of design and planning phases whether the inquiry in which young children engage is archival or laboratory investigation. The curriculum was designed to build upon children's everyday biological knowledge and through a series of carefully organized lessons to help them to begin to build scientifically valid conceptual models in the area of animal life cycles. The lessons began with what is called benchmark-invention after the historical work of Robert Karplus and the contemporary work of Earl Hunt and Jim Minstrell. The introduction of a biological concept was followed by a series of exploration activities in which children were encouraged to apply the concept invented in the benchmark lesson. Enlargement followed. This was the instructional phase in which children were helped to establish scientifically valid relationships between the invented concept and other biological concepts. The pre-instruction and post-instruction interview data suggest that the enacted curriculum and sequence in which the biological knowledge was presented helped the nineteen children in the study to recognize the connections and regularities within the life cycles of the major groupings of animals, and to begin to build scientific biological conceptual models. It is, however, argued that everyday biology, in the form of the person analogy, acts as an obstacle to

Social description or social-scientific interpretation? A survey of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

elements of social-scientific theory and method actually ... essence of life; A social-scientiric study of the religious symbolic universe .... literary or redaktionsgeschichtliche concepts are of no consequence in this approach. .... In his work entitled Sociology o f early Palestinian Christianity (1978) .... or balance of forces. To this ...

Distinguishing Entailment and Presupposition Under Negation Test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gatri Asti Putri Indarti

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Distinguishing entailment from presupposition is quite difficult because their semantic relation seems to be similar. Both entailment and presupposition have an automatic relationship based on the context. However, those semantic relations can still be differentiated by using negation test to show whether a pair is entailment or presupposition. This research focuses on sentences and utterances. Thus, this research aims to analyze and test pairs of entailment and pairs of presupposition by using negation in utterances. The data were twelve comic strips from the Internet and they were analysed by using a negation test. The analysis shows that negation test is useful to test entailment and presupposition in the comic strips. It can be concluded that the difficulty of distinguishing pair of entailment and presupposition in the comic strip using negation test has been successfully solved. In this case, negation test is suitable to test entailment and presupposition. This research can be developed further by other researchers to distinguish entailment and presupposition by using another test if the negation test cannot be used to any further extent.   DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.2015.180104

Scientific mobility of Early Career Researchers in Spain and The Netherlands through their publications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robinson-Garcia, N.; Cañibano, C.; Woolley, R.; Costas, R.

2016-07-01

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of different typologies of researchers according to their traceable mobility using scientific publications covered in the Web of Science (WoS). We compare two populations of researchers, of the same ‘scientific age’, based in Spain and The Netherlands. To establish reasonable comparisons between researchers based in The Netherlands and Spain, we must first identify similar groups of researchers in each country. We only consider 'trusted' direct linkages between author and affiliation as reported in scientific publications and recorded by WoS. We establish three different study groups: Mobile versus non-mobile researchers, returned versus not returned researchers and, single versus multiple affiliations. We observe differences in the mobility patterns and their relation with production and citation impact between countries. Differences for each study group are found in the case of Spain but not as evident for The Netherlands. We conclude remarking the need to further analyse the institutional framework of each country to better understand how much do they influence research mobility and in what way. (Author)

Science and Scientific Curiosity in Pre-school—The teacher's point of view

Science.gov (United States)

Spektor-Levy, Ornit; Kesner Baruch, Yael; Mevarech, Zemira

2013-09-01

Nowadays, early science education is well-accepted by researchers, education professionals and policy makers. Overall, teachers' attitudes and conceptions toward the science subject domain and science education influence their ways of teaching and engagement. However, there is a lack of research regarding factors that affect this engagement in pre-school years. The main assumption of this study is that teachers' attitudes regarding science in pre-school can shape children's engagement in science and develop their scientific curiosity. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to investigate the attitudes of pre-school teachers toward engaging in science and to explore their views about the nature of curiosity: who is a curious child and how can a child's natural curiosity be fostered? An extensive survey was conducted among 146 pre-school teachers by employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Results indicate that most of the participants believe that scientific education should begin in early childhood; very young children can investigate and take part in a process of inquiry; and scientific activities in pre-school can influence children's long-term attitudes toward science. Despite these views, most participants felt they did not possess sufficient scientific knowledge. Furthermore, participants expressed diverse opinions when asked to identify what constitutes curiosity, how the curious child can be identified and how a child's curiosity can be fostered. The research findings carry significant implications regarding how to implement scientific activities in pre-school, and how to encourage pre-school teachers to engage children in scientific activities in a way that will nurture their natural curiosity.

Scientific approach to the problem of early memories and self-criminals

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Debolsky M.G.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article deal with a theoretical overview of the problem of early recollections and self-esteem criminals. Discussed issues are considered within the concept of Alfred Adler. A. Adler said that the earliest memories - is the starting point of an autobiography, which traced the first assessment itself, which is the basis of self-esteem and life style. Has been hypothesized about the existence correlation between the content of early recollections and self-esteem, which is a precondition for the formation of a criminal lifestyle. This hypothesis is based on the analysis of large number of theoretical studies foreign scientists (J. Bruner, C. Miner, G. Murray, J. Kramer, S. Tomkins, L. Ross and Newby-Clark, M. Singer and P. Salovey, LA Polkington and D. McAdams and some empirical studies (A. Molostvov. The article describes the main points of view on the question of the correctness of reproducible human memories. The authors share the position of A. Adler that certain childhood experiences form the self-esteem of man. If in childhood has been formed inferiority in a certain area, the man all his life to strive for superiority, and it was on the values in this field will be based his self-esteem. Important to find the fundamental mistakes made in the early period of personality development, then using particular therapy can to correct them into adulthood. Thus, the article focuses on the reader an opportunity to improve the psychotherapeutic work with early recollections of convicts to reduce the risk of re-offending.

Blood N-terminal Pro-brain Natriuretic Peptide and Interleukin-17 for Distinguishing Incomplete Kawasaki Disease from Infectious Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ling; Chen, Yuanling; Zhong, Shiling; Li, Yunyan; Dai, Xiahua; Di, Yazhen

2015-06-01

To explore the diagnostic value of blood N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and interleukin-17(IL-17) for incomplete Kawasaki disease. Patients with Kawasaki disease, Incomplete Kawasaki disease and unclear infectious fever were included in this retrospective study. Their clinical features, and laboratory test results of blood NT-proBNP and IL-17 were collected and compared. 766 patients with complete clinical information were recruited, consisting of 291 cases of Kawasaki disease, 74 cases of incomplete Kawasaki disease, and 401 cases of unclear infectious diseases. When the consistency with indicator 2 and 3 in Kawasaki disease diagnosis criteria was assessed with blood IL-17 ?11.55 pg/mL and blood NT-proBNP ? 225.5 pg/dL as the criteria, the sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing incomplete Kawasaki disease and infectious diseases reached 86.5% and 94.8%, respectively. When we chose the consistency with indicator 1 and 2 in Kawasaki disease diagnosis criteria, the appearance of decrustation and/or the BCG erythema, blood IL-17 ?11.55 pg/mL and blood NT-Pro BNP ?225.5 pg/dL as the criteria, the sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing incomplete Kawasaki disease and infectious diseases was 43.2% and 100%, respectively. Blood NT-proBNP and IL-17 are useful laboratory indicators for distinguishing incomplete Kawasaki disease and infectious diseases at the early stage.

W.E.B. DuBois's Challenge to Scientific Racism.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Carol M.

1981-01-01

Proposes that a direct and authoritative challenge to the scientific racism of the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries was urgently needed, and was one of the leading rhetorical contributions of W.E.B. DuBois. Specifically examines three issues: social Darwinism, the eugenics movement, and psychologists' measurement of intelligence.…

AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUE. PART 30: PORTRAIT OF THE KHARKOV MATHEMATICIAN, MECHANICAL ENGINEER AND CYBERNETICIST VLADIMIR LOGVINOVICH RVACHEV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. I. Baranov

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Description of basic scientific achievements, features of personality and way of life of the known Kharkov mathematician, mechanical engineer and cyberneticist, academician of NAS of Ukraine Rvachev V.L .in the short form is presented. Methodology. Existent scientific approaches for treatment and systematization of mathematical knowledges, modern achievements in area of methods of direct solution of linear (nonlinear boundary problems of mechanics and mathematical physics with the scope terms of different types for the physical bodies of difficult geometrical form. Methods of historical method at research of development in society of analytical geometry, applied mathematics, classical mechanics and mathematical physics. Results. Short information is resulted about the basic creative and vital stages, and also fundamental scientific achievements of the indicated scientist-mathematician the scientific legacy of which entered in the treasure-house of world mathematical science. Are some personal qualities of this prominent soviet Ukrainian mathematician of the 20-th century, forming scientific school on the mathematical method of R−functions and leaving about itself kind memory for thankful students and descendants. Originality. First taught in 1970-th at the known mathematician of contemporaneity of Rvachev V.L. to bases of the applied mathematics and theory of R−functions by a scientist-electrophysicist from the Kharkov polytechnic institute presented for the wide circle of readers a short scientifically-historical essay about this large scientist-teacher, being based on his scientific labours, published biobibliographic materials and flashbacks of his devoted students-followers about him. Practical value. Scientific popularization of the special physical and mathematical knowledges and distinguished scientific achievements of the known Kharkov scientist-mathematician Rvachev V.L. in area of the applied mathematics, classical

Academic success and early career outcomes : Can honors alumni be distinguished from non-honors alumni?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kool, A.; Mainhard, M. T.; Brekelmans, M.; van Beukelen, P.; Jaarsma, Alexandra

2016-01-01

This study compared Dutch alumni who previously participated in an honors program (n=72) to non-honors alumni who entered university as high-achieving high school students (n=72) with regard to (1) final university grade point average (GPA) and (2) early career outcomes. Final grades were drawn from

'Laboratory talk' in U.S. sociology, 1890-1930: the performance of scientific legitimacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, B Robert

2014-01-01

This paper examines one aspect of early twentieth century debates over the meaning of scientific methodology and epistemology within the social sciences: the tendency of sociologists to invoke "laboratory" as a multivalent concept and in reference to diverse institutions and sites of exploration. The aspiration to designate or create laboratories as spaces of sociological knowledge production was broadly unifying in early American sociology (1890-1930), even though there was no general agreement about what "laboratory" meant, nor any explicit acknowledgment of that lack of consensus. The persistence of laboratory talk in sociology over decades reflects the power of "laboratory" as a productively ambiguous, legitimizing ideal for sociologists aspiring to make their discipline rigorously scientific. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Practical epistemology: the role of peer review in organizing scientific research

OpenAIRE

Alexei V. Shestopal; Vladimir I. Konnov

2014-01-01

The article considers peer review as the main procedure for demarcating scientific knowledge from other kinds thereof, which do not meet the criteria set for research results. The authors examine the history of peer review, which has first been used in early scientific journals and then has become one of the key approaches to distributing funds for research in science foundations, such as the U.S. National Science Foundation. The article also considers the role of peer review in the legal pro...

Early vision and visual attention

OpenAIRE

Gvozdenović Vasilije P.

2003-01-01

The question whether visual perception is spontaneous, sudden or is running through several phases, mediated by higher cognitive processes, was raised ever since the early work of Gestalt psychologists. In the early 1980s, Treisman proposed the feature integration theory of attention (FIT), based on the findings of neuroscience. Soon after publishing her theory a new scientific approach appeared investigating several visual perception phenomena. The most widely researched were the key constru...

Organizations' Ways of Employing Early Retirees: The Role of Age-Based HR Policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Oude Mulders, Jaap; Henkens, Kène; Schippers, Joop

2015-06-01

We examine whether from an organizational perspective it is possible to distinguish different ways of employing early retirees and explore how the employment of early retirees is related to the application of 4 age-based human resource (HR) policies, namely demotion, offering training opportunities to older workers, offering early retirement, and allowing flexible working hours. We perform a latent class analysis on a sample of 998 Dutch organizations in order to categorize them based on 3 dimensions of their employment of early retirees. We then run a multinomial logistic regression to relate the employment of early retirees to the 4 age-based HR policies. We distinguish 4 types of organizations based on their way of employing early retirees: nonusers (52.6%), users for mainly standard work (20.8%), users for mainly nonstandard work (9.8%), and users for standard and nonstandard work (16.7%). We find that organizations that apply demotion, offer early retirement, and allow flexible working hours are more likely to be users for mainly standard work. Also, organizations that do not offer early retirement are less likely to employ early retirees. Age-based HR policies, especially demotion, offering early retirement, and allowing flexible working hours, are conducive to the employment of early retirees for mainly standard work. Broader implementation of these policies may provide opportunities for older workers to make a more gradual transition from work to retirement. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Aspects of consumption and production of scientific information in the Field of administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Maria Mattos

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This paper identifies the set of journals cited in PhD theses about Management at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul completed from 1997 until 2007, and distinguish the journals in which the authors of these theses published his scientific and technical papers one year after obtaining the doctoral degree up to 2010. The authors used a set of 1,131 titles in their theses and published their articles in another set of 187 journals. The two sets had in common only 31 journals, or about 2% of the titles.

Academic success and early career outcomes : Can honors alumni be distinguished from non-honors alumni?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kool, A.; Mainhard, M. T.; Jaarsma, A. D C; Brekelmans, M.; van Beukelen, P.

2016-01-01

This study compared Dutch alumni who previously participated in an honors program (n = 72) to non-honors alumni who entered university as high-achieving high school students (n = 72) with regard to (1) final university grade point average (GPA) and (2) early career outcomes. Final grades were drawn

Familial identification: population structure and relationship distinguishability.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohlfs, Rori V; Fullerton, Stephanie Malia; Weir, Bruce S

2012-02-01

With the expansion of offender/arrestee DNA profile databases, genetic forensic identification has become commonplace in the United States criminal justice system. Implementation of familial searching has been proposed to extend forensic identification to family members of individuals with profiles in offender/arrestee DNA databases. In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the crime scene sample. In addition to concerns regarding civil liberties, familial searching poses unanswered statistical questions. In this study, we define confidence intervals on estimated likelihood ratios for familial identification. Using these confidence intervals, we consider familial searching in a structured population. We show that relatives and unrelated individuals from population samples with lower gene diversity over the loci considered are less distinguishable. We also consider cases where the most appropriate population sample for individuals considered is unknown. We find that as a less appropriate population sample, and thus allele frequency distribution, is assumed, relatives and unrelated individuals become more difficult to distinguish. In addition, we show that relationship distinguishability increases with the number of markers considered, but decreases for more distant genetic familial relationships. All of these results indicate that caution is warranted in the application of familial searching in structured populations, such as in the United States.

Familial identification: population structure and relationship distinguishability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rori V Rohlfs

2012-02-01

Full Text Available With the expansion of offender/arrestee DNA profile databases, genetic forensic identification has become commonplace in the United States criminal justice system. Implementation of familial searching has been proposed to extend forensic identification to family members of individuals with profiles in offender/arrestee DNA databases. In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the crime scene sample. In addition to concerns regarding civil liberties, familial searching poses unanswered statistical questions. In this study, we define confidence intervals on estimated likelihood ratios for familial identification. Using these confidence intervals, we consider familial searching in a structured population. We show that relatives and unrelated individuals from population samples with lower gene diversity over the loci considered are less distinguishable. We also consider cases where the most appropriate population sample for individuals considered is unknown. We find that as a less appropriate population sample, and thus allele frequency distribution, is assumed, relatives and unrelated individuals become more difficult to distinguish. In addition, we show that relationship distinguishability increases with the number of markers considered, but decreases for more distant genetic familial relationships. All of these results indicate that caution is warranted in the application of familial searching in structured populations, such as in the United States.

[Journal AMHA - Acta medico-historica Adriatica: 14 years of patient work on the scientific valorisation of the history of medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Eterović, Igor

2017-12-01

In this paper the first 14 years of publication of scientific journal AMHA - Acta medico‑historica Adriatica (2002-2016) are presented and shortly analysed. This journal has undoubtedly become and remained the central activity of the Croatian Scientific Society for the History of Health Culture, which has rapidly become a globally esteemed journal of history of medicine. The beginning and the context of publishing the journal with the reference to scientific meeting "Rijeka and Its Citizens in Medical History" is presented, as well as the journal's profiling into distinguished international journal and its fast development in later years. The analysis shows the growth of journal's visibility through indexation in different international journal databases, the number and ratio of scientific articles and the variety of published material. Finally, a review of the potential future directions of development and the significance of this journal within the national, regional and international context is given.

Entropy of Mixing of Distinguishable Particles

Science.gov (United States)

Kozliak, Evguenii I.

2014-01-01

The molar entropy of mixing yields values that depend only on the number of mixing components rather than on their chemical nature. To explain this phenomenon using the logic of chemistry, this article considers mixing of distinguishable particles, thus complementing the well-known approach developed for nondistinguishable particles, for example,…

Early vision and visual attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gvozdenović Vasilije P.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The question whether visual perception is spontaneous, sudden or is running through several phases, mediated by higher cognitive processes, was raised ever since the early work of Gestalt psychologists. In the early 1980s, Treisman proposed the feature integration theory of attention (FIT, based on the findings of neuroscience. Soon after publishing her theory a new scientific approach appeared investigating several visual perception phenomena. The most widely researched were the key constructs of FIT, like types of visual search and the role of the attention. The following review describes the main studies of early vision and visual attention.

Mass Media and Global Warming: A Public Arenas Model of the Greenhouse Effect's Scientific Roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuzil, Mark

1995-01-01

Uses the Public Arenas model to examine the historical roots of the greenhouse effect issue as communicated in scientific literature from the early 1800s to modern times. Utilizes a constructivist approach to discuss several possible explanations for the rise and fall of global warming as a social problem in the scientific arena. (PA)

Early modern mathematical instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Jim

2011-12-01

In considering the appropriate use of the terms "science" and "scientific instrument," tracing the history of "mathematical instruments" in the early modern period is offered as an illuminating alternative to the historian's natural instinct to follow the guiding lights of originality and innovation, even if the trail transgresses contemporary boundaries. The mathematical instrument was a well-defined category, shared across the academic, artisanal, and commercial aspects of instrumentation, and its narrative from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century was largely independent from other classes of device, in a period when a "scientific" instrument was unheard of.

HR Excellence in Research as an attribute of scientific institutions’ competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarosławska-Sobór Sylwia

2017-03-01

Full Text Available What plays a major role in the process of building the competitiveness of an organization is not just the ability to adapt to the changing conditions in the environment, but also acquiring characteristics distinguishing it, which make it possible to keep, or improve its position on the market. What may be such a handicap for a scientific unit is the HR Excellence in Research (HRE logo, which is awarded by the European Commission under the strategy “Human Resources Strategy for Researchers” (HRS4R. It is awarded to scientific institutions, which implement the rules of the „European Charter for Researchers” and the „Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers”, and thanks to this create a friendly work environment and opportunities for development. In 2015 Central Mining Institute (GIG took steps aimed at getting the HR Excellence in Research logo, which is supposed to boost the attractiveness of the institute for scientists and contribute to further development of science and achieving a better position on the market. In the article the results of an internal analysis, which includes research on the opinions of scientific and research employees of GIG concerning the existing practices and rules governing research at the institute, are discussed. As a result of the research a Report together with an Action Plan were drawn up. They are supposed to support the creation of a friendly environment for scientific work and transparent rules for recruiting scientific employees. Also, the article highlights the most important challenges which the institute has to face in order to fully implement the guidelines of HRE, which stimulate economic and personal development.

Recherche biomédicale et journalisme en situation d'incertitude : validité des résultats de la recherche biomédicale et couverture médiatique

OpenAIRE

Dumas , Estelle

2017-01-01

Many academic publications are devoted to the « reproducibility crisis » in biomedical sciences. Their authors distinguish this lack of reproducibility from fraud or plagiarism. This “crisis” deals with a much larger phenomenon encompassing many scientific disciplines: a large amount of scientific results are disconfirmed by subsequent studies.This lack of reproducibility is to be expected: knowledge production is an incremental process where early, promising yet tentative findings are valida...

Scientific instruments, scientific progress and the cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baird, David; Faust, Thomas

1990-01-01

Philosophers speak of science in terms of theory and experiment, yet when they speak of the progress of scientific knowledge they speak in terms of theory alone. In this article it is claimed that scientific knowledge consists of, among other things, scientific instruments and instrumental techniques and not simply of some kind of justified beliefs. It is argued that one aspect of scientific progress can be characterized relatively straightforwardly - the accumulation of new scientific instruments. The development of the cyclotron is taken to illustrate this point. Eight different activities which promoted the successful completion of the cyclotron are recognised. The importance is in the machine rather than the experiments which could be run on it and the focus is on how the cyclotron came into being, not how it was subsequently used. The completed instrument is seen as a useful unit of scientific progress in its own right. (UK)

Mid-level perceptual features distinguish objects of different real-world sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Bria; Konkle, Talia; Cohen, Michael A; Alvarez, George A

2016-01-01

Understanding how perceptual and conceptual representations are connected is a fundamental goal of cognitive science. Here, we focus on a broad conceptual distinction that constrains how we interact with objects--real-world size. Although there appear to be clear perceptual correlates for basic-level categories (apples look like other apples, oranges look like other oranges), the perceptual correlates of broader categorical distinctions are largely unexplored, i.e., do small objects look like other small objects? Because there are many kinds of small objects (e.g., cups, keys), there may be no reliable perceptual features that distinguish them from big objects (e.g., cars, tables). Contrary to this intuition, we demonstrated that big and small objects have reliable perceptual differences that can be extracted by early stages of visual processing. In a series of visual search studies, participants found target objects faster when the distractor objects differed in real-world size. These results held when we broadly sampled big and small objects, when we controlled for low-level features and image statistics, and when we reduced objects to texforms--unrecognizable textures that loosely preserve an object's form. However, this effect was absent when we used more basic textures. These results demonstrate that big and small objects have reliably different mid-level perceptual features, and suggest that early perceptual information about broad-category membership may influence downstream object perception, recognition, and categorization processes. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Characteristics of Early Community College Dropouts. CCRC Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Crosta, Peter M.

2013-01-01

For colleges to develop effective dropout prevention strategies, it is necessary to have a clear picture of who these early dropouts are. This report identifies distinguishing characteristics of this group by analyzing six years of transcript data on 14,429 first-time college students who in 2005 and 2006 enrolled at one of five community colleges…

Association of Polar Early Career Scientists: a model for experiential learning in professional development for students and early career researchers

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, A. C.; Hindshaw, R. S.; Fugmann, G.; Mariash, H.

2016-12-01

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists was established by early career researchers during the 2007-2008 International Polar Year as an organization for early career researchers in the polar and cryospheric sciences. APECS works to promote early career researchers through soft-skills training in both research and outreach activities, through advocating for including early career researchers in all levels of the scientific process and scientific management, and through supporting a world-wide network of researchers in varied fields. APECS is lead by early career researchers; this self-driven model has proved to be an effective means for developing the leadership, management, and communication skills that are essential in the sciences, and has shown to be sustainable even in a community where frequent turn-over is inherent to the members. Since its inception, APECS has reached over 5,500 members in more than 80 countries, and we have placed more than 50 early career researchers on working groups and steering committees with organizations around the world in the last two years alone. The close partnerships that APECS has with national and international organizations exposes members to both academic and alternative career paths, including those at the science-policy interface. This paper describes APECS's approach to experiential learning in professional development and the best practices identified over our nearly ten years as an organization.

The expression of podoplanin protein is a diagnostic marker to distinguish the early infiltration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guangyong; Xu, Rui; Yue, Bing; Mei, Xue; Li, Peng; Zhou, Xiaoge; Huang, Shoufang; Gong, Liping; Zhang, Shutian

2017-03-21

The esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is usually develped from low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIEN) and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIEN) to infiltrative squamous cell carcinoma. Till now, it remains hard to screen for infiltration at earlier stages, especially the differentiation between HGEIN and early infiltrative carcinoma. The purpose of this study is to determine a role of podoplanin in differentiating between HGEIN and early infiltrative squamous cell carcinoma. Totally 133 patients pathologically diagnosed with early ESCC and/or precancerous lesions were enrolled.The EnVision two-step IHC staining technique was applied using the monoclonal mouse anti-human Podoplanin antibody (clone number: D2-40). The expressions of PDPN protein on the basal layer of squamous epithelium lesions could be divided into three different patterns: complete type, incomplete (non-continuous) type, or missing type. A diagnosis of HGEIN can be made if the basal layer showed non-continuous or complete expression of PDPN and a diagnosis of early infiltration can be made if the expression of PDPN is completely missing. Our study confirmed that PDPN was a potential biomarker to identify the presence of early infiltrative squamous cell carcinoma.

What is in a word? Neuron: Early usage and evolution in antiquity to its long-lasting current significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Frixione, Eugenio

2017-01-01

Neuron, a Greek term with a rustic background, made much of its way to its current significance since antiquity, when full recognition was achieved that sensory and motor signals travel through the animal body along nerves (neura, plural). Drawing from classic and recent historical scholarship, this study identifies the successive steps toward such a major breakthrough, starting from the usage of the expression in archaic times and continuing up to the much later transference of a mature theory into the modern world. It is shown that four main consecutive stages may be distinguished in the process: (a) incorporation of the word into early anatomical terminology; (b) theorizing on material composition, origin, properties, and role of the neura in animal bodies; (c) functional association of the neura with a transmitting vehicle; (d) identification of true anatomical and physiological correspondences. Upon this over 2000-year-old foundation is still being built one of the most relevant and fascinating scientific adventures of all time.

Rapid molecular technique to distinguish Fusarium species

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Lodolo, EJ

1993-03-01

Full Text Available The nuclear DNA (nDNA) of different isolates of three closely related, toxin-producing Fusarium species, F. moniliforme, F. nygamai and F. napiforme, was compared to ascertain the sensitivity of a molecular method to distinguish these three species...

SALTON SEA SCIENTIFIC DRILLING PROJECT: SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM.

Science.gov (United States)

Sass, J.H.; Elders, W.A.

1986-01-01

The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project, was spudded on 24 October 1985, and reached a total depth of 10,564 ft. (3. 2 km) on 17 March 1986. There followed a period of logging, a flow test, and downhole scientific measurements. The scientific goals were integrated smoothly with the engineering and economic objectives of the program and the ideal of 'science driving the drill' in continental scientific drilling projects was achieved in large measure. The principal scientific goals of the project were to study the physical and chemical processes involved in an active, magmatically driven hydrothermal system. To facilitate these studies, high priority was attached to four areas of sample and data collection, namely: (1) core and cuttings, (2) formation fluids, (3) geophysical logging, and (4) downhole physical measurements, particularly temperatures and pressures.

Inheritance Patterns in Citation Networks Reveal Scientific Memes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Kuhn

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Memes are the cultural equivalent of genes that spread across human culture by means of imitation. What makes a meme and what distinguishes it from other forms of information, however, is still poorly understood. Our analysis of memes in the scientific literature reveals that they are governed by a surprisingly simple relationship between frequency of occurrence and the degree to which they propagate along the citation graph. We propose a simple formalization of this pattern and validate it with data from close to 50 million publication records from the Web of Science, PubMed Central, and the American Physical Society. Evaluations relying on human annotators, citation network randomizations, and comparisons with several alternative approaches confirm that our formula is accurate and effective, without a dependence on linguistic or ontological knowledge and without the application of arbitrary thresholds or filters.

Inheritance Patterns in Citation Networks Reveal Scientific Memes

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Tobias; Perc, Matjaž; Helbing, Dirk

2014-10-01

Memes are the cultural equivalent of genes that spread across human culture by means of imitation. What makes a meme and what distinguishes it from other forms of information, however, is still poorly understood. Our analysis of memes in the scientific literature reveals that they are governed by a surprisingly simple relationship between frequency of occurrence and the degree to which they propagate along the citation graph. We propose a simple formalization of this pattern and validate it with data from close to 50 million publication records from the Web of Science, PubMed Central, and the American Physical Society. Evaluations relying on human annotators, citation network randomizations, and comparisons with several alternative approaches confirm that our formula is accurate and effective, without a dependence on linguistic or ontological knowledge and without the application of arbitrary thresholds or filters.

Scientific visualization - past, present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodlie, K.

1995-01-01

This paper presents a general overview of scientific visualization from a historical orientation. It looks first at visualization before the advent of computers, and then goes on to describe the development of early visualization tools in the 'computer age'. There was a surge of interest in visualization in the latter part of the 1980s, following the publication of an NSF report. This sparked the development of a number of major visualization software systems such as AVS and IRIS Explorer. These are described, and the paper concludes with a look at future developments. ((orig.))

Lessons Learned about Best Practices for Communicating Earthquake Forecasting and Early Warning to Non-Scientific Publics

Science.gov (United States)

Sellnow, D. D.; Sellnow, T. L.

2017-12-01

Earthquake scientists are without doubt experts in understanding earthquake probabilities, magnitudes, and intensities, as well as the potential consequences of them to community infrastructures and inhabitants. One critical challenge these scientific experts face, however, rests with communicating what they know to the people they want to help. Helping scientists translate scientific information to non-scientists is something Drs. Tim and Deanna Sellnow have been committed to for decades. As such, they have compiled a host of data-driven best practices for communicating effectively to non-scientific publics about earthquake forecasting, probabilities, and warnings. In this session, they will summarize what they have learned as it may help earthquake scientists, emergency managers, and other key spokespersons share these important messages to disparate publics in ways that result in positive outcomes, the most important of which is saving lives.

Employment and educational outcomes in early intervention programmes for early psychosis: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, G R; Drake, R E; Luciano, A

2015-10-01

Young adults with early psychosis want to pursue normal roles - education and employment. This paper summarises the empirical literature on the effectiveness of early intervention programmes for employment and education outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of employment/education outcomes for early intervention programmes, distinguishing three programme types: (1) those providing supported employment, (2) those providing unspecified vocational services and (3) those without vocational services. We summarised findings for 28 studies. Eleven studies evaluated early intervention programmes providing supported employment. In eight studies that reported employment outcomes separately from education outcomes, the employment rate during follow-up for supported employment patients was 49%, compared with 29% for patients receiving usual services. The two groups did not differ on enrolment in education. In four controlled studies, meta-analysis showed that the employment rate for supported employment participants was significantly higher than for control participants, odds ratio = 3.66 [1.93-6.93], p < 0.0001. Five studies (four descriptive and one quasi-experimental) of early intervention programmes evaluating unspecified vocational services were inconclusive. Twelve studies of early intervention programmes without vocational services were methodologically heterogeneous, using diverse methods for evaluating vocational/educational outcomes and precluding a satisfactory meta-analytic synthesis. Among studies with comparison groups, 7 of 11 (64%) reported significant vocational/education outcomes favouring early intervention over usual services. In early intervention programmes, supported employment moderately increases employment rates but not rates of enrolment in education. These improvements are in addition to the modest effects early programmes alone have on vocational/educational outcomes compared with usual services.

Planck 2013 results. I. Overview of products and scientific results

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Planck Collaboration,; Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.

2013-01-01

, and the science data products and papers in the release. Scientific results include robust support for the standard, six parameter LCDM model of cosmology and improved measurements for the parameters that define this model, including a highly significant deviation from scale invariance of the primordial power......The ESA's Planck satellite, dedicated to studying the early universe, was launched on May 2009 and has been surveying the microwave and submillimetre sky since August 2009. In March 2013, ESA and the Planck Collaboration publicly released the initial cosmology products based on the first 15.......5 months of Planck operations, along with a set of scientific and technical papers and a web-based explanatory supplement. This paper describes the mission and its performance, and gives an overview of the processing and analysis of the data, the characteristics of the data, the main scientific results...

Scientific and technical aspects of international cooperation in Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gligalo, V.M.; Nosovs'kij, A.V.

2001-01-01

The collection contains the presentations and scientific articles prepared for and discussed during the Conference titled '2000: International Cooperation For Chernobyl'. The materials outline the outcomes achieved while implementing Chernobyl site scientific-technical researches and projects, as well as activities aimed at enhancing the ChNPP safety, decommissioning and radwaste management. It also highlights the issues related to transforming the Unit Shelter into an ecologically safe system, represents the results of ecological researches in the Exclusion Zone, medical effects of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl NPP, together with social and economic problems the city of Slavutich faces now due to the early ChNPP Units decommissioning, and Slavutich business development opportunities under the circumstances of Special Economic Zone 'Slavutich'

Activity recognition from minimal distinguishing subsequence mining

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, Mohammad; Pao, Hsing-Kuo

2017-08-01

Human activity recognition is one of the most important research topics in the era of Internet of Things. To separate different activities given sensory data, we utilize a Minimal Distinguishing Subsequence (MDS) mining approach to efficiently find distinguishing patterns among different activities. We first transform the sensory data into a series of sensor triggering events and operate the MDS mining procedure afterwards. The gap constraints are also considered in the MDS mining. Given the multi-class nature of most activity recognition tasks, we modify the MDS mining approach from a binary case to a multi-class one to fit the need for multiple activity recognition. We also study how to select the best parameter set including the minimal and the maximal support thresholds in finding the MDSs for effective activity recognition. Overall, the prediction accuracy is 86.59% on the van Kasteren dataset which consists of four different activities for recognition.

AOSSM Early Sport Specialization Consensus Statement

OpenAIRE

LaPrade, Robert F.; Agel, Julie; Baker, Joseph; Brenner, Joel S.; Cordasco, Frank A.; Côté, Jean; Engebretsen, Lars; Feeley, Brian T.; Gould, Daniel; Hainline, Brian; Hewett, Timothy E.; Jayanthi, Neeru; Kocher, Mininder S.; Myer, Gregory D.; Nissen, Carl W.

2016-01-01

© 2016 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article. Background: Early sport specialization is not a requirement for success at the highest levels of competition and is believed to be unhealthy physically and mentally for young athletes. It also discourages unstructured free play, which has many benefits. Purpose: To review the available evidence on early sports specialization and identify areas where scientific data are lacking. Study Design: Think tank, roundtable discussion...

Triangle Computer Science Distinguished Lecture Series

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-30

scientific inquiry - the cell, the brain, the market - as well as in the models developed by scientists over the centuries for studying them. Human...the great objects of scientific inquiry - the cell, the brain, the market - as well as in the models developed by scientists over the centuries for...in principle , secure system operation can be achieved. Massive-Scale Streaming Analytics David Bader, Georgia Institute of Technology (telecast from

The scientific foundations and associated injury risks of early soccer specialisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Paul J; Oliver, Jon L; De Ste Croix, Mark B A; Myer, Gregory D; Lloyd, Rhodri S

2016-12-01

Early specialisation is characterised by formal participation in a single sport at the exclusion of others. Limited data are available to support this approach in the development of soccer players who attain elite status later in life. Of growing concern is the associated increased risk of injury and suggestions that single sport specialisation is a risk factor independent of age, growth, biological maturation and training volumes. In the United Kingdom, elite soccer organisations have recently adopted an early sport specialisation approach following the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan. A key tenet of this programme is increased opportunities for training through a marked rise in the specified on-pitch hours per week. The accumulation of high training hours may be less of a relevant marker for success, and the impact of such a significant increase in training volume for young athletes who are experiencing a range of growth and maturational processes is currently unknown. This critical commentary includes an evidence-based discussion of the effectiveness of early sport specialisation and the potential injury risks associated with such programmes placing a specific focus on elite male youth soccer players. Available data indicate that modifications to the existing Elite Player Performance Plan framework could enhance players' development and reduce injury risk. Proposed alterations include reduced volume of soccer-specific training at key stages of growth and maturation and guidelines for the provision of a greater variety of physical activities that are integrated within other programme components.

Distinguishing between symbiotic stars and planetary nebulae

Science.gov (United States)

Iłkiewicz, K.; Mikołajewska, J.

2017-10-01

Context. The number of known symbiotic stars (SySt) is still significantly lower than their predicted population. One of the main problems in finding the total population of SySt is the fact that their spectrum can be confused with other objects, such as planetary nebulae (PNe) or dense H II regions. This problem is reinforced by the fact that in a significant fraction of established SySt the emission lines used to distinguish them from other objects are not present. Aims: We aim at finding new diagnostic diagrams that could help separate SySt from PNe. Additionally, we examine a known sample of extragalactic PNe for candidate SySt. Methods: We employed emission line fluxes of known SySt and PNe from the literature. Results: We found that among the forbidden lines in the optical region of spectrum, only the [O III] and [N II] lines can be used as a tool for distinguishing between SySt and PNe, which is consistent with the fact that they have the highest critical densities. The most useful diagnostic that we propose is based on He I lines, which are more common and stronger in SySt than forbidden lines. All these useful diagnostic diagrams are electron density indicators that better distinguish PNe and ionized symbiotic nebulae. Moreover, we found six new candidate SySt in the Large Magellanic Cloud and one in M 81. If confirmed, the candidate in M 81 would be the farthest known SySt thus far.

Internal criteria for scientific choice: an evaluation of research in high-energy physics using electron accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, B.R.; Irvine, J.

1981-01-01

The economic situation of scientific research is now very different from what it was in the early 1960s when Dr. Alvin Weinberg opened the debate on the criteria for scientific choice. Annual rates of growth of 10 per cent. or more in the budget for science were then common in most Western countries, while today scientists face the prospect of no growth at all or even a decline. Some progress has also been made in developing techniques for the evaluation of the scientific performance of research groups. These two facts make it interesting to reconsider the question of scientific choice. (author)

A fluorescent probe distinguishes between inhibition of early and late steps of lipopolysaccharide biogenesis in whole cells

Science.gov (United States)

Moison, Eileen; Xie, Ran; Zhang, Ge; Lebar, Matthew D.; Meredith, Timothy C.; Kahne, Daniel

2017-01-01

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biogenesis in Gram-negative organisms involves its biosynthesis in the cytoplasm and subsequent transport across three cellular compartments to the cell surface. We developed a fluorescent probe that allows us to determine the spatial distribution of LPS in whole cells. We show that polymyxin B nonapeptide (PMBN) containing a dansyl fluorophore specifically binds to LPS in membranes. We show that this probe detects decreases in LPS levels on the cell surface when LPS biosynthesis is inhibited at an early step. We also can detect accumulation of LPS in particular subcellular locations when LPS assembly is blocked during transport, allowing us to differentiate inhibitors targeting early and late stages of LPS biogenesis. PMID:28248483

Trust in Scientific Publishing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hummels, Harry; Roosendaal, Hans E.

2001-01-01

Trust is an important phenomenon to reduce organisational complexity and uncertainty. In the literature many types of trust are distinguished. An important framework to understand the variety and development of trust in organisations is provided by Zucker. She distinguishes three types of trust:

Selection of maintaining, method for keeping of biologial purity, patternship and health, regarding viruses infection of distinguished potato breeding lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiza MIKE

2008-05-01

Full Text Available A large number of potato varieties and distinguished breeding lines disappeared as an effect of nonfavourable climatically conditions and especially by viruses diseases, as well as other biological and viruses degeneration. To avoid the negative effect of degeneration on potato varieties and distinguished breeding lines, the method of selection for maintaining and multiplication of potato is applying in Romania in the frame of National Center for Maintaining of potato varieties and distinguished breeding lines Apa Rosie, Covasna County, which belong to the Station for Research and Development of Potato, Targu Secuiesc, Covasna County.In this center are maintained and multiplied all distinguished varieties and breeding centers from Romania (National Institute for research and Development of Potato and Sugar beet Brasov, Research and Development Station for Agriculture Suceava, Research and Development Station for Potato Targu Secuiesc, Research and development Station for Potato Miercurea Ciuc.Using the method of selection for maintaining it is possible an early identification of somatic mutations, disease (especially viruses infection by visual elimination or by serological testing.The viruses’ infection of potato leads to disturbed the metabolism of plants and produces anatomical – morphological alters as: mosaic, crinkle, rolling, browning of leaves and plants deformation.The disturbing of plant metabolism has as negative effect the reduction of vegetation period, decreasing the yield capacity, depreciation of physical and chemical quality of tubers.The genetically complex structure of cultivated potato (2n = 4x = 48 and strong segregation of long – expected characters in the obtained future progeny by sexual hybridization, complicated many times by nonfavourable linkage, are the backgrounds for initiation of maintain selection.

Scientific entrepreneurship in the materials and life science industries.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinglasan, Jose Amado; Anderson, Darren J; Thomas, Keith

2011-01-01

Scientists constantly generate great ideas in the laboratory and, as most of us were meant to believe, we should publish or perish. After all, what use is a great scientific idea if it is not shared with the rest of the scientific community? What some scientists forget is that a good idea can be worth something - sometimes it can be worth a lot (of money)! What do you do if you believe that your idea has some commercial potential? How do you turn this idea into a business? This chapter gives the aspiring scientific entrepreneur some (hopefully) valuable advice on topics like choosing the right people for your management team, determining inventorship of the technology and ownership shares in the new company, protecting your intellectual property, and others; finally, it describes some of the various pitfalls you may encounter when commercializing an early stage technology and instructions on how to avoid them.

Bookshelf (Scientific Highlights in Memory of Leon Van Hove, Edited by F. Nicodemi)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez-Gaume, Luis

1994-01-01

This book collects the contributions for a meeting in October 1991 in Naples under the auspices of the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici to commemorate the life and scientific achievements of Leon Van Hove, distinguished theorist and CERN Research Director General from 1976-80, who died in 1990. The articles span Van Hove's scientific contributions and his involvement in European scientific policy and education. His early scientific work, with contributions to mathematics, statistical mechanics and neutron physics, is covered by A. Messiah and L. Michel, with an appraisal by A. Martin. Among Van Hove's best known research papers is his analysis of neutron scattering data to explore the structure of dense systems and magnetic materials in terms of pair correlation functions. This and its later applications are reviewed by A. Messiah, who also collects some interesting memorabilia from the years they spent together at Princeton, where Van Hove also had a fruitful collaboration with G. Placzek. L. Michel undertakes the task of explaining in its full generality the predictions of Van Hove singularities in the phonon dispersion relation for periodic systems. The functional relation between the frequency and wave vector characterizing elastic waves in crystals plays a central role in the explanation of their thermodynamic, acoustic and optical properties. The existence of these singularities was a consequence of applying a beautiful mathematical theory of M. Morse to physics. Van Hove derived his results by showing that they were inevitable consequences of the global topology of the first Brillouin zone of the periodic lattice. This pioneer work used powerful global analysis techniques to unravel concrete physical properties. For this impressive body of achievement, together with his study of low dimensional phase transitions and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, he was awarded the prestigious Danny Heinemann Prize of the American Physical Society

EFSA Scientific Committee; Scientific Opinion on Risk Assessment Terminology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hald, Tine

of improving the expression and communication of risk and/or uncertainties in the selected opinions. The Scientific Committee concluded that risk assessment terminology is not fully harmonised within EFSA. In part this is caused by sectoral legislation defining specific terminology and international standards......The Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed the use of risk assessment terminology within its Scientific Panels. An external report, commissioned by EFSA, analysed 219 opinions published by the Scientific Committee and Panels to recommend possible ways......, the Scientific Committee concludes that particular care must be taken that the principles of CAC, OIE or IPPC are followed strictly. EFSA Scientific Panels should identify which specific approach is most useful in dealing with their individual mandates. The Scientific Committee considered detailed aspects...

Integration of Information and Scientific Literacy: Promoting Literacy in Undergraduates

Science.gov (United States)

Wolbach, Kevin C.; Purzycki, Catherine B.; Bowman, Leslie A.; Agbada, Eva; Mostrom, Alison M.

2010-01-01

The Association of College and Research Libraries recommends incorporating information literacy (IL) skills across university and college curricula, for the goal of developing information literate graduates. Congruent with this goal, the Departments of Biological Sciences and Information Science developed an integrated IL and scientific literacy (SL) exercise for use in a first-year biology course. Students were provided the opportunity to access, retrieve, analyze, and evaluate primary scientific literature. By the completion of this project, student responses improved concerning knowledge and relevance of IL and SL skills. This project exposes students to IL and SL early in their undergraduate experience, preparing them for future academic advancement. PMID:21123700

Visibility bound caused by a distinguishable noise particle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavenda, Miroslav; Celechovska, Lucie; Dusek, Miloslav; Filip, Radim; Soubusta, Jan

2011-01-01

We investigate how the distinguishability of a 'noise' particle degrades interference of the 'signal' particle. The signal, represented by an equatorial state of a photonic qubit, is mixed with noise, represented by another photonic qubit, via linear coupling on a beam splitter. We report on the degradation of the signal photon interference depending on the degree of indistinguishability between the signal and noise photons. When the photons are completely distinguishable in principle but technically indistinguishable, the visibility drops to the value 1/√(2). As the photons become more indistinguishable, the maximal visibility increases and reaches the unit value for completely indistinguishable photons. We have examined this effect experimentally using a setup with a fiber-optics two-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

Althusserian Theory: From Scientific Truth to Institutional History

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip Goldstein

1994-01-01

Full Text Available Scholars have emphasized the scientific and the rationalist features of Althusser's work, but few have noted its post-structuralist aspects, especially its Foucauldian accounts of discourse and power. In the early Pour Marx , Althusser divides ideological practices from objective science and theoretical norms from empirical facts; however, in several later essays Althusser repudiates his earlier faith in theory's normative force as well as his broad distinction between science and ideology. He argues that every discipline establishes its own relationship between its ideological history and its formal, scientific ideals. This argument, together with Althusser's earlier rejection of totalizing approaches, establishes important parallels with Foucault's archaeological studies. The literary theory of Tony Bennett, who develops a Foucauldian critique of traditional and Marxist aesthetics, illuminates the rich implications of these parallels for cultural analyses.

78 FR 61377 - Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-03

... commercial property such as patentable material, and personal information concerning individuals associated...: Center for Scientific Review Special Emphasis Panel;PAR-13-007: Early-Stage Pharmacological Validation of... Conflict: Cognition and Perception. Date: October 31, 2013. Time: 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Agenda: To review...

Two critical periods in early visual cortex during figure-ground segregation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wokke, M.E.; Sligte, I.G.; Scholte, H.S.; Lamme, V.A.F.

2012-01-01

.The ability to distinguish a figure from its background is crucial for visual perception. To date, it remains unresolved where and how in the visual system different stages of figure-ground segregation emerge. Neural correlates of figure border detection have consistently been found in early visual

Brazilian scientific evidence on Fournier’s gangrene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Érick Igor dos Santos

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to describe the Brazilian scientific reports published over the past twenty years on Fournier’s gangrene. It is an integrative review conducted through incursions in the LILACS, MEDLINE, BDENF and Coleciona SUS databases with the descriptor ‘Fournier’s Gangrene’. Texts published between January 1994 and July 2014, in Portuguese, and freely available online were selected. According to the 14 articles found, the main symptoms of Fournier’s gangrene include discomfort with painful sensations, high fever, edema, malaise, and sweating. In most cases erythema and blistering are observed, evolving into a wound. The clinical profile assists in the selection of empirical antimicrobial therapy even before the culture results. It was concluded that early diagnosis and appropriate and aggressive treatment are crucial in patient prognosis. There is still a shortage of Brazilian scientific production with a high power of evidence on the subject.

Differences in early speech patterns between Parkinson variant of multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Huh, Young Eun; Park, Jongkyu; Suh, Mee Kyung; Lee, Sang Eun; Kim, Jumin; Jeong, Yuri; Kim, Hee-Tae; Cho, Jin Whan

2015-08-01

In Parkinson variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P), patterns of early speech impairment and their distinguishing features from Parkinson's disease (PD) require further exploration. Here, we compared speech data among patients with early-stage MSA-P, PD, and healthy subjects using quantitative acoustic and perceptual analyses. Variables were analyzed for men and women in view of gender-specific features of speech. Acoustic analysis revealed that male patients with MSA-P exhibited more profound speech abnormalities than those with PD, regarding increased voice pitch, prolonged pause time, and reduced speech rate. This might be due to widespread pathology of MSA-P in nigrostriatal or extra-striatal structures related to speech production. Although several perceptual measures were mildly impaired in MSA-P and PD patients, none of these parameters showed a significant difference between patient groups. Detailed speech analysis using acoustic measures may help distinguish between MSA-P and PD early in the disease process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder Predispose Youth to Accelerated Atherosclerosis and Early Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Benjamin I; Carnethon, Mercedes R; Matthews, Karen A; McIntyre, Roger S; Miller, Gregory E; Raghuveer, Geetha; Stoney, Catherine M; Wasiak, Hank; McCrindle, Brian W

2015-09-08

In the 2011 "Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents," several medical conditions among youth were identified that predispose to accelerated atherosclerosis and early cardiovascular disease (CVD), and risk stratification and management strategies for youth with these conditions were elaborated. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) among youth satisfy the criteria set for, and therefore merit inclusion among, Expert Panel tier II moderate-risk conditions. The combined prevalence of MDD and BD among adolescents in the United States is ≈10%, at least 10 times greater than the prevalence of the existing moderate-risk conditions combined. The high prevalence of MDD and BD underscores the importance of positioning these diseases alongside other pediatric diseases previously identified as moderate risk for CVD. The overall objective of this statement is to increase awareness and recognition of MDD and BD among youth as moderate-risk conditions for early CVD. To achieve this objective, the primary specific aims of this statement are to (1) summarize evidence that MDD and BD are tier II moderate-risk conditions associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and early CVD and (2) position MDD and BD as tier II moderate-risk conditions that require the application of risk stratification and management strategies in accordance with Expert Panel recommendations. In this scientific statement, there is an integration of the various factors that putatively underlie the association of MDD and BD with CVD, including pathophysiological mechanisms, traditional CVD risk factors, behavioral and environmental factors, and psychiatric medications. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Could We Distinguish Child Users from Adults Using Keystroke Dynamics?

OpenAIRE

Uzun, Yasin; Bicakci, Kemal; Uzunay, Yusuf

2015-01-01

Significant portion of contemporary computer users are children, who are vulnerable to threats coming from the Internet. To protect children from such threats, in this study, we investigate how successfully typing data can be used to distinguish children from adults. For this purpose, we collect a dataset comprising keystroke data of 100 users and show that distinguishing child Internet users from adults is possible using Keystroke Dynamics with equal error rates less than 10 percent. However...

[How to distinguish science from non science].

Science.gov (United States)

Antiseri, D

1991-01-01

The questions discussed in this article concern the demarcation between scientific theories and non scientific theories. The problem is not only an epistemological one, but it implies also ethical and social consequences. For example, is it acceptable for an European country to allow the practice of non-traditional medicines which are not yet considered officially as scientific? According to Karl Popper, the author discusses the following points: 1. Is there a logical asymmetry between the verification and the falsification of a theory? 2. The criterion of falsifiability demarcates science from non-science. 3. There is no automatic method to find new theories. 4. The facts of science are discovered by scientists through theories. 5. The scientific method is only one and it consists of these three steps: problems-theories-refutations. The article's core is that the rational physician is the one who kills (falsifies) his own diagnosis instead of his own patients.

Columbia University's Franz Boas: He Led the Undoing of Scientific Racism.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Lee D.

1999-01-01

As early as 1887, the anthropologist Franz Boas began to combat scientific racism and the insistence that blacks were of lower intelligence than whites. Throughout his career, Boas guided anthropology to a consensus that people of color were not racially inferior and that they possessed unique and historically specific cultures. (SLD)

IMPLEMENTANDO UN ÍNDICE QUE PONDERE EL IMPACTO DE UNA REVISTA CIENTÍFICA EN FUNCIÓN DE SU JUVENTUD (Implementing an Index that Weighs the Impact of a Scientific Journal Based on its Early Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascual Izquierdo-Egea

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Se propone un índice que pondere el impacto de una revista científica en función de su juventud. Hasta ahora, solo algunos índices contemplan factores como la antigüedad o el prestigio en la valoración del impacto, ignorando la importancia de la juventud. ENGLISH: This article proposes an index that weights the impact of a scientific journal based on its early age. Until now, only a few indexes consider factors such as age or prestige, ignoring the role that the early age of a journal might play in its impact assessment.

The Effectiveness of Scientific Inquiry With/Without Integration of Scientific Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chun-Ting; She, Hsiao-Ching

2015-01-01

This study examines the difference in effectiveness between two scientific inquiry programs-one with an emphasis on scientific reasoning and one without a scientific reasoning component-on students' scientific concepts, scientific concept-dependent reasoning, and scientific inquiry. A mixed-method approach was used in which 115 grade 5…

The representation of truth by the scientific discourse: views to a rupture of the academic literacy paradigms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Gerson Rodrigues Stefanello

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses, from a theoretical perspective, the question of writing in the academic sphere. The particularities of the ways to read and write in this sphere constitute a world of literacies characterized by a formality that distinguishes it, purposely, from other use situations of these abilities. The appropriation and maintenance of the scientific discourse, however, require students’ competences commonly not well developed during the years in basic education and which highlight the difficulties faced by both the student and the teacher in the transition to higher education. For the current discussion, I rely on literacy studies (STREET, 1984, 2003; KLEIMAN, 1995; HAMILTON, 2002 to deal, specifically, with academic literacy and the truth regime (FOUCAULT, 2004 through which the scientific discourse is legitimated in society.

Distinguishing the rates of gene activation from phenotypic variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ye; Lv, Cheng; Li, Fangting; Li, Tiejun

2015-06-18

Stochastic genetic switching driven by intrinsic noise is an important process in gene expression. When the rates of gene activation/inactivation are relatively slow, fast, or medium compared with the synthesis/degradation rates of mRNAs and proteins, the variability of protein and mRNA levels may exhibit very different dynamical patterns. It is desirable to provide a systematic approach to identify their key dynamical features in different regimes, aiming at distinguishing which regime a considered gene regulatory network is in from their phenotypic variations. We studied a gene expression model with positive feedbacks when genetic switching rates vary over a wide range. With the goal of providing a method to distinguish the regime of the switching rates, we first focus on understanding the essential dynamics of gene expression system in different cases. In the regime of slow switching rates, we found that the effective dynamics can be reduced to independent evolutions on two separate layers corresponding to gene activation and inactivation states, and the transitions between two layers are rare events, after which the system goes mainly along deterministic ODE trajectories on a particular layer to reach new steady states. The energy landscape in this regime can be well approximated by using Gaussian mixture model. In the regime of intermediate switching rates, we analyzed the mean switching time to investigate the stability of the system in different parameter ranges. We also discussed the case of fast switching rates from the viewpoint of transition state theory. Based on the obtained results, we made a proposal to distinguish these three regimes in a simulation experiment. We identified the intermediate regime from the fact that the strength of cellular memory is lower than the other two cases, and the fast and slow regimes can be distinguished by their different perturbation-response behavior with respect to the switching rates perturbations. We proposed a

Choosing ESRO's first scientific satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Arturo

1992-11-01

The choice of the scientific payloads of the European Space Research Organization's (ESRO's) first generation of satellites is analyzed. Concentration is on those aspects of the decision process that involved more directly the scientific community and that emerged as major issues in the discussion of the Launching Program Advisory Committee (LPAC). The main theme was the growing competition between the various fields of space science within the progressive retrenching of the Organization's financial resources available for the satellite program. A general overview of the status of the program by the end of 1966 is presented. The choice of the first small satellites' payloads (ESRO 1 and 2, and HEOS-A) and the difficult definition of the TD satellite program are discussed. This part covers a time span going from early 1963 to the spring of 1966. In the second part, the narrative starts from the spring of 1967, when the decision to recommend a second HEOS-type satellite was taken, and then analyzes the complex situation determined by the crisis of the TD program in 1968, and the debates which eventually led to the abandonment of TD-2 and the start of the far less ambitious ESRO 5 project.

Heart rate variability, sleep, and the early detection of post-traumatic stress disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Boxtel, Geert J.M.; Cluitmans, Pierre J.M.; Raymann, Roy J.E.M.; Ouwerkerk, Martin; Denissen, Ad J.M.; Dekker, Marian K.J.; Sitskoorn, Margriet M.; Vermetten, E.; Germain, A.; Neylan, T.C.

2017-01-01

Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) are sensitive indices of autonomic nervous system functioning, capable of distinguishing activity of its two constituent branches, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. As such, these measures are possibly useful as early markers of

Early executive function predicts reasoning development.

Science.gov (United States)

Richland, Lindsey E; Burchinal, Margaret R

2013-01-01

Analogical reasoning is a core cognitive skill that distinguishes humans from all other species and contributes to general fluid intelligence, creativity, and adaptive learning capacities. Yet its origins are not well understood. In the study reported here, we analyzed large-scale longitudinal data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test predictors of growth in analogical-reasoning skill from third grade to adolescence. Our results suggest an integrative resolution to the theoretical debate regarding contributory factors arising from smaller-scale, cross-sectional experiments on analogy development. Children with greater executive-function skills (both composite and inhibitory control) and vocabulary knowledge in early elementary school displayed higher scores on a verbal analogies task at age 15 years, even after adjusting for key covariates. We posit that knowledge is a prerequisite to analogy performance, but strong executive-functioning resources during early childhood are related to long-term gains in fundamental reasoning skills.

Distinguishing feral and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) using stable carbon isotopes

OpenAIRE

Anderson , Lucy; Dynes , Travis; Berry , Jennifer; Delaplane , Keith; McCormick , Lydia; Brosi , Berry

2014-01-01

International audience; The ability to distinguish feral and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) has applications in studies of population genetics, parasite transmission, pollination, interspecific interactions, and bee breeding. We evaluated a diagnostic test based on theoretical differences in stable carbon isotope ratios generated by supplemental feeding. We evaluated (1) if carbon isotope ratios can distinguish feral and managed honeybees and (2) the temporal persistence of the signal aft...

TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS IN WESTERN SIBERIA WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE “THAW” DURING LATE 1950s-EARLY 1960s BASED ON MATERIALS OF REGIONAL TRADE UNIONS, PUBLIC ENGINEERING ORGANIZATIONS, AND TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Анатолий Николаевич Першиков

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper studies the changes in the structure, personnel, and areas of practical activity of the trade unions, public engineering organizations and technical and scientific societies in the West Siberian region during late 1950s – early 1960s. The impact of national and regional factors on the transformation content, character, and results is investigated.Objective Analyze the transformation process of public organizations in Western Siberia during late 1950s-early 1960s, revel the characteristic trends and regional specific features.Method or methodology of the study: problem and chronological method, historical-and-systematic method, statistical method.Results: it was established that public organizations experienced certain changes, lost the dependence on government  institutions,  enlarged the area of  activity, but they complementely remained in the field of the party control and operations, did not aquire the proper self-reliance and independence of practical actions.Results application scope: scientific research and preparation of training in the field of historical knowledge.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-10-29

A Model to Partly but Reliably Distinguish DDOS Flood Traffic from Aggregated One

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Li

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Reliable distinguishing DDOS flood traffic from aggregated traffic is desperately desired by reliable prevention of DDOS attacks. By reliable distinguishing, we mean that flood traffic can be distinguished from aggregated one for a predetermined probability. The basis to reliably distinguish flood traffic from aggregated one is reliable detection of signs of DDOS flood attacks. As is known, reliably distinguishing DDOS flood traffic from aggregated traffic becomes a tough task mainly due to the effects of flash-crowd traffic. For this reason, this paper studies reliable detection in the underlying DiffServ network to use static-priority schedulers. In this network environment, we present a method for reliable detection of signs of DDOS flood attacks for a given class with a given priority. There are two assumptions introduced in this study. One is that flash-crowd traffic does not have all priorities but some. The other is that attack traffic has all priorities in all classes, otherwise an attacker cannot completely achieve its DDOS goal. Further, we suppose that the protected site is equipped with a sensor that has a signature library of the legitimate traffic with the priorities flash-crowd traffic does not have. Based on those, we are able to reliably distinguish attack traffic from aggregated traffic with the priorities that flash-crowd traffic does not have according to a given detection probability.

A mandatory course in scientific writing for undergraduate medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Roland, C G; Cox, B G

1976-02-01

All students at Mayo Medical School take a course in scientific writing during their sophomore and junior years. Early in the sophomore year they receive a self-instructional text designed to help them avoid 15 common writing faults. Comparison of pretest and posttest results for two classes, with a total of 89 students, indicates significant improvement (p less than .001). Later in his sophomore year, each student writes a minithesis; and during his junior year he reports on work done in a clinical or laboratory research project, preparing it as a paper submissible to a scientific journal. Professional editors work as preceptors with the students, critiquing their manuscripts, which are revised until they receive satisfactory ratings.

Characterizing locally distinguishable orthogonal product states

OpenAIRE

Feng, Yuan; Shi, Yaoyun

2007-01-01

Bennett et al. \\cite{BDF+99} identified a set of orthogonal {\\em product} states in the $3\\otimes 3$ Hilbert space such that reliably distinguishing those states requires non-local quantum operations. While more examples have been found for this counter-intuitive ``nonlocality without entanglement'' phenomenon, a complete and computationally verifiable characterization for all such sets of states remains unknown. In this Letter, we give such a characterization for the $3\\otimes 3$ space.

Early days in the MET lab: Organization and planning in scientific research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, J.J.

1990-01-01

The scientific exploits of Section C-1 of the war-time Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago in devising and implementing methods for the isolation and purification of plutonium from irradiated uranium fuel elements have been widely recognized. Not so widely appreciated is the planning required for the success of this extraordinarily complex research effort. This talk will consider such matters as staffing, allocation of resources, and management techniques as viewed by one of the staff. Section C-1 continues to provide a model for the organization of research

Psychogenic Tremor: A Video Guide to Its Distinguishing Features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Jankovic

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Psychogenic tremor is the most common psychogenic movement disorder. It has characteristic clinical features that can help distinguish it from other tremor disorders. There is no diagnostic gold standard and the diagnosis is based primarily on clinical history and examination. Despite proposed diagnostic criteria, the diagnosis of psychogenic tremor can be challenging. While there are numerous studies evaluating psychogenic tremor in the literature, there are no publications that provide a video/visual guide that demonstrate the clinical characteristics of psychogenic tremor. Educating clinicians about psychogenic tremor will hopefully lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment. Methods: We selected videos from the database at the Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine that illustrate classic findings supporting the diagnosis of psychogenic tremor.Results: We include 10 clinical vignettes with accompanying videos that highlight characteristic clinical signs of psychogenic tremor including distractibility, variability, entrainability, suggestibility, and coherence.Discussion: Psychogenic tremor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with tremor, particularly if it is of abrupt onset, intermittent, variable and not congruous with organic tremor. The diagnosis of psychogenic tremor, however, should not be simply based on exclusion of organic tremor, such as essential, parkinsonian, or cerebellar tremor, but on positive criteria demonstrating characteristic features. Early recognition and management are critical for good long-term outcome.

78 FR 53991 - Applications for New Awards; Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-30

... and do mathematics at grade level by the end of the third grade. Priority 5: Addressing the Needs of... and family child care providers; infant and toddler specialists; early intervention specialists and... knowledge (including early mathematics and early scientific development), approaches toward learning...

29 CFR 794.107 - “Establishment” distinguished.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... the definition of “enterprise” in section 3(r), as set forth in § 794.106, that the activities of the... § 794.107 “Establishment” distinguished. The “enterprise” referred to in the section 7(b)(3) exemption... “an entire business or enterprise” which may include several separate places of business. (See...

Fusing the boundaries between home and child care to support children's scientific learning

Science.gov (United States)

Fleer, Marilyn

1996-06-01

Parent involvement in early childhood education is highly valued by staff and families alike. However, limited research is available to guide professionals in how best to involve families in the early childhood programs developed for their children. This article reports on a study which investigated the impact of a science teaching and learning program on families of children attending an Australian Child Care Centre. Particular reference is made to the level of scientific support families gave to their children.

Planck 2013 results. I. Overview of products and scientific results

CERN Document Server

Ade, P.A.R.; Armitage-Caplan, C.; Arnaud, M.; Ashdown, M.; Atrio-Barandela, F.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C.; Banday, A.J.; Barreiro, R.B.; Bartelmann, M.; Bartlett, J.G.; Battaner, E.; Benabed, K.; Benoit, A.; Benoit-Levy, A.; Bernard, J.P.; Bersanelli, M.; Bielewicz, P.; Bobin, J.; Bock, J.J.; Bonaldi, A.; Bond, J.R.; Borrill, J.; Bouchet, F.R.; Boulanger, F.; Bowyer, J.W.; Bridges, M.; Bucher, M.; Burigana, C.; Butler, R.C.; Cappellini, B.; Cardoso, J.F.; Carr, R.; Casale, M.; Catalano, A.; Challinor, A.; Chamballu, A.; Chary, R.R.; Chen, X.; Chiang, L.Y.; Chiang, H.C.; Christensen, P.R.; Church, S.; Clements, D.L.; Colombi, S.; Colombo, L.P.L.; Couchot, F.; Coulais, A.; Crill, B.P.; Curto, A.; Cuttaia, F.; Danese, L.; Davies, R.D.; Davis, R.J.; de Bernardis, P.; de Rosa, A.; de Zotti, G.; Delabrouille, J.; Delouis, J.M.; Desert, F.X.; Dickinson, C.; Diego, J.M.; Dole, H.; Donzelli, S.; Dore, O.; Douspis, M.; Dunkley, J.; Dupac, X.; Efstathiou, G.; Ensslin, T.A.; Eriksen, H.K.; Falgarone, E.; Finelli, F.; Foley, S.; Forni, O.; Frailis, M.; Franceschi, E.; Freschi, M.; Fromenteau, S.; Gaier, T.C.; Galeotta, S.; Gallegos, J.; Gandolfo, B.; Ganga, K.; Giard, M.; Giardino, G.; Giraud-Heraud, Y.; Gonzalez-Nuevo, J.; Gorski, K.M.; Gratton, S.; Gregorio, A.; Gruppuso, A.; Haissinski, J.; Hansen, F.K.; Hanson, D.; Harrison, D.; Helou, G.; Henrot-Versille, S.; Hernandez-Monteagudo, C.; Herranz, D.; Hildebrandt, S.R.; Hivon, E.; Hobson, M.; Holmes, W.A.; Hornstrup, A.; Hovest, W.; Huffenberger, K.M.; Jaffe, T.R.; Jaffe, A.H.; Jewell, J.; Jones, W.C.; Juvela, M.; Kangaslahti, P.; Keihanen, E.; Keskitalo, R.; Kisner, T.S.; Kneissl, R.; Knoche, J.; Knox, L.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lagache, G.; Lahteenmaki, A.; Lamarre, J.M.; Lasenby, A.; Laureijs, R.J.; Lawrence, C.R.; Le Jeune, M.; Leach, S.; Leahy, J.P.; Leonardi, R.; Leon-Tavares, J.; Leroy, C.; Lesgourgues, J.; Liguori, M.; Lilje, P.B.; Linden-Vornle, M.; Lopez-Caniego, M.; Lowe, S.; Lubin, P.M.; Macias-Perez, J.F.; Maffei, B.; Maino, D.; Mandolesi, N.; Maris, M.; Marshall, D.J.; Martin, P.G.; Martinez-Gonzalez, E.; Masi, S.; Matarrese, S.; Matthai, F.; Mazzotta, P.; McDonald, A.; McGehee, P.; Meinhold, P.R.; Melchiorri, A.; Melin, J.B.; Mendes, L.; Mennella, A.; Migliaccio, M.; Miniscalco, R.; Mitra, S.; Miville-Deschenes, M.A.; Moneti, A.; Montier, L.; Morgante, G.; Mortlock, D.; Moss, A.; Munshi, D.; Murphy, J.A.; Naselsky, P.; Nati, F.; Natoli, P.; Netterfield, C.B.; Norgaard-Nielsen, H.U.; North, C.; Noviello, F.; Novikov, D.; Novikov, I.; O'Dwyer, I.J.; Osborne, S.; Oxborrow, C.A.; Paci, F.; Pagano, L.; Pajot, F.; Paladini, R.; Paoletti, D.; Partridge, B.; Pasian, F.; Patanchon, G.; Pearson, D.; Pearson, T.J.; Perdereau, O.; Perotto, L.; Perrotta, F.; Piacentini, F.; Piat, M.; Pierpaoli, E.; Pietrobon, D.; Plaszczynski, S.; Platania, P.; Pointecouteau, E.; Polenta, G.; Ponthieu, N.; Popa, L.; Poutanen, T.; Pratt, G.W.; Prezeau, G.; Prunet, S.; Puget, J.L.; Rachen, J.P.; Reach, W.T.; Rebolo, R.; Reinecke, M.; Remazeilles, M.; Renault, C.; Ricciardi, S.; Riller, T.; Ringeval, C.; Ristorcelli, I.; Rocha, G.; Rosset, C.; Rossetti, M.; Roudier, G.; Rowan-Robinson, M.; Rubino-Martin, J.A.; Rusholme, B.; Salerno, E.; Sandri, M.; Santos, D.; Savini, G.; Scott, D.; Seiffert, M.D.; Shellard, E.P.S.; Smoot, G.F.; Spencer, L.D.; Starck, J.L.; Stolyarov, V.; Stompor, R.; Sudiwala, R.; Sunyaev, R.; Sureau, F.; Sutton, D.; Suur-Uski, A.S.; Sygnet, J.F.; Tauber, J.A.; Tavagnacco, D.; Taylor, D.; Terenzi, L.; Texier, D.; Toffolatti, L.; Tomasi, M.; Tristram, M.; Tucci, M.; Tuovinen, J.; Turler, M.; Tuttlebee, M.; Umana, G.; Valenziano, L.; Valiviita, J.; Van Tent, B.; Varis, J.; Vibert, L.; Vielva, P.; Villa, F.; Vittorio, N.; Wade, L.A.; Wandelt, B.D.; Watson, R.; Watson, C.; White, M.; White, S.D.M.; Wilkinson, A.; Yvon, D.; Zacchei, A.; Zonca, A.

2014-01-01

The ESA's Planck satellite, dedicated to studying the early universe, was launched on May 2009 and has been surveying the microwave and submillimetre sky since August 2009. In March 2013, ESA and the Planck Collaboration publicly released the initial cosmology products based on the first 15.5 months of Planck operations, along with a set of scientific and technical papers and a web-based explanatory supplement. This paper describes the mission and its performance, and gives an overview of the processing and analysis of the data, the characteristics of the data, the main scientific results, and the science data products and papers in the release. Scientific results include robust support for the standard, six parameter LCDM model of cosmology and improved measurements for the parameters that define this model, including a highly significant deviation from scale invariance of the primordial power spectrum. The Planck values for some of these parameters and others derived from them are significantly different fr...

Satisfaction with early retirement: making choices in the auto industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, M A; Quadagno, J

1995-07-01

In recent decades, the expanded availability of early retirement incentive plans has allowed an increasing number of workers to retire at an age younger than normally allowed by their pension plans. On the surface, these retirement incentives appear to offer older workers more flexibility in deciding when to retire. However, the offer of early retirement incentives frequently occurs when employers are attempting to reduce employment; therefore, the opportunity for early retirement may be counterbalanced by downsizing goals that place older workers' continued employment in jeopardy. Early retirement incentive programs are thereby characterized by an unusual combination of inducement and coercion. In this study, we examined how the structure of the early retirement program shapes the way older male auto workers evaluate their retirement transitions. We conclude that the structure of the early retirement program, the timing of the retirement decision, and job security are important in framing the retirement transition and in distinguishing levels of satisfaction with the retirement experience.

Accelerating the scientific exploration process with scientific workflows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altintas, Ilkay; Barney, Oscar; Cheng, Zhengang; Critchlow, Terence; Ludaescher, Bertram; Parker, Steve; Shoshani, Arie; Vouk, Mladen

2006-01-01

Although an increasing amount of middleware has emerged in the last few years to achieve remote data access, distributed job execution, and data management, orchestrating these technologies with minimal overhead still remains a difficult task for scientists. Scientific workflow systems improve this situation by creating interfaces to a variety of technologies and automating the execution and monitoring of the workflows. Workflow systems provide domain-independent customizable interfaces and tools that combine different tools and technologies along with efficient methods for using them. As simulations and experiments move into the petascale regime, the orchestration of long running data and compute intensive tasks is becoming a major requirement for the successful steering and completion of scientific investigations. A scientific workflow is the process of combining data and processes into a configurable, structured set of steps that implement semi-automated computational solutions of a scientific problem. Kepler is a cross-project collaboration, co-founded by the SciDAC Scientific Data Management (SDM) Center, whose purpose is to develop a domain-independent scientific workflow system. It provides a workflow environment in which scientists design and execute scientific workflows by specifying the desired sequence of computational actions and the appropriate data flow, including required data transformations, between these steps. Currently deployed workflows range from local analytical pipelines to distributed, high-performance and high-throughput applications, which can be both data- and compute-intensive. The scientific workflow approach offers a number of advantages over traditional scripting-based approaches, including ease of configuration, improved reusability and maintenance of workflows and components (called actors), automated provenance management, 'smart' re-running of different versions of workflow instances, on-the-fly updateable parameters, monitoring

Using the Scientific Method to Guide Learning: An Integrated Approach to Early Childhood Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Gerde, Hope K.; Schachter, Rachel E.; Wasik, Barbara A.

2013-01-01

Researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how early childhood programs prepare young children for science. Due to a number of factors, including educators' low self-efficacy for teaching science and lack of educational resources, many early childhood classrooms do not offer high-quality science experiences for young…

HISTORICAL NOTE JOHN HUNTER (SURGEON) John Hunter FRS ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

JOHN HUNTER (SURGEON). John Hunter FRS (13 February 1728-16 October 1793) was a Scottish surgeon, one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. He was the husband of Anne Hunter, a teacher, friend and ...

Distinguishing advective and powered motion in self-propelled colloids

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Young-Moo; Lammert, Paul E.; Hong, Yiying; Sen, Ayusman; Crespi, Vincent H.

2017-11-01

Self-powered motion in catalytic colloidal particles provides a compelling example of active matter, i.e. systems that engage in single-particle and collective behavior far from equilibrium. The long-time, long-distance behavior of such systems is of particular interest, since it connects their individual micro-scale behavior to macro-scale phenomena. In such analyses, it is important to distinguish motion due to subtle advective effects—which also has long time scales and length scales—from long-timescale phenomena that derive from intrinsically powered motion. Here, we develop a methodology to analyze the statistical properties of the translational and rotational motions of powered colloids to distinguish, for example, active chemotaxis from passive advection by bulk flow.

Bringing to Market Technological Innovation: What Distinguishes Success from Failure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federico Frattini

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Commercialization is a critical step in technological innovation. Nevertheless, many scholars believe that it is often the least well-managed activity of the whole innovation process. The launch stage seems to be particularly critical in high-technology markets because of the volatility, interconnectedness and the proliferation of new technologies they experience. However, academic and practitioners’ literature has not, so far, developed a clear understanding of the factors that distinguish an effective commercialization from an unsuccessful one, especially in high-technology environments. This paper discusses the results of a research project that aimed to understand the ingredients for success in the commercialization of a technological innovation. The first stage of the research consisted of a comparative historical analysis of 18 innovations, which were commercialized in consumer high-tech markets in the last 30 years. The analysis advocates that an effective commercialization comprises three sub-strategies: Early adoption strategy, Adoption network configuration strategy and Mainstream adoption strategy, with each one characterized by a coherent set of commercialization dimensions. The relative importance of each sub-strategy in determining the innovation commercial success depends on the type of innovation that is commercialized, be it radical or incremental and discontinuous or continuous.

Identical Distinguishable Gas Particles in the Real World

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

IAS Admin

particles, it requires more care to identify a gas of identical distinguishable particles ... properties (such as mass, charge, shape, and spin). Adopt an operational ... [6] which might appear to be a physical realization of the proto- typical system of ...

ALARA/ALARP distinguished

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riley, P.

1992-01-01

In the United Kingdom the term ALARA, ''as low as reasonably achievable'' and the term ALARP ''as low as reasonably practicable'' are used in regulations, in conditions in licenses, in assessment principles and in guidance notes used in the nuclear industry. In fact the ALARA principle is a cornerstone on which much of radiation protection regulation is based. The words ''reasonably practicable'' in ALARP have an established meaning in UK law and are used extensively in statutes and regulations, in particular The Health and Safety Act 1974. The Select Committee of the House of Lords on the European Communities in 1986 concluded that public opinion will play a much larger part in deciding the future of nuclear power than is usual with questions of science and technology. Under the circumstances it is important to industry and the general public for the terms used in legislation to be clear and unambiguous. This paper by distinguishing the terms ALARA/ALARP, sets the scene for a more disciplined use of the terms. (author)

The Adam and Eve Robot Scientists for the Automated Discovery of Scientific Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

King, Ross

A Robot Scientist is a physically implemented robotic system that applies techniques from artificial intelligence to execute cycles of automated scientific experimentation. A Robot Scientist can automatically execute cycles of hypothesis formation, selection of efficient experiments to discriminate between hypotheses, execution of experiments using laboratory automation equipment, and analysis of results. The motivation for developing Robot Scientists is to better understand science, and to make scientific research more efficient. The Robot Scientist `Adam' was the first machine to autonomously discover scientific knowledge: both form and experimentally confirm novel hypotheses. Adam worked in the domain of yeast functional genomics. The Robot Scientist `Eve' was originally developed to automate early-stage drug development, with specific application to neglected tropical disease such as malaria, African sleeping sickness, etc. We are now adapting Eve to work with on cancer. We are also teaching Eve to autonomously extract information from the scientific literature.

Distinguishing Features and Similarities Between Descriptive Phenomenological and Qualitative Description Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Willis, Danny G; Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Knafl, Kathleen; Cohen, Marlene Z

2016-09-01

Scholars who research phenomena of concern to the discipline of nursing are challenged with making wise choices about different qualitative research approaches. Ultimately, they want to choose an approach that is best suited to answer their research questions. Such choices are predicated on having made distinctions between qualitative methodology, methods, and analytic frames. In this article, we distinguish two qualitative research approaches widely used for descriptive studies: descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description. Providing a clear basis that highlights the distinguishing features and similarities between descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description research will help students and researchers make more informed choices in deciding upon the most appropriate methodology in qualitative research. We orient the reader to distinguishing features and similarities associated with each approach and the kinds of research questions descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description research address. © The Author(s) 2016.

Soil forensics: How far can soil clay analysis distinguish between soil vestiges?

Science.gov (United States)

Corrêa, R S; Melo, V F; Abreu, G G F; Sousa, M H; Chaker, J A; Gomes, J A

2018-03-01

Soil traces are useful as forensic evidences because they frequently adhere to individuals and objects associated with crimes and can place or discard a suspect at/from a crime scene. Soil is a mixture of organic and inorganic components and among them soil clay contains signatures that make it reliable as forensic evidence. In this study, we hypothesized that soils can be forensically distinguished through the analysis of their clay fraction alone, and that samples of the same soil type can be consistently distinguished according to the distance they were collected from each other. To test these hypotheses 16 Oxisol samples were collected at distances of between 2m and 1.000m, and 16 Inceptisol samples were collected at distances of between 2m and 300m from each other. Clay fractions were extracted from soil samples and analyzed for hyperspectral color reflectance (HSI), X-ray diffraction crystallographic (XRD), and for contents of iron oxides, kaolinite and gibbsite. The dataset was submitted to multivariate analysis and results were from 65% to 100% effective to distinguish between samples from the two soil types. Both soil types could be consistently distinguished for forensic purposes according to the distance that samples were collected from each other: 1000m for Oxisol and 10m for Inceptisol. Clay color and XRD analysis were the most effective techniques to distinguish clay samples, and Inceptisol samples were more easily distinguished than Oxisol samples. Soil forensics seems a promising field for soil scientists as soil clay can be useful as forensic evidence by using routine analytical techniques from soil science. Copyright © 2017 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

78 FR 12329 - Distinguishing Medical Device Recalls From Product Enhancements; Reporting Requirements; Draft...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-22

... medical devices to take timely action to correct violative devices or remove them from the marketplace...] Distinguishing Medical Device Recalls From Product Enhancements; Reporting Requirements; Draft Guidance for... draft guidance entitled ``Distinguishing Medical Device Recalls From Product Enhancements; Reporting...

Neuropsychological Testing and Machine Learning Distinguish Alzheimer’s Disease from Other Causes for Cognitive Impairment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helmut Hildebrandt

2017-04-01

Full Text Available With promising results in recent treatment trials for Alzheimer’s disease (AD, it becomes increasingly important to distinguish AD at early stages from other causes for cognitive impairment. However, existing diagnostic methods are either invasive (lumbar punctures, PET or inaccurate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI. This study investigates the potential of neuropsychological testing (NPT to specifically identify those patients with possible AD among a sample of 158 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI or dementia for various causes. Patients were divided into an early stage and a late stage group according to their Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE score and labeled as AD or non-AD patients based on a post-mortem validated threshold of the ratio between total tau and beta amyloid in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF; Total tau/Aβ(1–42 ratio, TB ratio. All patients completed the established Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease—Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (CERAD-NAB test battery and two additional newly-developed neuropsychological tests (recollection and verbal comprehension that aimed at carving out specific Alzheimer-typical deficits. Based on these test results, an underlying AD (pathologically increased TB ratio was predicted with a machine learning algorithm. To this end, the algorithm was trained in each case on all patients except the one to predict (leave-one-out validation. In the total group, 82% of the patients could be correctly identified as AD or non-AD. In the early group with small general cognitive impairment, classification accuracy was increased to 89%. NPT thus seems to be capable of discriminating between AD patients and patients with cognitive impairment due to other neurodegenerative or vascular causes with a high accuracy, and may be used for screening in clinical routine and drug studies, especially in the early course of this disease.

Scientific Synergy between LSST and Euclid

Science.gov (United States)

Rhodes, Jason; Nichol, Robert C.; Aubourg, Éric; Bean, Rachel; Boutigny, Dominique; Bremer, Malcolm N.; Capak, Peter; Cardone, Vincenzo; Carry, Benoît; Conselice, Christopher J.; Connolly, Andrew J.; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Hatch, N. A.; Helou, George; Hemmati, Shoubaneh; Hildebrandt, Hendrik; Hložek, Renée; Jones, Lynne; Kahn, Steven; Kiessling, Alina; Kitching, Thomas; Lupton, Robert; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Markovic, Katarina; Marshall, Phil; Massey, Richard; Maughan, Ben J.; Melchior, Peter; Mellier, Yannick; Newman, Jeffrey A.; Robertson, Brant; Sauvage, Marc; Schrabback, Tim; Smith, Graham P.; Strauss, Michael A.; Taylor, Andy; Von Der Linden, Anja

2017-12-01

Euclid and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) are poised to dramatically change the astronomy landscape early in the next decade. The combination of high-cadence, deep, wide-field optical photometry from LSST with high-resolution, wide-field optical photometry, and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy from Euclid will be powerful for addressing a wide range of astrophysical questions. We explore Euclid/LSST synergy, ignoring the political issues associated with data access to focus on the scientific, technical, and financial benefits of coordination. We focus primarily on dark energy cosmology, but also discuss galaxy evolution, transient objects, solar system science, and galaxy cluster studies. We concentrate on synergies that require coordination in cadence or survey overlap, or would benefit from pixel-level co-processing that is beyond the scope of what is currently planned, rather than scientific programs that could be accomplished only at the catalog level without coordination in data processing or survey strategies. We provide two quantitative examples of scientific synergies: the decrease in photo-z errors (benefiting many science cases) when high-resolution Euclid data are used for LSST photo-z determination, and the resulting increase in weak-lensing signal-to-noise ratio from smaller photo-z errors. We briefly discuss other areas of coordination, including high-performance computing resources and calibration data. Finally, we address concerns about the loss of independence and potential cross-checks between the two missions and the potential consequences of not collaborating.

Student Moon Observations and Spatial-Scientific Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Merryn; Wilhelm, Jennifer; Yang, Hongwei

2015-07-01

Relationships between sixth grade students' moon journaling and students' spatial-scientific reasoning after implementation of an Earth/Space unit were examined. Teachers used the project-based Realistic Explorations in Astronomical Learning curriculum. We used a regression model to analyze the relationship between the students' Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) post-test score variables and several predictors, including moon journal score, number of moon journal entries, student gender, teacher experience, and pre-test score. The model shows that students who performed better on moon journals, both in terms of overall score and number of entries, tended to score higher on the LPCI. For every 1 point increase in the overall moon journal score, participants scored 0.18 points (out of 20) or nearly 1% point higher on the LPCI post-test when holding constant the effects of the other two predictors. Similarly, students who increased their scores by 1 point in the overall moon journal score scored approximately 1% higher in the Periodic Patterns (PP) and Geometric Spatial Visualization (GSV) domains of the LPCI. Also, student gender and teacher experience were shown to be significant predictors of post-GSV scores on the LPCI in addition to the pre-test scores, overall moon journal score, and number of entries that were also significant predictors on the LPCI overall score and the PP domain. This study is unique in the purposeful link created between student moon observations and spatial skills. The use of moon journals distinguishes this study further by fostering scientific observation along with skills from across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

Sophisticated digestive systems in early arthropods.

Science.gov (United States)

Vannier, Jean; Liu, Jianni; Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Vinther, Jakob; Daley, Allison C

2014-05-02

Understanding the way in which animals diversified and radiated during their early evolutionary history remains one of the most captivating of scientific challenges. Integral to this is the 'Cambrian explosion', which records the rapid emergence of most animal phyla, and for which the triggering and accelerating factors, whether environmental or biological, are still unclear. Here we describe exceptionally well-preserved complex digestive organs in early arthropods from the early Cambrian of China and Greenland with functional similarities to certain modern crustaceans and trace these structures through the early evolutionary lineage of fossil arthropods. These digestive structures are assumed to have allowed for more efficient digestion and metabolism, promoting carnivory and macrophagy in early arthropods via predation or scavenging. This key innovation may have been of critical importance in the radiation and ecological success of Arthropoda, which has been the most diverse and abundant invertebrate phylum since the Cambrian.

EFFECT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY TEACHING MODELS AND SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE TO PHYSICS STUDENT OUTCOMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dian Clara Natalia Sihotang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to determine whether: (1 the student’s achievement taught by using Scientific Inquiry Teaching Models is better than that of taught by using Direct Instruction; (2 the student’s achievement who have a high scientific attitude is better than student who have low scientific attitude; and (3 there is interaction between Scientific Inquiry Teaching Models and scientific attitude for the student’s achievement. The results of research are: (1 the student’s achievement given learning through Scientific Inquiry Teaching Models better than Direct Instruction; (2 the student’s achievement who have a high scientific attitude better than student who have low scientific attitude; and (3 there was interaction between Scientific Inquiry Teaching Models and scientific attitude for student’s achievement which this models is better to apply for student who have a high scientific attitude.

Early Modern “Citation Index”? Medical Authorities in Academic Treatises on Plague (1480–1725

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karel Černý

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the problem of early modern scientific citations. It attempts to establish a measure of scientific popularity in a specific area of the academic medicine in a way which resembles a modern evaluation of scientific activity (citation index. For this purpose an analysis of a series of plague treatises written between 1480 and 1725 in Europe was conducted. Citations for various historical medical authorities (Hippocrates, Galen, etc. are given in Tables which reflect a long time development of popularity. The authorities from various groups (Ancient, Medieval, Arabic, Early Modern are linked together, and “generic authorities” are explained and discussed.

Professionalism, scientific freedom and dissent: individual and institutional roles and responsibilities in geoethics

Science.gov (United States)

Bilham, Nic

2015-04-01

Debate and dissent are at the heart of scientific endeavour. A diversity of perspectives, alternative interpretations of evidence and the robust defence of competing theories and models drive the advancement of scientific knowledge. Just as importantly, legitimate dissent and diversity of views should not be covered up when offering scientific advice to policy-makers and providing evidence to inform public debate - indeed, they should be valued. We should offer what Andy Stirling has termed 'plural and conditional' scientific advice, not just for the sake of democratic legitimacy, but because it supports better informed and more effective policy-making. 'Monocultures' of scientific advice may have a superficial appeal to policy-makers, but they devalue the contribution of scientists, undermine the resilience of regulatory structures, are often misleading, and can lead to catastrophic policy failure. Furthermore, many of the great societal challenges now facing us require interdisciplinary approaches, across the natural sciences and more widely still, which bring to the fore the need for humility, recognition that we do not have all the answers, and mutual respect for the views of others. In contentious areas such as climate change, extraction of shale gas and radioactive waste disposal, however, such open dialogue may make researchers and practitioners vulnerable to advocates and campaigners who cherry-pick the evidence, misinterpret it, or seek to present scientific uncertainty and debate as mere ignorance. Nor are scientists themselves always above such unethical tactics. The apparent authority conferred on unscrupulous 'campaigning scientists' by their academic and professional credentials may make it all but impossible to distinguish them from those who legitimately make the case for a minority scientific view (and may be marginalised by the mainstream of their discipline in doing so). There is a risk that real scientific debate may be thwarted. Individual

Distinguishing the communicative functions of gestures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jokinen, Kristiina; Navarretta, Costanza; Paggio, Patrizia

2008-01-01

This paper deals with the results of a machine learning experiment conducted on annotated gesture data from two case studies (Danish and Estonian). The data concern mainly facial displays, that are annotated with attributes relating to shape and dynamics, as well as communicative function....... The results of the experiments show that the granularity of the attributes used seems appropriate for the task of distinguishing the desired communicative functions. This is a promising result in view of a future automation of the annotation task....

Evaluation of IOTA Simple Ultrasound Rules to Distinguish Benign and Malignant Ovarian Tumours.

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, Sugandha; Kaur, Amarjit; Mohi, Jaswinder Kaur; Sibia, Preet Kanwal; Kaur, Navkiran

2017-08-01

IOTA stands for International Ovarian Tumour Analysis group. Ovarian cancer is one of the common cancers in women and is diagnosed at later stage in majority. The limiting factor for early diagnosis is lack of standardized terms and procedures in gynaecological sonography. Introduction of IOTA rules has provided some consistency in defining morphological features of ovarian masses through a standardized examination technique. To evaluate the efficacy of IOTA simple ultrasound rules in distinguishing benign and malignant ovarian tumours and establishing their use as a tool in early diagnosis of ovarian malignancy. A hospital based case control prospective study was conducted. Patients with suspected ovarian pathology were evaluated using IOTA ultrasound rules and designated as benign or malignant. Findings were correlated with histopathological findings. Collected data was statistically analysed using chi-square test and kappa statistical method. Out of initial 55 patients, 50 patients were included in the final analysis who underwent surgery. IOTA simple rules were applicable in 45 out of these 50 patients (90%). The sensitivity for the detection of malignancy in cases where IOTA simple rules were applicable was 91.66% and the specificity was 84.84%. Accuracy was 86.66%. Classifying inconclusive cases as malignant, the sensitivity and specificity was 93% and 80% respectively. High level of agreement was found between USG and histopathological diagnosis with Kappa value as 0.323. IOTA simple ultrasound rules were highly sensitive and specific in predicting ovarian malignancy preoperatively yet being reproducible, easy to train and use.

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory - An Isolated Nuclear Research Establishment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradbury, Norris E. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Meade, Roger Allen [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-09-23

Early in his twenty-five year career as the Director of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Norris Bradbury wrote at length about the atomic bomb and the many implications the bomb might have on the world. His themes were both technical and philosophical. In 1963, after nearly twenty years of leading the nation’s first nuclear weapons laboratory, Bradbury took the opportunity to broaden his writing. In a paper delivered to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s symposium on the “Criteria in the Selection of Sites for the Construction of Reactors and Nuclear Research Centers,” Bradbury took the opportunity to talk about the business of nuclear research and the human component of operating a scientific laboratory. This report is the transcript of his talk.

Earthquake Early Warning Systems

OpenAIRE

Pei-Yang Lin

2011-01-01

Because of Taiwan’s unique geographical environment, earthquake disasters occur frequently in Taiwan. The Central Weather Bureau collated earthquake data from between 1901 and 2006 (Central Weather Bureau, 2007) and found that 97 earthquakes had occurred, of which, 52 resulted in casualties. The 921 Chichi Earthquake had the most profound impact. Because earthquakes have instant destructive power and current scientific technologies cannot provide precise early warnings in advance, earthquake ...

Database of Physiological Parameters for Early Life Rats and Mice

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Database of Physiological Parameters for Early Life Rats and Mice provides information based on scientific literature about physiological parameters. Modelers...

Markers for prediction and early detection of Pneumoconiosis

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Murray, J

2004-03-01

Full Text Available pathological mechanisms in the pathway from silica exposure to the development of silicosis have been elucidated. If scientifically acceptable existing biomarkers for silica dust exposure can be identified, industry could utilise these for the early...

32 CFR 22.205 - Distinguishing assistance from procurement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... procurement contract, is the appropriate instrument, based on the following: (a) Purpose. (1) The grants... purpose is acquisition, then the grants officer shall judge that a procurement contract is the appropriate... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Distinguishing assistance from procurement. 22...

Early onset depression: the relevance of anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, G; Wilhelm, K; Asghari, A

1997-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine risk factors that may differentiate early onset from late onset depression. A non-clinical cohort that had been assessed from 1978 to 1993 at 5 yearly intervals and that had a high prevalence rate of lifetime depression took part in the study. We established an appropriate age cut-off to distinguish early onset (i.e. before 26 years) of major and of minor depression, and examined the relevance of a number of possible determinants of early onset depression assessed over the life of the study. Despite several dimensional measures of depression, self-esteem and personality being considered, they generally failed (when assessed early in the study) to discriminate subsequent early onset depression, with the exception of low masculinity scores being a weak predictor of major and/or minor depression. Early onset depression was strongly predicted, however, by a lifetime episode of a major anxiety disorder, with generalised anxiety being a somewhat stronger and more consistent predictor than panic disorder, agoraphobia and minor anxiety disorders (ie social phobia, simple phobia). The possibility that anxiety may act as a key predispositional factor to early onset depression and to a greater number of depressive episodes is important in that clinical assessment and treatment of any existing anxiety disorder may be a more efficient and useful strategy than focussing primarily on the depressive disorder.

RSYST: From nuclear reactor calculations towards a highly sophisticated scientific software integration environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noack, M.; Seybold, J.; Ruehle, R.

1996-01-01

The software environment RSYST was originally used to solve problems of reactor physics. The consideration of advanced scientific simulation requirements and the strict application of modern software design principles led to a system which is perfectly suitable to solve problems in various complex scientific problem domains. Starting with a review of the early days of RSYST, we describe the straight evolution driven by the need of software environment which combines the advantages of a high-performance database system with the capability to integrate sophisticated scientific technical applications. The RSYST architecture is presented and the data modelling capabilities are described. To demonstrate the powerful possibilities and flexibility of the RSYST environment, we describe a wide range of RSYST applications, e.g., mechanical simulations of multibody systems, which are used in biomechanical research, civil engineering and robotics. In addition, a hypermedia system which is used for scientific technical training and documentation is presented. (orig.) [de

Scientific and technical aspects of Chernobyl; Naukovyi ta tekhnyichnyi aspekti Chornobilya

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gligalo, V M; Nosovs' kij, A V [eds.

2002-07-01

The collection contains the presentations and scientific articles prepared for and discussed during the Conference titled '2001: International Cooperation For Chernobyl'. The materials outline the outcomes achieved while implementing Chernobyl site scientific-technical researches and projects, as well as activities aimed at enhancing the ChNPP safety, decommissioning and radwaste management. It also highlights the issues related to transforming the Unit Shelter into an ecologically safe system, represents the results of ecological researches in the Exclusion Zone, medical effects of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl NPP, together with social and economic problems the city of Slavutich faces now due to the early ChNPP Units decommissioning, and Slavutich business development opportunities under the circumstances of Special Economic Zone 'Slavutich'.

Exploration of Korean Students' Scientific Imagination Using the Scientific Imagination Inventory

Science.gov (United States)

Mun, Jiyeong; Mun, Kongju; Kim, Sung-Won

2015-01-01

This article reports on the study of the components of scientific imagination and describes the scales used to measure scientific imagination in Korean elementary and secondary students. In this study, we developed an inventory, which we call the Scientific Imagination Inventory (SII), in order to examine aspects of scientific imagination. We…

Differences in atypical resting-state effective connectivity distinguish autism from schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dana Mastrovito

Full Text Available Autism and schizophrenia share overlapping genetic etiology, common changes in brain structure and common cognitive deficits. A number of studies using resting state fMRI have shown that machine learning algorithms can distinguish between healthy controls and individuals diagnosed with either autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia. However, it has not yet been determined whether machine learning algorithms can be used to distinguish between the two disorders. Using a linear support vector machine, we identify features that are most diagnostic for each disorder and successfully use them to classify an independent cohort of subjects. We find both common and divergent connectivity differences largely in the default mode network as well as in salience, and motor networks. Using divergent connectivity differences, we are able to distinguish autistic subjects from those with schizophrenia. Understanding the common and divergent connectivity changes associated with these disorders may provide a framework for understanding their shared cognitive deficits. Keywords: Schizophrenia, Autism, Resting state, Classification, Connectivity, fMRI, Default mode network

Science as an early driver of policy: child labor reform in the early Progressive Era, 1870-1900.

Science.gov (United States)

Perera, Frederica

2014-10-01

Scientific evidence is an increasingly important driver of social and environmental policy concerning child health. This trend began earlier than generally recognized. The child labor reform movement of the Gilded Age and early Progressive Era reflected not only moral and economic forces but also the dramatic advances during the later decades of the 19th century in scientific knowledge concerning children's biological and psychological vulnerability to environmental and psychosocial stressors. The growing importance of scientific information in shaping policy concerning children's health between 1870 and 1900 is illustrated by the events leading up to and following the New York State Child Labor Law of 1886. Child labor reform during this period was a critical step in the development of a science-based as well as a value-driven movement to protect children's environmental health and well-being that continues today.

Writing a scientific publication for a management journal.

Science.gov (United States)

Øvretveit, John

2008-01-01

The aim of this paper is to stimulate debate about criteria for assessing the scientific contribution of a piece of management research and to guide and encourage researchers in writing papers for publication. The paper also seeks to reduce the number of papers submitted to journals and reviewers which are really unfinished early drafts or which do provide knowledge which could contribute to reducing suffering. The paper draws on and discusses the difference between practical research for a manager and scientific research, as well as the author's experience as researcher, writer, reviewer, editor, research methods course leader and director of research. The discussion highlights that the author should draft the paper under the suggested headings and fulfil criteria of validity, reliability, supported conclusions, generalisability, ensuring that each section follows on from the other, and that the findings are related to previous research. This is the author's personal view about how to carry out and write research to get published, without discussions of other views. The findings in this paper may provoke more debate about management science and the role of this journal. The guidance may help many researchers publish their management research. The paper links practical guidance with discussion of criteria for scientific contribution in a readable way.

Webspinners in Early Eocene amber from western India (Insecta, Embiodea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Engel

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The family Scelembiidae (Neoembiodea: Embiomorpha: Archembioidea is recorded from Asia for the first time, based on two individuals preserved in Early Eocene amber from the Cambay Basin, western India. Kumarembia hurleyi Engel & Grimaldi, gen. n. et sp. n., is described, figured, and distinguished from other archembioid genera. The genus shares male genitalic features with scelembiids, otherwise known from South America and Africa.

Prospects for the Development of Scientific Libraries of Ukrainian Research Universities in the context of the Implementation of the European Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serbin Oleh O.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The key directions for the long-term development of scientific libraries of research universities in Ukraine are determined to improve their strategic management system on the way toward entry into the European competitive environment. The scientific ideas, practice and legislative bases in the field of the development of scientific libraries in the European Union are highlighted. There carried out comparative characteristic of the traditional library and the modern one with the purpose of revealing distinctions of their functioning and development. The content of the seventeen main contrasts that distinguish these libraries is identified and described. On the basis of the analysis of the European experience, there identified and characterized twelve key directions for the further strategic development of Ukraine’s scientific libraries, which are in the improvement of digital content; library space; systems of automation of service processes; observance of copyrights; commercialization of library services; international exchange of the library information; depository of master works; updating of equipment; a consolidated system for detecting plagiarism; introduction of new related services; alternative financing systems; systems for staff development. The results of this study will be useful for leaders of research universities and their scientific libraries, as well as scientists and practitioners in the field of strategic management of development of research universities.

Distinguishing between Realistic and Fantastical Figures in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Davoodi, Telli; Corriveau, Kathleen H.; Harris, Paul L.

2016-01-01

Children in the United States come to distinguish historical from fictional story figures between the ages of 3 and 5 years, guided by the plausibility of the story events surrounding the figure (Corriveau, Kim, Schwalen, & Harris, 2009; Woolley & Cox, 2007). However, U.S. children vary in their reactions to stories that include…

Career Planning and Development for Early-Career Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Early career development can be looked at as being of two major phases. The first phase is the formal educational process leading to an awarded degree, postdoctoral training, and potentially formal certification in a scientific discipline. The second phase is the informal educa...

Transcranial magnetic stimulation distinguishes Alzheimer disease from frontotemporal dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Benussi, Alberto; Di Lorenzo, Francesco; Dell'Era, Valentina; Cosseddu, Maura; Alberici, Antonella; Caratozzolo, Salvatore; Cotelli, Maria Sofia; Micheli, Anna; Rozzini, Luca; Depari, Alessandro; Flammini, Alessandra; Ponzo, Viviana; Martorana, Alessandro; Caltagirone, Carlo; Padovani, Alessandro; Koch, Giacomo; Borroni, Barbara

2017-08-15

To determine whether a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) multiparadigm approach can be used to distinguish Alzheimer disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Paired-pulse TMS was used to investigate short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (ICF), long-interval intracortical inhibition, and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) to measure the activity of different intracortical circuits in patients with AD, patients with FTD, and healthy controls (HC). The primary outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity of TMS measures, derived from receiver operating curve analysis. A total of 175 participants met the inclusion criteria. We diagnosed 79 patients with AD, 64 patients with FTD, and 32 HC. We found that while patients with AD are characterized by a specific impairment of SAI, FTD shows a remarkable dysfunction of SICI-ICF intracortical circuits. With the use of the best indexes, TMS differentiated FTD from AD with a sensitivity of 91.8% and specificity of 88.6%, AD from HC with a sensitivity of 84.8% and specificity of 90.6%, and FTD from HC with a sensitivity of 90.2% and specificity of 78.1%. These results were confirmed in patients with mild disease. TMS is a noninvasive procedure that reliably distinguishes AD from FTD and HC and, if these findings are replicated in larger studies, could represent a useful additional diagnostic tool for clinical practice. This study provides Class III evidence that TMS measures can distinguish patients with AD from those with FTD. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology.

Effects of Scaffolds and Scientific Reasoning Ability on Web-Based Scientific Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hui-Ling; Weng, Hsiao-Lan; She, Hsiao-Ching

2016-01-01

This study examined how background knowledge, scientific reasoning ability, and various scaffolding forms influenced students' science knowledge and scientific inquiry achievements. The students participated in an online scientific inquiry program involving such activities as generating scientific questions and drawing evidence-based conclusions,…

Archives and the Boundaries of Early Modern Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Popper, Nicholas

2016-03-01

This contribution argues that the study of early modern archives suggests a new agenda for historians of early modern science. While in recent years historians of science have begun to direct increased attention toward the collections amassed by figures and institutions traditionally portrayed as proto-scientific, archives proliferated across early modern Europe, emerging as powerful tools for creating knowledge in politics, history, and law as well as natural philosophy, botany, and more. The essay investigates the methods of production, collection, organization, and manipulation used by English statesmen and Crown officers such as Keeper of the State Papers Thomas Wilson and Secretary of State Joseph Williamson to govern their disorderly collections. Their methods, it is shown, were shared with contemporaries seeking to generate and manage other troves of evidence and in fact reflect a complex ecosystem of imitation and exchange across fields of inquiry. These commonalities suggest that historians of science should look beyond the ancestors of modern scientific disciplines to examine how practices of producing knowledge emerged and migrated throughout cultures of learning in Europe and beyond. Creating such a map of knowledge production and exchange, the essay concludes, would provide a renewed and expansive ambition for the field.

Early-stage differentiation between presenile Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia using arterial spin labeling MRI

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.M.E. Steketee (Rebecca); E.E. Bron (Esther); R. Meijboom (Rozanna); G.C. Houston (Gavin); S. Klein (Stefan); H.J.M.M. Mutsaerts (Henri J. M.); C. Méndez Orellana (Carolina); F.J. De Jong (Frank J.); J.C. van Swieten (John); A. van der Lugt (Aad); M. Smits (Marion)

2016-01-01

textabstractObjective: To investigate arterial spin labeling (ASL)-MRI for the early diagnosis of and differentiation between the two most common types of presenile dementia: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and for distinguishing age-related from pathological perfusion

Early-stage differentiation between presenile Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia using arterial spin labeling MRI

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.M.E. Steketee (Rebecca); E.E. Bron (Esther); Meijboom, R. (Rozanna); Houston, G.C. (Gavin C.); Klein, S. (Stefan); H.J.M.M. Mutsaerts (Henri J. M.); Orellana, C.P.M. (Carolina P. Mendez); F.J. de Jong (Fransina); J.C. van Swieten (John); A. van der Lugt (Aad); M. Smits (Marion)

2015-01-01

textabstractObjective: To investigate arterial spin labeling (ASL)-MRI for the early diagnosis of and differentiation between the two most common types of presenile dementia: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and for distinguishing age-related from pathological perfusion

Transition and transformation : A bibliometric analysis of two scientific networks researching socio-technical change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chappin, E.J.L.; Ligtvoet, A.

2013-01-01

Sustainability policy in the early 2000s is based on and therefore influenced by scientific literature on ‘transition’. The importance of this link has inspired the authors to explore the structure of cooperating authors and citation networks in the field. In order to understand ‘transition’

Scoring system to distinguish uncomplicated from complicated acute appendicitis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Atema, J. J.; van Rossem, C. C.; Leeuwenburgh, M. M.; Stoker, J.; Boermeester, M. A.

2015-01-01

Non-operative management may be an alternative for uncomplicated appendicitis, but preoperative distinction between uncomplicated and complicated disease is challenging. This study aimed to develop a scoring system based on clinical and imaging features to distinguish uncomplicated from complicated

Investigation of Soil Salinity to Distinguish Boundary Line between ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

Investigation of Soil Salinity to Distinguish Boundary Line between Saline and ... Setting 4 dSm-1 as the limit between saline and non-saline soils in kriging algorithms resulted in a .... number of sample points within the search window,.

AOSSM Early Sport Specialization Consensus Statement.

Science.gov (United States)

LaPrade, Robert F; Agel, Julie; Baker, Joseph; Brenner, Joel S; Cordasco, Frank A; Côté, Jean; Engebretsen, Lars; Feeley, Brian T; Gould, Daniel; Hainline, Brian; Hewett, Timothy; Jayanthi, Neeru; Kocher, Mininder S; Myer, Gregory D; Nissen, Carl W; Philippon, Marc J; Provencher, Matthew T

2016-04-01

Early sport specialization is not a requirement for success at the highest levels of competition and is believed to be unhealthy physically and mentally for young athletes. It also discourages unstructured free play, which has many benefits. To review the available evidence on early sports specialization and identify areas where scientific data are lacking. Think tank, roundtable discussion. The primary outcome of this think tank was that there is no evidence that young children will benefit from early sport specialization in the majority of sports. They are subject to overuse injury and burnout from concentrated activity. Early multisport participation will not deter young athletes from long-term competitive athletic success. Youth advocates, parents, clinicians, and coaches need to work together with the sport governing bodies to ensure healthy environments for play and competition that do not create long-term health issues yet support athletic competition at the highest level desired.

The Hues of English. NCTE Distinguished Lectures 1969.

Science.gov (United States)

National Council of Teachers of English, Champaign, IL.

The third volume in the NCTE Distinguished Lectures Series, this collection of papers includes (1) William Stafford on poetry and the language of everyday life, (2) Fred Stocking linking Shakespeare to his time and all time by analysing "temperance" in Sonnet 18, (3) Alan Downer discussing the nature of comedy in drama and the universal…

Evaluation of IOTA Simple Ultrasound Rules to Distinguish Benign and Malignant Ovarian Tumours

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Amarjit; Mohi, Jaswinder Kaur; Sibia, Preet Kanwal; Kaur, Navkiran

2017-01-01

Introduction IOTA stands for International Ovarian Tumour Analysis group. Ovarian cancer is one of the common cancers in women and is diagnosed at later stage in majority. The limiting factor for early diagnosis is lack of standardized terms and procedures in gynaecological sonography. Introduction of IOTA rules has provided some consistency in defining morphological features of ovarian masses through a standardized examination technique. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of IOTA simple ultrasound rules in distinguishing benign and malignant ovarian tumours and establishing their use as a tool in early diagnosis of ovarian malignancy. Materials and Methods A hospital based case control prospective study was conducted. Patients with suspected ovarian pathology were evaluated using IOTA ultrasound rules and designated as benign or malignant. Findings were correlated with histopathological findings. Collected data was statistically analysed using chi-square test and kappa statistical method. Results Out of initial 55 patients, 50 patients were included in the final analysis who underwent surgery. IOTA simple rules were applicable in 45 out of these 50 patients (90%). The sensitivity for the detection of malignancy in cases where IOTA simple rules were applicable was 91.66% and the specificity was 84.84%. Accuracy was 86.66%. Classifying inconclusive cases as malignant, the sensitivity and specificity was 93% and 80% respectively. High level of agreement was found between USG and histopathological diagnosis with Kappa value as 0.323. Conclusion IOTA simple ultrasound rules were highly sensitive and specific in predicting ovarian malignancy preoperatively yet being reproducible, easy to train and use. PMID:28969237

Diagnostic value of chemical shift artifact in distinguishing benign lymphadenopathy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farshchian, Nazanin, E-mail: farshchian.n@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Tamari, Saghar; Farshchian, Negin [Department of Radiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Madani, Hamid [Department of Pathology, Imam-Reza Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rezaie, Mansour [Department of Biostatistics, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mohammadi-Motlagh, Hamid-Reza, E-mail: mohammadimotlagh@gmail.com [Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-11-15

Purpose: Today, distinguishing metastatic lymph nodes from secondary benign inflammatory ones via using non-invasive methods is increasingly favorable. In this study, the diagnostic value of chemical shift artifact (CSA) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated to distinguish benign lymphadenopathy. Subjects and methods: A prospective intraindividual internal review board-approved study was carried out on 15 men and 15 women having lymphadenopathic lesions in different locations of the body who underwent contrast-enhanced dynamic MR imaging at 1.5 T. Then, the imaging findings were compared with pathology reports, using the statistics analyses. Results: Due to the findings of the CSA existence in MRI, a total of 56.7% of the studied lesions (17 of 30) were identified as benign lesions and the rest were malignant, whereas the pathology reports distinguished twelve malignant and eighteen benign cases. Furthermore, the CSA findings comparing the pathology reports indicated that CSA, with confidence of 79.5%, has a significant diagnostic value to differentiate benign lesions from malignant ones. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that CSA in MR imaging has a suitable diagnostic potential nearing readiness for clinical trials. Furthermore, CSA seems to be a feasible tool to differentiate benign lymph nodes from malignant ones; however, further studies including larger numbers of patients are required to confirm our results.

Integrating scientific results for a post-closure safety demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, E.C.; Ramspott, L.D.; Sinnock, S.; Sprecher, W.M.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a nuclear waste management system that will accept high-level radioactive waste, transport it, store it, and ultimately emplace it in a deep geologic repository. The key activity now is determining whether Yucca Mountain, Nevada is suitable as a site for the repository. If so, the crucial technological advance will be the demonstration that disposal of nuclear waste will be safe for thousands of years after closure. Recent regulatory, legal, and scientific developments imply that the safety demonstration must be simple. The scientific developments taken together support a simple set of hypotheses that constitute a post-closure safety argument for a repository at Yucca Mountain. If the understanding of Yucca Mountain hydrology presented in the Site Characterization Plan proves correct, then these hypotheses might be confirmed by combining results of Surface-Based Testing with early testing results in the Exploratory Studies Facility

Exploratory Data Analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR Measurements to Distinguish the Sea Surface Expressions of Naturally-Occurring Oil Seeps from Human-Related Oil Spills in Campeche Bay (Gulf of Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo de Araújo Carvalho

2017-12-01

Full Text Available An Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA aims to use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR measurements for discriminating between two oil slick types observed on the sea surface: naturally-occurring oil seeps versus human-related oil spills—the use of satellite sensors for this task is poorly documented in scientific literature. A long-term RADARSAT dataset (2008–2012 is exploited to investigate oil slicks in Campeche Bay (Gulf of Mexico. Simple Classification Algorithms to distinguish the oil slick type are designed based on standard multivariate data analysis techniques. Various attributes of geometry, shape, and dimension that describe the oil slick Size Information are combined with SAR-derived backscatter coefficients—sigma-(σo, beta-(βo, and gamma-(γo naught. The combination of several of these characteristics is capable of distinguishing the oil slick type with ~70% of overall accuracy, however, the sole and simple use of two specific oil slick’s Size Information (i.e., area and perimeter is equally capable of distinguishing seeps from spills. The data mining exercise of our EDA promotes a novel idea bridging petroleum pollution and remote sensing research, thus paving the way to further investigate the satellite synoptic view to express geophysical differences between seeped and spilled oil observed on the sea surface for systematic use.

Change and continuity in early modern cosmology

CERN Document Server

Bonner, Patrick

2011-01-01

Seen as a flash point of the Scientific Revolution, early modern astronomy witnessed an explosion of views about the function and structure of the world. This study explores these theories in a wide variety of settings, and challenges our view of modern science as the straightforward successor of Aristotelian natural philosophy.

Accelerating Science with the NERSC Burst Buffer Early User Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhimji, Wahid [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bard, Debbie [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Romanus, Melissa [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States); Paul, David [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Ovsyannikov, Andrey [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Friesen, Brian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bryson, Matt [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Correa, Joaquin [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lockwood, Glenn K. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Tsulaia, Vakho [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Byna, Suren [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Farrell, Steve [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Gursoy, Doga [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS); Daley, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Beckner, Vince [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Van Straalen, Brian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Trebotich, David [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Tull, Craig [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Weber, Gunther H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Wright, Nicholas J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Antypas, Katie [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Prabhat, none [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-01-01

NVRAM-based Burst Buffers are an important part of the emerging HPC storage landscape. The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently installed one of the first Burst Buffer systems as part of its new Cori supercomputer, collaborating with Cray on the development of the DataWarp software. NERSC has a diverse user base comprised of over 6500 users in 700 different projects spanning a wide variety of scientific computing applications. The use-cases of the Burst Buffer at NERSC are therefore also considerable and diverse. We describe here performance measurements and lessons learned from the Burst Buffer Early User Program at NERSC, which selected a number of research projects to gain early access to the Burst Buffer and exercise its capability to enable new scientific advancements. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time a Burst Buffer has been stressed at scale by diverse, real user workloads and therefore these lessons will be of considerable benefit to shaping the developing use of Burst Buffers at HPC centers.

Indicators of financial crises do work! : an early-warning system for six Asian countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lestano, [No Value; Jacobs, Jan; Kuper, Gerard H.

2003-01-01

Indicators of financial crisis generally do not have a good track record. This paper presents an early warning system for six countries in Asia, in which indicators do work.We distinguish three types of financial crises, currency crises, banking crises and debt crises, and extract four groups of

The Toy model: Understanding the early universe

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Peter H.; Price, Richard H.

2018-04-01

In many branches of science, progress is being made by taking advantage of insights from other branches of science. Cosmology, the structure and evolution of the universe, is certainly an area that is currently beset by problems in understanding. We show here that the scientific insights from the studies of early childhood development, in particular, those of Piaget, give a new way of looking at the early universe. This new approach can not only be invaluable in undergraduate teaching, but can even be the basis of semi-quantitative predictions.

Early modern natural history: Contributions from the Americas

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Early modern natural history: Contributions from the Americas and India. Rajesh Kochhar. Perspectives Volume 37 Issue ... Keywords. India; medical botany; natural history; scientific botany; the Americas. Author Affiliations. Rajesh Kochhar1. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali 140 306 Punjab, India ...

Activities in an S-STEM Program to Catalyze Early Entry into Research

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Kate J.; McIntee, Edward J.; Raigoza, Annette F.; Fazal, M. Abul; Jakubowski, Henry V.

2017-01-01

A cohort program to increase retention of under-represented groups in chemistry was developed at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University. In particular, this program chose to emphasize early career mentoring and early access to research. This goal was chosen because research has been repeatedly shown to increase scientific identity…

The Identification of Conductor-Distinguished Functions of Conducting

Science.gov (United States)

Gumm, Alan J.; Battersby, Sharyn L.; Simon, Kathryn L.; Shankles, Andrew E.

2011-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to identify whether conductors distinguish functions of conducting similarly to functions implied in previous research. A sample of 84 conductors with a full range of experience levels (M = 9.8) and of a full range of large ensemble types and ensemble age levels rated how much they pay attention to 82…

The conditional benefits of early user involvement at employee self-service applications in four Dutch ministries.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Batenburg, R.; Koopman, G.

2010-01-01

User participation and user involvement is generally accepted as one of the important factors for IS success. In this paper, several types of early end-user involvement are distinguished and empirically explored through four case studies. The cases concern four Dutch governmental organisations

SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS OF THE MC-PAD NETWORK

CERN Document Server

Aguilar, J; Ambalathankandy, P; Apostolakis, J; Arora, R; Balog, T; Behnke, T; Beltrame, P; Bencivenni, G; Caiazza, S; Dong, J; Heller, M; Heuser, J; Idzik, M; Joram, C; Klanner, R; Koffeman, E; Korpar, S; Kramberger, G; Lohmann, W; Milovanović, M; Miscetti, S; Moll, M; Novgorodova, O; Pacifico, N; Pirvutoiu, C; Radu, R; Rahman, S; Rohe, T; Ropelewski, L; Roukoutakis, F; Schmidt, C; Schön, R; Sibille, J; Tsagri, M; Turala, M; Van Beuzekom, M; Verheyden, R; Villa, M; Zappon, F; Zawiejski, L; Zhang, J

2013-01-01

MC-PAD is a multi-site Initial Training Network on particle detectors in physics experiments. It comprises nine academic participants, three industrial partners and two associated academic partners. 17 recruited Early Stage and 5 Experienced Researchers have performed their scientific work in the network. The research and development work of MC-PAD is organized in 12 work packages, which focus on a large variety of aspects of particle detector development, electronics as well as simulation and modelling. The network was established in November 2008 and lasted until October 2012 (48 months). This report describes the R&D activities and highlights the main results achieved during this period.

Scientific reasoning in early and middle childhood: the development of domain-general evidence evaluation, experimentation, and hypothesis generation skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Piekny, Jeanette; Maehler, Claudia

2013-06-01

According to Klahr's (2000, 2005; Klahr & Dunbar, 1988) Scientific Discovery as Dual Search model, inquiry processes require three cognitive components: hypothesis generation, experimentation, and evidence evaluation. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) when the ability to evaluate perfect covariation, imperfect covariation, and non-covariation evidence emerges, (b) when experimentation emerges, (c) when hypothesis generation skills emerge, and (d), whether these abilities develop synchronously during childhood. We administered three scientific reasoning tasks referring to the three components to 223 children of five age groups (from age 4.0 to 13.5 years). Our results show that the three cognitive components of domain-general scientific reasoning emerge asynchronously. The development of domain-general scientific reasoning begins with the ability to handle unambiguous data, progresses to the interpretation of ambiguous data, and leads to a flexible adaptation of hypotheses according to the sufficiency of evidence. When children understand the relation between the level of ambiguity of evidence and the level of confidence in hypotheses, the ability to differentiate conclusive from inconclusive experiments accompanies this development. Implications of these results for designing science education concepts for young children are briefly discussed. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

Scientific integrity in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lins, Liliane; Carvalho, Fernando Martins

2014-09-01

This article focuses on scientific integrity and the identification of predisposing factors to scientific misconduct in Brazil. Brazilian scientific production has increased in the last ten years, but the quality of the articles has decreased. Pressure on researchers and students for increasing scientific production may contribute to scientific misconduct. Cases of misconduct in science have been recently denounced in the country. Brazil has important institutions for controlling ethical and safety aspects of human research, but there is a lack of specific offices to investigate suspected cases of misconduct and policies to deal with scientific dishonesty.

General Vertex-Distinguishing Total Coloring of Graphs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chanjuan Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The general vertex-distinguishing total chromatic number of a graph G is the minimum integer k, for which the vertices and edges of G are colored using k colors such that any two vertices have distinct sets of colors of them and their incident edges. In this paper, we figure out the exact value of this chromatic number of some special graphs and propose a conjecture on the upper bound of this chromatic number.

Distinguishing Biologically Relevant Hexoses by Water Adduction to the Lithium-Cationized Molecule.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Matthew T; Chen, Dazhe; Wallbillich, Nicholas J; Glish, Gary L

2017-10-03

A method to distinguish the four most common biologically relevant underivatized hexoses, d-glucose, d-galactose, d-mannose, and d-fructose, using only mass spectrometry with no prior separation/derivatization step has been developed. Electrospray of a solution containing hexose and a lithium salt generates [Hexose+Li] + . The lithium-cationized hexoses adduct water in a quadrupole ion trap. The rate of this water adduction reaction can be used to distinguish the four hexoses. Additionally, for each hexose, multiple lithiation sites are possible, allowing for multiple structures of [Hexose+Li] + . Electrospray produces at least one structure that reacts with water and at least one that does not. The ratio of unreactive lithium-cationized hexose to total lithium-cationized hexose is unique for the four hexoses studied, providing a second method for distinguishing the isomers. Use of the water adduction reaction rate or the unreactive ratio provides two separate methods for confidently (p ≤ 0.02) distinguishing the most common biologically relevant hexoses using only femtomoles of hexose. Additionally, binary mixtures of glucose and fructose were studied. A calibration curve was created by measuring the reaction rate of various samples with different ratios of fructose and glucose. The calibration curve was used to accurately measure the percentage of fructose in three samples of high fructose corn syrup (<4% error).

Specification of Scientific Tasks in Collaboration between Science, Industry and State, and Impact of Political Factors on Managerial Levers and Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bondarenko Tetiana M.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The issue of collaboration between science, industry and state is of relevance in domestic and international practice. In leading countries of the world and in Ukraine compatible production and scientific complexes are created; collaboration between research institutions and state is established, in particular the theory and practice of collaboration between science, industry and state on the basis of Triple Helix Model is widespread in the world; in scientific papers objects of research of economic processes, subjects of research of the economic theory are considered. However, there are no works where the objects and tasks of economic researches are studied on the basis of macroeconomic environment, and a distinct principle to distinguish research objects relating to different economies and types of production is laid out; scientific and practical problems of economy in the field of collaboration between state, science and industry are clearly defined. According to the purpose of the article (to specify scientific and practical tasks to rationalize scientific research, the experience gained is systematized and a scheme-matrix of scientific and practical problems is proposed. In scientific practice there are works highlighting principles of scientific research work, research tasks in the field of economy, scientific problems of economy but there are no works considering both principles and tasks of collaboration of academic economists with state and industry in order to provide scientists with recommendations on optimization of economic processes to improve the economic efficiency. Taking into account the experience gained, principles of collaboration of academic economists with the state and industry are identified. On the basis of the developed matrix of scientific and practical tasks, the principle of impact of political factors on managerial levers, the level of Gross Domestic Product and Gross Social Product is demonstrated.

Using Tractography to Distinguish SWEDD from Parkinson’s Disease Patients Based on Connectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansu Kim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. It is critical to distinguish between Parkinson’s disease (PD and scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDD, because the two groups are different and require different therapeutic approaches. Objective. The aim of this study was to distinguish SWEDD patients from PD patients using connectivity information derived from diffusion tensor imaging tractography. Methods. Diffusion magnetic resonance images of SWEDD (n=37 and PD (n=40 were obtained from a research database. Tractography, the process of obtaining neural fiber information, was performed using custom software. Group-wise differences between PD and SWEDD patients were quantified using the number of connected fibers between two regions, and correlation analyses were performed based on clinical scores. A support vector machine classifier (SVM was applied to distinguish PD and SWEDD based on group-wise differences. Results. Four connections showed significant group-wise differences and correlated with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale sponsored by the Movement Disorder Society. The SVM classifier attained 77.92% accuracy in distinguishing between SWEDD and PD using these identified connections. Conclusions. The connections and regions identified represent candidates for future research investigations.

Distinguishing the elements of a full product basis set needs only projective measurements and classical communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Pingxing; Li Chengzu

2004-01-01

Nonlocality without entanglement is an interesting field. A manifestation of quantum nonlocality without entanglement is the possible local indistinguishability of orthogonal product states. In this paper we analyze the character of operators to distinguish the elements of a full product basis set in a multipartite system, and show that distinguishing perfectly these product bases needs only local projective measurements and classical communication, and these measurements cannot damage each product basis. Employing these conclusions one can discuss local distinguishability of the elements of any full product basis set easily. Finally we discuss the generalization of these results to the locally distinguishability of the elements of incomplete product basis set

The many lives of Charles Darwin: early biographies and the definitive evolutionist.

Science.gov (United States)

Lightman, Bernard

2010-12-20

This article focuses on the early book-length biographies of Darwin published from his death in 1882 up to 1900. By making 1900 the cutoff point I can examine the biographies produced when the iconic figure was not yet set in stone, and before the rediscovery of Mendel's work in the early twentieth century and the anniversary celebrations of 1909 changed the way in which Darwin was regarded. Darwin's biographers dealt with three major themes. First, several biographers emphasized his scientific abilities, in particular his powers of observation and his prowess in conducting experiments. Second, many biographers discussed his character, a key issue in determining whether or not he could be trusted as a scientific guide. Finally, his scientific theories and religious beliefs, and how they related to the evolutionary controversy, formed a topic taken up by most biographers. By focusing on these three themes, the biographies published before 1900 were important in shaping the image of Darwin that was forming in American and British culture.

AOSSM Early Sport Specialization Consensus Statement

Science.gov (United States)

LaPrade, Robert F.; Agel, Julie; Baker, Joseph; Brenner, Joel S.; Cordasco, Frank A.; Côté, Jean; Engebretsen, Lars; Feeley, Brian T.; Gould, Daniel; Hainline, Brian; Hewett, Timothy E.; Jayanthi, Neeru; Kocher, Mininder S.; Myer, Gregory D.; Nissen, Carl W.; Philippon, Marc J.; Provencher, Matthew T.

2016-01-01

Background: Early sport specialization is not a requirement for success at the highest levels of competition and is believed to be unhealthy physically and mentally for young athletes. It also discourages unstructured free play, which has many benefits. Purpose: To review the available evidence on early sports specialization and identify areas where scientific data are lacking. Study Design: Think tank, roundtable discussion. Results: The primary outcome of this think tank was that there is no evidence that young children will benefit from early sport specialization in the majority of sports. They are subject to overuse injury and burnout from concentrated activity. Early multisport participation will not deter young athletes from long-term competitive athletic success. Conclusion: Youth advocates, parents, clinicians, and coaches need to work together with the sport governing bodies to ensure healthy environments for play and competition that do not create long-term health issues yet support athletic competition at the highest level desired. PMID:27169132

Affective Imagination in Science Education: Determining the Emotional Nature of Scientific and Technological Learning of Young Children

Science.gov (United States)

Fleer, Marilyn

2013-10-01

Vygotsky (1986) draws attention to the interrelationship between thought and language and other aspects of mind. Although not widely acknowledged, Vygotsky (1999) also drew attention to the search for the relations between cognition and emotions. This paper discusses the findings of a study which examined imaginary scientific situations within the early years. The central research questions examined: What is the emotional nature of scientific learning? and How does affective imagination support early childhood science learning? Video observations were made of the teaching of science from one site in a south-eastern community in Australia (232 h of video observations). The teachers used fairy tales and Slowmation as cultural devices to support the concept formation of 3- and 4-year-old children (n = 53; range of 3.3 to 4.4; mean of 3.8 years). The findings of this under-researched area (e.g. Roth, Mind, Culture, and Activity 15:2-7, 2008) make a contribution to understanding how affective imagination can work in science education in the early years.

Recipients of major scientific awards: A descriptive and predictive analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Barbee, Andrew Calvin

Recent trends demonstrate an increase of women in leadership roles, STEM fields, and participating in higher education including graduate and doctoral programs, which is a result of Title IX. This quantitative study considered major scientific awards awarded to females and examines demographic characteristics of awardees from the Nobel, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and National Science Foundation (NSF). More specifically, the following awards were examined the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the NAS Public Welfare Medal, and the NSF National Medal of Science within the discipline of Physical Science. Also, this study focused on equality to determine if a fair playing field and equal opportunity for women in academics has improved since Title IX. A limited amount of research has explored female award recipients. Specifically, existing research, has not examined the pinnacle of academic performance in the form of national and international awards. In the present study, I posed research questions relating to demographic characteristics of award recipients from the Nobel, NAS, and NSF between 1975 and 2015. Additionally, I examined if sex and age of the awardees could predict early career award obtainment. Through the frame of Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997, and 2005) I considered how perceptions of gender roles are a product of influence by society and the possible connection to performance. Results indicated a limited number of females have received these scientific awards and the awardees age could predict receiving an award early in their career. Additionally, the study provided insight into the progression of Title IX within the context of athletics and academics. It addressed the incremental and systematic increase in academics for women at high school, college, career, and scientific awards. Perhaps most importantly, it identified an observed pattern for female science award recipients reaching a critical mass and a tipping point.

Science as an Early Driver of Policy: Child Labor Reform in the Early Progressive Era, 1870–1900

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Scientific evidence is an increasingly important driver of social and environmental policy concerning child health. This trend began earlier than generally recognized. The child labor reform movement of the Gilded Age and early Progressive Era reflected not only moral and economic forces but also the dramatic advances during the later decades of the 19th century in scientific knowledge concerning children’s biological and psychological vulnerability to environmental and psychosocial stressors. The growing importance of scientific information in shaping policy concerning children’s health between 1870 and 1900 is illustrated by the events leading up to and following the New York State Child Labor Law of 1886. Child labor reform during this period was a critical step in the development of a science-based as well as a value-driven movement to protect children’s environmental health and well-being that continues today. PMID:25121809

Quantum-Secret-Sharing Scheme Based on Local Distinguishability of Orthogonal Seven-Qudit Entangled States

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Cheng-Ji; Li, Zhi-Hui; Bai, Chen-Ming; Si, Meng-Meng

2018-02-01

The concept of judgment space was proposed by Wang et al. (Phys. Rev. A 95, 022320, 2017), which was used to study some important properties of quantum entangled states based on local distinguishability. In this study, we construct 15 kinds of seven-qudit quantum entangled states in the sense of permutation, calculate their judgment space and propose a distinguishability rule to make the judgment space more clearly. Based on this rule, we study the local distinguishability of the 15 kinds of seven-qudit quantum entangled states and then propose a ( k, n) threshold quantum secret sharing scheme. Finally, we analyze the security of the scheme.

Distinguishing benign from malignant gallbladder wall thickening using FDG-PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oe, Ai; Kawabe, Joji; Torii, Kenji

2006-01-01

Because thickening of the gallbladder wall is observed not only in patients with gallbladder cancer but also in those with benign diseases such as chronic cholecystitis and gallbladder adenomyosis, it is difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant gallbladder wall thickening by conventional techniques of diagnostic imaging such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and abdominal ultrasonography (US). In the present study, we attempted to distinguish between benign and malignant gallbladder wall thickening by means of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-Positron emission tomography (PET). FDG-PET was performed in 12 patients with gallbladder wall thickening detected by CT or US, to determine whether it was benign or malignant. Emission scans were taken, beginning 45 minutes after intravenous administration of FDG, and standardized uptake value (SUV) was calculated as an indicator of glucose metabolism. Of the 12 patients, 4 showed positive uptake of FDG in the gallbladder wall. Of these 4 patients, 3 had gallbladder cancer. The remaining one, who had chronic cholecystitis, had false-positive findings. The other 8 patients had negative uptake of FDG in the gallbladder wall. Two of these 8 underwent surgical resection, which yielded a diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis. The other 6 patients exhibited no sign of gallbladder malignancy and have been followed without active treatment. FDG-PET appears able to distinguish between benign and malignant gallbladder wall thickening. (author)

Comparison of Resource Platform Selection Approaches for Scientific Workflows

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simmhan, Yogesh; Ramakrishnan, Lavanya

2010-03-05

Cloud computing is increasingly considered as an additional computational resource platform for scientific workflows. The cloud offers opportunity to scale-out applications from desktops and local cluster resources. At the same time, it can eliminate the challenges of restricted software environments and queue delays in shared high performance computing environments. Choosing from these diverse resource platforms for a workflow execution poses a challenge for many scientists. Scientists are often faced with deciding resource platform selection trade-offs with limited information on the actual workflows. While many workflow planning methods have explored task scheduling onto different resources, these methods often require fine-scale characterization of the workflow that is onerous for a scientist. In this position paper, we describe our early exploratory work into using blackbox characteristics to do a cost-benefit analysis across of using cloud platforms. We use only very limited high-level information on the workflow length, width, and data sizes. The length and width are indicative of the workflow duration and parallelism. The data size characterizes the IO requirements. We compare the effectiveness of this approach to other resource selection models using two exemplar scientific workflows scheduled on desktops, local clusters, HPC centers, and clouds. Early results suggest that the blackbox model often makes the same resource selections as a more fine-grained whitebox model. We believe the simplicity of the blackbox model can help inform a scientist on the applicability of cloud computing resources even before porting an existing workflow.

2014 CODEPEH recommendations: Early detection of late onset deafness, audiological diagnosis, hearing aid fitting and early intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez-Batalla, Faustino; Jáudenes-Casaubón, Carmen; Sequí-Canet, Jose Miguel; Vivanco-Allende, Ana; Zubicaray-Ugarteche, Jose

2016-01-01

The latest scientific literature considers early diagnosis of deafness as the key element to define the educational and inclusive prognosis of the deaf child, because it allows taking advantage of the critical period of development (0-4 years). Highly significant differences exist between deaf people who have been stimulated early and those who have received late or improper intervention. Early identification of late-onset disorders requires special attention and knowledge on the part of every childcare professional. Programs and additional actions beyond neonatal screening should be designed and planed to ensure that every child with a significant hearing loss is detected early. For this purpose, the CODEPEH would like to highlight the need for continuous monitoring of children's auditory health. Consequently, CODEPEH has drafted the recommendations included in the present document. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Otorrinolaringología y Patología Cérvico-Facial. All rights reserved.

Distinguishing hyperhidrosis and normal physiological sweat production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorlacius, Linnea; Gyldenløve, Mette; Zachariae, Claus

2015-01-01

of this study was to establish reference intervals for normal physiological axillary and palmar sweat production. METHODS: Gravimetric testing was performed in 75 healthy control subjects. Subsequently, these results were compared with findings in a cohort of patients with hyperhidrosis and with the results...... 100 mg/5 min. CONCLUSIONS: A sweat production rate of 100 mg/5 min as measured by gravimetric testing may be a reasonable cut-off value for distinguishing axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis from normal physiological sweat production....

Laboratory test variables useful for distinguishing upper from lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomizawa, Minoru; Shinozaki, Fuminobu; Hasegawa, Rumiko; Shirai, Yoshinori; Motoyoshi, Yasufumi; Sugiyama, Takao; Yamamoto, Shigenori; Ishige, Naoki

2015-05-28

To distinguish upper from lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Patient records between April 2011 and March 2014 were analyzed retrospectively (3296 upper endoscopy, and 1520 colonoscopy). Seventy-six patients had upper GI bleeding (Upper group) and 65 had lower GI bleeding (Lower group). Variables were compared between the groups using one-way analysis of variance. Logistic regression was performed to identify variables significantly associated with the diagnosis of upper vs lower GI bleeding. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the threshold value that could distinguish upper from lower GI bleeding. Hemoglobin (P = 0.023), total protein (P = 0.0002), and lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.009) were significantly lower in the Upper group than in the Lower group. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was higher in the Upper group than in the Lower group (P = 0.0065). Logistic regression analysis revealed that BUN was most strongly associated with the diagnosis of upper vs lower GI bleeding. ROC analysis revealed a threshold BUN value of 21.0 mg/dL, with a specificity of 93.0%. The threshold BUN value for distinguishing upper from lower GI bleeding was 21.0 mg/dL.

Viability in holder of irradiated cells: distinguish between repair and cell multiplication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, A.C. de.

1980-01-01

In experiments in which liquid holding recovery (LHR) was measured, the majority of cellular population is formed by non-viable cells and cell multiplication may be important for LHR expression. In order to distinguish between recuperation of viability (true LHR) and cell multiplication, it was necessary to employ improved plating techniques and a fluctuation test based on Poisson distribution. Our results are an indication that this fluctuation test, used together with the traditional method, is a good tool to distinguish repair from cell multiplication. (author)

The Revista Scientific

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar Antonio Martínez Molina

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The Revista Scientific aims to publish quality papers that include the perspective of analysis in educational settings. Together with www.indtec.com.ve, this electronic publication aims to promote and disseminate, with seriousness and rigor, the academic production in this field. Editorial of the new stage Revista Scientific was created with the aim of constituting a reference space for scientific research in the field of research analysis that is carried out within the universities in Latin America, once the distribution list hosted on the INDTEC platform (http://www.indtec.com.ve is consolidated as a space for dissemination and development of new ideas and initiatives. The first presentation of INDTEC Magazine was held in August 2016 in Venezuela. Thanks to the support of the INDTEC platform, SCIENTIFIC Magazine has been able to develop from the cooperative work of the people who make up its Editorial Committee, Academic Committee and Scientific Committee in Electronic Edition, and of the referees of each one of the numbers. Part of the success is due to the motivation of its co-editors and excellent professionals from different parts of the world: Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, which form the various committees, with enthusiasm and joy participating in this project (whose organizational structure is presented in this edition and continues in increcendo. Also, the strategy adopted to edit a monographic number from the various events organized in the framework of the universities, has contributed to provide SCIENTIFIC with a point value speaker of intellectual progress in the field of education. SCIENTIFIC Magazine is currently indexed in ISI, International Scientific Indexing, Dubai - UAE; ROAD, the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources (ISSN International Center, France; REVENCYT-ULA, Venezuela; Google Scholar (Google Scholar, International Index; Published in Calaméo; ISSUU; Academia

Studies to distinguish between human and animal faecal pollution ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Human enteric viral infections are considered to be predominantly associated with human wastes, as opposed to animal wastes, and a distinction between these has benefits for water quality control and risk assessment. A variety of techniques have been described to distinguish between human and animal faecal pollution ...

The Scientific Competitiveness of Nations.

Science.gov (United States)

Cimini, Giulio; Gabrielli, Andrea; Sylos Labini, Francesco

2014-01-01

We use citation data of scientific articles produced by individual nations in different scientific domains to determine the structure and efficiency of national research systems. We characterize the scientific fitness of each nation-that is, the competitiveness of its research system-and the complexity of each scientific domain by means of a non-linear iterative algorithm able to assess quantitatively the advantage of scientific diversification. We find that technological leading nations, beyond having the largest production of scientific papers and the largest number of citations, do not specialize in a few scientific domains. Rather, they diversify as much as possible their research system. On the other side, less developed nations are competitive only in scientific domains where also many other nations are present. Diversification thus represents the key element that correlates with scientific and technological competitiveness. A remarkable implication of this structure of the scientific competition is that the scientific domains playing the role of "markers" of national scientific competitiveness are those not necessarily of high technological requirements, but rather addressing the most "sophisticated" needs of the society.

Distinguished quantum states in a class of cosmological spacetimes and their Hadamard property

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dappiaggi, Claudio; Pinamonti, Nicola [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). II. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Moretti, Valter [Trento Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Matematica; Ist. Nazionale di Alta Matematica, Unita locale di Trento (Italy); Ist. Nazionale di Fisica, Povo (Italy)

2008-12-15

In a recent paper, we proved that a large class of spacetimes, not necessarily homogeneous or isotropic and relevant at a cosmological level, possesses a preferred codimension one submanifold, i.e., the past cosmological horizon, on which it is possible to encode the information of a scalar field theory living in the bulk. Such bulk-to-boundary reconstruction procedure entails the identification of a preferred quasifree algebraic state for the bulk theory, enjoying remarkable properties concerning invariance under isometries (if any) of the bulk and energy positivity, and reducing to well-known vacua in standard situations. In this paper, specialising to open FRW models, we extend previously obtained results and we prove that the preferred state is of Hadamard form, hence the backreaction on the metric is finite and the state can be used as a starting point for renormalisation procedures. That state could play a distinguished role in the discussion of the evolution of scalar fluctuations of the metric, an analysis often performed in the development of any model describing the dynamic of an early Universe which undergoes an inflationary phase of rapid expansion in the past. (orig.)

Distinguished quantum states in a class of cosmological spacetimes and their Hadamard property

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dappiaggi, Claudio; Pinamonti, Nicola

2008-12-01

In a recent paper, we proved that a large class of spacetimes, not necessarily homogeneous or isotropic and relevant at a cosmological level, possesses a preferred codimension one submanifold, i.e., the past cosmological horizon, on which it is possible to encode the information of a scalar field theory living in the bulk. Such bulk-to-boundary reconstruction procedure entails the identification of a preferred quasifree algebraic state for the bulk theory, enjoying remarkable properties concerning invariance under isometries (if any) of the bulk and energy positivity, and reducing to well-known vacua in standard situations. In this paper, specialising to open FRW models, we extend previously obtained results and we prove that the preferred state is of Hadamard form, hence the backreaction on the metric is finite and the state can be used as a starting point for renormalisation procedures. That state could play a distinguished role in the discussion of the evolution of scalar fluctuations of the metric, an analysis often performed in the development of any model describing the dynamic of an early Universe which undergoes an inflationary phase of rapid expansion in the past. (orig.)

Scientific Utopia: An agenda for improving scientific communication (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Nosek, B.

2013-12-01

The scientist's primary incentive is publication. In the present culture, open practices do not increase chances of publication, and they often require additional work. Practicing the abstract scientific values of openness and reproducibility thus requires behaviors in addition to those relevant for the primary, concrete rewards. When in conflict, concrete rewards are likely to dominate over abstract ones. As a consequence, the reward structure for scientists does not encourage openness and reproducibility. This can be changed by nudging incentives to align scientific practices with scientific values. Science will benefit by creating and connecting technologies that nudge incentives while supporting and improving the scientific workflow. For example, it should be as easy to search the research literature for my topic as it is to search the Internet to find hilarious videos of cats falling off of furniture. I will introduce the Center for Open Science (http://centerforopenscience.org/) and efforts to improve openness and reproducibility such as http://openscienceframework.org/. There will be no cats.

How bees distinguish patterns by green and blue modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Horridge, Adrian

2015-01-01

In the 1920s, Mathilde Hertz found that trained bees discriminated between shapes or patterns of similar size by something related to total length of contrasting contours. This input is now interpreted as modulation in green and blue receptor channels as flying bees scan in the horizontal plane. Modulation is defined as total contrast irrespective of sign multiplied by length of edge displaying that contrast, projected to vertical, therefore, combining structure and contrast in a single input. Contrast is outside the eye; modulation is a phasic response in receptor pathways inside. In recent experiments, bees trained to distinguish color detected, located, and measured three independent inputs and the angles between them. They are the tonic response of the blue receptor pathway and modulation of small-field green or (less preferred) blue receptor pathways. Green and blue channels interacted intimately at a peripheral level. This study explores in more detail how various patterns are discriminated by these cues. The direction of contrast at a boundary was not detected. Instead, bees located and measured total modulation generated by horizontal scanning of contrasts, irrespective of pattern. They also located the positions of isolated vertical edges relative to other landmarks and distinguished the angular widths between vertical edges by green or blue modulation alone. The preferred inputs were the strongest green modulation signal and angular width between outside edges, irrespective of color. In the absence of green modulation, the remaining cue was a measure and location of blue modulation at edges. In the presence of green modulation, blue modulation was inhibited. Black/white patterns were distinguished by the same inputs in blue and green receptor channels. Left-right polarity and mirror images could be discriminated by retinotopic green modulation alone. Colors in areas bounded by strong green contrast were distinguished as more or less blue than the

VLADIMIR AXIONOV — DISTINGUISHED PERSONALITY OF NATIONAL CULTURE

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COMENDANT TATIANA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The present paper is dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Axionov — scientist, university professor, doctor in the study of arts, prime vice rector at the Academy of Musuc, Theatre and Fine Arts. Being a person of comprehensive knowledge, V.Axionov elaborated more than 100 works of great value that contributed to the development of national and universal musical culture. V. Axionov was an outstanding teacher, trainer of scientific researchers, mentor of original talents; he dedicated his vast activity to the professional training of young people involved in the field of artistic education. He was an excellent organizer who ensured a competent and efficient management. V. Axionov was a highly qualified professional who obtained remarkable and valuable results thus becoming a promoter of the scientific truth. He carried out extensive didactic, scientific and educational work; he was and will remain an outstanding personality of national culture.

A novel distinguishing system for the diagnosis of malignant pancreatic cystic neoplasm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, Xiaoyong, E-mail: shanlixinc@163.com [Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Lu, Di, E-mail: lcyxld@126.com [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Xu, Xiao, E-mail: zdyyxx@163.com [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Wang, Jianguo, E-mail: 21118059@zju.edu.cn [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Wu, Jian, E-mail: drwujian@hotmail.com [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Yan, Sheng, E-mail: shengyan@zju.edu.cn [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Zheng, Shu-sen, E-mail: zyzss@zju.edu.cn [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China)

2013-11-01

Purpose: To explore a simple and reliable non-invasive distinguishing system for the pre-operative evaluation of malignancy in pancreatic cystic neoplasm (PCN). Methods: This study first enrolled an observation cohort of 102 consecutive PCN patients. Demographic information, results of laboratory examinations, and computed tomography (CT) presentations were recorded and analyzed to achieve a distinguishing model/system for malignancy. A group of 21 patients was then included to validate the model/system prospectively. Results: Based on the 11 malignancy-related features identified by univariate analysis, a distinguishing model for malignancy in PCN was established by multivariate analysis: PCN malignant score = 2.967 × elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) (≥6.16 mmol/L) ± 4.496 × asymmetrically thickened wall (or mural nodules ≥ 4 mm) ± 1.679 × septum thickening (≥2 mm) − 5.134. With the optimal cut-off value selected as −2.8 in reference to the Youden index, the proposed system for malignant PCN was established: septum thickening (>2 mm), asymmetrically thickened wall (or mural nodules > 4 mm), or elevated FBG (>6.16 mmol/L, accompanying commonly known malignant signs), the presence of at least one of these 3 features indicated malignancy in PCN. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of this system were 81.4%, 95.8% and 76.9%, respectively. MRI was performed on 32 patients, making correct prediction of malignancy explicitly in only 68.8% (22/32). The subsequent prospective validation study showed that the proposed distinguishing system had a predictive accuracy of 85.7% (18/21). Moreover, a higher model score, or aggregation of the features in the proposed system, indicated a higher grade of malignancy (carcinoma) in PCN. Conclusion: Elevated FBG (>6.16 mmol/L), asymmetrically thickened wall (or mural nodules > 4 mm) and septum thickening (>2 mm) are of great value in differentiating the malignancy in PCN. The developed distinguishing system is

Scientific Team Effectiveness and the External CEO: A Study of Biotechnology University Spin-Offs

Science.gov (United States)

van der Steen, Marianne; Englis, Paula Danskin; Englis, Basil G.

2013-01-01

This paper presents an empirical exploration of the effectiveness of scientific teams and the role of an external CEO in the spin-off formation process. The paper contributes to the literature by focusing on the role of the experienced or "external" entrepreneur (their commercial resources and capabilities) in the early phase of spin-off…

Sex, Temperament, and Family Context: How the Interaction of Early Factors Differentially Predict Adolescent Alcohol Use and Are Mediated by Proximal Adolescent Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Burk, Linnea R.; Armstrong, Jeffrey M.; Goldsmith, H. Hill; Klein, Marjorie H.; Strauman, Timothy J.; Costanzo, Phillip; Essex, Marilyn J.

2011-01-01

Adolescent alcohol use is common and has serious immediate and long-term ramifications. While concurrent individual and context factors are robustly associated with adolescent alcohol use, the influence of early childhood factors, particularly in interaction with child sex, are less clear. Using a prospective community sample of 362 (190 girls), this study investigated sex differences in the joint influence of distal childhood and proximal adolescent factors on Grade 10 alcohol use. All risk factors and 2-way early individual-by-context interactions, and interactions of each of these with child sex, were entered into the initial regression. Significant sex interactions prompted the use of separate models for girls and boys. In addition to the identification of early (family socioeconomic status, authoritative parenting style) and proximal adolescent (mental health symptoms, deviant friends) risk factors for both girls and boys, results highlighted important sex differences. In particular, girls with higher alcohol consumption at Grade 10 were distinguished by the interaction of early temperamental disinhibition and exposure to parental stress; boys with higher alcohol consumption at Grade 10 were distinguished primarily by early temperamental negative affect. Results have implications for the timing and type of interventions offered to adolescents. PMID:21443307

Sex, temperament, and family context: how the interaction of early factors differentially predict adolescent alcohol use and are mediated by proximal adolescent factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Burk, Linnea R; Armstrong, Jeffrey M; Goldsmith, H Hill; Klein, Marjorie H; Strauman, Timothy J; Costanzo, Phillip; Essex, Marilyn J

2011-03-01

Adolescent alcohol use is common and has serious immediate and long-term ramifications. While concurrent individual and context factors are robustly associated with adolescent alcohol use, the influence of early childhood factors, particularly in interaction with child sex, are less clear. Using a prospective community sample of 362 (190 girls), this study investigated sex differences in the joint influence of distal childhood and proximal adolescent factors on Grade 10 alcohol use. All risk factors and two-way early individual-by-context interactions, and interactions of each of these with child sex, were entered into the initial regression. Significant sex interactions prompted the use of separate models for girls and boys. In addition to the identification of early (family socioeconomic status, authoritative parenting style) and proximal adolescent (mental health symptoms, deviant friends) risk factors for both girls and boys, results highlighted important sex differences. In particular, girls with higher alcohol consumption at Grade 10 were distinguished by the interaction of early temperamental disinhibition and exposure to parental stress; boys with higher alcohol consumption at Grade 10 were distinguished primarily by early temperamental negative affect. Results have implications for the timing and type of interventions offered to adolescents.

Beggars, Black Bears, and Butterflies: The Scientific Gaze and Ink Painting in Modern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa Claypool

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The ink brushes of the painters Chen Shizeng (1876–1923, Liu Kuiling (1885–1967, and Gao Jianfu (1879–1951 were employed as tools of the nation in early twentieth-century China. Yet the expression of a radical idealism about the new republic in their ink paintings was tempered early on by a tentative and self-conscious exploration of new ways of seeing. By synthesizing a “universal” scientific gaze with their idiosyncratically trained vision as artists, they created pictures that encouraged their viewers to cross the boundaries and binaries that would come to define the discourse about guohua, or “national painting”: East versus West, oil versus ink, modernity versus tradition, painting versus graphic arts, and elite versus folk. This article explores that extended moment of synthesis and experimentation. It argues that it was through the scientific gaze of these brush-and-ink artists that idealism and learning came to cooperate, and through their paintings that possibilities for news ways of seeing the nation emerged.

Modal Arguments against Physicalism in View of Scientific Findings Concerning Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maja Malec

2017-10-01

Full Text Available I analyse Kripke's modal argument against the mind-brain identity theories. Specifically, he argues against the identity between pain and C-fibres simulation by pointing out the difference between this identity claim and the theoretical identifications, such as 'Water is H2O' and 'Lightning is a motion of electric charges'. Kripke's argument relies on the assumption that the experience of pains is a simple and homogenous phenomenon, but scientific research shows that it is in fact a quite complex one. We can distinguish at least three components: sensory-discriminative, motivational-affective and cognitive. This discovery makes it possible to reject Kripke's argument, but it also uncovers a major flaw that is common to all modal arguments against physicalism. They proclaim to answer the fundamental question about the nature of our world by relying on our powers of imagination and without having the relevant factual knowledge.

Analyzing Data Citations to Assess the Scientific and Societal Value of Scientific Data

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, R. S.; Downs, R. R.

2012-12-01

Stakeholders in the creation, distribution, support, funding, and use of scientific data can benefit by understanding the value that the data have for society and science. For decades, the scientific community has been using citations of articles in the published scientific literature as one of the primary measures used for evaluating the performance of scientists, departments, institutions, and scientific disciplines. Similarly, citations in the published literature of scientific data may be useful for measuring and assessing the value of the scientific data and the performance of the individuals, projects, programs, and organizations that have contributed to the data and their use. The results of citation analysis and other assessments of the value of data also can contribute to planning for future data collection, development, distribution, and preservation efforts. The planned release of new data citation indexes and the more widespread adoption of unique data identifiers and automated attribution mechanisms have the potential to improve significantly the capabilities for analyzing citations of scientific data. In addition, rapid developments in the systems and capabilities for disseminating data, along with education and workforce development on the importance of data attribution and on techniques for data citation, can improve practices for citing scientific data. Such practices need to lead not only to better aggregate statistics about data citation, but also to improved characterization and understanding of the impact of data use in terms of the benefits for science and society. Analyses of citations in the scientific literature were conducted for data that were distributed by an interdisciplinary scientific data center during a five-year period (1997 - 2011), to identify the scientific fields represented by the journals and books in which the data were cited. Secondary citation analysis also was conducted for a sample of scientific publications that used

Ezh2 Controls an Early Hematopoietic Program and Growth and Survival Signaling in Early T Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etienne Danis

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Early T cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ETP-ALL is an aggressive subtype of ALL distinguished by stem-cell-associated and myeloid transcriptional programs. Inactivating alterations of Polycomb repressive complex 2 components are frequent in human ETP-ALL, but their functional role is largely undefined. We have studied the involvement of Ezh2 in a murine model of NRASQ61K-driven leukemia that recapitulates phenotypic and transcriptional features of ETP-ALL. Homozygous inactivation of Ezh2 cooperated with oncogenic NRASQ61K to accelerate leukemia onset. Inactivation of Ezh2 accentuated expression of genes highly expressed in human ETP-ALL and in normal murine early thymic progenitors. Moreover, we found that Ezh2 contributes to the silencing of stem-cell- and early-progenitor-cell-associated genes. Loss of Ezh2 also resulted in increased activation of STAT3 by tyrosine 705 phosphorylation. Our data mechanistically link Ezh2 inactivation to stem-cell-associated transcriptional programs and increased growth/survival signaling, features that convey an adverse prognosis in patients.

A Classroom-Based Distributed Workflow Initiative for the Early Involvement of Undergraduate Students in Scientific Research

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, Jon M.

2014-01-01

Engaging freshman and sophomore students in meaningful scientific research is challenging because of their developing skill set and their necessary time commitments to regular classwork. A project called the Chondrule Analysis Project was initiated to engage first- and second-year students in an initial research experience and also accomplish…

Distinguishing between stochasticity and determinism: Examples from cell cycle duration variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearl Mizrahi, Sivan; Sandler, Oded; Lande-Diner, Laura; Balaban, Nathalie Q; Simon, Itamar

2016-01-01

We describe a recent approach for distinguishing between stochastic and deterministic sources of variability, focusing on the mammalian cell cycle. Variability between cells is often attributed to stochastic noise, although it may be generated by deterministic components. Interestingly, lineage information can be used to distinguish between variability and determinism. Analysis of correlations within a lineage of the mammalian cell cycle duration revealed its deterministic nature. Here, we discuss the sources of such variability and the possibility that the underlying deterministic process is due to the circadian clock. Finally, we discuss the "kicked cell cycle" model and its implication on the study of the cell cycle in healthy and cancerous tissues. © 2015 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

A history of the Distinguished Service Foundation of Optometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Goss, David A

2015-01-01

The Distinguished Service Foundation of Optometry was an organization which sought to encourage research and education to facilitate the conservation of vision through publications and the awarding of medals. It existed from 1927 to 1979, but was most active in the 1930s and 1940s. Its leaders and activities are discussed.

INTEGRATION OF UKRAINIAN INDUSTRY SCIENTIFIC PERIODACLS INTO WORLD SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION SPACE: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. O. Kolesnykova

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Problem of representation lack of scientists’ publications, including transport scientists, in the international scientometric databases is the urgent one for Ukrainian science. To solve the problem one should study the structure and quality of the information flow of scientific periodicals of railway universities in Ukraine and to determine the integration algorithm of scientific publications of Ukrainian scientists into the world scientific information space. Methodology. Applying the methods of scientific analysis, synthesis, analogy, comparison and prediction the author has investigated the problem of scientific knowledge distribution using formal communications. The readiness of Ukrainian railway periodicals to registration procedure in the international scientometric systems was analyzed. The level of representation of articles and authors of Ukrainian railway universities in scientometric database Scopus was studied. Findings. Monitoring of the portals of railway industry universities of Ukraine and the sites of their scientific periodicals and analysis of obtained data prove insufficient readiness of most scientific publications for submission to scientometric database. The ways providing sufficient "visibility" of industry periodicals of Ukrainian universities in the global scientific information space were proposed. Originality. The structure and quality of documentary flow of scientific periodicals in railway transport universities of Ukraine and its reflection in scientometric DB Scopus were first investigated. The basic directions of university activities to integrate the results of transport scientists research into the global scientific digital environment were outlined. It was determined the leading role of university libraries in the integration processes of scientific documentary resources of universities into the global scientific and information communicative space. Practical value. Implementation of the proposed

A Complexity Approach to Evaluating National Scientific Systems through International Scientific Collaborations

Science.gov (United States)

Zelnio, Ryan J.

2013-01-01

This dissertation seeks to contribute to a fuller understanding of how international scientific collaboration has affected national scientific systems. It does this by developing three methodological approaches grounded in social complexity theory and applying them to the evaluation of national scientific systems. The first methodology identifies…

[Financing of the scientific publication and protection of the scientific knowledge].

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira Filho, Renato Santos de; Hochman, Bernardo; Nahas, Fabio Xerfan; Ferreira, Lydia Masako

2005-01-01

The main purpose of a study is its publication on a scientific journal. Research financing agencies are important institutions so that studies can be developed and published. The most important research financing agencies that are discussed in this article are: "Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior" (CAPES), "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico" (CNPq) and "Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo" (FAPESP). CAPES' activities can be grouped in four different strategy lines: a) it evaluates the stricto sensu, at the post-graduation level; b) it provides access and development of scientific research; c) it provides investment on the development of high qualified human resources in Brazil and abroad, and d) it promotes international scientific cooperation. Although CAPES does not support directly scientific publications, almost all actions of this agency contribute to the development of scientific research and publication. CNPq has two main purposes: financing researches and development of human resources. It provides the researchers with financial aid to scientific publication. The grants for editing were specifically created for supporting the national scientific and technical publications edited by Brazilians institutions or societies. CNPq can also support Congresses, Symposiums and similar short-term courses. The Plataforma Lattes is also a branch of CNPq on which the Curriculum Lattes is available. This site has the curriculum vitae of the scientific community and is of great value for researchers. FAPESP also finances journal publications, articles and books that bring up original results of studies made by researchers from the state of São Paulo. It finances, partially, the travel expenses of innovative papers authors in meetings within the country or abroad. Brazilian authors are increasing the number of international publications. Universities, research institutes, financing agencies and

Confidence intervals for distinguishing ordinal and disordinal interactions in multiple regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sunbok; Lei, Man-Kit; Brody, Gene H

2015-06-01

Distinguishing between ordinal and disordinal interaction in multiple regression is useful in testing many interesting theoretical hypotheses. Because the distinction is made based on the location of a crossover point of 2 simple regression lines, confidence intervals of the crossover point can be used to distinguish ordinal and disordinal interactions. This study examined 2 factors that need to be considered in constructing confidence intervals of the crossover point: (a) the assumption about the sampling distribution of the crossover point, and (b) the possibility of abnormally wide confidence intervals for the crossover point. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to compare 6 different methods for constructing confidence intervals of the crossover point in terms of the coverage rate, the proportion of true values that fall to the left or right of the confidence intervals, and the average width of the confidence intervals. The methods include the reparameterization, delta, Fieller, basic bootstrap, percentile bootstrap, and bias-corrected accelerated bootstrap methods. The results of our Monte Carlo simulation study suggest that statistical inference using confidence intervals to distinguish ordinal and disordinal interaction requires sample sizes more than 500 to be able to provide sufficiently narrow confidence intervals to identify the location of the crossover point. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The Munsell Color System: a scientific compromise from the world of art.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Sally

2014-09-01

Color systems make accurate color specification and matching possible in science, art, and industry by defining a coordinate system for all possible color perceptions. The Munsell Color System, developed by the artist Albert Henry Munsell in the early twentieth century, has influenced color science to this day. I trace the development of the Munsell Color System from its origins in the art world to its acceptance in the scientific community. Munsell's system was the first to accurately and quantitatively describe the psychological experience of color. By considering the problems that color posed for Munsell's art community and examining his diaries and published material, I conclude that Munsell arrived at his results by remaining agnostic as to the scientific definition of color, while retaining faith that color perceptions could be objectively quantified. I argue that Munsell was able to interest the scientific community in his work because color had become a controversial topic between physicists and psychologists. Parts of Munsell's system appealed to each field, making it a workable compromise. For contrast, I suggest that three contemporary scientists with whom Munsell had contact--Wilhelm Ostwald, Ogden Rood, and Edward Titchener--did not reach the same conclusions in their color systems because they started from scientific assumptions about the nature of color.

Can one distinguish T-neutrinos from antineutrinos in neutral-current pion production processes?

OpenAIRE

Hernández Gajate, Eliecer; Nieves Pamplona, Juan Miguel; Valverde Hermosilla, Manuel

2007-01-01

A potential way to distinguish tau-neutrinos from antineutrinos, below the tau-production threshold, but above the pion production one, is presented. It is based on the different behavior of the neutral-current pion production off the nucleon, depending on whether it is induced by neutrinos or antineutrinos. This procedure for distinguishing tau-neutrinos from antineutrinos neither relies on any nuclear model, nor it is affected by any nuclear effect (distortion of the outgoing nucleon waves,...

On the Possibility of a Scientific Theory of Scientific Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Nola, Robert

1999-01-01

Discusses the philosophical strengths and weaknesses of Laudan's normative naturalism, which understands the principles of scientific method to be akin to scientific hypotheses, and therefore open to test like any principle of science. Contains 19 references. (Author/WRM)

A novel histological technique for distinguishing between epithelial cells in forensic casework.

Science.gov (United States)

French, Claire E V; Jensen, Cynthia G; Vintiner, Susan K; Elliot, Douglas A; McGlashan, Susan R

2008-06-10

There are a number of forensic cases in which the identification of the epithelial cell type from which DNA originated would provide important probative evidence. This study aimed to develop a technique using histological staining of fixed cells to distinguish between skin, buccal and vaginal epithelium. First, 11 different stains were screened on formalin-fixed, wax-embedded cells from five women. Samples were analysed qualitatively by examining staining patterns (colour) and morphology (absence or presence of nuclei). Three of the staining methods--Dane's, Csaba's and Ayoub-Shklar--were successful in distinguishing skin epithelial cells from buccal and vaginal. Second, cells were smeared directly onto slides, fixed with one of five fixatives and stained with one of the three stains mentioned above. Methanol fixation, coupled with the Dane's staining method, specific to keratin, was the only technique that distinguished between all three cell types. Skin cells stained magenta, red and orange and lacked nuclei; buccal cells stained predominantly orange-pink with red nuclei; while vaginal cells stained bright orange with orange nuclei and a blue extracellular hue. This staining pattern in vaginal cells was consistent in samples collected from 50 women aged between 18 and 67. Identification of cell type from unlabelled micrographs by 10 trained observers showed a mean success rate of 95%. The results of this study demonstrate that histological staining may provide forensic scientists with a technique for distinguishing between skin, buccal and vaginal epithelial cells and thus would enable more conclusive analyses when investigating sexual assault cases.

Selected executive functions in children with ADHD in early school age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aneta Rita Borkowska

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The study was aimed at finding out whether at the early school age the effectiveness of executive functions distinguishes children with ADHD from those of the control group. Besides, the aim was to check to what extent the use of diagnostic methods evaluating executive functions in children at the early school age is justified. The analysis comprised cognitive flexibility, sustained attention, interference control and planning ability. Those methods of neuropsychological evaluation were used which are mostly applied to characterize executive functions: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, interference task based on the Stroop Interference Test, and tests of verbal fluency and Tower of London. The examined group consisted of 50 children aged 7-10: 25 children with hyperactivity of combined type and 25 children of the control group. Each group consisted of 23 boys and 2 girls. The average age in the criterial group was 8 years and 10 months (SD=10 months, whereas in the control group – 8 years and 6 months (SD=11 months. According to the obtained results, children with ADHD at early school age do not exhibit a wide spectrum of executive functions deficits, which is probably associated with immaturity of executive processes in all children of that age. The findings comprised only difficulties in inhibition of response, monitoring of activity, and ability of executive attention to intentional guidance of the mental effort depending on the task’s requirements. In investigations of children with ADHD at early school age the use of neuropsychological tests and trials designed for evaluation of executive functions is justified only in limited degree. They do not significantly distinguish between children with ADHD and children without this disorder, therefore the results may be mainly of descriptive, and not explanatory, value.

Distinguishing between Exogenous and Endogenous Intent-to-Transfer Students

Science.gov (United States)

Okun, Morris A.; Karoly, Paul; Martin, Jessica L.; Benshoff, Annja

2009-01-01

In this article, we distinguish between 2 types of students who intend to transfer and graduate from another institution. During the fall of 2006, 507 first-semester students attending a state university completed a survey. Seventy-six percent of the students indicated that they planned on graduating from the University (intent-to-persist), 16%…

Educational radio to encourage the scientific vocations: The ‘Laboratory Mice’ project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Martín-Pena

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of the scientific dissemination project ‘Laboratory mice’ is to approach to science, through education radio, to elementary students in Extremadura (Spain. This innovative initiative has allowed to reach nearly half a thousand students between 9 and 13 years old. An informative experience with a novel work methodology consisting in the elaboration of radio spaces where the leads have been the students themselves, who have previously received practical workshops carried out by researchers from the University of Extremadura and who explain the scientific issues of daily life. In this article is hoped to explain all the stages of Project and investigation instruments that have been used to know the student experiences and how have actions influenced in the public perception of science between the school community at an early ages. The main conclusion has been the improvement of the perception by the student of the work done by the scientists and the increase of the interest in the subjects connected to the scientific scope in favor of the STEM vocations.

Distinguishing deterministic and noise components in ELM time series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zvejnieks, G.; Kuzovkov, V.N

2004-01-01

Full text: One of the main problems in the preliminary data analysis is distinguishing the deterministic and noise components in the experimental signals. For example, in plasma physics the question arises analyzing edge localized modes (ELMs): is observed ELM behavior governed by a complicate deterministic chaos or just by random processes. We have developed methodology based on financial engineering principles, which allows us to distinguish deterministic and noise components. We extended the linear auto regression method (AR) by including the non-linearity (NAR method). As a starting point we have chosen the nonlinearity in the polynomial form, however, the NAR method can be extended to any other type of non-linear functions. The best polynomial model describing the experimental ELM time series was selected using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). With this method we have analyzed type I ELM behavior in a subset of ASDEX Upgrade shots. Obtained results indicate that a linear AR model can describe the ELM behavior. In turn, it means that type I ELM behavior is of a relaxation or random type

Genetic Research Methodology Meets Early Childhood Science Education Research: A Cultural-Historical Study of Child’s Scientific Thinking Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fragkiadaki G.,

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The study reported in this paper aims to structure a cultural-historical understanding on how early childhood children experience science and how they develop scientific thinking as they interact with the social, cultural and material world. Moving beyond the cognitive dimensions of learning by interrelating different aspects of the process of children’s scientific thinking development constitutes a research prior- ity for the study. From a wide range of collected data, in the present article one qualitative empirical case study is presented. The detailed single example that is analyzed refers to a kindergarten female student, aged 5.2 years old, from an urban area of Greece. A developmental research methodology as specified from the requirements of cultural-historical theory framework is used. Following four of the main principles of the experimental genetic method, this study creates a fecund ground for a cultural-historical exploration and interpretation of the very processes of the child’s development. The collection of the data was achieved through expanded, open-type conversations conducted at three concrete phases between the case study child, two of her peers and the educator. Drawing upon the system of theoretical concepts of cultural- historical theory the analysis is mainly based on the concept of perezhivanie as analytical tool as well as the concept of the developmental trajectories. The concept of the conceptualization of a precursor model as a theoretical tool that derives from the field of Science Education is also used. The analysis gives insights into how a certain social situation between children and educators in kindergarten settings becomes the unique social situation of a child’s development. Using as a base the dialectic perspective that Vygotsky posed in the analysis of human psyche, the study in this paper offers a creative insight in order to elaborate on a broad and dynamic understanding of the child�

Report for the Office of Scientific and Technical Information: Population Modeling of the Emergence and Development of Scientific Fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bettencourt, L. M. A. (LANL); Castillo-Chavez, C. (Arizona State University); Kaiser, D. (MIT); Wojick, D. E. (IIA)

2006-10-04

The accelerated development of digital libraries and archives, in tandem with efficient search engines and the computational ability to retrieve and parse massive amounts of information, are making it possible to quantify the time evolution of scientific literatures. These data are but one piece of the tangible recorded evidence of the processes whereby scientists create and exchange information in their journeys towards the generation of knowledge. As such, these tools provide a proxy with which to study our ability to innovate. Innovation has often been linked with prosperity and growth and, consequently, trying to understand what drives scientific innovation is of extreme interest. Identifying sets of population characteristics, factors, and mechanisms that enable scientific communities to remain at the cutting edge, accelerate their growth, or increase their ability to re-organize around new themes or research topics is therefore of special significance. Yet generating a quantitative understanding of the factors that make scientific fields arise and/or become more or less productive is still in its infancy. This is precisely the type of knowledge most needed for promoting and sustaining innovation. Ideally, the efficient and strategic allocation of resources on the part of funding agencies and corporations would be driven primarily by knowledge of this type. Early steps have been taken toward such a quantitative understanding of scientific innovation. Some have focused on characterizing the broad properties of relevant time series, such as numbers of publications and authors in a given field. Others have focused on the structure and evolution of networks of coauthorship and citation. Together these types of studies provide much needed statistical analyses of the structure and evolution of scientific communities. Despite these efforts, however, crucial elements of prediction have remained elusive. Building on many of these earlier insights, we provide here a

Expectations for a scientific collaboratory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenwald, Diane H.

2003-01-01

In the past decade, a number of scientific collaboratories have emerged, yet adoption of scientific collaboratories remains limited. Meeting expectations is one factor that influences adoption of innovations, including scientific collaboratories. This paper investigates expectations scientists have...... with respect to scientific collaboratories. Interviews were conducted with 17 scientists who work in a variety of settings and have a range of experience conducting and managing scientific research. Results indicate that scientists expect a collaboratory to: support their strategic plans; facilitate management...... of the scientific process; have a positive or neutral impact on scientific outcomes; provide advantages and disadvantages for scientific task execution; and provide personal conveniences when collaborating across distances. These results both confirm existing knowledge and raise new issues for the design...

Partnerships Generating a Workforce Pipeline: Empowering Young People, from Diverse Backgrounds, to Become Tomorrow's Scientific Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, T.; Goodwin, L.; Talley, D. M.

2011-12-01

There is a critical need to build students' scientific understanding and prepare them to fill the roles of future decision-makers and the scientific workforce. In particular, efforts are needed to reach the underserved communities, which represent the greatest untapped talent pool in the sciences. In order to build future leadership in this arena, we must employ innovative approaches that generate young peoples' interest and develop their capabilities early in their education so that an increased number will enter college interested in and prepared to pursue careers in scientific fields. Partnerships between early and informal education providers and scientists from academia, industry, and government agencies are essential to generate a pipeline of students able to and interested in making this transition. Ocean Discovery Institute's partnership model uses authentic scientific discovery to generate the spark that makes young people, from the most urban and diverse backgrounds, eager to learn. As these young people work alongside science mentors to discover the world around them, they discover themselves and their future as scientific leaders. The success of this model includes increasing students' science performance, attendance in college, selection of science and conservation majors, and contributions directly to the field of geoscience. Content assessments, surveys, interviews, and tracking data demonstrate 73% of student graduates declaring majors in science and conservation fields, higher scores on standardized tests relative to their peers, and contributions to science research including 10 publications and more than 30 scientific presentations. In addition, robust and long-term partnerships have been established with institutions including the University of San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Sempra Energy, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. We will share lessons learned from over ten years of experience in partnering with

Applying cognitive training to target executive functions during early development.

Science.gov (United States)

Wass, Sam V

2015-01-01

Developmental psychopathology is increasingly recognizing the importance of distinguishing causal processes (i.e., the mechanisms that cause a disease) from developmental outcomes (i.e., the symptoms of the disorder as it is eventually diagnosed). Targeting causal processes early in disordered development may be more effective than waiting until outcomes are established and then trying to reverse the pathogenic process. In this review, I evaluate evidence suggesting that neural and behavioral plasticity may be greatest at very early stages of development. I also describe correlational evidence suggesting that, across a number of conditions, early emerging individual differences in attentional control and working memory may play a role in mediating later-developing differences in academic and other forms of learning. I review the currently small number of studies that applied direct and indirect cognitive training targeted at young individuals and discuss methodological challenges associated with targeting this age group. I also discuss a number of ways in which early, targeted cognitive training may be used to help us understand the developmental mechanisms subserving typical and atypical cognitive development.

Historical and social contexts for scientific writing and use of passive voice: Toward an undergraduate science literacy course

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Dan Xiong

The passive voice is a major stylistic feature of modern scientific discourse, but such a feature did not dominate scientific writing until the 1890s. It has its roots in the philosophical thoughts of experimental science of Francis Bacon and his followers such as Thomas Sprat and John Locke. In the early seventeenth century. Bacon called for a new science that emphasized collective knowledge of nature. Such a science was a cooperative and public enterprise in which scientists should work as a group to advance knowledge of nature. When science was moving gradually toward a public enterprise from the early seventeenth century, the passive voice gradually replaced the active voice in science writing as a dominant stylistic feature. The passive voice in scientific writing is thus historically and socially conditioned. Scientists take advantage of the linguistic functions of the passive voice to serve their rhetorical and pragmatic purposes such as presenting experiments as they are for others to reproduce and verify the results. It embodies two major conventions of scientific communities: (1) science is a public enterprise and (2) it is also a cooperative venture. Other conventions are related to these two: the collective authority of an scientific community is above the personal authority of any one individual scientist; science is not an infallible force, so any research result needs to be verified by a scientific community before it becomes knowledge; scientists use passive voice to approach their writing to make it appear as if it were objective; and science is a human profession. Therefore, we need to teach science students to use the passive voice, and more importantly, why and when to use it. We should emphasize writing practice to have students' see that they use passives rhetorically to present experimental processes, materials and methods.

Early Detection of Sporadic Pancreatic Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Kenner, Barbara J.; Chari, Suresh T.; Cleeter, Deborah F.; Go, Vay Liang W.

2015-01-01

Abstract Innovation leading to significant advances in research and subsequent translation to clinical practice is urgently necessary in early detection of sporadic pancreatic cancer. Addressing this need, the Early Detection of Sporadic Pancreatic Cancer Summit Conference was conducted by Kenner Family Research Fund in conjunction with the 2014 American Pancreatic Association and Japan Pancreas Society Meeting. International interdisciplinary scientific representatives engaged in strategic facilitated conversations based on distinct areas of inquiry: Case for Early Detection: Definitions, Detection, Survival, and Challenges; Biomarkers for Early Detection; Imaging; and Collaborative Studies. Ideas generated from the summit have led to the development of a Strategic Map for Innovation built upon 3 components: formation of an international collaborative effort, design of an actionable strategic plan, and implementation of operational standards, research priorities, and first-phase initiatives. Through invested and committed efforts of leading researchers and institutions, philanthropic partners, government agencies, and supportive business entities, this endeavor will change the future of the field and consequently the survival rate of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. PMID:25938853

Model distinguishability and inference robustness in mechanisms of cholera transmission and loss of immunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Elizabeth C; Kelly, Michael R; Ochocki, Brad M; Akinwumi, Segun M; Hamre, Karen E S; Tien, Joseph H; Eisenberg, Marisa C

2017-05-07

Mathematical models of cholera and waterborne disease vary widely in their structures, in terms of transmission pathways, loss of immunity, and a range of other features. These differences can affect model dynamics, with different models potentially yielding different predictions and parameter estimates from the same data. Given the increasing use of mathematical models to inform public health decision-making, it is important to assess model distinguishability (whether models can be distinguished based on fit to data) and inference robustness (whether inferences from the model are robust to realistic variations in model structure). In this paper, we examined the effects of uncertainty in model structure in the context of epidemic cholera, testing a range of models with differences in transmission and loss of immunity structure, based on known features of cholera epidemiology. We fit these models to simulated epidemic and long-term data, as well as data from the 2006 Angola epidemic. We evaluated model distinguishability based on fit to data, and whether the parameter values, model behavior, and forecasting ability can accurately be inferred from incidence data. In general, all models were able to successfully fit to all data sets, both real and simulated, regardless of whether the model generating the simulated data matched the fitted model. However, in the long-term data, the best model fits were achieved when the loss of immunity structures matched those of the model that simulated the data. Two parameters, one representing person-to-person transmission and the other representing the reporting rate, were accurately estimated across all models, while the remaining parameters showed broad variation across the different models and data sets. The basic reproduction number (R 0 ) was often poorly estimated even using the correct model, due to practical unidentifiability issues in the waterborne transmission pathway which were consistent across all models. Forecasting

Distinguishing between attention-deficit hyperactivity and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in children: clinical guidelines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Peadon

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Elizabeth Peadon, Elizabeth J ElliottDiscipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaAbstract: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD are the physical and neurodevelopmental outcomes of fetal alcohol exposure. The behavioral phenotype of children with FASD includes difficulties with executive function, memory, planning, processing speed, and attention. Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD is diagnosed in up to 94% of individuals with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, the exact relationship between FASD and ADHD is unclear. There is some evidence that ADHD in FASD may be a specific clinical subtype and thus may require a different treatment approach. Although traditional behavioral observation scales may not distinguish between the two groups, there is evidence that children with FASD have a different profile on the four-factor model of attention than children with ADHD who do not have FASD. There is a paucity of good scientific evidence on effective interventions for individuals with ADHD and FASD. There is weak evidence that children with FASD and ADHD may have a better response to dexamphetamine than methylphenidate. There is a strong need for larger, high quality studies to examine the relationship between ADHD and FASD and identify effective treatments because management of inattention and hyperactivity may improve learning and ameliorate the common secondary disabilities associated with FASD.Keywords: fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The paradox of scientific expertise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alrøe, Hugo Fjelsted; Noe, Egon

2011-01-01

Modern societies depend on a growing production of scientific knowledge, which is based on the functional differentiation of science into still more specialised scientific disciplines and subdisciplines. This is the basis for the paradox of scientific expertise: The growth of science leads to a f...... cross-disciplinary research and in the collective use of different kinds of scientific expertise, and thereby make society better able to solve complex, real-world problems.......Modern societies depend on a growing production of scientific knowledge, which is based on the functional differentiation of science into still more specialised scientific disciplines and subdisciplines. This is the basis for the paradox of scientific expertise: The growth of science leads...... to a fragmentation of scientific expertise. To resolve this paradox, the present paper investigates three hypotheses: 1) All scientific knowledge is perspectival. 2) The perspectival structure of science leads to specific forms of knowledge asymmetries. 3) Such perspectival knowledge asymmetries must be handled...

Early recognition of technological opportunities. Realization and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stegelmann, H.U.; Peters, H.P.; Stein, G.; Muench, E.

1988-03-01

In cooperation with the American consulting company Arthur D. Little, a number of procedures, including evaluation of literature data banks, expert interviews and expert workshops, were tried. A three-step concept was finally developed involving identification of candidate technologies (identification), collection of information on these candidates (exploration), ultimately leading to an assessment of the candidate technologies (evaluation). Such a procedure basically enables long-term observation of the scientific policy decisions. This information may serve to identify the deficits and strength of the German scientific system in comparison to that of other countries. Such a system permits the survey and documentation of scientists' subjective expectations on the trends of technology developments and the associated economic and other social consequences. It became apparent that this concept should not raise expectations too high and that it is not essentially different from the advisory instruments already employed today (advisory councils, expert consultants), but rather that these established procedures are merely systematized and supplemented by further information sources (e.g. data banks). In implementing this study two central sets of problems were identified which must be overcome: The early recognition of opportunities is in the long run based on analysts infiltrating the existing network of specialist scientists and examining the information in circulation there with respect to the aims of early recognition so that access to this network is a decisive requirement for an institutionalization of early recognition; incentive systems must be created motivating scientists to become actively involved in the early recognition of technological opportunities. (orig./HP) [de

A Scientific Revolution: The Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2010-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a flood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, I will discuss some of the important discoveries of the last decade, from dwarf planets in the outer Solar System to the mysterious dark energy that overcomes gravity to accelerate the expansion of the Universe. The next decade will be equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. An infrared-optimized 6.5m space telescope, Webb is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the early universe and to peer into the dusty gas clouds where stars and planets are born. With MEMS technology, a deployed primary mirror and a tennis-court sized sunshield, the mission presents many technical challenges. I will describe Webb's scientific goals, its design and recent progress in constructing the observatory. Webb is scheduled for launch in 2014.

Distinguishing the Transcription Regulation Patterns in Promoters of Human Genes with Different Function or Evolutionary Age

KAUST Repository

Alam, Tanvir

2012-01-01

elements, histone modification marks, and others. Ten-fold cross-validation tests suggest that our model can distinguish protein-coding and non-coding RNAs with accuracy above 80%. Twenty-fold cross-validation tests suggest that our model can distinguish

Cytomorphologic features distinguishing Bethesda category IV thyroid lesions from parathyroid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Sung

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Thyroid follicular cells share similar cytomorphological features with parathyroid. Without a clinical suspicion, the distinction between a thyroid neoplasm and an intrathyroidal parathyroid can be challenging. The aim of this study was to assess the distinguishing cytomorphological features of parathyroid (including intrathyroidal and Bethesda category IV (Beth-IV thyroid follicular lesions, which carry a 15%–30% risk of malignancy and are often followed up with surgical resection. Methods: A search was performed to identify “parathyroid” diagnoses in parathyroid/thyroid-designated fine-needle aspirations (FNAs and Beth-IV thyroid FNAs (follicular and Hurthle cell, all with diagnostic confirmation through surgical pathology, immunocytochemical stains, Afirma® analysis, and/or clinical correlation. Unique cytomorphologic features were scored (0-3 or noted as present versus absent. Statistical analysis was performed using R 3.3.1 software. Results: We identified five FNA cases with clinical suspicion of parathyroid neoplasm, hyperthyroidism, or thyroid lesion that had an eventual final diagnosis of the parathyroid lesion (all female; age 20–69 years and 12 Beth-IV diagnoses (11 female, 1 male; age 13–64 years. The following cytomorphologic features are useful distinguishing features (P value: overall pattern (0.001, single cells (0.001, cell size compared to red blood cell (0.01, nuclear irregularity (0.001, presence of nucleoli (0.001, nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio (0.007, and nuclear chromatin quality (0.028. Conclusions: There are cytomorphologic features that distinguish Beth-IV thyroid lesions and (intrathyroidal parathyroid. These features can aid in rendering correct diagnoses and appropriate management.

USING SCIENTIFIC PAPERS TO STIMULATE THE STUDY OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION: THE RESEARCH ON ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. B. Gagianone

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction The X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD is characterized by mutations in very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA peroxisome transporter, leading to VLCFA accumulation in myelin sheath. In the 70’s and 80’s it was hypothesized that X-ALD is caused by enzymatic deficits in FA-coenzyme A connection, VLCFA degradation or FA elongation. The latter enabled Lorenzo’s oil (LO treatment, which became famous by the homonym movie. The apparent initial therapy effectiveness lead to LO administration in many patients, although with biochemical knowledge progress its relevance has been questioned.Objectives Our aim was to discuss X-ALD researches in “Lipids Metabolism” classes during 2014 Biochemistry courses to Biology and Biomedicine undergraduate students at Fluminense Federal University to illustrate how scientific knowledge is constructed.Materials and MethodsIn order to contrast the recent scientific advances with the information spread to society through “Lorenzo’s Oil”, the movie in edited version was presented to students followed by a questionnaire with Likert scale to evaluate the perception of scientific knowledge exposed by the movie. Afterwards, a Guided Study containing a brief history and discursive questions based upon a paper (Wiesingner et.al, J. Biol. Chem. 288:19269, 2013 was applied in class.Results and DiscussionFrom 58 students who filled in the questionnaire,72,4% considered the movie shows that X-ALD biochemical knowledge has been achieved. This notion was confirmed since 84,5% agreed LO is an effective alternative treatment if X-ALD is early detected. The same percentage agreed that based on the movie the biochemical deficiency relies on an enzyme involved in VLCFA degradation. Although the movie transmits the idea that the cure has been found, 67,2% believed X-ALD biochemical mechanisms are not fully comprehended. ConclusionsThe Guided Study/movie application was very effective because allowed the

Scientific white paper on concentration-QTc modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Garnett, Christine; Bonate, Peter L; Dang, Qianyu; Ferber, Georg; Huang, Dalong; Liu, Jiang; Mehrotra, Devan; Riley, Steve; Sager, Philip; Tornoe, Christoffer; Wang, Yaning

2018-06-01

The International Council for Harmonisation revised the E14 guideline through the questions and answers process to allow concentration-QTc (C-QTc) modeling to be used as the primary analysis for assessing the QTc interval prolongation risk of new drugs. A well-designed and conducted QTc assessment based on C-QTc modeling in early phase 1 studies can be an alternative approach to a thorough QT study for some drugs to reliably exclude clinically relevant QTc effects. This white paper provides recommendations on how to plan and conduct a definitive QTc assessment of a drug using C-QTc modeling in early phase clinical pharmacology and thorough QT studies. Topics included are: important study design features in a phase 1 study; modeling objectives and approach; exploratory plots; the pre-specified linear mixed effects model; general principles for model development and evaluation; and expectations for modeling analysis plans and reports. The recommendations are based on current best modeling practices, scientific literature and personal experiences of the authors. These recommendations are expected to evolve as their implementation during drug development provides additional data and with advances in analytical methodology.

Distinguishing Perceived Competence and Self-Efficacy: An Example from Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, Wendy M.; Markland, David; Selzler, Anne-Marie; Murray, Terra C.; Wilson, Philip M.

2014-01-01

This article examined the conceptual and statistical distinction between perceived competence and self-efficacy. Although they are frequently used interchangeably, it is possible that distinguishing them might assist researchers in better understanding their roles in developing enduring adaptive behavior patterns. Perceived competence is conceived…

Poinsinet's Edition of the Naturalis historia (1771-1782) and the Revival of Pliny in the Sciences of the Enlightenment.

Science.gov (United States)

Loveland, Jeff; Schmitt, Stéphane

2015-01-01

This paper analyses the revival of Pliny's Naturalis historia within the scientific culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on a French effort to produce an edition with annotations by scientists and scholars. Between the Renaissance and the early eighteenth century, the Naturalis historia had declined in scientific importance. Increasingly, it was relegated to the humanities, as we demonstrate with a review of editions. For a variety of reasons, however, scientific interest in the Naturalis historia grew in the second half of the eighteenth century. Epitomizing this interest was a plan for a scientifically annotated, Latin-French edition of the Naturalis historia. Initially coordinated by the French governmental minister Malesherbes in the 1750s, the edition was imperfectly realized by Poinsinet a few decades later. It was intended to rival two of the period's other distinguished multi-volume books of knowledge, Diderot and D'Alembert's Encyclopédie and Buffon's Histoire naturelle, to which we compare it. Besides narrating the scientific revival of the Historia naturalis during this period, we examine its causes and the factors contributing to its end in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Distinguishing between enamel fluorosis and other enamel defects in permanent teeth of children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aira Sabokseir

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background. The inconsistent prevalence of fluorosis for a given level of fluoride in drinking water suggests developmental defects of enamel (DDEs other than fluorosis were being misdiagnosed as fluorosis. The imprecise definition and subjective perception of fluorosis indices could result in misdiagnosis of dental fluorosis. This study was conducted to distinguish genuine fluorosis from fluorosis-resembling defects that could have adverse health-related events as a cause using Early Childhood Events Life-grid method (ECEL. Methods. A study was conducted on 400 9-year-old children from areas with high, optimal and low levels of fluoride in the drinking water of Fars province, Iran. Fluorosis cases were diagnosed on the standardized one view photographs of the anterior teeth using Dean’s and TF (Thylstrup and Fejerskov Indices by calibrated dentists. Agreements between examiners were tested. Early childhood health-related data collected retrospectively by ECEL method were matched with the position of enamel defects. Results. Using both Dean and TF indices three out of four dentists diagnosed that 31.3% (115 children had fluorosis, 58.0%, 29.1%, and 10.0% in high (2.12–2.85 ppm, optimal (0.62–1.22 ppm, and low (0.24–0.29 ppm fluoride areas respectively (p < 0.001. After matching health-related events in the 115 (31.3% of children diagnosed with fluorosis, 31 (8.4% of children had fluorosis which could be matched with their adverse health-related events. This suggests that what was diagnosed as fluorosis were non-fluoride related DDEs that resemble fluorosis. Discussion. The frequently used measures of fluorosis appear to overscore fluorosis. Use of ECEL method to consider health related events relevant to DDEs could help to differentiate between genuine fluorosis and fluorosis-resembling defects.

Inequality indicators and distinguishability in economics

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblatt, J.; Martinás, K.

2008-03-01

Money has a material counterpart, such as banknotes or coins, and an ideal expression, monetary units. In the latter case, it is boson-like: individual incomes have no a priori limit, and their units are not distinguishable from each other in economic processes. Individuals, on the other hand, usually occupy one job at a time which makes them akin to fermions. We apply to individual incomes down-to-earth statistical calculations, similar to those for quantum particles, and obtain expressions for the cumulative distribution function, probability density and Lorenz function resulting from the simultaneous use of both statistics. They provide extremely good fits to corresponding data on French income distributions. On this basis, we propose a new entropic inequality indicator.

Current Status on Flood Forecasting and Early Warning in Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thiemig, V.; Roo, A.P.J. de

2011-01-01

An overview of the current state of flood forecasting and early warning in Africa is provided in order to identify future user needs and research. Information was collected by reviewing previously published research in the scientific literature and from institutional websites. This information was

Open scientific communication urged

Science.gov (United States)

Richman, Barbara T.

In a report released last week the National Academy of Sciences' Panel on Scientific Communication and National Security concluded that the ‘limited and uncertain benefits’ of controls on the dissemination of scientific and technological research are ‘outweighed by the importance of scientific progress, which open communication accelerates, to the overall welfare of the nation.’ The 18-member panel, chaired by Dale R. Corson, president emeritus of Cornell University, was created last spring (Eos, April 20, 1982, p. 241) to examine the delicate balance between open dissemination of scientific and technical information and the U.S. government's desire to protect scientific and technological achievements from being translated into military advantages for our political adversaries.The panel dealt almost exclusively with the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union but noted that there are ‘clear problems in scientific communication and national security involving Third World countries.’ Further study of this matter is necessary.

Rapid Methods to Distinguish Heterodera schachtii from Heterodera glycines Using PCR Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyoung Rai Ko

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to develop rapid methods for distinguishing between Heterodera schachtii and H. glycines detected from chinese cabbage fields of highland in Gangwon, Korea. To do this, we performed PCR-RFLP and PCR with the primers set developed in this study for GC147, GC408 and PM001 population, H. schachtii, and YS224, DA142 and BC115 population, H. glycines. Eight restriction enzymes generated RFLP profiles of mtDNA COI region for populations of H. schachtii and H. glycines, repectively. As a result, treatment of two restriction enzymes, RsaI and HinfI, were allowed to distinguish H. schachtii from H. glycines based on the differences of DNA band patterns. The primer set, #JBS1, #JBG1 and #JB3R, amplified specific fragments with 277 and 339 bp of H. schachtii, 339 bp of H. glycines, respectively, while it did not amplify fragments from three root-knot nematodes and two root-lesion nematodes. Thus, the primer set developed in this study could be a good method, which is used to distinguish between H. schachtii and H. glycines.

Distinguished figures in mechanism and machine science

CERN Document Server

2014-01-01

This book is composed of chapters that focus specifically on technological developments by distinguished figures in the history of MMS (Mechanism and Machine Science).  Biographies of well-known scientists are also included to describe their efforts and experiences, and surveys of their work and achievements, and a modern interpretation of their legacy are presented. After the first two volumes, the papers in this third volume again cover a wide range within the field of the History of Mechanical Engineering with specific focus on MMS and will be of interest and motivation to the work (historical or not) of many.

Undergraduate honors students' images of science: Nature of scientific work and scientific knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Michael L.

This exploratory study assessed the influence of an implicit, inquiry-oriented nature of science (NOS) instructional approach undertaken in an interdisciplinary college science course on undergraduate honor students' (UHS) understanding of the aspects of NOS for scientific work and scientific knowledge. In this study, the nature of scientific work concentrated upon the delineation of science from pseudoscience and the value scientists place on reproducibility. The nature of scientific knowledge concentrated upon how UHS view scientific theories and how they believe scientists utilize scientific theories in their research. The 39 UHS who participated in the study were non-science majors enrolled in a Honors College sponsored interdisciplinary science course where the instructors took an implicit NOS instructional approach. An open-ended assessment instrument, the UFO Scenario, was designed for the course and used to assess UHS' images of science at the beginning and end of the semester. The mixed-design study employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the open-ended responses. The qualitative techniques of open and axial coding were utilized to find recurring themes within UHS' responses. McNemar's chi-square test for two dependent samples was used to identify whether any statistically significant changes occurred within responses from the beginning to the end of the semester. At the start of the study, the majority of UHS held mixed NOS views, but were able to accurately define what a scientific theory is and explicate how scientists utilize theories within scientific research. Postinstruction assessment indicated that UHS did not make significant gains in their understanding of the nature of scientific work or scientific knowledge and their overall images of science remained static. The results of the present study found implicit NOS instruction even with an extensive inquiry-oriented component was an ineffective approach for modifying UHS

Usefulness of traditionally defined herbal properties for distinguishing prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine from non-prescription recipes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ung, C Y; Li, H; Kong, C Y; Wang, J F; Chen, Y Z

2007-01-03

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely practiced and is considered as an attractive to conventional medicine. Multi-herb recipes have been routinely used in TCM. These have been formulated by using TCM-defined herbal properties (TCM-HPs), the scientific basis of which is unclear. The usefulness of TCM-HPs was evaluated by analyzing the distribution pattern of TCM-HPs of the constituent herbs in 1161 classical TCM prescriptions, which shows patterns of multi-herb correlation. Two artificial intelligence (AI) methods were used to examine whether TCM-HPs are capable of distinguishing TCM prescriptions from non-TCM recipes. Two AI systems were trained and tested by using 1161 TCM prescriptions, 11,202 non-TCM recipes, and two separate evaluation methods. These systems correctly classified 83.1-97.3% of the TCM prescriptions, 90.8-92.3% of the non-TCM recipes. These results suggest that TCM-HPs are capable of separating TCM prescriptions from non-TCM recipes, which are useful for formulating TCM prescriptions and consistent with the expected correlation between TCM-HPs and the physicochemical properties of herbal ingredients responsible for producing the collective pharmacological and other effects of specific TCM prescriptions.

WWW: The Scientific Method

Science.gov (United States)

Blystone, Robert V.; Blodgett, Kevin

2006-01-01

The scientific method is the principal methodology by which biological knowledge is gained and disseminated. As fundamental as the scientific method may be, its historical development is poorly understood, its definition is variable, and its deployment is uneven. Scientific progress may occur without the strictures imposed by the formal…

Scientific Analogies and Their Use in Teaching Science

Science.gov (United States)

Kipnis, Nahum

Analogy in science knew its successes and failures, as illustrated by examples from the eighteenth-century physics. At times, some scientists abstained from using a certain analogy on the ground that it had not yet been demonstrated. Several false discoveries in the 18th and early 19th centuries appeared to support their caution. It is now clear that such a position reflected a methodological confusion that resulted from a failure to distinguish between particular and general analogies. Considering analogy as a hierarchical structure provides a new insight into "testing an analogy". While warning science teachers of dangers associated with use of analogy, historical cases and their analysis provided here may encourage them to use analogy more extensively while avoiding misconceptions. An argument is made that the history of science may be a better guide than philosophy of science and cognitive psychology when it concerns the role of analogy in science and in teaching science for understanding.

The Scientific Enterprise

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 13; Issue 9. The Scientific Enterprise - Assumptions, Problems, and Goals in the Modern Scientific Framework. V V Raman. Reflections Volume 13 Issue 9 September 2008 pp 885-894 ...

Wavelet coherence analysis: A new approach to distinguish organic and functional tremor types.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, G; Van der Stouwe, A M M; Maurits, N M; Tijssen, M A J; Elting, J W J

2018-01-01

To distinguish tremor subtypes using wavelet coherence analysis (WCA). WCA enables to detect variations in coherence and phase difference between two signals over time and might be especially useful in distinguishing functional from organic tremor. In this pilot study, polymyography recordings were studied retrospectively of 26 Parkinsonian (PT), 26 functional (FT), 26 essential (ET), and 20 enhanced physiological (EPT) tremor patients. Per patient one segment of 20 s in duration, in which tremor was present continuously in the same posture, was selected. We studied several coherence and phase related parameters, and analysed all possible muscle combinations of the flexor and extensor muscles of the upper and fore arm. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) was applied to compare WCA and standard coherence analysis to distinguish tremor subtypes. The percentage of time with significant coherence (PTSC) and the number of periods without significant coherence (NOV) proved the most discriminative parameters. FT could be discriminated from organic (PT, ET, EPT) tremor by high NOV (31.88 vs 21.58, 23.12 and 10.20 respectively) with an AUC-ROC of 0.809, while standard coherence analysis resulted in an AUC-ROC of 0.552. EMG-EMG WCA analysis might provide additional variables to distinguish functional from organic tremor. WCA might prove to be of additional value to discriminate between tremor types. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can Assertiveness be Distinguished From Aggressiveness Using Self Report Data?

Science.gov (United States)

Mauger, Paul A.; And Others

The differences between aggressiveness and assertiveness were examined using the Interpersonal Behavior Survey (IBS), a 136-item self-report questionnaire which was developed to distinguish between assertive and aggressive behaviors. Item level factor analysis was used in scale construction. Results indicated that: (1) the correlation between the…

Scientific Data Management Center for Enabling Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vouk, Mladen A.

2013-01-15

data management technologies to DOE application scientists in astrophysics, climate, fusion, and biology. Equally important, it established collaborations with these scientists to better understand their science as well as their forthcoming data management and data analytics challenges. Building on our early successes, we have greatly enhanced, robustified, and deployed our technology to these communities. In some cases, we identified new needs that have been addressed in order to simplify the use of our technology by scientists. This report summarizes our work so far in SciDAC-2. Our approach is to employ an evolutionary development and deployment process: from research through prototypes to deployment and infrastructure. Accordingly, we have organized our activities in three layers that abstract the end-to-end data flow described above. We labeled the layers (from bottom to top): a) Storage Efficient Access (SEA), b) Data Mining and Analysis (DMA), c) Scientific Process Automation (SPA). The SEA layer is immediately on top of hardware, operating systems, file systems, and mass storage systems, and provides parallel data access technology, and transparent access to archival storage. The DMA layer, which builds on the functionality of the SEA layer, consists of indexing, feature identification, and parallel statistical analysis technology. The SPA layer, which is on top of the DMA layer, provides the ability to compose scientific workflows from the components in the DMA layer as well as application specific modules. NCSU work performed under this contract was primarily at the SPA layer.

Martin Mayman's early memories technique: bridging the gap between personality assessment and psychotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, J C; Hilsenroth, M J; Handler, L

2000-08-01

In this article, we describe Martin Mayman's approach to early childhood memories as a projective technique, beginning with his scientific interest in learning theory, coupled with his interest in ego psychology and object relations theory. We describe Mayman's contributions to the use of the early memories technique to inform the psychotherapy process, tying assessment closely to psychotherapy and making assessment more useful in treatment. In this article, we describe a representative sample of research studies that demonstrate the reliability and validity of early memories, followed by case examples in which the early memories informed the therapy process, including issues of transference and countertransference.

Model distinguishability and inference robustness in mechanisms of cholera transmission and loss of immunity

OpenAIRE

Lee, Elizabeth C.; Kelly, Michael R.; Ochocki, Brad M.; Akinwumi, Segun M.; Hamre, Karen E. S.; Tien, Joseph H.; Eisenberg, Marisa C.

2016-01-01

Mathematical models of cholera and waterborne disease vary widely in their structures, in terms of transmission pathways, loss of immunity, and other features. These differences may yield different predictions and parameter estimates from the same data. Given the increasing use of models to inform public health decision-making, it is important to assess distinguishability (whether models can be distinguished based on fit to data) and inference robustness (whether model inferences are robust t...

Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2018-05-03

May 3, 2018 ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open ... or mathematics; and employed at an academic or scientific research ... research groups that will attract international visitors; and to develop links with ... opportunity to support Canadian-African research teams studying Ebola.

Evolution of the scientific paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harmon, J.E.

1992-09-01

The first papers reporting original research results in technical periodicals and proceedings appeared in the late 17th century. Since that time, the typical scientific paper has evolved from a fairly simple document, accessible to a general audience, to a much more complex one, aimed at a specialized audience. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of what the first scientific papers were like and how they evolved to their present form and style. To facilitate this discussion, the scientific paper`s development has arbitrarily been divided into four stages: the origin and formative years of the scientific paper (1665-1765), emergence of scientific papers written for specialized publications (1765-1865), development of the modem scientific paper (1865-1965), and hyperspecialization and computerization of the modem scientific paper (1965-?).

Evolution of the scientific paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harmon, J.E.

1992-01-01

The first papers reporting original research results in technical periodicals and proceedings appeared in the late 17th century. Since that time, the typical scientific paper has evolved from a fairly simple document, accessible to a general audience, to a much more complex one, aimed at a specialized audience. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of what the first scientific papers were like and how they evolved to their present form and style. To facilitate this discussion, the scientific paper's development has arbitrarily been divided into four stages: the origin and formative years of the scientific paper (1665-1765), emergence of scientific papers written for specialized publications (1765-1865), development of the modem scientific paper (1865-1965), and hyperspecialization and computerization of the modem scientific paper (1965- ).

Astronomy in Early Childhood Education: A Concept-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ampartzaki, Maria; Kalogiannakis, Michail

2016-01-01

In an attempt to understand the natural world's phenomena, young children form their perceptions of different aspects of the macrocosm, which they contrast with new scientific concepts. This process calls for an early intervention that will provide the stimuli and the tools for the development of new concepts, ideas, and cognitive structures. The…

Linear Distinguishers in the Key-less Setting: Application to PRESENT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Martin Mehl; Rechberger, Christian

2015-01-01

The application of the concept of linear cryptanalysis to the domain of key-less primitives is largely an open problem. In this paper we, for the first time, propose a model in which its application is meaningful for distinguishing block ciphers. Combining our model with ideas from message...

Turning Scientific Presentations into Stories

Science.gov (United States)

Aruffo, Christopher

2015-01-01

To increase students' confidence in giving scientific presentations, students were shown how to present scientific findings as a narrative story. Students who were preparing to give a scientific talk attended a workshop in which they were encouraged to experience the similarities between telling a personal anecdote and presenting scientific data.…

Software support for students engaging in scientific activity and scientific controversy

Science.gov (United States)

Cavalli-Sforza, Violetta; Weiner, Arlene W.; Lesgold, Alan M.

Computer environments could support students in engaging in cognitive activities that are essential to scientific practice and to the understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge, but that are difficult to manage in science classrooms. The authors describe a design for a computer-based environment to assist students in conducting dialectical activities of constructing, comparing, and evaluating arguments for competing scientific theories. Their choice of activities and their design respond to educators' and theorists' criticisms of current science curricula. They give detailed specifications of portions of the environment.

Music as therapy in early history.

Science.gov (United States)

Thaut, Michael H

2015-01-01

The notion of music as therapy is based on ancient cross-cultural beliefs that music can have a "healing" effect on mind and body. Explanations for the therapeutic mechanisms in music have almost always included cultural and social science-based causalities about the uses and functions of music in society. However, it is also important to note that the view of music as "therapy" was also always strongly influenced by the view and understanding of the concepts and causes of disease. Magical/mystical concepts of illness and "rational" medicine probably lived side by side for thousands of years. Not until the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries were the scientific foundations of medicine established, which allowed the foundations of music in therapy to progress from no science to soft science and most recently to actual brain science. Evidence for "early music therapy" will be discussed in four broad historical-cultural divisions: preliterate cultures; early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel; Greek Antiquity; Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque. In reviewing "early music therapy" practice, from mostly unknown periods of early history (using preliterate cultures as a window) to increasingly better documented times, including preserved notation samples of actual "healing" music, five theories and applications of early music therapy can be differentiated. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scientific Research Competencies of Prospective Teachers and their Attitu des toward Scientific Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Hüseyin Şahan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Present study has been constructed to determine scientific research competencies of prospective teachers and identify the extent of effect of prospective teachers’ attitudes toward scientific research and scientific research methods course on their research skills and attitudes towards research. This study has two dimensions: it is a descriptive study by virtue of identifying prospective teachers’ research skills and attitudes toward research, also an experimental study by virtue of determining the effect of scientificresearch methods course on prospective teachers’ skills and their attitudes toward research. In order to obtain the data related to identified sub-problems “Scale for Identifying Scientific Research Competencies” and “Scale for Identifying the Attitude toward Research” have been utilized. Data collection tools were applied to 445 prospective teachers. It has thus been concluded in this study that scientific research methods course had no significant effect in gaining scientific research competencies to prospective teachers and that this effect demonstrated no differentiation with respect to departments. On the other hand it has been explored that scientific research methods course had a negative effect onthe attitudes of prospective teachers toward research and that there was a differentiation to the disadvantage of prospective teachers studying at Primary Education Mathematics Teaching Department.

Self-adaptive method to distinguish inner and outer contours of industrial computed tomography image for rapid prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Liming; Ye Yong; Zhang Xia; Zuo Jian

2013-01-01

A self-adaptive identification method is proposed for realizing more accurate and efficient judgment about the inner and outer contours of industrial computed tomography (CT) slice images. The convexity-concavity of the single-pixel-wide closed contour is identified with angle method at first. Then, contours with concave vertices are distinguished to be inner or outer contours with ray method, and contours without concave vertices are distinguished with extreme coordinate value method. The method was chosen to automatically distinguish contours by means of identifying the convexity and concavity of the contours. Thus, the disadvantages of single distinguishing methods, such as ray method's time-consuming and extreme coordinate method's fallibility, can be avoided. The experiments prove the adaptability, efficiency, and accuracy of the self-adaptive method. (authors)

A new method of distinguishing models of the high-Q2 events at HERA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Z.; He, X.G.; McKellar, B.

1997-07-01

A new method is proposed to distinguish models for the high Q 2 e + p → e + X anomaly at HERA by looking at a new observable which is insensitive to parton distribution function (PDF), but sensitive to new physics. Three models have been considered: modification of PDF's, new physics due to s-channel production of new particle and new physics due to contact interactions. Using this new method it is possible to distinguish different models with increased luminosity

Early signatures of regime shifts in gene expression dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Mainak; Pal, Amit Kumar; Ghosh, Sayantari; Bose, Indrani

2013-06-01

Recently, a large number of studies have been carried out on the early signatures of sudden regime shifts in systems as diverse as ecosystems, financial markets, population biology and complex diseases. The signatures of regime shifts in gene expression dynamics are less systematically investigated. In this paper, we consider sudden regime shifts in the gene expression dynamics described by a fold-bifurcation model involving bistability and hysteresis. We consider two alternative models, models 1 and 2, of competence development in the bacterial population B. subtilis and determine some early signatures of the regime shifts between competence and noncompetence. We use both deterministic and stochastic formalisms for the purpose of our study. The early signatures studied include the critical slowing down as a transition point is approached, rising variance and the lag-1 autocorrelation function, skewness and a ratio of two mean first passage times. Some of the signatures could provide the experimental basis for distinguishing between bistability and excitability as the correct mechanism for the development of competence.

Early signatures of regime shifts in gene expression dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pal, Mainak; Pal, Amit Kumar; Ghosh, Sayantari; Bose, Indrani

2013-01-01

Recently, a large number of studies have been carried out on the early signatures of sudden regime shifts in systems as diverse as ecosystems, financial markets, population biology and complex diseases. The signatures of regime shifts in gene expression dynamics are less systematically investigated. In this paper, we consider sudden regime shifts in the gene expression dynamics described by a fold-bifurcation model involving bistability and hysteresis. We consider two alternative models, models 1 and 2, of competence development in the bacterial population B. subtilis and determine some early signatures of the regime shifts between competence and noncompetence. We use both deterministic and stochastic formalisms for the purpose of our study. The early signatures studied include the critical slowing down as a transition point is approached, rising variance and the lag-1 autocorrelation function, skewness and a ratio of two mean first passage times. Some of the signatures could provide the experimental basis for distinguishing between bistability and excitability as the correct mechanism for the development of competence. (paper)

Formal and Informal Learning and First-Year Psychology Students’ Development of Scientific Thinking: A Two-Wave Panel Study

Science.gov (United States)

Soyyılmaz, Demet; Griffin, Laura M.; Martín, Miguel H.; Kucharský, Šimon; Peycheva, Ekaterina D.; Vaupotič, Nina; Edelsbrunner, Peter A.

2017-01-01

Scientific thinking is a predicate for scientific inquiry, and thus important to develop early in psychology students as potential future researchers. The present research is aimed at fathoming the contributions of formal and informal learning experiences to psychology students’ development of scientific thinking during their 1st-year of study. We hypothesize that informal experiences are relevant beyond formal experiences. First-year psychology student cohorts from various European countries will be assessed at the beginning and again at the end of the second semester. Assessments of scientific thinking will include scientific reasoning skills, the understanding of basic statistics concepts, and epistemic cognition. Formal learning experiences will include engagement in academic activities which are guided by university authorities. Informal learning experiences will include non-compulsory, self-guided learning experiences. Formal and informal experiences will be assessed with a newly developed survey. As dispositional predictors, students’ need for cognition and self-efficacy in psychological science will be assessed. In a structural equation model, students’ learning experiences and personal dispositions will be examined as predictors of their development of scientific thinking. Commonalities and differences in predictive weights across universities will be tested. The project is aimed at contributing information for designing university environments to optimize the development of students’ scientific thinking. PMID:28239363

Formal and Informal Learning and First-Year Psychology Students' Development of Scientific Thinking: A Two-Wave Panel Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Soyyılmaz, Demet; Griffin, Laura M; Martín, Miguel H; Kucharský, Šimon; Peycheva, Ekaterina D; Vaupotič, Nina; Edelsbrunner, Peter A

2017-01-01

Scientific thinking is a predicate for scientific inquiry, and thus important to develop early in psychology students as potential future researchers. The present research is aimed at fathoming the contributions of formal and informal learning experiences to psychology students' development of scientific thinking during their 1st-year of study. We hypothesize that informal experiences are relevant beyond formal experiences. First-year psychology student cohorts from various European countries will be assessed at the beginning and again at the end of the second semester. Assessments of scientific thinking will include scientific reasoning skills, the understanding of basic statistics concepts, and epistemic cognition. Formal learning experiences will include engagement in academic activities which are guided by university authorities. Informal learning experiences will include non-compulsory, self-guided learning experiences. Formal and informal experiences will be assessed with a newly developed survey. As dispositional predictors, students' need for cognition and self-efficacy in psychological science will be assessed. In a structural equation model, students' learning experiences and personal dispositions will be examined as predictors of their development of scientific thinking. Commonalities and differences in predictive weights across universities will be tested. The project is aimed at contributing information for designing university environments to optimize the development of students' scientific thinking.

Quantum correlations and distinguishability of quantum states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spehner, Dominique [Université Grenoble Alpes and CNRS, Institut Fourier, F-38000 Grenoble, France and Laboratoire de Physique et Modélisation des Milieux Condensés, F-38000 Grenoble (France)

2014-07-15

A survey of various concepts in quantum information is given, with a main emphasis on the distinguishability of quantum states and quantum correlations. Covered topics include generalized and least square measurements, state discrimination, quantum relative entropies, the Bures distance on the set of quantum states, the quantum Fisher information, the quantum Chernoff bound, bipartite entanglement, the quantum discord, and geometrical measures of quantum correlations. The article is intended both for physicists interested not only by collections of results but also by the mathematical methods justifying them, and for mathematicians looking for an up-to-date introductory course on these subjects, which are mainly developed in the physics literature.

Quantum correlations and distinguishability of quantum states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spehner, Dominique

2014-01-01

A survey of various concepts in quantum information is given, with a main emphasis on the distinguishability of quantum states and quantum correlations. Covered topics include generalized and least square measurements, state discrimination, quantum relative entropies, the Bures distance on the set of quantum states, the quantum Fisher information, the quantum Chernoff bound, bipartite entanglement, the quantum discord, and geometrical measures of quantum correlations. The article is intended both for physicists interested not only by collections of results but also by the mathematical methods justifying them, and for mathematicians looking for an up-to-date introductory course on these subjects, which are mainly developed in the physics literature

Crowdsourced earthquake early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Minson, Sarah E.; Brooks, Benjamin A.; Glennie, Craig L.; Murray, Jessica R.; Langbein, John O.; Owen, Susan E.; Heaton, Thomas H.; Iannucci, Robert A.; Hauser, Darren L.

2015-01-01

Earthquake early warning (EEW) can reduce harm to people and infrastructure from earthquakes and tsunamis, but it has not been implemented in most high earthquake-risk regions because of prohibitive cost. Common consumer devices such as smartphones contain low-cost versions of the sensors used in EEW. Although less accurate than scientific-grade instruments, these sensors are globally ubiquitous. Through controlled tests of consumer devices, simulation of an Mw (moment magnitude) 7 earthquake on California’s Hayward fault, and real data from the Mw 9 Tohoku-oki earthquake, we demonstrate that EEW could be achieved via crowdsourcing.

Examining elementary teachers' knowledge and instruction of scientific explanations for fostering children's explanations in science

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebke, Heidi Lynn

This study employed an embedded mixed methods multi-case study design (Creswell, 2014) with six early childhood (grades K-2) teachers to examine a) what changes occurred to their subject matter knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching scientific explanations while participating in a professional development program, b) how they planned for and implemented scientific explanation instruction within a teacher developed unit on properties of matter, and c) what affordances their instruction of scientific explanations had on fostering their students' abilities to generate explanations in science. Several quantitative and qualitative measures were collected and analyzed in accordance to this studies conceptual framework, which consisted of ten instructional practices teachers should consider assimilating or accommodating into their knowledge base (i.e., SMK & PCK) for teaching scientific explanations. Results of this study indicate there was little to no positive change in the teachers' substantive and syntactic SMK. However, all six teachers did make significant changes to all five components of their PCK for teaching explanations in science. While planning for scientific explanation instruction, all six teachers' contributed some ideas for how to incorporate seven of the ten instructional practices for scientific explanations within the properties of matter unit they co-developed. When enacting the unit, the six teachers' employed seven to nine of the instructional practices to varying levels of effectiveness, as measured by researcher developed rubrics. Given the six teachers' scientific explanation instruction, many students did show improvement in their ability to formulate a scientific explanation, particularly their ability to provide multiple pieces of evidence. Implications for professional developers, teacher educators, researchers, policy makers, and elementary teachers regarding how to prepare teachers for and support students

José-Antonio Campos-Ortega (1940-2004) and his scientific work - a personal perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Knust, Elisabeth; Hertel, Rainer

2009-01-01

José Antonio Campos-Ortega (1940-2004), a Spanish scientist who became a leading figure in the developmental genetics of the nervous system, spent most of his scientific life in Germany. Nevertheless, he remained deeply rooted in his native country. His thinking, his ambition and his work were driven by scientific, philosophical and historical questions. He started as a neuroanatomist, working first in Valencia, then in Gottingen, Tubingen and Freiburg. He used primates, reptiles, then the house fly and finally Drosophila to address the question How is the brain or the eye structured in order to function?. While in Freiburg, the problem shifted to How does the nervous system come into being, into form? Campos-Ortega tried to understand early neurogenesis in Drosophila through formal genetics, by identifying relevant genes and studying their genetic interactions. Since he was convinced that not only a single experimental approach could solve a problem as complex as the development of the nervous system, he also included the molecular biological approach when he moved to Cologne, while maintaining a strong focus on anatomy, embryology and genetics. There, he also started to work on the neurogenesis of the zebrafish, using similar concepts and approaches. Throughout his scientific career, he thought, wrote and taught about the evolution of methods and ideas in his field of research. At Campos-Ortegas early death, an unfinished book manuscript was left, entitled Developmental Genetics. The Path to the Biological Synthesis. Some parts of his introductory overview are included here.

Early warning signal for interior crises in excitable systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Karnatak, Rajat; Kantz, Holger; Bialonski, Stephan

2017-10-01

The ability to reliably predict critical transitions in dynamical systems is a long-standing goal of diverse scientific communities. Previous work focused on early warning signals related to local bifurcations (critical slowing down) and nonbifurcation-type transitions. We extend this toolbox and report on a characteristic scaling behavior (critical attractor growth) which is indicative of an impending global bifurcation, an interior crisis in excitable systems. We demonstrate our early warning signal in a conceptual climate model as well as in a model of coupled neurons known to exhibit extreme events. We observed critical attractor growth prior to interior crises of chaotic as well as strange-nonchaotic attractors. These observations promise to extend the classes of transitions that can be predicted via early warning signals.

Designing scientific applications on GPUs

CERN Document Server

Couturier, Raphael

2013-01-01

Many of today's complex scientific applications now require a vast amount of computational power. General purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs) enable researchers in a variety of fields to benefit from the computational power of all the cores available inside graphics cards.Understand the Benefits of Using GPUs for Many Scientific ApplicationsDesigning Scientific Applications on GPUs shows you how to use GPUs for applications in diverse scientific fields, from physics and mathematics to computer science. The book explains the methods necessary for designing or porting your scientific appl

Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale 1

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Maureen M; Walker, Susan P; Fernald, Lia C H; Andersen, Christopher T; DiGirolamo, Ann M; Lu, Chunling; McCoy, Dana C; Fink, Günther; Shawar, Yusra R; Shiffman, Prof Jeremy; Devercelli, Amanda E; Wodon, Quentin T; Vargas-Barón, Emily; Grantham-McGregor, Sally

2018-01-01

Early childhood development programmes vary in coordination and quality, with inadequate and inequitable access, especially for children younger than 3 years. New estimates, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty, indicate that 250 million children (43%) younger than 5 years in low-income and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential. There is therefore an urgent need to increase multisectoral coverage of quality programming that incorporates health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning. Equitable early childhood policies and programmes are crucial for meeting Sustainable Development Goals, and for children to develop the intellectual skills, creativity, and wellbeing required to become healthy and productive adults. In this paper, the first in a three part Series on early childhood development, we examine recent scientific progress and global commitments to early childhood development. Research, programmes, and policies have advanced substantially since 2000, with new neuroscientific evidence linking early adversity and nurturing care with brain development and function throughout the life course. PMID:27717614

Preschool Pathways to Science (PrePS[TM]): Facilitating Scientific Ways of Thinking, Talking, Doing, and Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Gelman, Rochel; Brenneman, Kimberly; Macdonald, Gay; Roman, Moises

2009-01-01

To ensure they're meeting state early learning guidelines for science, preschool educators need fun, age-appropriate, and research-based ways to teach young children about scientific concepts. The basis for the PBS KIDS show "Sid the Science Kid," this teaching resource helps children ages 3-5 investigate their everyday world and develop the…

The Scientific Enlightenment System in Russia in the Early Twentieth Century as a Model for Popularizing Science

Science.gov (United States)

Balashova, Yuliya B.

2016-01-01

This research reconstructs the traditions of scientific enlightenment in Russia. The turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was chosen as the most representative period. The modern age saw the establishment of the optimal model for advancing science in the global context and its crucial segment--Russian science. This period was…

Scientific Research: What it Means to Me.

Science.gov (United States)

Narlikar, Jayant V

2008-01-01

This article gives a personal perception of the author, of what scientific research means. Citing examples from the lives of all time greats like Newton, Kelvin and Maxwell he stresses the agonies of thinking up new ideas, the urge for creativity and the pleasure one derives from the process when it is completed. He then narrates instances from his own life that proved inspirational towards his research career. In his early studenthood, his parents and maternal uncle had widened his intellectual horizons while in later life his interaction with Fred Hoyle made him take up research challenges away from the beaten path. He concludes that taking up an anti-Establishment stand in research can create many logistical difficulties, but the rewards of success are all the more pleasing.

ERINDA Scientific Results: Transnational Access Activities and Scientific Visits

CERN Document Server

Hambsch, Franz-Josef

2014-01-01

This paper gives an overview of the Transnational Access Activities and Scientific visits within the FP7 project ERINDA (European Research Infrastructures for Nuclear Data). It highlights the fact that nearly 3200 data - taking hours for external users were made available in the partner installations and 104 man weeks for scientific visits to par tner institutes. This is much more than the 2500 beam hours and 80 weeks promised in the Description of Work of the project.

Mapping scientific frontiers : the quest for knowledge visualization.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boyack, Kevin W.

2003-08-01

Visualization of scientific frontiers is a relatively new field, yet it has a long history and many predecessors. The application of science to science itself has been undertaken for decades with notable early contributions by Derek Price, Thomas Kuhn, Diana Crane, Eugene Garfield, and many others. What is new is the field of information visualization and application of its techniques to help us understand the process of science in the making. In his new book, Chaomei Chen takes us on a journey through this history, touching on predecessors, and then leading us firmly into the new world of Mapping Scientific Frontiers. Building on the foundation of his earlier book, Information Visualization and Virtual Environments, Chen's new offering is much less a tutorial in how to do information visualization, and much more a conceptual exploration of why and how the visualization of science can change the way we do science, amplified by real examples. Chen's stated intents for the book are: (1) to focus on principles of visual thinking that enable the identification of scientific frontiers; (2) to introduce a way to systematize the identification of scientific frontiers (or paradigms) through visualization techniques; and (3) to stimulate interdisciplinary research between information visualization and information science researchers. On all these counts, he succeeds. Chen's book can be broken into two parts which focus on the first two purposes stated above. The first, consisting of the initial four chapters, covers history and predecessors. Kuhn's theory of normal science punctuated by periods of revolution, now commonly known as paradigm shifts, motivates the work. Relevant predecessors outside the traditional field of information science such as cartography (both terrestrial and celestial), mapping the mind, and principles of visual association and communication, are given ample coverage. Chen also describes enabling techniques known to information

Effects of atomic radiation. Work of the UN Scientific Committee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appleyard, R.K.

1959-01-01

In December 19555, the First Committee of the Assembly, at the initiative of India and the United States, discussed the biological effects of ionizing radiation. Out of this discussion came a unanimous resolution establishing the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation- a committee of the General Assembly consisting of fifteen Member States, including the principal nuclear powers. Although the members were thus political entities, each was represented by a distinguished scientist and by this device the Committee was enabled to function as an active scientific body. The permanent United Nations missions were always available to advise the scientists on how to keep the discussions on a scientific as distinct from a political level. The principal task of the Radiation Committee, as it soon came to be called at United Nations Headquarters, was to collect information, study and analyze it, make certain evaluations, indicate research projects of interest in its field, report progress annually to the General Assembly and submit a comprehensive report within two and a half years. The Committee received over 200 special reports from governments in the two years during which it was actively preparing its comprehensive report, all of which had to be studied and related to the prodigious normal output of scientific literature in its field. Method and organization of work, nature of investigations as well as its role within the UN family are discussed. Throughout its activities, the Radiation Committee and its scientific staff have worked very closely with the various specialized agencies of the United Nations, several of which have important interests in the field, and particularly with the FAO, UNESCO, WMO and WHO, all of which contributed reports and a wealth of expert knowledge to the discussion. It expects in the future to work just as closely with the new IAEA, with which it has a number of interests in common. The SCEAR has established

Distinguishing plant population and variety with UAV-derived vegetation indices

Science.gov (United States)

Oakes, Joseph; Balota, Maria

2017-05-01

Variety selection and seeding rate are two important choice that a peanut grower must make. High yielding varieties can increase profit with no additional input costs, while seeding rate often determines input cost a grower will incur from seed costs. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the effect that seeding rate has on different peanut varieties. With the advent of new UAV technology, we now have the possibility to use indices collected with the UAV to measure emergence, seeding rate, growth rate, and perhaps make yield predictions. This information could enable growers to make management decisions early in the season based on low plant populations due to poor emergence, and could be a useful tool for growers to use to estimate plant population and growth rate in order to help achieve desired crop stands. Red-Green-Blue (RGB) and near-infrared (NIR) images were collected from a UAV platform starting two weeks after planting and continued weekly for the next six weeks. Ground NDVI was also collected each time aerial images were collected. Vegetation indices were derived from both the RGB and NIR images. Greener area (GGA- the proportion of green pixels with a hue angle from 80° to 120°) and a* (the average red/green color of the image) were derived from the RGB images while Normalized Differential Vegetative Index (NDVI) was derived from NIR images. Aerial indices were successful in distinguishing seeding rates and determining emergence during the first few weeks after planting, but not later in the season. Meanwhile, these aerial indices are not an adequate predictor of yield in peanut at this point.

Two critical periods in early visual cortex during figure–ground segregation

OpenAIRE

Wokke, Martijn E; Sligte, Ilja G; Steven Scholte, H; Lamme, Victor A F

2012-01-01

.The ability to distinguish a figure from its background is crucial for visual perception. To date, it remains unresolved where and how in the visual system different stages of figure-ground segregation emerge. Neural correlates of figure border detection have consistently been found in early visual cortex (V1/V2). However, areas V1/V2 have also been frequently associated with later stages of figure-ground segregation (such as border ownership or surface segregation). To causally link activit...

The Uncertain of Scientific Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovina dÁvila Bordoni

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The study assesses the existence of certainty in the scientific process, it seeks the truth, however, faced with the unknown, causes uncertainties and doubts. We used the bibliographical research, in which it systematized the scientific literature on epistemology and knowledge related to the scientific process and the uncertainties that surround him. The scientific process, though continuously seeks the truth, will not attain perfection, because the researcher deals with the unknown. The science seeks constantly new knowledge and progress with the criticism of the mistakes, seeks the truth, however these are provisional. It is concluded that all scientific knowledge is uncertain.

Scientific collaboratories in higher education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenwald, Diane H.; Li, Bin

2003-01-01

Scientific collaboratories hold the promise of providing students access to specialized scientific instruments, data and experts, enabling learning opportunities perhaps otherwise not available. However, evaluation of scientific collaboratories in higher education has lagged behind...

Implicit normativity in scientific advice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Folker, Anna Paldam; Andersen, Hanne; Sandøe, Peter

2008-01-01

This paper focuses on implicit normative considerations underlying scientific advice-those normative questions, decisions, or issues that scientific advisers and the general public are not fully aware of but that nevertheless have implications for the character of the advice given. Using...... nutritional science as an example, we identify three such implicit normative issues. The first concerns the aim of scientific advice: whether it is about avoiding harm or promoting good. The second concerns the intended beneficiaries of the advice: whether advice should be framed to benefit the society...... as a whole or with special concern for the most vulnerable members of the population. The third consideration involves scientific advisers' attempts to balance the strengths of the scientific evidence with the expected consequences of scientific advice. We hope to promote more explicit discussion...

Scientific reasoning skills development in the introductory biology courses for undergraduates

Science.gov (United States)

Schen, Melissa S.

direct hypothetico-deductive reasoning were found through analysis of the LCTSR data. Students were also found to have trouble identifying and rebutting counterarguments, compared to generating initial arguments from scientific data sets. Although no overall improvement was found, a moderate, positive relationship was detected between LCTSR and argumentation scores at each administration, affirming the predicted association. Lastly, no difference was determined between biology majors and other students also enrolled in the courses. Overall, the results found here are similar to those classified in the literature for both hypothetico-deductive reasoning and argumentation, indicating that biology majors may be similar to other populations studied. Also, as no explicit attention was paid to scientific reasoning skills in the two courses, these findings complement those that illustrate a need for direct attention to foster the development of these skills. These results suggest the need to develop direct and explicit methods in order to improve the scientific reasoning skills of future biological scientists early in their undergraduate years.

From atoms to galaxies a conceptual physics approach to scientific awareness

CERN Document Server

Hassani, Sadri

2010-01-01

… present[s] some of the most striking ideas behind physics but also give[s] students and the general public the opportunity of reflecting on the implications of these ideas and provide them with the tools to draw a distinction between scientific fact and nonsense. The book does indeed do what it says on the cover; it presents topics ranging from early Greek astronomy and Newtonian dynamics, passing by electromagnetism and thermodynamics and culminating with quantum theory, relativity and cosmology. … the CD included with the book has lengthier mathematical and numerical examples that suppleme

The Transition and Adoption to Modern Programming Concepts for Scientific Computing in Fortran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles D. Norton

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes our experiences in the early exploration of modern concepts introduced in Fortran90 for large-scale scientific programming. We review our early work in expressing object-oriented concepts based on the new Fortran90 constructs – foreign to most programmers at the time – our experimental work in applying them to various applications, the impact on the WG5/J3 standards committees to consider formalizing object-oriented constructs for later versions of Fortran, and work in exploring how other modern programming techniques such as Design Patterns can and have impacted our software development. Applications will be drawn from plasma particle simulation and finite element adaptive mesh refinement for solid earth crustal deformation modeling.

Improving the distinguishable cluster results: spin-component scaling

Science.gov (United States)

Kats, Daniel

2018-06-01

The spin-component scaling is employed in the energy evaluation to improve the distinguishable cluster approach. SCS-DCSD reaction energies reproduce reference values with a root-mean-squared deviation well below 1 kcal/mol, the interaction energies are three to five times more accurate than DCSD, and molecular systems with a large amount of static electron correlation are still described reasonably well. SCS-DCSD represents a pragmatic approach to achieve chemical accuracy with a simple method without triples, which can also be applied to multi-configurational molecular systems.

Can We Distinguish between Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary J Bennett

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Inflammatory and neuropathic pain were once considered to be distinct entities. However, research over the past decade or so has brought to light many shared mechanisms, and the distinction between the two is no longer clear. Consideration of mechanisms, symptoms and the effects of analgesic drugs does not reveal any definitive or universally applicable differentiating factors. Given the present level of understanding, it may not be possible to distinguish between inflammatory and neuropathic pain in a large number of patients, and a satisfying definition of neuropathic pain may not be possible.

[German-Japanese scientific exchange in urology in the early 20th century].

Science.gov (United States)

Halling, T; Umehara, H; Moll, F

2014-01-01

This paper analyzes the importance of the German language and German culture and institutional development of urology in Japan in the early 20th century, starting from the development of the medical school for Japanese in Germany and their function in the process of modernization of the Meiji period (1868-1912). Examples of bi-directional German-Japanese relations in medicine, which also included an integrated knowledge transfer, are shown. The study is based mainly on Japanese and German sources about Japanese physicians in Germany as well as contemporary publications in German and international medical journals. Methodologically, the article combines quantitative analysis with individual biographical aspects.

Using HeLa cell stress response to introduce first year students to the scientific method, laboratory techniques, primary literature, and scientific writing.

Science.gov (United States)

Resendes, Karen K

2015-01-01

Incorporating scientific literacy into inquiry driven research is one of the most effective mechanisms for developing an undergraduate student's strength in writing. Additionally, discovery-based laboratories help develop students who approach science as critical thinkers. Thus, a three-week laboratory module for an introductory cell and molecular biology course that couples inquiry-based experimental design with extensive scientific writing was designed at Westminster College to expose first year students to these concepts early in their undergraduate career. In the module students used scientific literature to design and then implement an experiment on the effect of cellular stress on protein expression in HeLa cells. In parallel the students developed a research paper in the style of the undergraduate journal BIOS to report their results. HeLa cells were used to integrate the research experience with the Westminster College "Next Chapter" first year program, in which the students explored the historical relevance of HeLa cells from a sociological perspective through reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. In this report I detail the design, delivery, student learning outcomes, and assessment of this module, and while this exercise was designed for an introductory course at a small primarily undergraduate institution, suggestions for modifications at larger universities or for upper division courses are included. Finally, based on student outcomes suggestions are provided for improving the module to enhance the link between teaching students skills in experimental design and execution with developing student skills in information literacy and writing. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Differential association with cellular substructures of pseudorabies virus DNA during early and late phases of replication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben-Porat, T.; Veach, R.A.; Blankenship, M.L.; Kaplan, A.S.

1984-01-01

Pseudorabies virus DNA synthesis can be divided into two phases, early and late, which can be distinguished from each other on the basis of the structures of the replicating DNA. The two types of replicating virus DNA can also be distinguished from each other on the basis of the cellular substructures with which each is associated. Analysis by electron microscopic autoradiography showed that during the first round of replication, nascent virus DNA was found in the vicinity of the nuclear membrane; during later rounds of replication the nascent virus DNA was located centrally within the nucleus. The degree of association of virus DNA synthesized at early and late phases with the nuclear matrix fractions also differed; a larger proportion of late than of early nascent virus DNA was associated with this fraction. While nascent cellular DNA only was associated in significant amounts with the nuclear matrix fraction, a large part (up to 40%) of all the virus DNA remained associated with this fraction. However, no retention of specific virus proteins in this fraction was observed. Except for two virus proteins, which were preferentially extracted from the nuclear matrix, approximately 20% of all virus proteins remained in the nuclear matrix fraction. The large proportion of virus DNA associated with the nuclear fraction indicated that virus DNA may be intimately associated with some proteins

Taylor’s Scientific Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios Koumparoulis

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Frederick Taylor is known as the father of modern management. Taylor’s scientific management revolutionized industry and helped shape modern organization. Scientific management revolutionized industry because it explains how to increase production by working smarter, not harder. Taylor’s ideas were not limited to only serving the company’s bottom line but the increase in productivity benefited the workforce as well. The principles of scientific management became a machine of universal efficiency since there was a widespread use of scientific management worldwide and beyond the scope of the workplace. Taylor’s theories on using science and statistical fact have become a guideline that many have followed to great success.

Distinguishing stress fractures from pathologic fractures: a multimodality approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fayad, Laura M.; Kamel, Ihab R.; Kawamoto, Satomi; Bluemke, David A.; Fishman, Elliot K.; Frassica, Frank J.

2005-01-01

Whereas stress fractures occur in normal or metabolically weakened bones, pathologic fractures occur at the site of a bone tumor. Unfortunately, stress fractures may share imaging features with pathologic fractures on plain radiography, and therefore other modalities are commonly utilized to distinguish these entities. Additional cross-sectional imaging with CT or MRI as well as scintigraphy and PET scanning is often performed for further evaluation. For the detailed assessment of a fracture site, CT offers a high-resolution view of the bone cortex and periosteum which aids the diagnosis of a pathologic fracture. The character of underlying bone marrow patterns of destruction can also be ascertained along with evidence of a soft tissue mass. MRI, however, is a more sensitive technique for the detection of underlying bone marrow lesions at a fracture site. In addition, the surrounding soft tissues, including possible involvement of adjacent muscle, can be well evaluated with MRI. While bone scintigraphy and FDG-PET are not specific, they offer a whole-body screen for metastases in the case of a suspected malignant pathologic fracture. In this review, we present select examples of fractures that underscore imaging features that help distinguish stress fractures from pathologic fractures, since accurate differentiation of these entities is paramount. (orig.)

Mapping the research on scientific collaboration

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

HOU Jianhua; CHEN Chaomei; YAN Jianxin

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper was to identify the trends and hot topics in the study of scientific collaboration via scientometric analysis.Information visualization and knowledge domain visualization techniques were adopted to determine how the study of scientific collaboration has evolved.A total of 1,455 articles on scientific cooperation published between 1993 and 2007 were retrieved from the SCI,SSCI and A&HCI databases with a topic search of scientific collaboration or scientific cooperation for the analysis.By using CiteSpace,the knowledge bases,research foci,and research fronts in the field of scientific collaboration were studied.The results indicated that research fronts and research foci are highly consistent in terms of the concept,origin,measurement,and theory of scientific collaboration.It also revealed that research fronts included scientific collaboration networks,international scientific collaboration,social network analysis and techniques,and applications of bibliometrical indicators,webmetrics,and health care related areas.

Compassion Fatigue: Exploring Early-Career Oncology Nurses' Experiences
.

Science.gov (United States)

Finley, Brooke A; Sheppard, Kate G

2017-06-01

Oncology nurses have a higher risk and rate of compassion fatigue (CF) compared to professionals in other specialties. CF exhibits tangible negative outcomes, affecting nurses' health and professional practice.
. Early-career oncology nurses' unique CF experiences lack thorough scientific exploration. This secondary analysis seeks to qualitatively augment this paucity and illuminate targeted interventions.
. Open-ended interviews were conducted with five early-career inpatient oncology nurses. Subsequent transcripts were explored for CF themes secondarily using thematic analysis.
. Themes indicate that early-career oncology nurses enjoy connecting with patients and families, but over-relating, long patient stays, and high patient mortality rates trigger CF. Symptoms include internalizing patients' and families' pains and fears, being haunted by specific patient deaths, feeling emotionally depleted, assuming that all patients will die, and experiencing burnout, physical exhaustion, and hypervigilance protecting loved ones.

Demystifying Scientific Data ­ Using Earth Science to Teach the Scientific Method

Science.gov (United States)

Nassiff, P. J.; Santos, E. A.; Erickson, P. J.; Niell, A. E.

2006-12-01

The collection of large quantities of data and their subsequent analyses are important components of any scientific process, particularly at research institutes such as MIT's Haystack Observatory, where the collection and analyses of data is crucial to research efforts. Likewise, a recent study on science education concluded that students should be introduced to analyzing evidence and hypotheses, to critical thinking - including appropriate skepticism, to quantitative reasoning and the ability to make reasonable estimates, and to the role of uncertainty and error in science. In order to achieve this goal with grades 9-12 students and their instructors, we developed lesson plans and activities based on atmospheric science and geodetic research at Haystack Observatory. From the complex steps of experimental design, measurement, and data analysis, students and teachers will gain insight into the scientific research processes as they exist today. The use of these space weather and geodesy activities in classrooms will be discussed. Space Weather: After decades of data collection with multiple variables, space weather is about as complex an area of investigation as possible. Far from the passive relationship between the Sun and Earth often taught in the early grades, or the beautiful auroras discussed in high school, there are complex and powerful interactions between the Sun and Earth. In spite of these complexities, high school students can learn about space weather and the repercussions on our communication and power technologies. Starting from lessons on the basic method of observing space weather with incoherent scatter radar, and progressing to the use of simplified data sets, students will discover how space weather affects Earth over solar cycles and how severe solar activity is measured and affects the Earth over shorter time spans. They will see that even from complex, seemingly ambiguous data with many variables and unknowns, scientists can gain valuable

Autonomy vs. dependency of scientific collaboration in scientific performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chinchilla-Rodriguez, Z.; Miguel, S.; Perianes-Rodriguez, A.; Ovalle-Perandones, M.A.; Olmeda-Gomez, C.

2016-07-01

This article explores the capacity of Latin America in the generation of scientific knowledge and its visibility at the global level. The novelty of the contribution lies in the decomposition of leadership, plus its combination with the results of performance indicators. We compare the normalized citation of all output against the leading output, as well as scientific excellence (Chinchilla, et al. 2016a; 2016b), technological impact and the trends in collaboration types and normalized citation. The main goal is to determine to what extent the main Latin American producers of scientific output depend on collaboration to heighten research performance in terms of citation; or to the contrary, whether there is enough autonomy and capacity to leverage its competitiveness through the design of research and development agendas. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study adopting this approach at the country level within the field of N&N. (Author)

Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Rabbani

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The main characteristic (feature of the sociology of knowledge and science is its emphasis on the culture and cultural analysis within the scientific and technological research. This study concerns with the study of two research fields in which new sociologists of science and technology have presented their cultural analysis. These two fields include: sociology of scientific knowledge and cultural studies of science.Sociology of scientific knowledge is the first school of thought which makes the content of scientific knowledge inclined to and compliant with the cultural and sociological analysis. In SSK, the main presupposition is that “the scientific knowledge is totally arbitrary.” Accordingly, the design and evaluation of scientific theories and claims are the consequence of social interests and cultural inclinations (trends, in a way that the scientific theories become a tool for the justification, legitimating, encouragement and contentment.At the early 1990s, with the rise of crisis (chaos within the explanations of sociology of scientific knowledge and a flood of criticism against it, the whole subjectivity of the field came to a standstill (reached an impasse and the initiatives in scientific research were replaced by different theoretical orientations like cultural studies. In contrast to the sociology of scientific knowledge, the cultural studies of science concerns with the rejection of “explanation” and, instead, focuses on the “meaning” and “understanding”. In other words, it has come back to an old dispute between explanatory and hermeneutic approaches and those  which pursue the regulative (legalistic comprehensiveness along the more positivistic lines.This emerging field emphasizes the issue that the uncertainty, instability, ambiguity (vagueness and difference must be given a more important role in sciences. Cultural studies of science gave rise to a change from the sociology of scientific knowledge to a new

Scientific habits of mind: A reform of structure and relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Mooney, Linda Beth

This research was designed to broaden current elementary science reform efforts by including the voices of our young scientists. Ten high school students who were defined as possessing both coherent science knowledge and scientific habits of mind were selected for the study. Through a three-part series of in-depth, phenomenological interviews, these students revealed early childhood experiences from birth through age ten to which they attributed their development of science knowledge and scientific habits of mind. Educational connoisseurship and criticism provided the framework through which the experiences were analyzed. The research revealed the overwhelming role of scientific habits of mind in the current success of these young scientists. Scientific habits of mind were developed through the structures and relationships in the home. Parents of the participants provided a non-authoritarian, fun, playful, tolerant atmosphere in which messes and experimentation were the norm. Large blocks of uninterrupted, unstructured time and space that "belonged" to the child allowed these children to follow where curiosity led. Frequently, the parent modeled scientific habits of mind. Good discipline in the minds of these families had nothing to do with punishments, rewards, or rules. The parents gave the children responsibilities, "free rein," and their trust, and the children blossomed in that trust and mutual respect. Parents recognized and supported the uniqueness, autonomy, interests, and emotions of the child. Above all, the young scientists valued the time, freedom, patience, and emotional support provided by their parents. For girls, construction toys, hot wheels, sand boxes, and outdoor experiences were particularly important. Art classes, free access to art media, sewing, music, and physical activity facilitated observational skills and spatial relationship development. The girls knew that doing traditionally masculine and feminine activities were acceptable and

Making Sense of Scientific Biographies: Scientific Achievement, Nature of Science, and Storylines in College Students' Essays

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Seyoung

2015-01-01

In this article, the educative value of scientific biographies will be explored, especially for non-science major college students. During the "Scientist's life and thought" course, 66 college students read nine scientific biographies including five biologists, covering the canonical scientific achievements in Western scientific history.…

An Early Miocene bumble bee from northern Bohemia (Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Prokop

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A new species of fossil bumble bee (Apinae: Bombini is described and figured from Early Miocene (Burdigalian deposits of the Most Basin at the Bílina Mine, Czech Republic. Bombus trophonius sp. n., is placed within the subgenus Cullumanobombus Vogt and distinguished from the several species groups therein. The species is apparently most similar to the Nearctic B. (Cullumanobombus rufocinctus Cresson, the earliest-diverging species within the clade and the two may be related only by symplesiomorphies. The age of the fossil is in rough accordance with divergence estimations for Cullumanobombus.

Landau - Great scientist and teacher

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1968-01-01

In 1962 a feeling of deep sadness was experienced by the whole scientific world when it was learned that L.D. Landau, one of the most distinguished physicists and teachers of the USSR, has been seriously injured in a road accident. All the resources of his own country and ready assistance from many others combined to save his life, but early this year the long fight to recover his faculties ended with his death. (author)

Criminologyof the future: interdisciplinary scientific connections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonyan Yu.M.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The results of interdisciplinary scientific connections of the modern criminology conditional on the open character of this science and the necessity of its further development are given. The narrow-purpose character of criminological researches is noted: trivial subject matter; the criminologists’ lack of psychological, psychiatric, economical, historical, biological, ethnological and other knowledge; insufficiency of complex interdisciplinary works and empirical studies. Different viewpoints on the type of criminologists’ education are analyzed. That emphasizes the necessity of cooperation between criminology and other sciences, such as: sociology, demography, culturology, psychology, economics, pedagogics, psychiatry, ethnology, history, biology, political science, philosophy and others. The phenomenon of criminology is argued: it studies a “bad”, criminal, immoral person unlike other sciences (it belongs to the number of sciences which object is person. The main parameter of criminology as a science is examined – its subject which allows to distinguish it from other legal disciplines especially from criminal law. New aspects of interconnection between criminology and criminal procedure, criminalistics, the theory of investigation activity and criminal executive law are shown. The stable connections with family law, banking law, financial law and administrative law are considered. The author emphasizes the significant potential of developing criminology in its connection with nonlegal sciences: sociology, psychiatry, economics, statistics, psychology (including criminal psychology, biology and philosophy. It is noted that prospects and progress of criminology are possible only in its cooperation with other sciences.

TAYLOR’S SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

Dimitrios N. KOUMPAROULIS; Dionysios K. SOLOMOS

2012-01-01

Frederick Taylor is known as the father of modern management. Taylor’s scientific management revolutionized industry and helped shape the modern organization. Scientific management revolutionized industry because it explains how to increase production by working smarter, not harder. Taylor’s ideas were not limited to only serving the company’s bottom line but from the increase in productivity benefited the workforce as well. The principles of scientific management have become a machine of uni...

Distinguishing the rates of gene activation from phenotypic variations

OpenAIRE

Chen, Ye; Lv, Cheng; Li, Fangting; Li, Tiejun

2015-01-01

Background Stochastic genetic switching driven by intrinsic noise is an important process in gene expression. When the rates of gene activation/inactivation are relatively slow, fast, or medium compared with the synthesis/degradation rates of mRNAs and proteins, the variability of protein and mRNA levels may exhibit very different dynamical patterns. It is desirable to provide a systematic approach to identify their key dynamical features in different regimes, aiming at distinguishing which r...

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

OpenAIRE

Joshua D. Campbell; Christina Yau; Reanne Bowlby; Yuexin Liu; Kevin Brennan; Huihui Fan; Alison M. Taylor; Chen Wang; Vonn Walter; Rehan Akbani; Lauren Averett Byers; Chad J. Creighton; Cristian Coarfa; Juliann Shih; Andrew D. Cherniack

2018-01-01

Summary: This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smoking and/or human papillomavirus (HPV). SCCs harbor 3q, 5p, and other recurrent chromosomal copy-number alterations (CNAs), DNA mutations, and/or aberrant methylation of genes and microRNAs, which are correlated with the expression of multi-gene programs linked to squamous cell stemness, epithelial-to-mes...

The Scientific Method and Scientific Inquiry: Tensions in Teaching and Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Xiaowei; Coffey, Janet E.; Elby, Andy; Levin, Daniel M.

2010-01-01

Typically, the scientific method in science classrooms takes the form of discrete, ordered steps meant to guide students' inquiry. In this paper, we examine how focusing on the scientific method as discrete steps affects students' inquiry and teachers' perceptions thereof. To do so, we study a ninth-grade environmental science class in which…

Scientific Notation Watercolor

Science.gov (United States)

Linford, Kyle; Oltman, Kathleen; Daisey, Peggy

2016-01-01

(Purpose) The purpose of this paper is to describe visual literacy, an adapted version of Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS), and an art-integrated middle school mathematics lesson about scientific notation. The intent of this lesson was to provide students with a real life use of scientific notation and exponents, and to motivate them to apply their…

Plagiarism in scientific publishing.

Science.gov (United States)

Masic, Izet

2012-12-01

Scientific publishing is the ultimate product of scientist work. Number of publications and their quoting are measures of scientist success while unpublished researches are invisible to the scientific community, and as such nonexistent. Researchers in their work rely on their predecessors, while the extent of use of one scientist work, as a source for the work of other authors is the verification of its contributions to the growth of human knowledge. If the author has published an article in a scientific journal it cannot publish the article in any other journal h with a few minor adjustments or without quoting parts of the first article, which are used in another article. Copyright infringement occurs when the author of a new article with or without the mentioning the author used substantial portions of previously published articles, including tables and figures. Scientific institutions and universities should,in accordance with the principles of Good Scientific Practice (GSP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) have a center for monitoring,security, promotion and development of quality research. Establish rules and compliance to rules of good scientific practice are the obligations of each research institutions,universities and every individual-researchers,regardless of which area of science is investigated. In this way, internal quality control ensures that a research institution such as a university, assume responsibility for creating an environment that promotes standards of excellence, intellectual honesty and legality. Although the truth should be the aim of scientific research, it is not guiding fact for all scientists. The best way to reach the truth in its study and to avoid the methodological and ethical mistakes is to consistently apply scientific methods and ethical standards in research. Although variously defined plagiarism is basically intended to deceive the reader's own scientific contribution. There is no general regulation of control of

Anthropological film: a scientific and humanistic resource.

Science.gov (United States)

Soren, E R

1974-12-20

More than a scientific endeavor but not strictly one of the humanities either, anthropology stands between these basic kinds of intellectual pursuit, bridging and contributing to both. Not limited to natural history, anthropology touches art, historical process, and human values, drawing from the materials and approaches of both science and humanities. This professional interest in a broad understanding of the human condition has led anthropologists to adapt and use modern cameras and films to inquire further into the variety of ways of life of mankind and to develop method and theory to prepare anthropological film as a permanent scientific and humanistic resource. Until quite recently the evolution of human culture and organization has diverged in the hitherto isolated regions of the world. Now this divergence has virtually ceased; we are witnessing an unprecedented period in human history-one where cultural divergence has turned to cultural convergence and where the varieties of independently evolved expressions of basic human potential are giving way to a single system of modern communications, transport, commerce, and manufacturing technology. Before the varieties of ways of life of the world disappear, they can be preserved in facsimile in anthropological films. As primary, undifferentiated visual information, these films facilitate that early step in the creation of new knowledge which is sometimes called humanistic and without which scientific application lies dormant, lacking an idea to test. In keeping with the two scholarly faces of anthropology, humanistic and scientific, anthropological films may provide material permitting both humanistic insight and the more controlled formulations of science. The lightweight filming equipment recently developed has been adapted by anthropologists as a tool of scholarly visual inquiry; methods of retrieving visual data from changing and vanishing ways of life have been developed; and new ways to reveal human beings

Large-scale Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Potential Biomarkers for Early Stage Coronary Atherosclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xueqin; Ke, Chaofu; Liu, Haixia; Liu, Wei; Li, Kang; Yu, Bo; Sun, Meng

2017-09-18

Coronary atherosclerosis (CAS) is the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease, which is a prevalent and chronic life-threatening disease. Initially, this disease is not always detected until a patient presents with seriously vascular occlusion. Therefore, new biomarkers for appropriate and timely diagnosis of early CAS is needed for screening to initiate therapy on time. In this study, we used an untargeted metabolomics approach to identify potential biomarkers that could enable highly sensitive and specific CAS detection. Score plots from partial least-squares discriminant analysis clearly separated early-stage CAS patients from controls. Meanwhile, the levels of 24 metabolites increased greatly and those of 18 metabolites decreased markedly in early CAS patients compared with the controls, which suggested significant metabolic dysfunction in phospholipid, sphingolipid, and fatty acid metabolism in the patients. Furthermore, binary logistic regression showed that nine metabolites could be used as a combinatorial biomarker to distinguish early-stage CAS patients from controls. The panel of nine metabolites was then tested with an independent cohort of samples, which also yielded satisfactory diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.890). In conclusion, our findings provide insight into the pathological mechanism of early-stage CAS and also supply a combinatorial biomarker to aid clinical diagnosis of early-stage CAS.

Leslie S. Greenberg: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research

Science.gov (United States)

American Psychologist, 2012

2012-01-01

Presents a short biography of the 2012 winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research. Leslie S. Greenberg is an exemplary scientist-practitioner whose pioneering work has significantly altered the landscape of the field of psychotherapy research and practice. His seminal…

Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research: Luciano L'Abate

Science.gov (United States)

American Psychologist, 2009

2009-01-01

Luciano L'Abate, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research, contributed to applied research through the introduction of the laboratory method in clinical psychology assessment and intervention, leading to the development of the first automated playroom, linking play therapy with research in child…

I Like, I Cite? Do Facebook Likes Predict the Impact of Scientific Work?

Science.gov (United States)

Ringelhan, Stefanie; Wollersheim, Jutta; Welpe, Isabell M.

2015-01-01

Due to the increasing amount of scientific work and the typical delays in publication, promptly assessing the impact of scholarly work is a huge challenge. To meet this challenge, one solution may be to create and discover innovative indicators. The goal of this paper is to investigate whether Facebook likes for unpublished manuscripts that are uploaded to the Internet could be used as an early indicator of the future impact of the scientific work. To address our research question, we compared Facebook likes for manuscripts uploaded to the Harvard Business School website (Study 1) and the bioRxiv website (Study 2) with traditional impact indicators (journal article citations, Impact Factor, Immediacy Index) for those manuscripts that have been published as a journal article. Although based on our full sample of Study 1 (N = 170), Facebook likes do not predict traditional impact indicators, for manuscripts with one or more Facebook likes (n = 95), our results indicate that the more Facebook likes a manuscript receives, the more journal article citations the manuscript receives. In additional analyses (for which we categorized the manuscripts as psychological and non-psychological manuscripts), we found that the significant prediction of citations stems from the psychological and not the non-psychological manuscripts. In Study 2, we observed that Facebook likes (N = 270) and non-zero Facebook likes (n = 84) do not predict traditional impact indicators. Taken together, our findings indicate an interdisciplinary difference in the predictive value of Facebook likes, according to which Facebook likes only predict citations in the psychological area but not in the non-psychological area of business or in the field of life sciences. Our paper contributes to understanding the possibilities and limits of the use of social media indicators as potential early indicators of the impact of scientific work. PMID:26244779

I Like, I Cite? Do Facebook Likes Predict the Impact of Scientific Work?

Science.gov (United States)

Ringelhan, Stefanie; Wollersheim, Jutta; Welpe, Isabell M

2015-01-01

Due to the increasing amount of scientific work and the typical delays in publication, promptly assessing the impact of scholarly work is a huge challenge. To meet this challenge, one solution may be to create and discover innovative indicators. The goal of this paper is to investigate whether Facebook likes for unpublished manuscripts that are uploaded to the Internet could be used as an early indicator of the future impact of the scientific work. To address our research question, we compared Facebook likes for manuscripts uploaded to the Harvard Business School website (Study 1) and the bioRxiv website (Study 2) with traditional impact indicators (journal article citations, Impact Factor, Immediacy Index) for those manuscripts that have been published as a journal article. Although based on our full sample of Study 1 (N = 170), Facebook likes do not predict traditional impact indicators, for manuscripts with one or more Facebook likes (n = 95), our results indicate that the more Facebook likes a manuscript receives, the more journal article citations the manuscript receives. In additional analyses (for which we categorized the manuscripts as psychological and non-psychological manuscripts), we found that the significant prediction of citations stems from the psychological and not the non-psychological manuscripts. In Study 2, we observed that Facebook likes (N = 270) and non-zero Facebook likes (n = 84) do not predict traditional impact indicators. Taken together, our findings indicate an interdisciplinary difference in the predictive value of Facebook likes, according to which Facebook likes only predict citations in the psychological area but not in the non-psychological area of business or in the field of life sciences. Our paper contributes to understanding the possibilities and limits of the use of social media indicators as potential early indicators of the impact of scientific work.

Simulated multipolarized MAPSAR images to distinguish agricultural crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wagner Fernando Silva

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Many researchers have shown the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images for agricultural applications, particularly for monitoring regions with limitations in terms of acquiring cloud free optical images. Recently, Brazil and Germany began a feasibility study on the construction of an orbital L-band SAR sensor referred to as MAPSAR (Multi-Application Purpose SAR. This sensor provides L-band images in three spatial resolutions and polarimetric, interferometric and stereoscopic capabilities. Thus, studies are needed to evaluate the potential of future MAPSAR images. The objective of this study was to evaluate multipolarized MAPSAR images simulated by the airborne SAR-R99B sensor to distinguish coffee, cotton and pasture fields in Brazil. Discrimination among crops was evaluated through graphical and cluster analysis of mean backscatter values, considering single, dual and triple polarizations. Planting row direction of coffee influenced the backscatter and was divided into two classes: parallel and perpendicular to the sensor look direction. Single polarizations had poor ability to discriminate the crops. The overall accuracies were less than 59 %, but the understanding of the microwave interaction with the crops could be explored. Combinations of two polarizations could differentiate various fields of crops, highlighting the combination VV-HV that reached 78 % overall accuracy. The use of three polarizations resulted in 85.4 % overall accuracy, indicating that the classes pasture and parallel coffee were fully discriminated from the other classes. These results confirmed the potential of multipolarized MAPSAR images to distinguish the studied crops and showed considerable improvement in the accuracy of the results when the number of polarizations was increased.

The (Surplus) Value of Scientific Communication

OpenAIRE

Fröhlich, Gerhard

1996-01-01

In research on scientific communication there are above all theory-less and formal/natural scientific models of scientific communication. These are juxtaposed to social-scientific, power-sensitive models (Elias, Bourdieu, Merton). The (surplus) value of scientific communication can be variously understood: either as inherent surplus values in the sense of potential effects of stimulation, synergy, critique, quality control; or as symbolic surplus value in the sense of symbolic capital (Bourdi...

Should scientific realists be platonists?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Busch, Jacob; Morrison, Joe

2015-01-01

an appropriate use of the resources of Scientific Realism (in particular, IBE) to achieve platonism? (§2) We argue that just because a variety of different inferential strategies can be employed by Scientific Realists does not mean that ontological conclusions concerning which things we should be Scientific...

Zilsel's Thesis, Maritime Culture, and Iberian Science in Early Modern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Leitão, Henrique; Sánchez, Antonio

2017-01-01

Zilsel's thesis on the artisanal origins of modern science remains one of the most original proposals about the emergence of scientific modernity. We propose to inspect the scientific developments in Iberia in the early modern period using Zilsel's ideas as a guideline. Our purpose is to show that his ideas illuminate the situation in Iberia but also that the Iberian case is a remarkable illustration of Zilsel's thesis. Furthermore, we argue that Zilsel's thesis is essentially a sociological explanation that cannot be applied to isolated cases; its use implies global events that involve extended societies over large periods of time.

[Scientific journalism and epidemiological risk].

Science.gov (United States)

Luiz, Olinda do Carmo

2007-01-01

The importance of the communications media in the construction of symbols has been widely acknowledged. Many of the articles on health published in the daily newspapers mention medical studies, sourced from scientific publications focusing on new risks. The disclosure of risk studies in the mass media is also a topic for editorials and articles in scientific journals, focusing the problem of distortions and the appearance of contradictory news items. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning and content of disclosing scientific risk studies in large-circulation daily newspapers, analyzing news items published in Brazil and the scientific publications used as their sources during 2000. The "risk" is presented in the scientific research projects as a "black box" in the meaning of Latour, with the news items downplaying scientific disputes and underscoring associations between behavioral habits and the occurrence of diseases, emphasizing individual aspects of the epidemiological approach, to the detriment of the group.

PLAGIARISM IN SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING

Science.gov (United States)

Masic, Izet

2012-01-01

Scientific publishing is the ultimate product of scientist work. Number of publications and their quoting are measures of scientist success while unpublished researches are invisible to the scientific community, and as such nonexistent. Researchers in their work rely on their predecessors, while the extent of use of one scientist work, as a source for the work of other authors is the verification of its contributions to the growth of human knowledge. If the author has published an article in a scientific journal it cannot publish the article in any other journal h with a few minor adjustments or without quoting parts of the first article, which are used in another article. Copyright infringement occurs when the author of a new article with or without the mentioning the author used substantial portions of previously published articles, including tables and figures. Scientific institutions and universities should,in accordance with the principles of Good Scientific Practice (GSP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) have a center for monitoring,security, promotion and development of quality research. Establish rules and compliance to rules of good scientific practice are the obligations of each research institutions,universities and every individual-researchers,regardless of which area of science is investigated. In this way, internal quality control ensures that a research institution such as a university, assume responsibility for creating an environment that promotes standards of excellence, intellectual honesty and legality. Although the truth should be the aim of scientific research, it is not guiding fact for all scientists. The best way to reach the truth in its study and to avoid the methodological and ethical mistakes is to consistently apply scientific methods and ethical standards in research. Although variously defined plagiarism is basically intended to deceive the reader’s own scientific contribution. There is no general regulation of control of

Chinese paleontology and the reception of Darwinism in early twentieth century.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiaobo

2017-12-01

The paper examines the social, cultural and disciplinary factors that influenced the reception and appropriation of Darwinism by China's first generation paleontologists. Darwinism was mixed with Social Darwinism when first introduced to China, and the co-option of Darwinian phrases for nationalistic awakening obscured the scientific essence of Darwin's evolutionary theory. First generation Chinese paleontologists started their training in 1910s-1920s. They quickly asserted their professional identity by successfully focusing on morphology, taxonomy and biostratigraphy. Surrounded by Western paleontologists with Lamarckian or orthogenetic leanings, early Chinese paleontologists enthusiastically embraced evolution and used fossils as factual evidence; yet not enough attention was given to mechanistic evolutionary studies. The 1940s saw the beginning of a new trend for early Chinese paleontologists to incorporate more biological and biogeographical components in their work, but external events such as the dominance of Lysenkoism in the 1950s made the Modern Synthesis pass by without being publicly noticed in Chinese paleontology. Characterized by the larger goal of using science for nation building and by the utilitarian approach favoring local sciences, the reception and appropriation of Darwinism by first generation Chinese paleontologists raise important questions for studying the indigenizing efforts of early Chinese scientists to appropriate Western scientific theories. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distinguishing Bark Beetle-infested Vegetation by Tree Species Types and Stress Levels using Landsat Data

Science.gov (United States)

Sivanpillai, R.; Ewers, B. E.; Speckman, H. N.; Miller, S. N.

2015-12-01

In the Western United States, more than 3 million hectares of lodgepole pine forests have been impacted by the Mountain pine beetle outbreak, while another 166,000 hectares of spruce-fir forests have been attacked by Spruce beetle. Following the beetle attack, the trees lose their hydraulic conductivity thus altering their carbon and water fluxes. These trees go through various stages of stress until mortality, described by color changes in their needles prior to losing them. Modeling the impact of these vegetation types require thematically precise land cover data that distinguishes lodgepole pine and spruce-fir forests along with the stage of impact since the ecosystem fluxes are different for these two systems. However, the national and regional-scale land cover datasets derived from remotely sensed data do not have this required thematic precision. We evaluated the feasibility of multispectral data collected by Landsat 8 to distinguish lodgepole pine and spruce fir, and subsequently model the different stages of attack using field data collected in Medicine Bow National Forest (Wyoming, USA). Operational Land Imager, onboard Landsat 8 has more spectral bands and higher radiometric resolution (12 bit) in comparison to sensors onboard earlier Landsat missions which could improve the ability to distinguish these vegetation types and their stress conditions. In addition to these characteristics, its repeat coverage, rigorous radiometric calibration, wide swath width, and no-cost data provide unique advantages to Landsat data for mapping large geographic areas. Initial results from this study highlight the importance of SWIR bands for distinguishing different levels of stress, and the need for ancillary data for distinguishing species types. Insights gained from this study could lead to the generation of land cover maps with higher thematic precision, and improve the ability to model various ecosystem processes as a result of these infestations.

Distinguishing between SU(5) and flipped SU(5)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dorsner, Ilja [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste (Italy); Fileviez Perez, Pavel [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste (Italy) and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Facultad de Fisica, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)]. E-mail: fileviez@higgs.fis.puc.cl

2005-01-13

We study in detail the d=6 operators for proton decay in the two possible matter unification scenarios based on SU(5) gauge symmetry. We investigate the way to distinguish between these two scenarios. The dependence of the branching ratios for the two body decays on the fermion mixing is presented in both cases. We point out the possibility to make a clear test of flipped SU(5) through the decay channel p->{pi}{sup +}{nu}-bar , and the ratio {tau}(p->K{sup 0}e{sub {alpha}}{sup +})/{tau}(p->{pi}{sup 0}e{sub {alpha}}{sup +})

50 CFR 35.11 - Scientific uses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT General Rules § 35.11 Scientific uses. Recognizing the scientific value of wilderness, research data gathering and similar scientific... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Scientific uses. 35.11 Section 35.11...

Transactions of the Zimbabwe Scientific Association

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Zimbabwe Scientific Association was founded in Bulawayo in 1899 (called the Rhodesia Scientific Assocation at the time) to promote the study and advancement of science in Zimbabwe and to facilitate the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Its journal, Transactions of the Zimbabwe Scientific ...

The Representation of Color across the Human Visual Cortex: Distinguishing Chromatic Signals Contributing to Object Form Versus Surface Color.

Science.gov (United States)

Seymour, K J; Williams, M A; Rich, A N

2016-05-01

Many theories of visual object perception assume the visual system initially extracts borders between objects and their background and then "fills in" color to the resulting object surfaces. We investigated the transformation of chromatic signals across the human ventral visual stream, with particular interest in distinguishing representations of object surface color from representations of chromatic signals reflecting the retinal input. We used fMRI to measure brain activity while participants viewed figure-ground stimuli that differed either in the position or in the color contrast polarity of the foreground object (the figure). Multivariate pattern analysis revealed that classifiers were able to decode information about which color was presented at a particular retinal location from early visual areas, whereas regions further along the ventral stream exhibited biases for representing color as part of an object's surface, irrespective of its position on the retina. Additional analyses showed that although activity in V2 contained strong chromatic contrast information to support the early parsing of objects within a visual scene, activity in this area also signaled information about object surface color. These findings are consistent with the view that mechanisms underlying scene segmentation and the binding of color to object surfaces converge in V2. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Quantifying the Ease of Scientific Discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbesman, Samuel

2011-02-01

It has long been known that scientific output proceeds on an exponential increase, or more properly, a logistic growth curve. The interplay between effort and discovery is clear, and the nature of the functional form has been thought to be due to many changes in the scientific process over time. Here I show a quantitative method for examining the ease of scientific progress, another necessary component in understanding scientific discovery. Using examples from three different scientific disciplines - mammalian species, chemical elements, and minor planets - I find the ease of discovery to conform to an exponential decay. In addition, I show how the pace of scientific discovery can be best understood as the outcome of both scientific output and ease of discovery. A quantitative study of the ease of scientific discovery in the aggregate, such as done here, has the potential to provide a great deal of insight into both the nature of future discoveries and the technical processes behind discoveries in science.

Promoting Science Learning and Scientific Identification through Contemporary Scientific Investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Van Horne, Katie

This dissertation investigates the implementation issues and the educational opportunities associated with "taking the practice turn" in science education. This pedagogical shift focuses instructional experiences on engaging students in the epistemic practices of science both to learn the core ideas of the disciplines, as well as to gain an understanding of and personal connection to the scientific enterprise. In Chapter 2, I examine the teacher-researcher co-design collaboration that supported the classroom implementation of a year-long, project-based biology curriculum that was under development. This study explores the dilemmas that arose when teachers implemented a new intervention and how the dilemmas arose and were managed throughout the collaboration of researchers and teachers and between the teachers. In the design-based research of Chapter 3, I demonstrate how students' engagement in epistemic practices in contemporary science investigations supported their conceptual development about genetics. The analysis shows how this involved a complex interaction between the scientific, school and community practices in students' lives and how through varied participation in the practices students come to write about and recognize how contemporary investigations can give them leverage for science-based action outside of the school setting. Finally, Chapter 4 explores the characteristics of learning environments for supporting the development of scientific practice-linked identities. Specific features of the learning environment---access to the intellectual work of the domain, authentic roles and accountability, space to make meaningful contributions in relation to personal interests, and practice-linked identity resources that arose from interactions in the learning setting---supported learners in stabilizing practice-linked science identities through their engagement in contemporary scientific practices. This set of studies shows that providing students with the

Portable microfluidic raman system for rapid, label-free early disease signature detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Meiye [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Davis, Ryan Wesley [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Hatch, Anson [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-09-01

In the early stages of infection, patients develop non-specific or no symptoms at all. While waiting for identification of the infectious agent, precious window of opportunity for early intervention is lost. The standard diagnostics require affinity reagents and sufficient pathogen titers to reach the limit of detection. In the event of a disease outbreak, triaging the at-risk population rapidly and reliably for quarantine and countermeasure is more important than the identification of the pathogen by name. To expand Sandia's portfolio of Biological threat management capabilities, we will utilize Raman spectrometry to analyze immune subsets in whole blood to rapidly distinguish infected from non-infected, and bacterial from viral infection, for the purpose of triage during an emergency outbreak. The goal of this one year LDRD is to determine whether Raman spectroscopy can provide label-free detection of early disease signatures, and define a miniaturized Raman detection system meeting requirements for low- resource settings.

Joseph Rotblat: influences, scientific achievements and legacy

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, Martin

2008-11-01

Joseph Rotblat was one of the most distinguished nuclear physicists and peace campaigners of the post Second World War period. His peace activities rank alongside those of Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell; he won the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with the Pugwash movement, that he helped found. However, he made significant contributions to science, and in particular to the medical applications of accelerators, radiation and radio-nuclides. In this article his early work and influences in Poland are described. He then joined James Chadwick at Liverpool University and began work on the cyclotron recently constructed there. Rotblat then, together with Chadwick, joined the Manhattan Project. This experience was to shape his life. He stayed at Los Alamos for less than a year before walking out. He was suspected of being a spy. Rotblat then became Professor of Physics at St Bartholomew's Medical College and pioneered the use of a 15 MeV linear accelerator in treatment and research. He made fundamental contributions to understanding the effects of the fallout from nuclear bomb tests. He also, together with Patricia Lindop, made important contributions to understanding the biological effects of radiation.

Multidisciplinary approach of early breast cancer: The biology applied to radiation oncology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourgier, Céline; Ozsahin, Mahmut; Azria, David

2010-01-01

Early breast cancer treatment is based on a multimodality approach with the application of clinical and histological prognostic factors to determine locoregional and systemic treatments. The entire scientific community is strongly involved in the management of this disease: radiologists for screening and early diagnosis, gynecologists, surgical oncologists and radiation oncologists for locoregional treatment, pathologists and biologists for personalized characterization, genetic counselors for BRCA mutation history and medical oncologists for systemic therapies. Recently, new biological tools have established various prognostic subsets of breast cancer and developed predictive markers for miscellaneous treatments. The aim of this article is to highlight the contribution of biological tools in the locoregional management of early breast cancer

50 CFR 600.512 - Scientific research.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Scientific research. 600.512 Section 600... research. (a) Scientific research activity. Persons planning to conduct scientific research activities on board a scientific research vessel in the EEZ that may be confused with fishing are encouraged to submit...

Topical Collection: Climate-change research by early-career hydrogeologists

Science.gov (United States)

Re, Viviana; Maldaner, Carlos H.; Gurdak, Jason J.; Leblanc, Marc; Resende, Tales Carvalho; Stigter, Tibor Y.

2018-05-01

Scientific outreach, international networking, collaboration and adequate courses are needed in both developed and developing countries to enable early-career hydrogeologists to promote long-term multidisciplinary approaches to cope with climate-change issues and emphasize the importance of groundwater in a global strategy for adaptation. One such collaboration has involved the Early Career Hydrogeologists' Network of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (ECHN-IAH) and the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme's (IHP) Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Changes (GRAPHIC) project. This collaboration seeks to foster the education and involvement of the future generation of water leaders in the debate over groundwater and climate change.

Distinguishing Intensity Levels of Grassland Fertilization Using Vegetation Indices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens L. Hollberg

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Monitoring the reaction of grassland canopies on fertilizer application is of major importance to enable a well-adjusted management supporting a sustainable production of the grass crop. Up to date, grassland managers estimate the nutrient status and growth dynamics of grasslands by costly and time-consuming field surveys, which only provide low temporal and spatial data density. Grassland mapping using remotely-sensed Vegetation Indices (VIs has the potential to contribute to solving these problems. In this study, we explored the potential of VIs for distinguishing five differently-fertilized grassland communities. Therefore, we collected spectral signatures of these communities in a long-term fertilization experiment (since 1941 in Germany throughout the growing seasons 2012–2014. Fifteen VIs were calculated and their seasonal developments investigated. Welch tests revealed that the accuracy of VIs for distinguishing these grassland communities varies throughout the growing season. Thus, the selection of the most promising single VI for grassland mapping was dependent on the date of the spectra acquisition. A random forests classification using all calculated VIs reduced variations in classification accuracy within the growing season and provided a higher overall precision of classification. Thus, we recommend a careful selection of VIs for grassland mapping or the utilization of temporally-stable methods, i.e., including a set of VIs in the random forests algorithm.

APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-01

The APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology is awarded on an annual basis by the APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. A qualified candidate must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or have developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. The 2016 recipient of the APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology was selected by the 2015 Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the 2015 APAGS Scholarship and Awards Selection Committee. Members of the 2015 BPA were Patricia Arredondo, EdD; Helen L. Coons, PhD, ABPP; Vickie Mays, PhD, MSPH; Linda A. Reddy, PhD; Lois O. Condi, PhD; Antonette M. Zeiss, PhD; Timothy A. Cavell, PhD; Robert T. Kinscherff, PhD, JD; and Jared L. Skillings, PhD, ABPP. Members of the 2015 APAGS Scholarship and Awards Selection Committee were Emily Voelkel, PhD; Blaire Schembari; and Yolanda Perkins-Volk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Designing next-generation platforms for evaluating scientific output: What scientists can learn from the social web

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tal eYarkoni

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Traditional pre-publication peer review of scientific output is a slow, inefficient, and unreliable process. Efforts to replace or supplement traditional evaluation models with open evaluation platforms that leverage advances in information technology are slowly gaining traction, but remain in the early stages of design and implementation. Here I discuss a number of considerations relevant to the development of such platforms. I focus particular attention on three core elements that next-generation evaluation platforms should strive to emphasize, including (a open and transparent access to accumulated evaluation data, (b personalized and highly customizable performance metrics, and (c appropriate short-term incentivization of the userbase. Because all of these elements have already been successfully implemented on a large scale in hundreds of existing social web applications, I argue that development of new scientific evaluation platforms should proceed largely by adapting existing techniques rather than engineering entirely new evaluation mechanisms. Successful implementation of open evaluation platforms has the potential to substantially advance both the pace and the quality of scientific publication and evaluation, and the scientific community has a vested interest in shifting towards such models as soon as possible.

ON THE APPROACH TO SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS VISIBILITY MAXIMIZATION BY THE SCIENTIFIC SOCIAL NETWORKS USAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Semenets

2015-12-01

3 Research results. Data integration of the user profiles of the scientific social networksThe maximization of visibility and bibliometrics citation increasing of the scientific papers initiated by the given above approach is discussed. The detailed strategy of the user profiles bibliometrics data integration through the scientific social networks is proposed. The role and ways to receiving of the Altmetric rating indices are mentioned.

Lakatos' Scientific Research Programmes as a Framework for Analysing Informal Argumentation about Socio-Scientific Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shu-Nu; Chiu, Mei-Hung

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore how Lakatos' scientific research programmes might serve as a theoretical framework for representing and evaluating informal argumentation about socio-scientific issues. Seventy undergraduate science and non-science majors were asked to make written arguments about four socio-scientific issues. Our analysis…

Gene expression profiling distinguishes between spontaneous and radiation-induced rat mammary carcinomas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imaoka, Tatsuhiko; Nishimura, Mayumi; Kakinuma, Shizuko; Shimada, Yoshiya; Yamashita, Satoshi; Ushijima, Toshikazu

2008-01-01

The ability to distinguish between spontaneous and radiation-induced cancers in humans is expected to improve the resolution of estimated risk from low dose radiation. Mammary carcinomas were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats that were either untreated (n=45) or acutely γ-irradiated (1 Gy; n=20) at seven weeks of age. Gene expression profiles of three spontaneous and four radiation-induced carcinomas, as well as those of normal mammary glands, were analyzed by microarrays. Differential expression of identified genes of interest was then verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Cluster analysis of global gene expression suggested that spontaneous carcinomas were distinguished from a heterogeneous population of radiation-induced carcinomas, though most gene expressions were common. We identified 50 genes that had different expression levels between spontaneous and radiogenic carcinomas. We then selected 18 genes for confirmation of the microarray data by qPCR analysis and obtained the following results: high expression of Plg, Pgr and Wnt4 was characteristic to all spontaneous carcinomas; Tnfsf11, Fgf10, Agtr1a, S100A9 and Pou3f3 showed high expression in a subset of radiation-induced carcinomas; and increased Gp2, Areg and Igf2 expression, as well as decreased expression of Ca3 and noncoding RNA Mg1, were common to all carcinomas. Thus, gene expression analysis distinguished between spontaneous and radiogenic carcinomas, suggesting possible differences in their carcinogenic mechanism. (author)

Determination of a saliva cotinine cut-off to distinguish pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hegaard, Hanne K; Kjaergaard, Hanne; Møller, Lars F

2007-01-01

Objective validation of smoking status is necessary. Earlier studies have used saliva cotinine concentrations between 14.2 and 30 ng/ml as cut-off values to distinguish pregnant smokers from non-smokers. However, these cut-offs derive from studies including men and non-pregnant women....... This constitutes a problem, as recent studies have reported an accelerated metabolism in pregnant smokers. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum cut-off cotinine level distinguishing pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers....

LD Score regression distinguishes confounding from polygenicity in genome-wide association studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan K.; Loh, Po-Ru; Finucane, Hilary K.

2015-01-01

Both polygenicity (many small genetic effects) and confounding biases, such as cryptic relatedness and population stratification, can yield an inflated distribution of test statistics in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, current methods cannot distinguish between inflation from...

Designing Courses that Encourage Post-College Scientific Literacy in General Education Students

Science.gov (United States)

Horodyskyj, L.

2010-12-01

In a time when domestic and foreign policy is becoming increasingly dependent on a robust understanding of scientific concepts (especially in regards to climate science), it is of vital importance that non-specialist students taking geoscience courses gain an understanding not only of Earth system processes, but also of how to discern scientific information from "spin". An experimental introductory level environmental geology course was developed at the Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona, in the fall of 2010 that sought to integrate collaborative learning, online resources, and science in the media. The goal of this course was for students to end the semester with not just an understanding of basic Earth systems concepts, but also with a set of tools for evaluating information presented by the media. This was accomplished by integrating several online sites that interface scientific data with popular web tools (ie, Google Maps) and collaborative exercises that required students to generate ideas based on their observations followed by evaluation and refinement of these ideas through interactions with peers and the instructor. The capstone activity included a series of homework assignments that required students to make note of science-related news stories in the media early in the semester, and then gradually begin critically evaluating these news sources, which will become their primary source of post-college geoscience information. This combination of activities will benefit students long after the semester has ended by giving them access to primary sources of scientific information, encouraging them to discuss and evaluate their ideas with their peers, and, most importantly, to critically evaluate the information they receive from the media and their peers so that they can become more scientifically literate citizens.

Symbiosis in cell evolution: Life and its environment on the early earth

Science.gov (United States)

Margulis, L.

1981-01-01

The book treats cell evolution from the viewpoint of the serial endosymbiosis theory of the origin of organelles. Following a brief outline of the symbiotic theory, which holds that eukaryotes evolved by the association of free-living bacteria with a host prokaryote, the diversity of life is considered, and five kingdoms of organisms are distinguished: the prokaryotic Monera and the eukaryotic Protoctista, Animalia, Fungi and Plantae. Symbiotic and traditional direct filiation theories of cell evolution are compared. Recent observations of cell structure and biochemistry are reviewed in relation to early cell evolution, with attention given to the geological context for the origin of eukaryotic cells, the origin of major bacterial anaerobic pathways, the relationship between aerobic metabolism and atmospheric oxygen, criteria for distinguishing symbiotic organelles from those that originated by differentiation, and the major classes of eukaryotic organelles: mitochondria, cilia, microtubules, the mitotic and meiotic apparatuses, and pastids. Cell evolution during the Phanerozoic is also discussed with emphasis on the effects of life on the biosphere

Practical epistemology: the role of peer review in organizing scientific research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexei V. Shestopal

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers peer review as the main procedure for demarcating scientific knowledge from other kinds thereof, which do not meet the criteria set for research results. The authors examine the history of peer review, which has first been used in early scientific journals and then has become one of the key approaches to distributing funds for research in science foundations, such as the U.S. National Science Foundation. The article also considers the role of peer review in the legal process, wherein observance of this procedure can be seen as the main criteria, which separates scientific evidence from mere testimony. The description of the main elements of the peer review procedure is based on the "Statement of principles for scientific merit review" the summary of the results of the Global Summit on Merit Review, which brought together heads of science funding organizations from more than 50 countries. The Statement listed the following principles: expert assessment, transparency, impartiality, appropriateness, confidentiality, integrity and ethical considerations. Although these principles are seen as a way to guarantee efficient peer review one has to consider the peculiarities of a particular research area, first of all the differences between social and natural sciences. Accordingly the article gives an overview of key traits of peer review in the social sciences and humanities. The authors also consider the main procedural elements - preparation of individual reviews, consideration by panels, anonymity of reviewers. Finally the article addresses the problems of peer review such as non-transparent process, elitism in selecting reviewers, conservativeness of decisions, and possible ways of handling these problems.

Scientific Ethics: A New Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Menapace, Marcello

2018-06-04

Science is an activity of the human intellect and as such has ethical implications that should be reviewed and taken into account. Although science and ethics have conventionally been considered different, it is herewith proposed that they are essentially similar. The proposal set henceforth is to create a new ethics rooted in science: scientific ethics. Science has firm axiological foundations and searches for truth (as a value, axiology) and knowledge (epistemology). Hence, science cannot be value neutral. Looking at standard scientific principles, it is possible to construct a scientific ethic (that is, an ethical framework based on scientific methods and rules), which can be applied to all sciences. These intellectual standards include the search for truth (honesty and its derivatives), human dignity (and by reflection the dignity of all animals) and respect for life. Through these it is thence achievable to draft a foundation of a ethics based purely on science and applicable beyond the confines of science. A few applications of these will be presented. Scientific ethics can have vast applications in other fields even in non scientific ones.

Being Mad in Early Modern England

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar eDimitrijevic

2015-11-01

Full Text Available It has become almost a rule that the birth of scientific psychiatry and what we today term clinical psychology took place in the short period between the last decade of the XVIII century and the 1820s. Everything that happened before that period – every description, diagnosis, and therapy – has been considered ‘pre-scientific,’ outdated, in a way worthless.In this paper, however, I am providing the argument that, first, the roots of contemporary psychiatry reach at least to England of the early modern period, and that, second, it may still turn out that in the field of mental health care historical continuities are more numerous and persistent than discontinuities. Thus, I briefly review the most important surviving documents about the treatment of mental disorders in England of Elizabethan and Jacobian period, organizing the argument around the well-known markers: diagnostics and aetiology, therapy, organization of the asylum, the public image of the mentally ill…

Rediscovering the scientific ethos

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Djørup, Stine

The doctoral dissertation discusses some of the moral standards of good scientific practice that areunderexposed in the literature. In particular, attempts are made to correct the conceptual confusionsurrounding the norm of 'disinterestedness' in science (‘uhildethed’), and the norm of scientific...

Attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in childhood: Distinguishing between targets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noorden, T.H.J. van; Haselager, G.J.T.; Lansu, T.A.M.; Cillessen, A.H.N.; Bukowski, W.M.

2016-01-01

This investigation researched the association between the attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in children by distinguishing between targets. Study 1 focused on the attribution of human characteristics by bullies, victims, bully/victims, and non-involved children toward

Dataset of transcriptional landscape of B cell early activation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander S. Garruss

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Signaling via B cell receptors (BCR and Toll-like receptors (TLRs result in activation of B cells with distinct physiological outcomes, but transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that drive activation and distinguish these pathways remain unknown. At early time points after BCR and TLR ligand exposure, 0.5 and 2 h, RNA-seq was performed allowing observations on rapid transcriptional changes. At 2 h, ChIP-seq was performed to allow observations on important regulatory mechanisms potentially driving transcriptional change. The dataset includes RNA-seq, ChIP-seq of control (Input, RNA Pol II, H3K4me3, H3K27me3, and a separate RNA-seq for miRNA expression, which can be found at Gene Expression Omnibus Dataset GSE61608. Here, we provide details on the experimental and analysis methods used to obtain and analyze this dataset and to examine the transcriptional landscape of B cell early activation.

Scientific meetings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

One of the main aims of the IAEA is to foster the exchange of scientific and technical information and one of the main ways of doing this is to convene international scientific meetings. They range from large international conferences bringing together several hundred scientists, smaller symposia attended by an average of 150 to 250 participants and seminars designed to instruct rather than inform, to smaller panels and study groups of 10 to 30 experts brought together to advise on a particular programme or to develop a set of regulations. The topics of these meetings cover every part of the Agency's activities and form a backbone of many of its programmes. (author)

Scientific millenarianism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinberg, A.M.

1997-01-01

Today, for the first time, scientific concerns are seriously being addressed that span future times--hundreds, even thousands, or more years in the future. One is witnessing what the author calls scientific millenarianism. Are such concerns for the distant future exercises in futility, or are they real issues that, to the everlasting gratitude of future generations, this generation has identified, warned about and even suggested how to cope with in the distant future? Can the four potential catastrophes--bolide impact, CO 2 warming, radioactive wastes and thermonuclear war--be avoided by technical fixes, institutional responses, religion, or by doing nothing? These are the questions addressed in this paper

Scientific communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksander Kobylarek

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article tackles the problem of models of communication in science. The formal division of communication processes into oral and written does not resolve the problem of attitude. The author defines successful communication as a win-win game, based on the respect and equality of the partners, regardless of their position in the world of science. The core characteristics of the process of scientific communication are indicated , such as openness, fairness, support, and creation. The task of creating the right atmosphere for science communication belongs to moderators, who should not allow privilege and differentiation of position to affect scientific communication processes.

Comparison of Analytical Methods for Estimation of Early-Age Thermal-Shrinkage Stresses in RC Walls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klemczak B.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The volume changes caused by coupled temperature and moisture variations in early-age concrete elements lead to formation of stresses. If a restraint exists along the contact surface of mature concrete against which a new concrete element has been cast, generated stresses are mostly of a restraint origin. In engineering practice a wide range of externally restrained concrete elements can be distinguished such as tank walls or bridge abutments cast against an old set foundation, in which early-age cracking may endanger their durability or functionality. Therefore, for years methods were being developed to predict early-age stresses and cracking risk of externally restrained concrete elements subjected to early-age thermal-moisture effects. The paper presents the comparative study of the most recognised analytical approaches: the method proposed in EC2, the method proposed by ACI Committee 207 and the method developed at the Luleå University of Technology.

Development of a metabolic biosignature for detection of early Lyme disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Molins, Claudia R; Ashton, Laura V; Wormser, Gary P; Hess, Ann M; Delorey, Mark J; Mahapatra, Sebabrata; Schriefer, Martin E; Belisle, John T

2015-06-15

Early Lyme disease patients often present to the clinic prior to developing a detectable antibody response to Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent. Thus, existing 2-tier serology-based assays yield low sensitivities (29%-40%) for early infection. The lack of an accurate laboratory test for early Lyme disease contributes to misconceptions about diagnosis and treatment, and underscores the need for new diagnostic approaches. Retrospective serum samples from patients with early Lyme disease, other diseases, and healthy controls were analyzed for small molecule metabolites by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). A metabolomics data workflow was applied to select a biosignature for classifying early Lyme disease and non-Lyme disease patients. A statistical model of the biosignature was trained using the patients' LC-MS data, and subsequently applied as an experimental diagnostic tool with LC-MS data from additional patient sera. The accuracy of this method was compared with standard 2-tier serology. Metabolic biosignature development selected 95 molecular features that distinguished early Lyme disease patients from healthy controls. Statistical modeling reduced the biosignature to 44 molecular features, and correctly classified early Lyme disease patients and healthy controls with a sensitivity of 88% (84%-95%), and a specificity of 95% (90%-100%). Importantly, the metabolic biosignature correctly classified 77%-95% of the of serology negative Lyme disease patients. The data provide proof-of-concept that metabolic profiling for early Lyme disease can achieve significantly greater (P Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Operative treatment strategies for multiple trauma patients : early total care versus damage control].

Science.gov (United States)

Klüter, T; Lippross, S; Oestern, S; Weuster, M; Seekamp, A

2013-09-01

The treatment of multiple trauma patients is a great challenge for an interdisciplinary team. After preclinical care and subsequent treatment in the emergency room the order of the interventions is prioritized depending of the individual risk stratification. For planning the surgery management it is essential to distinguish between absolutely essential operations to prevent life-threatening situations for the patient and interventions with shiftable indications, depending on the general condition of the patient. All interventions need to be done without causing significant secondary damage to prohibit hyperinflammation and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The challenge consists in determination of the appropriate treatment at the right point in time. In general the early primary intervention, early total care, is differentiated from the damage control concept.

Critical appraisal of scientific articles: part 1 of a series on evaluation of scientific publications.

Science.gov (United States)

du Prel, Jean-Baptist; Röhrig, Bernd; Blettner, Maria

2009-02-01

In the era of evidence-based medicine, one of the most important skills a physician needs is the ability to analyze scientific literature critically. This is necessary to keep medical knowledge up to date and to ensure optimal patient care. The aim of this paper is to present an accessible introduction into critical appraisal of scientific articles. Using a selection of international literature, the reader is introduced to the principles of critical reading of scientific articles in medicine. For the sake of conciseness, detailed description of statistical methods is omitted. Widely accepted principles for critically appraising scientific articles are outlined. Basic knowledge of study design, structuring of an article, the role of different sections, of statistical presentations as well as sources of error and limitation are presented. The reader does not require extensive methodological knowledge. As far as necessary for critical appraisal of scientific articles, differences in research areas like epidemiology, clinical, and basic research are outlined. Further useful references are presented. Basic methodological knowledge is required to select and interpret scientific articles correctly.

CCR6(+) Th cell populations distinguish ACPA positive from ACPA negative rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulissen, Sandra M J; van Hamburg, Jan Piet; Davelaar, Nadine; Vroman, Heleen; Hazes, Johanna M W; de Jong, Pascal H P; Lubberts, Erik

2015-11-30

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be separated into two major subpopulations based on the absence or presence of serum anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs). The more severe disease course in ACPA(+) RA and differences in treatment outcome between these subpopulations suggest that ACPA(+) and ACPA(-) RA are different disease subsets. The identification of T-helper (Th) cells specifically recognizing citrullinated peptides, combined with the strong association between HLA-DRB1 and ACPA positivity, point toward a pathogenic role of Th cells in ACPA(+) RA. In this context we recently identified a potential pathogenic role for CCR6(+) Th cells in RA. Therefore, we examined whether Th cell population distributions differ by ACPA status. We performed a nested matched case-control study including 27 ACPA(+) and 27 ACPA(-) treatment-naive early RA patients matched for disease activity score in 44 joints, presence of rheumatoid factor, sex, age, duration of complaints and presence of erosions. CD4(+)CD45RO(+) (memory) Th cell distribution profiles from these patients were generated based on differential chemokine receptor expression and related with disease duration. ACPA status was not related to differences in total CD4(+) T cell or memory Th cell proportions. However, ACPA(+) patients had significantly higher proportions of Th cells expressing the chemokine receptors CCR6 and CXCR3. Similar proportions of CCR4(+) and CCR10(+) Th cells were found. Within the CCR6(+) cell population, four Th subpopulations were distinguished based on differential chemokine receptor expression: Th17 (CCR4(+)CCR10(-)), Th17.1 (CXCR3(+)), Th22 (CCR4(+)CCR10(+)) and CCR4/CXCR3 double-positive (DP) cells. In particular, higher proportions of Th22 (p = 0.02), Th17.1 (p = 0.03) and CCR4/CXCR3 DP (p = 0.01) cells were present in ACPA(+) patients. In contrast, ACPA status was not associated with differences in Th1 (CCR6(-)CXCR3(+); p = 0.90), Th2 (CCR6(-)CCR4(+); p = 0.27) and T

Teaching about the Influence of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment on Early American History.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Randy K.; Woods, John C.

1996-01-01

Utilizes selections from 17th century philosophical writing as instructional material for a series of learning activities that reveal the influence of the material on early American democratic thought. Activities involve selections from Isaac Newton, John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, The Declaration of Independence, and Bishop Bossuet. (MJP)

Distinguishing Aspartic and Isoaspartic Acids in Peptides by Several Mass Spectrometric Fragmentation Methods

Science.gov (United States)

DeGraan-Weber, Nick; Zhang, Jun; Reilly, James P.

2016-12-01

Six ion fragmentation techniques that can distinguish aspartic acid from its isomer, isoaspartic acid, were compared. MALDI post-source decay (PSD), MALDI 157 nm photodissociation, tris(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)phosphonium bromide (TMPP) charge tagging in PSD and photodissociation, ESI collision-induced dissociation (CID), electron transfer dissociation (ETD), and free-radical initiated peptide sequencing (FRIPS) with CID were applied to peptides containing either aspartic or isoaspartic acid. Diagnostic ions, such as the y-46 and b+H2O, are present in PSD, photodissociation, and charge tagging. c•+57 and z-57 ions are observed in ETD and FRIPS experiments. For some molecules, aspartic and isoaspartic acid yield ion fragments with significantly different intensities. ETD and charge tagging appear to be most effective at distinguishing these residues.

[CODEPEH 2014 recommendations for the early detection of delayed hearing loss].

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez-Batalla, Faustino; Jáudenes-Casaubón, Carmen; Sequí-Canet, José Miguel; Vivanco-Allende, Ana; Zubicaray-Ugarteche, José

2016-10-01

The latest scientific literature considers early diagnosis of deafness as key element to define the educational prognosis and inclusion of the deaf child, as advantage can be taken in the critical period of development (0-4 years). Highly significant differences exist between those deaf persons who have been stimulated early and those who have received late or inappropriate intervention. Early identification of late-onset disorders requires special attention and knowledge of all childcare professionals. Programs and additional actions beyond neonatal screening should be designed and planned in order to ensure that every child with a significant hearing loss is detected early. For this purpose, the Committee for the Early Detection of Deafness (CODEPEH) would like to highlight the need for continuous monitoring on the hearing health of children. And, for this reason, CODEPEH drafts the recommendations included in the present document. Copyright © 2015 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Early Science Instruction and Academic Language Development Can Go Hand in Hand. The Promising Effects of a Low-Intensity Teacher-Focused Intervention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henrichs, Lotte F.; Leseman, Paul P.M.

2014-01-01

Early science instruction is important in order to lay a firm basis for learning scientific concepts and scientific thinking. In addition, young children enjoy science. However, science plays only a minor role in the kindergarten curriculum. It has been reported that teachers feel they need to

["Directed perception", "mood", "social reinforcement". Sketches towards the historical semantics of Ludwik Fleck's Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact].

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Julian

2014-01-01

This article analyses three basic concepts of Ludwik Fleck's Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact. It shows first that Fleck's notion of "directed perception" is closely linked to Jakob von Uexküll's writings on the "Umwelt" of animals and humans. The article then proposes to regard the epistemological debates surrounding parapsychology as an important testing ground for the Fleckian concept of „mood“ and his concomitant hypotheses about „the tenacity of systems of opinion and the harmony of illusions". It finally argues that Fleck's modification of Wilhelm Jerusalem's idea of the "social consolidation" of knowledge helps us to understand the indebtedness of Fleck towards early functionalist sociology as well as his strong belief in "specific historical laws governing the development of ideas"The historical semantics of Fleck's works hence proves that his insights are neither marginal nor revolutionary but rather deeply rooted within scientific traditions from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Managing scientific information and research data

CERN Document Server

Baykoucheva, Svetla

2015-01-01

Innovative technologies are changing the way research is performed, preserved, and communicated. Managing Scientific Information and Research Data explores how these technologies are used and provides detailed analysis of the approaches and tools developed to manage scientific information and data. Following an introduction, the book is then divided into 15 chapters discussing the changes in scientific communication; new models of publishing and peer review; ethics in scientific communication; preservation of data; discovery tools; discipline-specific practices of researchers for gathering and using scientific information; academic social networks; bibliographic management tools; information literacy and the information needs of students and researchers; the involvement of academic libraries in eScience and the new opportunities it presents to librarians; and interviews with experts in scientific information and publishing.

How to distinguish dark energy and modified gravity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Hao; Zhang Shuangnan

2008-01-01

The current accelerated expansion of our universe could be due to an unknown energy component (dark energy) or a modification of general relativity (modified gravity). In the literature it has been proposed that combining the probes of the cosmic expansion history and growth history can distinguish between dark energy and modified gravity. In this work, without invoking nontrivial dark energy clustering, we show that the possible interaction between dark energy and dark matter could make the interacting dark model and the modified gravity model indistinguishable. An explicit example is also given. Therefore, it is required to seek some complementary probes beyond the ones of cosmic expansion history and growth history.

Scientific and technical aspects of international cooperation in Chernobyl; Naukovyi ta tekhnyichnyi aspekti myizhnarodnogo spyivrobyitnitstva v Chornobilyi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gligalo, V M; Nosovs' kij, A V [eds.

2001-07-01

The collection contains the presentations and scientific articles prepared for and discussed during the Conference titled '2000: International Cooperation For Chernobyl'. The materials outline the outcomes achieved while implementing Chernobyl site scientific-technical researches and projects, as well as activities aimed at enhancing the ChNPP safety, decommissioning and radwaste management. It also highlights the issues related to transforming the Unit Shelter into an ecologically safe system, represents the results of ecological researches in the Exclusion Zone, medical effects of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl NPP, together with social and economic problems the city of Slavutich faces now due to the early ChNPP Units decommissioning, and Slavutich business development opportunities under the circumstances of Special Economic Zone 'Slavutich'.

The Economics of Early Childhood Policy: What the Dismal Science Has to Say about Investing in Children. Occasional Paper

Science.gov (United States)

Kilburn, M. Rebecca; Karoly, Lynn A.

2008-01-01

Scientific discoveries over the past two decades have transformed the way in which researchers, policymakers, and the public think about early childhood. For example, recent research in brain science has provided a biological basis for prevailing theories about early child development, and cost-benefit analysis has reoriented some of the…

Improving the scientific misconduct hearing process.

Science.gov (United States)

Parrish, D M

The overturning and withdrawal of several of the Office of Research Integrity's (ORI's) findings of scientific misconduct have called its role into question. The contested findings of scientific misconduct that have been tried before the hearing body have been based on lengthy and expensive ORI investigations. How could ORI have failed to prove its findings of scientific misconduct after the commitment of substantial resources that far exceed those devoted during institutional investigations? One reason may be that the current hearing process makes it difficult or impossible for ORI, institutions, or individuals to prove scientific misconduct. The hearing process has been criticized by discouraged whistleblowers who believe that their allegations of scientific misconduct should have been upheld, and by the accused for the expensive and protracted nature of the proceedings. The following article examines problems in the scientific misconduct hearing process and suggests that the process could be improved by letting administrative law judges, patent attorneys, and a scientific majority decide these cases.

Bringing to Market Technological Innovation: What Distinguishes Success from Failure

OpenAIRE

Frattini, Federico; Massis, Alfredo De; Chiesa, Vittorio; Cassia, Lucio; Campopiano, Giovanna

2012-01-01

Commercialization is a critical step in technological innovation. Nevertheless, many scholars believe that it is often the least well-managed activity of the whole innovation process. The launch stage seems to be particularly critical in high-technology markets because of the volatility, interconnectedness and the proliferation of new technologies they experience. However, academic and practitioners' literature has not, so far, developed a clear understanding of the factors that distinguish a...

In science "there is no bad publicity": papers criticized in comments have high scientific impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Radicchi, Filippo

2012-01-01

Comments are special types of publications whose aim is to correct or criticize previously published papers. For this reason, comments are believed to make commented papers less worthy or trusty to the eyes of the scientific community, and thus predestined to have low scientific impact. Here, we show that such belief is not supported by empirical evidence. We consider thirteen major publication outlets in science, and perform systematic comparisons between the citations accumulated by commented and non commented articles. We find that (i) commented papers are, on average, much more cited than non commented papers, and (ii) commented papers are more likely to be among the most cited papers of a journal. Since comments are published soon after criticized papers, comments should be viewed as early indicators of the future impact of criticized papers.

Public acceptance of fusion energy and scientific feasibility of a fusion reactor. Spin-off effects of fusion research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morino, Nobuyuki; Ogawa, Yuichi

1998-01-01

It is observed that new and sophisticated technologies developed through research and development in relation to magnetic confinement fusion have been transferred to other industrial and scientific fields with remarkable spin-off effects. Approximately 10 years ago, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) has investigated technical transfer and spin-off effects of fusion technologies developed in Japan. The essence of the results of this investigation as well as high technologies developed in the last decade, some of which are in the early stage of technical spin-off, are described. It is additionally explained that independent technical development conducted by our country as well as by engineers themselves is important in achieving effective spin-off. An outline of scientific spin-off effects is also described, including utilization technologies of fusion reactions besides those for energy production purposes, the progress of scientific understanding in the course of fusion research, and scientific information transfer and communication with other fields. (author)

The Clinical Significance of Glycoprotein Phospholipase D Levels in Distinguishing Early Stage Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults and Type 2 Diabetes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen Qin

Full Text Available Autoantibodies have been widely used as markers of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA; however, the specificity and sensitivity of autoantibodies as markers of LADA are weak compared with those found in type 1 diabetes (T1DM. In this study, we aimed to identify other plasma proteins as potential candidates that can be used effectively to determine early stage LADA and type 2 diabetes (T2DM to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. These issues were addressed by studying new-onset 'classic' T1DM (n = 156, LADA (n = 174, T2DM (n = 195 and healthy cohorts (n = 166. Plasma samples were obtained from the four cohorts. We employed isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ together with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS to identify plasma proteins with significant changes in LADA. The changes were validated by Western blot and ELISA analyses. Among the four cohorts, 311 unique proteins were identified in three iTRAQ runs, with 157 present across the three data sets. Among them, 49/311 (16.0% proteins had significant changes in LADA compared with normal controls, including glycoprotein phospholipase D (GPLD1, which was upregulated in LADA. Western blot and ELISA analyses showed that GPLD1 levels were higher in both LADA and T1DM cohorts than in both T2DM and healthy cohorts, while there were no significant differences in the plasma concentrations of GPLD1 between the LADA and T1DM cohorts. GPLD1 is implicated as a potential candidate plasma protein for determining early stage LADA and T2DM.

Distinguishing ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi using carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions

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Weiguo Hou

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Ectomycorrhizal fungi, a group of widespread symbiotic fungi with plant, obtain carbon source from trees and improve plant mineral nutrient uptake with their widespread hyphal network. Ectomycorrhizal fungi can be used as inoculants to improve the survival rates of plantation. Saprophytic fungi use the nutrition from the debris of plant or animals, and it is difficult to distinguish the saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi by morphological and anatomic methods. In this research, the differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of these fungi were analyzed. The results showed that the abundances of 13C of were higher than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi and the abundances of 15N of saprophytic fungi were lower than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Such differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions between ectomycorrhizal fungi and saprophytic fungi can be ascribed to their different nutrition sources and ecological functions. These results collectively indicate that stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions are an effective proxy for distinguishing between ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi.

Scientific Integrity Policy Creation and Implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Koizumi, K.

2017-12-01

Ensuring the integrity of science was a priority for the Obama Administration. In March 2009, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum that recognized the need for the public to be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions. In 2010, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Memorandum providing guidelines for Federal departments and agencies to follow in developing scientific integrity policies. This Memorandum describes minimum standards for: (1) strengthening the foundations of scientific integrity in government, including by shielding scientific data and analysis from inappropriate political influence; (2) improving public communication about science and technology by promoting openness and transparency; (3) enhancing the ability of Federal Advisory Committees to provide independent scientific advice; and (4) supporting the professional development of government scientists and engineers. The Memorandum called upon the heads of departments and agencies to develop scientific integrity policies that meet these requirements. At the end of the Obama Administration, 24 Federal departments and agencies had developed and implemented scientific integrity policies consistent with the OSTP guidelines. This year, there are significant questions as to the Trump Administration's commitment to these scientific integrity policies and interest in the Congress in codifying these policies in law. The session will provide an update on the status of agency scientific integrity policies and legislation.

Eismitte in the Scientific Imagination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martin-Nielsen, Janet

was a setting for scientific knowledge production as well as diplomatic maneuvering, providing new insights into the history of polar exploration and the intertwining of scientific and geopolitical considerations. Author Janet Martin-Nielsen draws on new research in private, government, military......Since the first attempts by Europeans to penetrate Greenland's interior, its geometric center, Eismitte (‘middle ice’), has been one of the most forbidding but scientifically rich locations in the Arctic. Tracing its history from European contact through the Cold War, this study shows how Eismitte......, and institutional archives in many languages in multiple countries to illuminate Eismitte’s place in the scientific imagination....

Scientific Information Service at CERN

CERN Document Server

Pereira, Margarida

2016-01-01

Dissemination of information is an essential part of CERN's mission. It brings people together from all around the world and trains the scientists of tomorrow. CERN scientific output is documented and made available for the scientific community and the general public through the CERN Document Server, INSPIRE-HEP and Wikipedia. This report presents the work done in the Scientific Information Service during the summer student program.

Scientific Tourism in Armenia

Science.gov (United States)

Tashchyan, Davit

2016-12-01

The Scientific Tourism is relatively new direction in the world, however it already has managed to gain great popularity. As it is, it has arisen in 1980s, but its ideological basis comes from the earliest periods of the human history. In Armenia, it is a completely new phenomenon and still not-understandable for many people. At global level, the Scientific Tourism has several definitions: for example, as explains the member of the scientific tourist centre of Zlovlen Mrs. Pichelerova "The essence of the scientific tourism is based on the provision of the educational, cultural and entertainment needs of a group of people of people who are interested in the same thing", which in our opinion is a very comprehensive and discreet definition. We also have our own views on this type of tourism. Our philosophy is that by keeping the total principles, we put the emphasis on the strengthening of science-individual ties. Our main emphasis is on the scientific-experimental tourism. But this does not mean that we do not take steps to other forms of tourism. Studying the global experience and combining it with our resources, we are trying to get a new interdisciplinary science, which will bring together a number of different professionals as well as individuals, and as a result will have a new lore. It is in this way that an astronomer will become an archaeologist, an archaeologist will become an astrophysicist, etc. Speaking on interdisciplinary sciences, it's worth mentioning that in recent years, the role of interdisciplinary sciences at global level every day is being considered more and more important. In these terms, tourism is an excellent platform for the creation of interdisciplinary sciences and, therefore, the preparation of corresponding scholars. Nevertheless, scientific tourism is very important for the revelation, appreciation and promotion of the country's historical-cultural heritage and scientific potential. Let us not forget either that tourism in all its

Can scientific medicine incorporate alternative medicine?

Science.gov (United States)

Federspil, G; Vettor, R

2000-06-01

The authors examine the problem of defining alternative medicine, and after a brief analysis conclude that a satisfactory unifying definition of the different practices is not possible. Scientific knowledge is a function of scientific method. In turn the principle of falsifiability proposed by Karl Popper is used as a demarcation line between science and pseudoscience. They assert that the various alternative modalities do not represent authentic scientific disciplines, as they lack many of the minimum requirements of scientific discourse and, above all, because they violate the principle of falsifiability. Until they overcome these methodological shortcomings, alternative medical practices cannot become authentic scientific disciplines.

Early childhood development coming of age: science through the life course.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Maureen M; Walker, Susan P; Fernald, Lia C H; Andersen, Christopher T; DiGirolamo, Ann M; Lu, Chunling; McCoy, Dana C; Fink, Günther; Shawar, Yusra R; Shiffman, Jeremy; Devercelli, Amanda E; Wodon, Quentin T; Vargas-Barón, Emily; Grantham-McGregor, Sally

2017-01-07

Early childhood development programmes vary in coordination and quality, with inadequate and inequitable access, especially for children younger than 3 years. New estimates, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty, indicate that 250 million children (43%) younger than 5 years in low-income and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential. There is therefore an urgent need to increase multisectoral coverage of quality programming that incorporates health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning. Equitable early childhood policies and programmes are crucial for meeting Sustainable Development Goals, and for children to develop the intellectual skills, creativity, and wellbeing required to become healthy and productive adults. In this paper, the first in a three part Series on early childhood development, we examine recent scientific progress and global commitments to early childhood development. Research, programmes, and policies have advanced substantially since 2000, with new neuroscientific evidence linking early adversity and nurturing care with brain development and function throughout the life course. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modern Scientific Literacy: A Case Study of Multiliteracies and Scientific Practices in a Fifth Grade Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Elizabeth; Goldston, M. Jenice

2018-01-01

This study investigates the convergence of multiliteracies and scientific practices in a fifth grade classroom. As students' lives become increasingly multimodal, diverse, and globalized, the traditional notions of literacy must be revisited (New London Group 1996). With the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013a) in many states, either in their entirety or in adapted forms, it becomes useful to explore the interconnectedness multiliteracies and scientific practices and the resulting implications for scientific literacy. The case study included a fifth grade classroom, including the students and teacher. In order to create a rich description of the cases involved, data were collected and triangulated through teacher interviews, student interviews and focus groups, and classroom observations. Findings reveal that as science activities were enriched with multiliteracies and scientific practices, students were engaged in developing skills and knowledge central to being scientifically literate. Furthermore, this study establishes that characteristics of scientific literacy, by its intent and purpose, are a form of multiliteracies in elementary classrooms. Therefore, the teaching and learning of science and its practices for scientific literacy are in turn reinforcing the development of broader multiliteracies.

International scientific seminar «Chronicle of Nature – a common database for scientific analysis and joint planning of scientific publications»

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juri P. Kurhinen

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Provides information about the results of the international scienti fic seminar «Сhronicle of Nature – a common database for scientific analysis and joint planning of scientific publications», held at Findland-Russian project «Linking environmental change to biodiversity change: large scale analysis оf Eurasia ecosystem».

Age and Scientific Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Stephen

1979-01-01

The long-standing belief that age is negatively associated with scientific productivity and creativity is shown to be based upon incorrect analysis of data. Studies reported in this article suggest that the relationship between age and scientific performance is influenced by the operation of the reward system. (Author)