WorldWideScience

Sample records for group experimental design

  1. Quasi experimental designs in pharmacist intervention research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krass, Ines

    2016-06-01

    Background In the field of pharmacist intervention research it is often difficult to conform to the rigorous requirements of the "true experimental" models, especially the requirement of randomization. When randomization is not feasible, a practice based researcher can choose from a range of "quasi-experimental designs" i.e., non-randomised and at time non controlled. Objective The aim of this article was to provide an overview of quasi-experimental designs, discuss their strengths and weaknesses and to investigate their application in pharmacist intervention research over the previous decade. Results In the literature quasi experimental studies may be classified into five broad categories: quasi-experimental design without control groups; quasi-experimental design that use control groups with no pre-test; quasi-experimental design that use control groups and pre-tests; interrupted time series and stepped wedge designs. Quasi-experimental study design has consistently featured in the evolution of pharmacist intervention research. The most commonly applied of all quasi experimental designs in the practice based research literature are the one group pre-post-test design and the non-equivalent control group design i.e., (untreated control group with dependent pre-tests and post-tests) and have been used to test the impact of pharmacist interventions in general medications management as well as in specific disease states. Conclusion Quasi experimental studies have a role to play as proof of concept, in the pilot phases of interventions when testing different intervention components, especially in complex interventions. They serve to develop an understanding of possible intervention effects: while in isolation they yield weak evidence of clinical efficacy, taken collectively, they help build a body of evidence in support of the value of pharmacist interventions across different practice settings and countries. However, when a traditional RCT is not feasible for

  2. Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Quasi-Experimental Designs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweizer, Marin L; Braun, Barbara I; Milstone, Aaron M

    2016-10-01

    Quasi-experimental studies evaluate the association between an intervention and an outcome using experiments in which the intervention is not randomly assigned. Quasi-experimental studies are often used to evaluate rapid responses to outbreaks or other patient safety problems requiring prompt, nonrandomized interventions. Quasi-experimental studies can be categorized into 3 major types: interrupted time-series designs, designs with control groups, and designs without control groups. This methods paper highlights key considerations for quasi-experimental studies in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship, including study design and analytic approaches to avoid selection bias and other common pitfalls of quasi-experimental studies. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-6.

  3. Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship – Quasi-Experimental Designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweizer, Marin L.; Braun, Barbara I.; Milstone, Aaron M.

    2016-01-01

    Quasi-experimental studies evaluate the association between an intervention and an outcome using experiments in which the intervention is not randomly assigned. Quasi-experimental studies are often used to evaluate rapid responses to outbreaks or other patient safety problems requiring prompt non-randomized interventions. Quasi-experimental studies can be categorized into three major types: interrupted time series designs, designs with control groups, and designs without control groups. This methods paper highlights key considerations for quasi-experimental studies in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship including study design and analytic approaches to avoid selection bias and other common pitfalls of quasi-experimental studies. PMID:27267457

  4. Optimal experimental design with R

    CERN Document Server

    Rasch, Dieter; Verdooren, L R; Gebhardt, Albrecht

    2011-01-01

    Experimental design is often overlooked in the literature of applied and mathematical statistics: statistics is taught and understood as merely a collection of methods for analyzing data. Consequently, experimenters seldom think about optimal design, including prerequisites such as the necessary sample size needed for a precise answer for an experimental question. Providing a concise introduction to experimental design theory, Optimal Experimental Design with R: Introduces the philosophy of experimental design Provides an easy process for constructing experimental designs and calculating necessary sample size using R programs Teaches by example using a custom made R program package: OPDOE Consisting of detailed, data-rich examples, this book introduces experimenters to the philosophy of experimentation, experimental design, and data collection. It gives researchers and statisticians guidance in the construction of optimum experimental designs using R programs, including sample size calculations, hypothesis te...

  5. Group-Based Life Design Counseling in an Italian Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Fabio, Annamaria; Maree, Jacobus Gideon

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effectiveness of group-based Life Design Counseling using the Career-Story Interview. Written exercises were used to implement the seven topics in the Career-Story Interview. The present study employed an experimental design that involved two groups of Italian entrepreneurs from the agricultural and trade sectors, namely an…

  6. Constructing experimental designs for discrete-choice experiments: report of the ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Experimental Design Good Research Practices Task Force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed Johnson, F; Lancsar, Emily; Marshall, Deborah; Kilambi, Vikram; Mühlbacher, Axel; Regier, Dean A; Bresnahan, Brian W; Kanninen, Barbara; Bridges, John F P

    2013-01-01

    Stated-preference methods are a class of evaluation techniques for studying the preferences of patients and other stakeholders. While these methods span a variety of techniques, conjoint-analysis methods-and particularly discrete-choice experiments (DCEs)-have become the most frequently applied approach in health care in recent years. Experimental design is an important stage in the development of such methods, but establishing a consensus on standards is hampered by lack of understanding of available techniques and software. This report builds on the previous ISPOR Conjoint Analysis Task Force Report: Conjoint Analysis Applications in Health-A Checklist: A Report of the ISPOR Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force. This report aims to assist researchers specifically in evaluating alternative approaches to experimental design, a difficult and important element of successful DCEs. While this report does not endorse any specific approach, it does provide a guide for choosing an approach that is appropriate for a particular study. In particular, it provides an overview of the role of experimental designs for the successful implementation of the DCE approach in health care studies, and it provides researchers with an introduction to constructing experimental designs on the basis of study objectives and the statistical model researchers have selected for the study. The report outlines the theoretical requirements for designs that identify choice-model preference parameters and summarizes and compares a number of available approaches for constructing experimental designs. The task-force leadership group met via bimonthly teleconferences and in person at ISPOR meetings in the United States and Europe. An international group of experimental-design experts was consulted during this process to discuss existing approaches for experimental design and to review the task force's draft reports. In addition, ISPOR members contributed to developing a consensus

  7. Methods and design of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention: a two group quasi-experimental effectiveness trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Rogers

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Given the ongoing childhood obesity public health crisis and potential protective effect of family meals, there is need for additional family meals research, specifically experimental studies with expanded health outcomes that focus on the at-risk populations in highest need of intervention. Future research, specifically intervention work, would also benefit from an expansion of the target age range to include younger children, who are laying the foundation of their eating patterns and capable of participating in family meal preparations. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by presenting the objectives and research methods of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention study aimed at eliciting positive changes in child diet and weight status. Methods This will be a group quasi-experimental trial with staggered cohort design. Data will be collected via direct measure and questionnaires at baseline, intervention completion (or waiting period for controls, and 10-weeks post-intervention. Setting will be faith-based community center. Participants will be 60 underserved families with at least 1, 4–10 year old child will be recruited and enrolled in the intervention (n = 30 or waitlist control group (n = 30. The intervention (Simple Suppers is a 10-week family meals program designed for underserved families from racial/ethnic diverse backgrounds. The 10, 90-min program lessons will be delivered weekly over the dinner hour. Session components include: a interactive group discussion of strategies to overcome family meal barriers, plus weekly goal setting for caregivers; b engagement in age-appropriate food preparation activities for children; and c group family meal for caregivers and children. Main outcome measures are change in: child diet quality; child standardized body mass index; and frequency of family meals. Regression models will be used to compare response variables results of

  8. Deception, efficiency, and random groups - Psychology and the gradual origination of the random group design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dehue, T

    1997-01-01

    In the life sciences, psychology, and large parts of the other social sciences, the ideal experiment is a comparative experiment with randomly composed experimental and control groups. Historians and practitioners of these sciences generally attribute the invention of this "random group design" to

  9. Experimental Engineering: Articulating and Valuing Design Experimentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vallgårda, Anna; Grönvall, Erik; Fritsch, Jonas

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we propose Experimental Engineering as a way to articulate open- ended technological experiments as a legitimate design research practice. Experimental Engineering introduces a move away from an outcome or result driven design process towards an interest in existing technologies and...

  10. Analyzing Data from a Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design: The Importance of Statistical Assumptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zientek, Linda; Nimon, Kim; Hammack-Brown, Bryn

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Among the gold standards in human resource development (HRD) research are studies that test theoretically developed hypotheses and use experimental designs. A somewhat typical experimental design would involve collecting pretest and posttest data on individuals assigned to a control or experimental group. Data from such a design that…

  11. Methods and design of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention: a two group quasi-experimental effectiveness trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Catherine; Anderson, Sarah E; Dollahite, Jamie S; Hill, Tisa F; Holloman, Chris; Miller, Carla K; Pratt, Keeley J; Gunther, Carolyn

    2017-01-09

    Given the ongoing childhood obesity public health crisis and potential protective effect of family meals, there is need for additional family meals research, specifically experimental studies with expanded health outcomes that focus on the at-risk populations in highest need of intervention. Future research, specifically intervention work, would also benefit from an expansion of the target age range to include younger children, who are laying the foundation of their eating patterns and capable of participating in family meal preparations. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by presenting the objectives and research methods of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention study aimed at eliciting positive changes in child diet and weight status. This will be a group quasi-experimental trial with staggered cohort design. Data will be collected via direct measure and questionnaires at baseline, intervention completion (or waiting period for controls), and 10-weeks post-intervention. Setting will be faith-based community center. Participants will be 60 underserved families with at least 1, 4-10 year old child will be recruited and enrolled in the intervention (n = 30) or waitlist control group (n = 30). The intervention (Simple Suppers) is a 10-week family meals program designed for underserved families from racial/ethnic diverse backgrounds. The 10, 90-min program lessons will be delivered weekly over the dinner hour. Session components include: a) interactive group discussion of strategies to overcome family meal barriers, plus weekly goal setting for caregivers; b) engagement in age-appropriate food preparation activities for children; and c) group family meal for caregivers and children. Main outcome measures are change in: child diet quality; child standardized body mass index; and frequency of family meals. Regression models will be used to compare response variables results of intervention to control group, controlling for

  12. Experimental Design Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations...... of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology......, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study—from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current...

  13. Report of experimental hall subworking group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyake, K.; Ohama, T.; Takahashi, K.

    1982-01-01

    The general plan of constructing the TRISTAN e + e - colliding beam experimental halls may be divided into two parts. The first step is to construct two test-experimental halls associated with the 6.5 GeV x 6.5 GeV e + e - accumulator ring, and the second step is to build four experimental halls at the 30 GeV x 30 GeV e + e - TRISTAN main ring. At this workshop, extensive discussions on the detailed design of the four main ring experimental halls have been made. Four experimental areas will be built at the main ring, and two test-experimental halls at the accumulating ring. Among the four areas at the main ring, two will be used for electron-proton possible as well as electron-positron colliding beam experiment. The other two will be used exclusively for e + e - colliding experiments. Only a preliminary design has been made for these four experimental areas. A tentative plan of a larger experimental hall includes a counting and data processing room, a utility room, and a radiation safety control room. Two smaller halls have simpler structure. The figures of the experimental halls are presented. The two test-experimental halls at the accumulator ring will be used to test the detectors for e + e - colliding experiments before the final installation. The utility rooms designed for the halls are used to supply coolant and electric power of superconducting magnets. At the workshop, various ideas concerning the preliminary plan are presented. (Kato, T.)

  14. Quasi-Experimental Designs for Causal Inference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yongnam; Steiner, Peter

    2016-01-01

    When randomized experiments are infeasible, quasi-experimental designs can be exploited to evaluate causal treatment effects. The strongest quasi-experimental designs for causal inference are regression discontinuity designs, instrumental variable designs, matching and propensity score designs, and comparative interrupted time series designs. This…

  15. Optimizing laboratory animal stress paradigms: The H-H* experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarty, Richard

    2017-01-01

    Major advances in behavioral neuroscience have been facilitated by the development of consistent and highly reproducible experimental paradigms that have been widely adopted. In contrast, many different experimental approaches have been employed to expose laboratory mice and rats to acute versus chronic intermittent stress. An argument is advanced in this review that more consistent approaches to the design of chronic intermittent stress experiments would provide greater reproducibility of results across laboratories and greater reliability relating to various neural, endocrine, immune, genetic, and behavioral adaptations. As an example, the H-H* experimental design incorporates control, homotypic (H), and heterotypic (H*) groups and allows for comparisons across groups, where each animal is exposed to the same stressor, but that stressor has vastly different biological and behavioral effects depending upon each animal's prior stress history. Implementation of the H-H* experimental paradigm makes possible a delineation of transcriptional changes and neural, endocrine, and immune pathways that are activated in precisely defined stressor contexts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Group Design Problems in Engineering Design Graphics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, David

    2001-01-01

    Describes group design techniques used within the engineering design graphics sequence at Western Washington University. Engineering and design philosophies such as concurrent engineering place an emphasis on group collaboration for the solving of design problems. (Author/DDR)

  17. Experimental design a chemometric approach

    CERN Document Server

    Deming, SN

    1987-01-01

    Now available in a paperback edition is a book which has been described as ``...an exceptionally lucid, easy-to-read presentation... would be an excellent addition to the collection of every analytical chemist. I recommend it with great enthusiasm.'' (Analytical Chemistry). Unlike most current textbooks, it approaches experimental design from the point of view of the experimenter, rather than that of the statistician. As the reviewer in `Analytical Chemistry' went on to say: ``Deming and Morgan should be given high praise for bringing the principles of experimental design to the level of the p

  18. Chemical-Based Formulation Design: Virtual Experimentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conte, Elisa; Gani, Rafiqul

    This paper presents a software, the virtual Product-Process Design laboratory (virtual PPD-lab) and the virtual experimental scenarios for design/verification of consumer oriented liquid formulated products where the software can be used. For example, the software can be employed for the design......, the additives and/or their mixtures (formulations). Therefore, the experimental resources can focus on a few candidate product formulations to find the best product. The virtual PPD-lab allows various options for experimentations related to design and/or verification of the product. For example, the selection...... design, model adaptation). All of the above helps to perform virtual experiments by blending chemicals together and observing their predicted behaviour. The paper will highlight the application of the virtual PPD-lab in the design and/or verification of different consumer products (paint formulation...

  19. HAMMLAB 1999 experimental control room: design - design rationale - experiences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foerdestroemmen, N. T.; Meyer, B. D.; Saarni, R.

    1999-01-01

    A presentation of HAMMLAB 1999 experimental control room, and the accumulated experiences gathered in the areas of design and design rationale as well as user experiences. It is concluded that HAMMLAB 1999 experimental control room is a realistic, compact and efficient control room well suited as an Advanced NPP Control Room (ml)

  20. Measuring and Advancing Experimental Design Ability in an Introductory Course without Altering Existing Lab Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan A. Shanks

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Introductory biology courses provide an important opportunity to prepare students for future courses, yet existing cookbook labs, although important in their own way, fail to provide many of the advantages of semester-long research experiences. Engaging, authentic research experiences aid biology students in meeting many learning goals. Therefore, overlaying a research experience onto the existing lab structure allows faculty to overcome barriers involving curricular change. Here we propose a working model for this overlay design in an introductory biology course and detail a means to conduct this lab with minimal increases in student and faculty workloads. Furthermore, we conducted exploratory factor analysis of the Experimental Design Ability Test (EDAT and uncovered two latent factors which provide valid means to assess this overlay model’s ability to increase advanced experimental design abilities. In a pre-test/post-test design, we demonstrate significant increases in both basic and advanced experimental design abilities in an experimental and comparison group. We measured significantly higher gains in advanced experimental design understanding in students in the experimental group. We believe this overlay model and EDAT factor analysis contribute a novel means to conduct and assess the effectiveness of authentic research experiences in an introductory course without major changes to the course curriculum and with minimal increases in faculty and student workloads.

  1. The role of experimental typography in designing logotypes

    OpenAIRE

    Pogačnik, Tadeja

    2014-01-01

    Designing logotypes is an important part of graphic design. Great logotypes are designed using custom made typefaces. Therefore, it is very important, especially for the typographic designer, to have practical experience and be up to date with all trends in the field of experimental typefaces design, also called experimental typography. In my thesis statement, I carefully examined the problems of experimental typography - which allows more creative and free typography designing for different ...

  2. Experimental design in chemistry: A tutorial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leardi, Riccardo

    2009-10-12

    In this tutorial the main concepts and applications of experimental design in chemistry will be explained. Unfortunately, nowadays experimental design is not as known and applied as it should be, and many papers can be found in which the "optimization" of a procedure is performed one variable at a time. Goal of this paper is to show the real advantages in terms of reduced experimental effort and of increased quality of information that can be obtained if this approach is followed. To do that, three real examples will be shown. Rather than on the mathematical aspects, this paper will focus on the mental attitude required by experimental design. The readers being interested to deepen their knowledge of the mathematical and algorithmical part can find very good books and tutorials in the references [G.E.P. Box, W.G. Hunter, J.S. Hunter, Statistics for Experimenters: An Introduction to Design, Data Analysis, and Model Building, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1978; R. Brereton, Chemometrics: Data Analysis for the Laboratory and Chemical Plant, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1978; R. Carlson, J.E. Carlson, Design and Optimization in Organic Synthesis: Second Revised and Enlarged Edition, in: Data Handling in Science and Technology, vol. 24, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2005; J.A. Cornell, Experiments with Mixtures: Designs, Models and the Analysis of Mixture Data, in: Series in Probability and Statistics, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1991; R.E. Bruns, I.S. Scarminio, B. de Barros Neto, Statistical Design-Chemometrics, in: Data Handling in Science and Technology, vol. 25, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2006; D.C. Montgomery, Design and Analysis of Experiments, 7th edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009; T. Lundstedt, E. Seifert, L. Abramo, B. Thelin, A. Nyström, J. Pettersen, R. Bergman, Chemolab 42 (1998) 3; Y. Vander Heyden, LC-GC Europe 19 (9) (2006) 469].

  3. Experimental design of a waste glass study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piepel, G.F.; Redgate, P.E.; Hrma, P.

    1995-04-01

    A Composition Variation Study (CVS) is being performed to support a future high-level waste glass plant at Hanford. A total of 147 glasses, covering a broad region of compositions melting at approximately 1150 degrees C, were tested in five statistically designed experimental phases. This paper focuses on the goals, strategies, and techniques used in designing the five phases. The overall strategy was to investigate glass compositions on the boundary and interior of an experimental region defined by single- component, multiple-component, and property constraints. Statistical optimal experimental design techniques were used to cover various subregions of the experimental region in each phase. Empirical mixture models for glass properties (as functions of glass composition) from previous phases wee used in designing subsequent CVS phases

  4. Chemicals-Based Formulation Design: Virtual Experimentations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conte, Elisa; Gani, Rafiqul

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a systematic procedure for virtual experimentations related to the design of liquid formulated products. All the experiments that need to be performed when designing a liquid formulated product (lotion), such as ingredients selection and testing, solubility tests, property mea...... on the design of an insect repellent lotion will show that the software is an essential instrument in decision making, and that it reduces time and resources since experimental efforts can be focused on one or few product alternatives....

  5. Control and monitoring system design study for the UNK experimental setups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ekimov, A.; Ermolin, Yu.; Matveev, M.; Ovcharov, S.; Petrov, V.; Vaniev, V.

    1992-01-01

    At present a number of experimental setups for the new UNK project are under construction. A common approach to the architecture of control/DAQ/trigger systems will be used in the development of electronics for all these detectors. The system analysis and design group has been formed for this purpose. The group activity is aimed at the development of such unified system. The group has started with control and monitoring system as one of the most important parts and the environment for the DAQ/trigger systems. The group activity status report is presented. (author)

  6. Evaluation of support group interventions for children in troubled families: study protocol for a quasi-experimental control group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skerfving, Annemi; Johansson, Fredrik; Elgán, Tobias H

    2014-01-24

    Support groups for children in troubled families are available in a majority of Swedish municipalities. They are used as a preventive effort for children in families with different parental problems such as addiction to alcohol/other drugs, mental illness, domestic violence, divorce situations, or even imprisonment. Children from families with these problems are a well-known at-risk group for various mental health and social problems. Support groups aim at strengthening children's coping behaviour, to improve their mental health and to prevent a negative psycho-social development. To date, evaluations using a control-group study design are scarce. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effects of support groups. This paper describes the design of an effectiveness study, initially intended as a randomized controlled trial, but instead is pursued as a quasi-experimental study using a non-randomized control group. The aim is to include 116 children, aged 7-13 years and one parent/another closely related adult, in the study. Participants are recruited via existing support groups in the Stockholm county district and are allocated either into an intervention group or a waiting list control group, representing care as usual. The assessment consists of questionnaires that are to be filled in at baseline and at four months following the baseline. Additionally, the intervention group completes a 12-month follow-up. The outcomes include the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ S11-16), the Kids Coping Scale, the "Ladder of life" which measures overall life satisfaction, and "Jag tycker jag är" (I think I am) which measures self-perception and self-esteem. The parents complete the SDQ P4-16 (parent-report version) and the Swedish scale "Familjeklimat" (Family Climate), which measures the emotional climate in the family. There is a need for evaluating the effects of support groups targeted to children from troubled families. This quasi-experimental study

  7. Experimental application of design principles in corrosion research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smyrl, W.H.; Pohlman, S.L.

    1977-01-01

    Experimental design criteria for corrosion investigations are based on established principles for systems that have uniform, or nearly uniform, corrosive attack. Scale-up or scale-down may be accomplished by proper use of dimensionless groups that measure the relative importance of interfacial kinetics, solution conductivity, and mass transfer. These principles have been applied to different fields of corrosion which include materials selection testing and protection; and to a specific corrosion problem involving attack of a substrate through holes in a protective overplate

  8. Considering RNAi experimental design in parasitic helminths.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalzell, Johnathan J; Warnock, Neil D; McVeigh, Paul; Marks, Nikki J; Mousley, Angela; Atkinson, Louise; Maule, Aaron G

    2012-04-01

    Almost a decade has passed since the first report of RNA interference (RNAi) in a parasitic helminth. Whilst much progress has been made with RNAi informing gene function studies in disparate nematode and flatworm parasites, substantial and seemingly prohibitive difficulties have been encountered in some species, hindering progress. An appraisal of current practices, trends and ideals of RNAi experimental design in parasitic helminths is both timely and necessary for a number of reasons: firstly, the increasing availability of parasitic helminth genome/transcriptome resources means there is a growing need for gene function tools such as RNAi; secondly, fundamental differences and unique challenges exist for parasite species which do not apply to model organisms; thirdly, the inherent variation in experimental design, and reported difficulties with reproducibility undermine confidence. Ideally, RNAi studies of gene function should adopt standardised experimental design to aid reproducibility, interpretation and comparative analyses. Although the huge variations in parasite biology and experimental endpoints make RNAi experimental design standardization difficult or impractical, we must strive to validate RNAi experimentation in helminth parasites. To aid this process we identify multiple approaches to RNAi experimental validation and highlight those which we deem to be critical for gene function studies in helminth parasites.

  9. Designing for informed group formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nicolajsen, Hanne Westh; Juel Jacobsen, Alice; Riis, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    A new design ―project preparation‖ preparing for the group formation in problem based project work is proposed and investigated. The main problem is to overcome group formation based on existing relations. The hypothesis is that theme development and group formation are somewhat counterproductive....... Following research based design methodology an experiment separating the two was initiated.This was to provide for more openness and creativity in contrast to a design in which existing relations seem predominant....

  10. Experimental Design: Review and Comment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-02-01

    creativity. Innovative modifications and extensions of classical experimental designs were developed and many useful articles were published in a short...Pjrazolone Industrielle ," Bulletin de la Soci~t6 Chimique de France, 11-12, 1171-1174. LI, K. C. (1983), "Minimaxity for Randomized Designs: Some

  11. Optimal Bayesian Experimental Design for Combustion Kinetics

    KAUST Repository

    Huan, Xun

    2011-01-04

    Experimental diagnostics play an essential role in the development and refinement of chemical kinetic models, whether for the combustion of common complex hydrocarbons or of emerging alternative fuels. Questions of experimental design—e.g., which variables or species to interrogate, at what resolution and under what conditions—are extremely important in this context, particularly when experimental resources are limited. This paper attempts to answer such questions in a rigorous and systematic way. We propose a Bayesian framework for optimal experimental design with nonlinear simulation-based models. While the framework is broadly applicable, we use it to infer rate parameters in a combustion system with detailed kinetics. The framework introduces a utility function that reflects the expected information gain from a particular experiment. Straightforward evaluation (and maximization) of this utility function requires Monte Carlo sampling, which is infeasible with computationally intensive models. Instead, we construct a polynomial surrogate for the dependence of experimental observables on model parameters and design conditions, with the help of dimension-adaptive sparse quadrature. Results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the surrogate, as well as the considerable effectiveness of the experimental design framework in choosing informative experimental conditions.

  12. Sequential experimental design based generalised ANOVA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chakraborty, Souvik, E-mail: csouvik41@gmail.com; Chowdhury, Rajib, E-mail: rajibfce@iitr.ac.in

    2016-07-15

    Over the last decade, surrogate modelling technique has gained wide popularity in the field of uncertainty quantification, optimization, model exploration and sensitivity analysis. This approach relies on experimental design to generate training points and regression/interpolation for generating the surrogate. In this work, it is argued that conventional experimental design may render a surrogate model inefficient. In order to address this issue, this paper presents a novel distribution adaptive sequential experimental design (DA-SED). The proposed DA-SED has been coupled with a variant of generalised analysis of variance (G-ANOVA), developed by representing the component function using the generalised polynomial chaos expansion. Moreover, generalised analytical expressions for calculating the first two statistical moments of the response, which are utilized in predicting the probability of failure, have also been developed. The proposed approach has been utilized in predicting probability of failure of three structural mechanics problems. It is observed that the proposed approach yields accurate and computationally efficient estimate of the failure probability.

  13. A quasi-experimental design based on regional variations: discussion of a method for evaluating outcomes of medical practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Loft, A; Andersen, T F; Madsen, Mette

    1989-01-01

    A large proportion of common medical practices are subject to substantial regional variation resulting in numerous natural experiments. Opportunities are thereby provided for outcome evaluation through quasi-experimental design. If patients treated in different regions were comparable a natural...... experiment involving alternative treatments could be regarded as 'pseudo randomised', but empirical investigations are needed to verify this prerequisite. This paper discusses the role of quasi-experimental designs in assessment of medical care with evaluation of outcomes after hysterectomy in Denmark...... groups are elicited from administrative data. We conclude that it is possible to establish a quasi-experimental design based on regional variations and that the comparability of the groups included may be assessed through registry data. The importance of technology diffusion for the prospects...

  14. Selecting and Improving Quasi-Experimental Designs in Effectiveness and Implementation Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handley, Margaret A; Lyles, Courtney R; McCulloch, Charles; Cattamanchi, Adithya

    2018-04-01

    Interventional researchers face many design challenges when assessing intervention implementation in real-world settings. Intervention implementation requires holding fast on internal validity needs while incorporating external validity considerations (such as uptake by diverse subpopulations, acceptability, cost, and sustainability). Quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) are increasingly employed to achieve a balance between internal and external validity. Although these designs are often referred to and summarized in terms of logistical benefits, there is still uncertainty about (a) selecting from among various QEDs and (b) developing strategies to strengthen the internal and external validity of QEDs. We focus here on commonly used QEDs (prepost designs with nonequivalent control groups, interrupted time series, and stepped-wedge designs) and discuss several variants that maximize internal and external validity at the design, execution and implementation, and analysis stages.

  15. Experimental design research approaches, perspectives, applications

    CERN Document Server

    Stanković, Tino; Štorga, Mario

    2016-01-01

    This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study—from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current research practice where methods are diverging and integration between individual, team and organizational under...

  16. A Customized Intervention for Dementia Caregivers: A Quasi-Experimental Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wawrziczny, Emilie; Larochette, Clotilde; Papo, David; Constant, Emilie; Ducharme, Francine; Kergoat, Marie-Jeanne; Pasquier, Florence; Antoine, Pascal

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study is to test the effects of a customized intervention on distress among caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) using a quasi-experimental design. Fifty-one spouse caregivers in the experimental group and 51 in the control group participated in the study. The effects of the intervention were examined by comparing caregivers' responses with questionnaires at pre-intervention baseline (T0) and immediately after intervention (T1). Differences were quantified using repeated-measures ANOVA. The analyses indicated a stabilizing effect of the intervention on caregivers' perceptions of PWD's daily functioning, self-esteem related to caregiving, quality of family support, and feeling of distress. Linear increases were observed regarding sense of preparedness and impact on daily routine, while no differences (interaction and linear effects) were observed for degree of self-efficacy, depression, impact on finances, or self-rated health. These findings show a preliminary efficacy of the intervention proposed in this study to prevent the exacerbation of caregivers' distress.

  17. The reactor safety study of experimental multi-purpose VHTR design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasuno, T.; Mitake, S.; Ezaki, M.; Suzuki, K.

    1981-01-01

    Over the past years, the design works of the Experimental Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) plant have been conducted at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. The conceptual design has been completed and the more detailed design works and the safety analysis of the experimental VHTR plant are continued. The purposes of design studies are to show the feasibility of the experimental VHTR program, to specify the characteristics and functions of the plant components, to point out the R and D items necessary for the experimental VHTR plant construction, and to analyze the feature of the plant safety. In this paper the summary of system design and safety features of the experimental reactor are indicated. Main issues are the safety philosophy for the design basis accident, the accidents assumed and the engineered safety systems adopted in the design works

  18. Two polynomial representations of experimental design

    OpenAIRE

    Notari, Roberto; Riccomagno, Eva; Rogantin, Maria-Piera

    2007-01-01

    In the context of algebraic statistics an experimental design is described by a set of polynomials called the design ideal. This, in turn, is generated by finite sets of polynomials. Two types of generating sets are mostly used in the literature: Groebner bases and indicator functions. We briefly describe them both, how they are used in the analysis and planning of a design and how to switch between them. Examples include fractions of full factorial designs and designs for mixture experiments.

  19. Designing for informed group formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nicolajsen, Hanne Westh; Juel Jacobsen, Alice; Riis, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    A new design ―project preparation‖ preparing for the group formation in problem based project work is proposed and investigated. The main problem is to overcome group formation based on existing relations. The hypothesis is that theme development and group formation are somewhat counterproductive...

  20. Experimental facilities for gas-cooled reactor safety studies. Task group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    In 2007, the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) completed a study on Nuclear Safety Research in OECD Countries: Support Facilities for Existing and Advanced Reactors (SFEAR) which focused on facilities suitable for current and advanced water reactor systems. In a subsequent collective opinion on the subject, the CSNI recommended to conduct a similar exercise for Generation IV reactor designs, aiming to develop a strategy for ' better preparing the CSNI to play a role in the planned extension of safety research beyond the needs set by current operating reactors'. In that context, the CSNI established the Task Group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF) in 2008 with the objective of providing an overview of facilities suitable for performing safety research relevant to gas-cooled reactors and sodium fast reactors. This report addresses gas-cooled reactors; a similar report covering sodium fast reactors is under preparation. The findings of the TAREF are expected to trigger internationally funded CSNI projects on relevant safety issues at the key facilities identified. Such CSNI-sponsored projects constitute a means for efficiently obtaining the necessary data through internationally co-ordinated research. This report provides an overview of experimental facilities that can be used to carry out nuclear safety research for gas-cooled reactors and identifies priorities for organizing international co-operative programmes at selected facilities. The information has been collected and analysed by a Task Group on Advanced Reactor Experimental Facilities (TAREF) as part of an ongoing initiative of the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) which aims to define and to implement a strategy for the efficient utilisation of facilities and resources for Generation IV reactor systems. (author)

  1. Experimental toxicology: Issues of statistics, experimental design, and replication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briner, Wayne; Kirwan, Jeral

    2017-01-01

    The difficulty of replicating experiments has drawn considerable attention. Issues with replication occur for a variety of reasons ranging from experimental design to laboratory errors to inappropriate statistical analysis. Here we review a variety of guidelines for statistical analysis, design, and execution of experiments in toxicology. In general, replication can be improved by using hypothesis driven experiments with adequate sample sizes, randomization, and blind data collection techniques. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. The Performance of Step-Wise Group Screening Designs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.M. Manene

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we evaluate the performance of step-wise group screening designs in which group-factors contain an equal number of factors in the initial step.  A usual assumption in group screening designs is that the directions of possible effects are known a-priori. In practice, however, this assumption is unreasonable. We shall examine step-wise group screening designs without errors in observations when this assumption is relaxed. We shall consider cancellations of effects within group-factors. The performance of step-wise group-screening designs shall then be compared with the performance of multistage group screening designs.

  3. Life Design Counseling Group Intervention with Portuguese Adolescents: A Process and Outcome Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Paulo; Janeiro, Isabel Nunes; Duarte, Maria Eduarda

    2018-01-01

    This article examines the process and outcome of a life design counseling group intervention with students in Grades 9 and 12. First, we applied a quasi-experimental methodology to analyze the intervention's effectiveness in promoting career certainty, career decision-making, self-efficacy, and career adaptability in a sample of 236 students.…

  4. Multiqubit Clifford groups are unitary 3-designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Huangjun

    2017-12-01

    Unitary t -designs are a ubiquitous tool in many research areas, including randomized benchmarking, quantum process tomography, and scrambling. Despite the intensive efforts of many researchers, little is known about unitary t -designs with t ≥3 in the literature. We show that the multiqubit Clifford group in any even prime-power dimension is not only a unitary 2-design, but also a 3-design. Moreover, it is a minimal 3-design except for dimension 4. As an immediate consequence, any orbit of pure states of the multiqubit Clifford group forms a complex projective 3-design; in particular, the set of stabilizer states forms a 3-design. In addition, our study is helpful in studying higher moments of the Clifford group, which are useful in many research areas ranging from quantum information science to signal processing. Furthermore, we reveal a surprising connection between unitary 3-designs and the physics of discrete phase spaces and thereby offer a simple explanation of why no discrete Wigner function is covariant with respect to the multiqubit Clifford group, which is of intrinsic interest in studying quantum computation.

  5. Bayesian optimal experimental design for the Shock-tube experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terejanu, G; Bryant, C M; Miki, K

    2013-01-01

    The sequential optimal experimental design formulated as an information-theoretic sensitivity analysis is applied to the ignition delay problem using real experimental. The optimal design is obtained by maximizing the statistical dependence between the model parameters and observables, which is quantified in this study using mutual information. This is naturally posed in the Bayesian framework. The study shows that by monitoring the information gain after each measurement update, one can design a stopping criteria for the experimental process which gives a minimal set of experiments to efficiently learn the Arrhenius parameters.

  6. On the construction of experimental designs for a given task by jointly optimizing several quality criteria: Pareto-optimal experimental designs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, M S; Sarabia, L A; Ortiz, M C

    2012-11-19

    Experimental designs for a given task should be selected on the base of the problem being solved and of some criteria that measure their quality. There are several such criteria because there are several aspects to be taken into account when making a choice. The most used criteria are probably the so-called alphabetical optimality criteria (for example, the A-, E-, and D-criteria related to the joint estimation of the coefficients, or the I- and G-criteria related to the prediction variance). Selecting a proper design to solve a problem implies finding a balance among these several criteria that measure the performance of the design in different aspects. Technically this is a problem of multi-criteria optimization, which can be tackled from different views. The approach presented here addresses the problem in its real vector nature, so that ad hoc experimental designs are generated with an algorithm based on evolutionary algorithms to find the Pareto-optimal front. There is not theoretical limit to the number of criteria that can be studied and, contrary to other approaches, no just one experimental design is computed but a set of experimental designs all of them with the property of being Pareto-optimal in the criteria needed by the user. Besides, the use of an evolutionary algorithm makes it possible to search in both continuous and discrete domains and avoid the need of having a set of candidate points, usual in exchange algorithms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Sample size determinations for group-based randomized clinical trials with different levels of data hierarchy between experimental and control arms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, Moonseong; Litwin, Alain H; Blackstock, Oni; Kim, Namhee; Arnsten, Julia H

    2017-02-01

    We derived sample size formulae for detecting main effects in group-based randomized clinical trials with different levels of data hierarchy between experimental and control arms. Such designs are necessary when experimental interventions need to be administered to groups of subjects whereas control conditions need to be administered to individual subjects. This type of trial, often referred to as a partially nested or partially clustered design, has been implemented for management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and is beginning to emerge more commonly in wider clinical settings. Depending on the research setting, the level of hierarchy of data structure for the experimental arm can be three or two, whereas that for the control arm is two or one. Such different levels of data hierarchy assume correlation structures of outcomes that are different between arms, regardless of whether research settings require two or three level data structure for the experimental arm. Therefore, the different correlations should be taken into account for statistical modeling and for sample size determinations. To this end, we considered mixed-effects linear models with different correlation structures between experimental and control arms to theoretically derive and empirically validate the sample size formulae with simulation studies.

  8. Robust Bayesian Experimental Design for Conceptual Model Discrimination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, H. V.; Tsai, F. T. C.

    2015-12-01

    A robust Bayesian optimal experimental design under uncertainty is presented to provide firm information for model discrimination, given the least number of pumping wells and observation wells. Firm information is the maximum information of a system can be guaranteed from an experimental design. The design is based on the Box-Hill expected entropy decrease (EED) before and after the experiment design and the Bayesian model averaging (BMA) framework. A max-min programming is introduced to choose the robust design that maximizes the minimal Box-Hill EED subject to that the highest expected posterior model probability satisfies a desired probability threshold. The EED is calculated by the Gauss-Hermite quadrature. The BMA method is used to predict future observations and to quantify future observation uncertainty arising from conceptual and parametric uncertainties in calculating EED. Monte Carlo approach is adopted to quantify the uncertainty in the posterior model probabilities. The optimal experimental design is tested by a synthetic 5-layer anisotropic confined aquifer. Nine conceptual groundwater models are constructed due to uncertain geological architecture and boundary condition. High-performance computing is used to enumerate all possible design solutions in order to identify the most plausible groundwater model. Results highlight the impacts of scedasticity in future observation data as well as uncertainty sources on potential pumping and observation locations.

  9. Revised design for the Tokamak experimental power reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stacey, W.M. Jr.; Abdou, M.A.; Brooks, J.N.

    1977-03-01

    A new, preliminary design has been identified for the tokamak experimental power reactor (EPR). The revised EPR design is simpler, more compact, less expensive and has somewhat better performance characteristics than the previous design, yet retains many of the previously developed design concepts. This report summarizes the principle features of the new EPR design, including performance and cost

  10. Does chess instruction improve mathematical problem-solving ability? Two experimental studies with an active control group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sala, Giovanni; Gobet, Fernand

    2017-12-01

    It has been proposed that playing chess enables children to improve their ability in mathematics. These claims have been recently evaluated in a meta-analysis (Sala & Gobet, 2016, Educational Research Review, 18, 46-57), which indicated a significant effect in favor of the groups playing chess. However, the meta-analysis also showed that most of the reviewed studies used a poor experimental design (in particular, they lacked an active control group). We ran two experiments that used a three-group design including both an active and a passive control group, with a focus on mathematical ability. In the first experiment (N = 233), a group of third and fourth graders was taught chess for 25 hours and tested on mathematical problem-solving tasks. Participants also filled in a questionnaire assessing their meta-cognitive ability for mathematics problems. The group playing chess was compared to an active control group (playing checkers) and a passive control group. The three groups showed no statistically significant difference in mathematical problem-solving or metacognitive abilities in the posttest. The second experiment (N = 52) broadly used the same design, but the Oriental game of Go replaced checkers in the active control group. While the chess-treated group and the passive control group slightly outperformed the active control group with mathematical problem solving, the differences were not statistically significant. No differences were found with respect to metacognitive ability. These results suggest that the effects (if any) of chess instruction, when rigorously tested, are modest and that such interventions should not replace the traditional curriculum in mathematics.

  11. Experimental design matters for statistical analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Signe Marie; Schaarschmidt, Frank; Onofri, Andrea

    2018-01-01

    , the experimental design is often more or less neglected when analyzing data. Two data examples were analyzed using different modelling strategies: Firstly, in a randomized complete block design, mean heights of maize treated with a herbicide and one of several adjuvants were compared. Secondly, translocation...... of an insecticide applied to maize as a seed treatment was evaluated using incomplete data from an unbalanced design with several layers of hierarchical sampling. Extensive simulations were carried out to further substantiate the effects of different modelling strategies. RESULTS: It was shown that results from sub...

  12. Development of the Biological Experimental Design Concept Inventory (BEDCI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deane, Thomas; Nomme, Kathy; Jeffery, Erica; Pollock, Carol; Birol, Gulnur

    2014-01-01

    Interest in student conception of experimentation inspired the development of a fully validated 14-question inventory on experimental design in biology (BEDCI) by following established best practices in concept inventory (CI) design. This CI can be used to diagnose specific examples of non-expert-like thinking in students and to evaluate the…

  13. Alpha Group: The Behemoth Apteryx. Final design proposal

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-01-01

    The participation of the University of Notre Dame's Alpha Design Group in the NASA/Universities Space Research Association (USRA) University Advanced Design Program for the 1990 to 1991 academic year is presented. Alpha Design Group presented a design for an aircraft called The Behemoth Apteryx.

  14. Conceptual design of helium experimental loop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Xingfu; Feng Kaiming

    2007-01-01

    In a future demonstration fusion power station (DEMO), helium is envisaged as coolant for plasma facing components, such as blanket and dive,or. All these components have a very complex geometry, with many parallel cooling channels, involving a complex helium flow distribution. Test blanket modules (TBM) of this concept will under go various tests in the experimental reactor ITER. For the qualification of TBM, it is indispensable to test mock-ups in a helium loop under realistic pressure and temperature profiles, in order to validate design codes, especially regarding mass flow and heat transition processes in narrow cooling channels. Similar testing must be performed for DEMO blanket, currently under development. A Helium Experimental Loop (HELOOP) is planed to be built for TBM tests. The design parameter of temperature, pressure, flow rate is 550 degree C, 10 MPa, l kg/s respectively. In particular, HELOOP is able to: perform full-scale tests of TBM under realistic conditions; test other components of the He-cooling system in ITER; qualify the purification circuit; obtain information for the design of the ITER cooling system. The main requirements and characteristics of the HELOOP facility and a preliminary conceptual design are described in the paper. (authors)

  15. Neural Network Assisted Experimental Designs for Food Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.S. Ramaswamy

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available The ability of artificial neural networks (ANN in predicting full factorial data from the fractional data corresponding to some of the commonly used experimental designs is explored in this paper. Factorial and fractional factorial designs such as L8, L9, L18, and Box and Behnken schemes were considered both in their original form and with some variations (L8+6, L15 and L9+1. Full factorial (3 factors x 5 levels and fractional data were generated employing sixteen different mathematical equations (four in each category: linear, with and without interactions, and non-linear, with and without interactions. Different ANN models were trained and the best model was chosen for each equation based on their ability to predict the fractional data. The best experimental design was then chosen based on their ability to simulate the full- factorial data for each equation. In several cases, the mean relative errors with the L18 design (which had more input data than other models were even higher than with other smaller fractional design. In general, the ANN assisted Lm, Box and Behnken, L15 and L18 designs were found to predict the full factorial data reasonably well with errors less than 5 %. The L8+6 model performed well with several experimental datasets reported in the literature.

  16. Experimental designs for autoregressive models applied to industrial maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amo-Salas, M.; López-Fidalgo, J.; Pedregal, D.J.

    2015-01-01

    Some time series applications require data which are either expensive or technically difficult to obtain. In such cases scheduling the points in time at which the information should be collected is of paramount importance in order to optimize the resources available. In this paper time series models are studied from a new perspective, consisting in the use of Optimal Experimental Design setup to obtain the best times to take measurements, with the principal aim of saving costs or discarding useless information. The model and the covariance function are expressed in an explicit form to apply the usual techniques of Optimal Experimental Design. Optimal designs for various approaches are computed and their efficiencies are compared. The methods working in an application of industrial maintenance of a critical piece of equipment at a petrochemical plant are shown. This simple model allows explicit calculations in order to show openly the procedure to find the correlation structure, needed for computing the optimal experimental design. In this sense the techniques used in this paper to compute optimal designs may be transferred to other situations following the ideas of the paper, but taking into account the increasing difficulty of the procedure for more complex models. - Highlights: • Optimal experimental design theory is applied to AR models to reduce costs. • The first observation has an important impact on any optimal design. • Either the lack of precision or small starting observations claim for large times. • Reasonable optimal times were obtained relaxing slightly the efficiency. • Optimal designs were computed in a predictive maintenance context

  17. Experimental design techniques in statistical practice a practical software-based approach

    CERN Document Server

    Gardiner, W P

    1998-01-01

    Provides an introduction to the diverse subject area of experimental design, with many practical and applicable exercises to help the reader understand, present and analyse the data. The pragmatic approach offers technical training for use of designs and teaches statistical and non-statistical skills in design and analysis of project studies throughout science and industry. Provides an introduction to the diverse subject area of experimental design and includes practical and applicable exercises to help understand, present and analyse the data Offers technical training for use of designs and teaches statistical and non-statistical skills in design and analysis of project studies throughout science and industry Discusses one-factor designs and blocking designs, factorial experimental designs, Taguchi methods and response surface methods, among other topics.

  18. Design activities of a fusion experimental breeder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, J.; Feng, K.; Sheng, G.

    1999-01-01

    The fusion reactor design studies in China are under the support of a fusion-fission hybrid reactor research Program. The purpose of this program is to explore the potential near-term application of fusion energy to support the long-term fusion energy on the one hand and the fission energy development on the other. During 1992-1996 a detailed consistent and integral conceptual design of a Fusion Experimental Breeder, FEB was completed. Beginning from 1996, a further design study towards an Engineering Outline Design of the FEB, FEB-E, has started. The design activities are briefly given. (author)

  19. Design activities of a fusion experimental breeder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, J.; Feng, K.; Sheng, G.

    2001-01-01

    The fusion reactor design studies in China are under the support of a fusion-fission hybrid reactor research Program. The purpose of this program is to explore the potential near-term application of fusion energy to support the long-term fusion energy on the one hand and the fission energy development on the other. During 1992-1996 a detailed consistent and integral conceptual design of a Fusion Experimental Breeder, FEB was completed. Beginning from 1996, a further design study towards an Engineering Outline Design of the FEB, FEB-E, has started. The design activities are briefly given. (author)

  20. An Introduction to Experimental Design Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cash, Philip; Stanković, Tino; Štorga, Mario

    2016-01-01

    Design research brings together influences from the whole gamut of social, psychological, and more technical sciences to create a tradition of empirical study stretching back over 50 years (Horvath 2004; Cross 2007). A growing part of this empirical tradition is experimental, which has gained in ...

  1. Experimental on-line platform for product conceptual design: OpenDesigNet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Magal-Royo

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper highlights the need for using specialised on-line collaborative environments by designers and product engineers who increasingly use Web 2.0 technology to search for information. Although there are professional channels and networks, there is no specific platform which helps during a new product’s conceptualisation phase. Open communication must thus be promoted and encouraged amongst design professionals and companies to form working groups thereby allowing them to work collaboratively in the most open and creative phase of product design, i.e. conceptualisation. The OpenDesigNet (ODN experimental platform has been developed so that designers and small- or medium-sized companies (SMC can access on-line collaborative tools to support the creation and promotion of new on-line products and assess their immediate social impact. This article presents some of the results obtained during the validation phase involving a platform satisfaction survey of design engineering students and has led to a first-hand assessment of the new platform’s potential impact on their professional future.

  2. Status of experimental data for the VHTR core design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Won Seok; Chang, Jong Hwa; Park, Chang Kue

    2004-05-01

    The VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor) is being emerged as a next generation nuclear reactor to demonstrate emission-free nuclear-assisted electricity and hydrogen production. The VHTR could be either a prismatic or pebble type helium cooled, graphite moderated reactor. The final decision will be made after the completion of the pre-conceptual design for each type. For the pre-conceptual design for both types, computational tools are being developed. Experimental data are required to validate the tools to be developed. Many experiments on the HTGR (High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor) cores have been performed to confirm the design data and to validate the design tools. The applicability and availability of the existing experimental data have been investigated for the VHTR core design in this report.

  3. Statistical experimental design for saltstone mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, S.P.; Postles, R.L.

    1991-01-01

    We used a mixture experimental design for determining a window of operability for a process at the Savannah River Site Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The high-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site is stored in large underground carbon steel tanks. The waste consists of a supernate layer and a sludge layer. 137 Cs will be removed from the supernate by precipitation and filtration. After further processing, the supernate layer will be fixed as a grout for disposal in concrete vaults. The remaining precipitate will be processed at the DWPF with treated waste tank sludge and glass-making chemicals into borosilicate glass. The leach rate properties of the supernate grout, formed from various mixes of solidified salt waste, needed to be determined. The effective diffusion coefficients for NO 3 and Cr were used as a measure of leach rate. Various mixes of cement, Ca(OH) 2 , salt, slag and flyash were used. These constituents comprise the whole mix. Thus, a mixture experimental design was used

  4. Experimental site and design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guenette, C. C. [SINTEF Applied Cemistry, Trondheim (Norway)

    1999-08-01

    Design and site selection criteria for the Svalbard oil spill experiments are described. All three experimental sites have coarse and mixed sediment beaches of sand and pebble; within each site wave exposure is very similar; along-shore and across-shore sediment characteristics are also relatively homogeneous. Tidal range is in the order of 0.6 m at neaps, and 1.8 m at springs. All three sites are open to wave action and are ice-free during the experimental period of mid-July to mid-October. Study plots at each site were selected for different treatments from within the continuous stretch of oiled shoreline, with oiled buffer zones between plots and at either end of the oiled zone. Treatments included mixing (tilling), sediment relocation (surf washing) and bioremediation (nutrient enrichment). Measurements and observations were carried out during the summers of 1997 and 1998. The characteristics measured were: wave and wind conditions; beach topography and elevation; sediment grain size distribution; mineral fines size distribution and mineral composition; background hydrocarbons; concentration of oil within experimental plots and the rate of oil loss over time; depth of oil penetration and thickness of the oiled sediment layer; oil concentration and toxicity of near-shore benthic sediments; mineral composition of suspended particulate material captured in sub-tidal sediment traps; and oil-fines interaction in near-shore water samples. 1 fig.

  5. Experimental site and design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guenette, C. C. [SINTEF Applied Cemistry, Trondheim (Norway)

    1999-07-01

    Design and site selection criteria for the Svalbard oil spill experiments are described. All three experimental sites have coarse and mixed sediment beaches of sand and pebble; within each site waveexposure is very similar; along-shore and across-shore sediment characteristics are also relatively homogeneous. Tidal range is in the order of 0.6 m at neaps, and 1.8 m at springs. All three sites are open to wave action and are ice-free during the experimental period of mid-July to mid-October. Study plots at each site were selected for different treatments from within the continuous stretch of oiled shoreline, with oiled buffer zones between plots and at either end of the oiled zone. Treatments included mixing (tilling), sediment relocation (surf washing) and bioremediation (nutrient enrichment). Measurements and observations were carried out during the summers of 1997 and 1998. The characteristics measured were: wave and wind conditions; beach topography and elevation; sediment grain size distribution; mineral fines size distribution and mineral composition; background hydrocarbons; concentration of oil within experimental plots and the rate of oil loss over time; depth of oil penetration and thickness of the oiled sediment layer; oil concentration and toxicity of near-shore benthic sediments; mineral composition of suspended particulate material captured in sub-tidal sediment traps; and oil-fines interaction in near-shore water samples. 1 fig.

  6. Design and economic justification of group blanks application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Todić

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Within the manufacturing process planning, blanks are either selected or designed, respectively forms of input material for the manufacture of products. Reviewed in this paper are three types of group blanks: group castings, group forgings manufactured by closed die forging and free forging, and group blanks manufactured by pressing melted metal in casts. The paper also presents requisites for design and evaluation of economic justification of group blanks application.

  7. System design overview of JAXA small supersonic experimental airplane (NEXST-1)

    OpenAIRE

    Takami, Hikaru; 高見 光

    2007-01-01

    The system of JAXA small supersonic experimental airplane (NEXST-1: National EXperimental Supersonic Transport-1) has been briefly explained. Some design problems that the designers have encountered have also been briefly explained.

  8. Using a Non-Equivalent Groups Quasi Experimental Design to Reduce Internal Validity Threats to Claims Made by Math and Science K-12 Teacher Recruitment Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moin, Laura

    2009-10-01

    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act national policy established in 2009 calls for ``meaningful data'' that demonstrate educational improvements, including the recruitment of high-quality teachers. The scant data available and the low credibility of many K-12 math/science teacher recruitment program evaluations remain the major barriers for the identification of effective recruitment strategies. Our study presents a methodology to better evaluate the impact of recruitment programs on increasing participants' interest in teaching careers. The research capitalizes on the use of several control groups and presents a non-equivalent groups quasi-experimental evaluation design that produces program effect claims with higher internal validity than claims generated by current program evaluations. With this method that compares responses to a teaching career interest question from undergraduates all along a continuum from just attending an information session to participating (or not) in the recruitment program, we were able to compare the effect of the program in increasing participants' interest in teaching careers versus the evolution of the same interest but in the absence of the program. We were also able to make suggestions for program improvement and further research. While our findings may not apply to other K-12 math/science teacher recruitment programs, we believe that our evaluation methodology does and will contribute to conduct stronger program evaluations. In so doing, our evaluation procedure may inform recruitment program designers and policy makers.

  9. Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 7: assessing the assumptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bärnighausen, Till; Oldenburg, Catherine; Tugwell, Peter; Bommer, Christian; Ebert, Cara; Barreto, Mauricio; Djimeu, Eric; Haber, Noah; Waddington, Hugh; Rockers, Peter; Sianesi, Barbara; Bor, Jacob; Fink, Günther; Valentine, Jeffrey; Tanner, Jeffrey; Stanley, Tom; Sierra, Eduardo; Tchetgen, Eric Tchetgen; Atun, Rifat; Vollmer, Sebastian

    2017-09-01

    Quasi-experimental designs are gaining popularity in epidemiology and health systems research-in particular for the evaluation of health care practice, programs, and policy-because they allow strong causal inferences without randomized controlled experiments. We describe the concepts underlying five important quasi-experimental designs: Instrumental Variables, Regression Discontinuity, Interrupted Time Series, Fixed Effects, and Difference-in-Differences designs. We illustrate each of the designs with an example from health research. We then describe the assumptions required for each of the designs to ensure valid causal inference and discuss the tests available to examine the assumptions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Optimal Experimental Design for Model Discrimination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myung, Jay I.; Pitt, Mark A.

    2009-01-01

    Models of a psychological process can be difficult to discriminate experimentally because it is not easy to determine the values of the critical design variables (e.g., presentation schedule, stimulus structure) that will be most informative in differentiating them. Recent developments in sampling-based search methods in statistics make it…

  11. Computer Aided Flowsheet Design using Group Contribution Methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bommareddy, Susilpa; Eden, Mario R.; Gani, Rafiqul

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, a systematic group contribution based framework is presented for synthesis of process flowsheets from a given set of input and output specifications. Analogous to the group contribution methods developed for molecular design, the framework employs process groups to represent...... information of each flowsheet to minimize the computational load and information storage. The design variables for the selected flowsheet(s) are identified through a reverse simulation approach and are used as initial estimates for rigorous simulation to verify the feasibility and performance of the design....

  12. Design and experimentation of BSFQ logic devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosoki, T.; Kodaka, H.; Kitagawa, M.; Okabe, Y.

    1999-01-01

    Rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) logic needs synchronous pulses for each gate, so the clock-wiring problem is more serious when designing larger scale circuits with this logic. So we have proposed a new SFQ logic which follows Boolean algebra perfectly by using set and reset pulses. With this logic, the level information of current input is transmitted with these pulses generated by level-to-pulse converters, and each gate calculates logic using its phase level made by these pulses. Therefore, our logic needs no clock in each gate. We called this logic 'Boolean SFQ (BSFQ) logic'. In this paper, we report design and experimentation for an AND gate with inverting input based on BSFQ logic. The experimental results for OR and XOR gates are also reported. (author)

  13. Using IMPRINT to Guide Experimental Design with Simulated Task Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-18

    USING IMPRINT TO GUIDE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN OF SIMULATED TASK ENVIRONMENTS THESIS Gregory...ENG-MS-15-J-052 USING IMPRINT TO GUIDE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN WITH SIMULATED TASK ENVIRONMENTS THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department...Civilian, USAF June 2015 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED. AFIT-ENG-MS-15-J-052 USING IMPRINT

  14. Lens Design Using Group Indices of Refraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, A. H.

    1995-01-01

    An approach to lens design is described in which the ratio of the group velocity to the speed of light (the group index) in glass is used, in conjunction with the more familiar phase index of refraction, to control certain chromatic properties of a system of thin lenses in contact. The first-order design of thin-lens systems is illustrated by examples incorporating the methods described.

  15. Report of the Working Design Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

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

  16. Optimizing an experimental design for an electromagnetic experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roux, Estelle; Garcia, Xavier

    2013-04-01

    Most of geophysical studies focus on data acquisition and analysis, but another aspect which is gaining importance is the discussion on acquisition of suitable datasets. This can be done through the design of an optimal experiment. Optimizing an experimental design implies a compromise between maximizing the information we get about the target and reducing the cost of the experiment, considering a wide range of constraints (logistical, financial, experimental …). We are currently developing a method to design an optimal controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) experiment to detect a potential CO2 reservoir and monitor this reservoir during and after CO2 injection. Our statistical algorithm combines the use of linearized inverse theory (to evaluate the quality of one given design via the objective function) and stochastic optimization methods like genetic algorithm (to examine a wide range of possible surveys). The particularity of our method is that it uses a multi-objective genetic algorithm that searches for designs that fit several objective functions simultaneously. One main advantage of this kind of technique to design an experiment is that it does not require the acquisition of any data and can thus be easily conducted before any geophysical survey. Our new experimental design algorithm has been tested with a realistic one-dimensional resistivity model of the Earth in the region of study (northern Spain CO2 sequestration test site). We show that a small number of well distributed observations have the potential to resolve the target. This simple test also points out the importance of a well chosen objective function. Finally, in the context of CO2 sequestration that motivates this study, we might be interested in maximizing the information we get about the reservoir layer. In that case, we show how the combination of two different objective functions considerably improve its resolution.

  17. Design and Experimental Study on Spinning Solid Rocket Motor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Heng; Jiang, Chunlan; Wang, Zaicheng

    The study on spinning solid rocket motor (SRM) which used as power plant of twice throwing structure of aerial submunition was introduced. This kind of SRM which with the structure of tangential multi-nozzle consists of a combustion chamber, propellant charge, 4 tangential nozzles, ignition device, etc. Grain design, structure design and prediction of interior ballistic performance were described, and problem which need mainly considered in design were analyzed comprehensively. Finally, in order to research working performance of the SRM, measure pressure-time curve and its speed, static test and dynamic test were conducted respectively. And then calculated values and experimental data were compared and analyzed. The results indicate that the designed motor operates normally, and the stable performance of interior ballistic meet demands. And experimental results have the guidance meaning for the pre-research design of SRM.

  18. Garenoxacin treatment of experimental endocarditis caused by viridans group streptococci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anguita-Alonso, Paloma; Rouse, Mark S; Piper, Kerryl E; Steckelberg, James M; Patel, Robin

    2006-04-01

    The activity of garenoxacin was compared to that of levofloxacin or penicillin in a rabbit model of Streptococcus mitis group (penicillin MIC, 0.125 microg/ml) and Streptococcus sanguinis group (penicillin MIC, 0.25 microg/ml) endocarditis. Garenoxacin and levofloxacin had MICs of 0.125 and 0.5 microg/ml, respectively, for both study isolates. Rabbits with catheter-induced aortic valve endocarditis were given no treatment, penicillin at 1.2x10(6) IU/8 h intramuscularly, garenoxacin at 20 mg/kg of body weight/12 h intravenously, or levofloxacin at 40 mg/kg/12 h intravenously. For both isolates tested, garenoxacin area under the curve (AUC)/MIC and maximum concentration of drug in serum (Cmax)/MIC ratios were 368 and 91, respectively. Rabbits were sacrificed after 3 days of treatment; cardiac valve vegetations were aseptically removed and quantitatively cultured. For S. mitis group experimental endocarditis, all studied antimicrobial agents were more active than no treatment (PS. sanguinis group endocarditis, no studied antimicrobial agents were more active than no treatment. We conclude that AUC/MIC and Cmax/MIC ratios may not predict activity of some quinolones in experimental viridans group endocarditis and that garenoxacin and levofloxacin may not be ideal choices for serious infections caused by some quinolone-susceptible viridans group streptococci.

  19. Study protocol: developing a decision system for inclusive housing: applying a systematic, mixed-method quasi-experimental design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Zeeman

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Identifying the housing preferences of people with complex disabilities is a much needed, but under-developed area of practice and scholarship. Despite the recognition that housing is a social determinant of health and quality of life, there is an absence of empirical methodologies that can practically and systematically involve consumers in this complex service delivery and housing design market. A rigorous process for making effective and consistent development decisions is needed to ensure resources are used effectively and the needs of consumers with complex disability are properly met. Methods/Design This 3-year project aims to identify how the public and private housing market in Australia can better respond to the needs of people with complex disabilities whilst simultaneously achieving key corporate objectives. First, using the Customer Relationship Management framework, qualitative (Nominal Group Technique and quantitative (Discrete Choice Experiment methods will be used to quantify the housing preferences of consumers and their carers. A systematic mixed-method, quasi-experimental design will then be used to quantify the development priorities of other key stakeholders (e.g., architects, developers, Government housing services etc. in relation to inclusive housing for people with complex disabilities. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 1 (experimental group will participate in a series of focus groups employing Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP methodology. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 2 (control group will participate in focus groups employing existing decision making processes to inclusive housing development (e.g., Risk, Opportunity, Cost, Benefit considerations. Using comparative stakeholder analysis, this research design will enable the AHP methodology (a proposed tool to guide inclusive housing development decisions to be tested. Discussion It is anticipated that the findings of this study

  20. Optimizing trial design in pharmacogenetics research: comparing a fixed parallel group, group sequential, and adaptive selection design on sample size requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boessen, Ruud; van der Baan, Frederieke; Groenwold, Rolf; Egberts, Antoine; Klungel, Olaf; Grobbee, Diederick; Knol, Mirjam; Roes, Kit

    2013-01-01

    Two-stage clinical trial designs may be efficient in pharmacogenetics research when there is some but inconclusive evidence of effect modification by a genomic marker. Two-stage designs allow to stop early for efficacy or futility and can offer the additional opportunity to enrich the study population to a specific patient subgroup after an interim analysis. This study compared sample size requirements for fixed parallel group, group sequential, and adaptive selection designs with equal overall power and control of the family-wise type I error rate. The designs were evaluated across scenarios that defined the effect sizes in the marker positive and marker negative subgroups and the prevalence of marker positive patients in the overall study population. Effect sizes were chosen to reflect realistic planning scenarios, where at least some effect is present in the marker negative subgroup. In addition, scenarios were considered in which the assumed 'true' subgroup effects (i.e., the postulated effects) differed from those hypothesized at the planning stage. As expected, both two-stage designs generally required fewer patients than a fixed parallel group design, and the advantage increased as the difference between subgroups increased. The adaptive selection design added little further reduction in sample size, as compared with the group sequential design, when the postulated effect sizes were equal to those hypothesized at the planning stage. However, when the postulated effects deviated strongly in favor of enrichment, the comparative advantage of the adaptive selection design increased, which precisely reflects the adaptive nature of the design. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. The interactive design collaboratorium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bødker, Susanne; Petersen, Marianne Graves; Krogh, Peter Gall

    2001-01-01

    This paper reports on experimental process in which a prototype was developed of an interactive design collaboatorium, in cooperation with a group of usability designers. In a longterm research cooperation, this usability group has changed its work practice in order to work in the design...... collaboratorium. The design collaboratorium was developed to move usability design away from a lab towards an open physical and organizational space where designer, users and engineers meet and collaborate, or work alongside each other. The cooperation between researchers and the usability gruop has resulted...... in practical experimentation in projects and in design of an experimental design collaboratorium emploing electronic whiteboards, 3D design documentation, etc. This experimental prototype has been evaluated in cooperative workshops. We report on the results of this evaluation....

  2. Optimizing Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) using Bayesian Experimental Design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toussaint, Udo von; Schwarz-Selinger, Thomas; Gori, Silvio

    2008-01-01

    Nuclear Reaction Analysis with 3 He holds the promise to measure Deuterium depth profiles up to large depths. However, the extraction of the depth profile from the measured data is an ill-posed inversion problem. Here we demonstrate how Bayesian Experimental Design can be used to optimize the number of measurements as well as the measurement energies to maximize the information gain. Comparison of the inversion properties of the optimized design with standard settings reveals huge possible gains. Application of the posterior sampling method allows to optimize the experimental settings interactively during the measurement process.

  3. 78 FR 13931 - Designation of Commander Nazir Group, Also Known as Mullah Nazir Group, as a Specially Designated...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8209] Designation of Commander Nazir Group, Also Known as... known as Mullah Nazir Group, committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism... the United States. Consistent with the determination in section 10 of Executive Order 13224 that...

  4. Study protocol: developing a decision system for inclusive housing: applying a systematic, mixed-method quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeeman, Heidi; Kendall, Elizabeth; Whitty, Jennifer A; Wright, Courtney J; Townsend, Clare; Smith, Dianne; Lakhani, Ali; Kennerley, Samantha

    2016-03-15

    Identifying the housing preferences of people with complex disabilities is a much needed, but under-developed area of practice and scholarship. Despite the recognition that housing is a social determinant of health and quality of life, there is an absence of empirical methodologies that can practically and systematically involve consumers in this complex service delivery and housing design market. A rigorous process for making effective and consistent development decisions is needed to ensure resources are used effectively and the needs of consumers with complex disability are properly met. This 3-year project aims to identify how the public and private housing market in Australia can better respond to the needs of people with complex disabilities whilst simultaneously achieving key corporate objectives. First, using the Customer Relationship Management framework, qualitative (Nominal Group Technique) and quantitative (Discrete Choice Experiment) methods will be used to quantify the housing preferences of consumers and their carers. A systematic mixed-method, quasi-experimental design will then be used to quantify the development priorities of other key stakeholders (e.g., architects, developers, Government housing services etc.) in relation to inclusive housing for people with complex disabilities. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 1 (experimental group) will participate in a series of focus groups employing Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) methodology. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 2 (control group) will participate in focus groups employing existing decision making processes to inclusive housing development (e.g., Risk, Opportunity, Cost, Benefit considerations). Using comparative stakeholder analysis, this research design will enable the AHP methodology (a proposed tool to guide inclusive housing development decisions) to be tested. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will enable stakeholders to incorporate consumer housing

  5. Visualizing Experimental Designs for Balanced ANOVA Models using Lisp-Stat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip W. Iversen

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available The structure, or Hasse, diagram described by Taylor and Hilton (1981, American Statistician provides a visual display of the relationships between factors for balanced complete experimental designs. Using the Hasse diagram, rules exist for determining the appropriate linear model, ANOVA table, expected means squares, and F-tests in the case of balanced designs. This procedure has been implemented in Lisp-Stat using a software representation of the experimental design. The user can interact with the Hasse diagram to add, change, or delete factors and see the effect on the proposed analysis. The system has potential uses in teaching and consulting.

  6. Fundamentals of statistical experimental design and analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Easterling, Robert G

    2015-01-01

    Professionals in all areas - business; government; the physical, life, and social sciences; engineering; medicine, etc. - benefit from using statistical experimental design to better understand their worlds and then use that understanding to improve the products, processes, and programs they are responsible for. This book aims to provide the practitioners of tomorrow with a memorable, easy to read, engaging guide to statistics and experimental design. This book uses examples, drawn from a variety of established texts, and embeds them in a business or scientific context, seasoned with a dash of humor, to emphasize the issues and ideas that led to the experiment and the what-do-we-do-next? steps after the experiment. Graphical data displays are emphasized as means of discovery and communication and formulas are minimized, with a focus on interpreting the results that software produce. The role of subject-matter knowledge, and passion, is also illustrated. The examples do not require specialized knowledge, and t...

  7. Bioinspiration: applying mechanical design to experimental biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flammang, Brooke E; Porter, Marianne E

    2011-07-01

    The production of bioinspired and biomimetic constructs has fostered much collaboration between biologists and engineers, although the extent of biological accuracy employed in the designs produced has not always been a priority. Even the exact definitions of "bioinspired" and "biomimetic" differ among biologists, engineers, and industrial designers, leading to confusion regarding the level of integration and replication of biological principles and physiology. By any name, biologically-inspired mechanical constructs have become an increasingly important research tool in experimental biology, offering the opportunity to focus research by creating model organisms that can be easily manipulated to fill a desired parameter space of structural and functional repertoires. Innovative researchers with both biological and engineering backgrounds have found ways to use bioinspired models to explore the biomechanics of organisms from all kingdoms to answer a variety of different questions. Bringing together these biologists and engineers will hopefully result in an open discourse of techniques and fruitful collaborations for experimental and industrial endeavors.

  8. Designating Domestic Terrorist Individuals or Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-01

    These individuals and groups include the Black Panther Party, Weather Underground, Covenant Sword and the Arm of the Lord, Ku Klux Klan, Earth...based and left wing and right wing groups such as the Covenant Sword and the Arm of the Lord, Ku Klux Klan, Black Panther Party, and the Weather...TERMS Watch list, domestic terrorism, validation, designation, domestic terrorism organization, material support, domestic surveillance, SHAC, animal

  9. Summary of the experimental multi-purpose very high temperature gas cooled reactor design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-12-01

    The report presents the design of Multi-purpose Very High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (the Experimental VHTR) based on the second stage of detailed design which was completed on March 1984, in the from of ''An application of reactor construction permit Appendix 8''. The Experimental VHTR is designed to satisfy with the design specification for the reactor thermal output 50 MW and reactor outlet temperature 950 0 C. The adequacy of the design is also checked by the safety analysis. The planning of plant system and safety is summarized such as safety design requirements and conformance with them, seismic design and plant arrangement. Concerning with the system of the Experimental VHTR the design basis, design data and components are described in the order. (author)

  10. Design Issues and Inference in Experimental L2 Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Thom; Llosa, Lorena

    2015-01-01

    Explicit attention to research design issues is essential in experimental second language (L2) research. Too often, however, such careful attention is not paid. This article examines some of the issues surrounding experimental L2 research and its relationships to causal inferences. It discusses the place of research questions and hypotheses,…

  11. Use of Experimental Design for Peuhl Cheese Process Optimization ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Use of Experimental Design for Peuhl Cheese Process Optimization. ... Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management ... This work consisting in use of a central composite design enables the determination of optimal process conditions concerning: leaf extract volume added (7 mL), heating temperature ...

  12. Experimentally supported control design for a direct drive robot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kostic, D.; Jager, de A.G.; Steinbuch, M.

    2002-01-01

    We promote the idea of an experimentally supported control design as a successful way to achieve accurate tracking of reference robot motions, under disturbance conditions and given the uncertainties arising from modeling errors. The Hinf robust control theory is used for design of motion

  13. Development and Validation of a Rubric for Diagnosing Students’ Experimental Design Knowledge and Difficulties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Annwesa P.; Anderson, Trevor R.

    2014-01-01

    It is essential to teach students about experimental design, as this facilitates their deeper understanding of how most biological knowledge was generated and gives them tools to perform their own investigations. Despite the importance of this area, surprisingly little is known about what students actually learn from designing biological experiments. In this paper, we describe a rubric for experimental design (RED) that can be used to measure knowledge of and diagnose difficulties with experimental design. The development and validation of the RED was informed by a literature review and empirical analysis of undergraduate biology students’ responses to three published assessments. Five areas of difficulty with experimental design were identified: the variable properties of an experimental subject; the manipulated variables; measurement of outcomes; accounting for variability; and the scope of inference appropriate for experimental findings. Our findings revealed that some difficulties, documented some 50 yr ago, still exist among our undergraduate students, while others remain poorly investigated. The RED shows great promise for diagnosing students’ experimental design knowledge in lecture settings, laboratory courses, research internships, and course-based undergraduate research experiences. It also shows potential for guiding the development and selection of assessment and instructional activities that foster experimental design. PMID:26086658

  14. Conceptual design of fusion experimental reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-03-01

    A conceptual design study (option C) has been carried out for the fusion experimental reactor (FER). In addition to design of the tokamak reactor and associated systems based on the reference design specifications, feasibility of a water-shield reactor concept was examined as a topical study. The design study for the reference tokamak reactor has produced a reactor concept for the FER, along with major R D items for the concept, based on close examinations on thermal design, electromagnetics, neutronics and remote maintenance. Particular efforts have been directed to the area of electromagnetics. Detailed analyses with close simulation models have been performed on PF coil arrangements and configurations, shell effects of the blanket for plasma position unstability, feedback control, and eddy currents during disruptions. The major design specifications are as follows; Peak fusion power 437 MW Major radius 5.5 m Minor radius 1.1 m Plasma elongation 1.5 Plasma current 5.3 MA Toroidal beta 4 % Field on axis 5.7 T (author)

  15. Conceptual design of Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tone, T.; Fujisawa, N.

    1983-01-01

    Conceptual design studies of the Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) have been performed. The FER has an objective of achieving selfignition and demonstrating engineering feasibility as a next generation tokamak to JT-60. Various concepts of the FER have been considered. The reference design is based on a double-null divertor. Optional design studies with some attractive features based on advanced concepts such as pumped limiter and RF current drive have been carried out. Key design parameters are; fusion power of 440 MW, average neutron wall loading of 1MW/m 2 , major radius of 5.5m, plasma minor radius of 1.1m, plasma elongation of 1.5, plasma current of 5.3MA, toroidal beta of 4%, toroidal field on plasma axis of 5.7T and tritium breeding ratio of above unity

  16. COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGNS COMBINING PROCESS AND MIXTURE VARIABLES .1. DESIGN CONSTRUCTION AND THEORETICAL EVALUATION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DUINEVELD, CAA; SMILDE, AK; DOORNBOS, DA

    The combination of process variables and mixture variables in experimental design is a problem which has not yet been solved. It is examined here whether a set of designs can be found which can be used for a series of models of reasonable complexity. The proposed designs are compared with known

  17. COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGNS COMBINING PROCESS AND MIXTURE VARIABLES .1. DESIGN CONSTRUCTION AND THEORETICAL EVALUATION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DUINEVELD, C. A. A.; Smilde, A. K.; Doornbos, D. A.

    1993-01-01

    The combination of process variables and mixture variables in experimental design is a problem which has not yet been solved. It is examined here whether a set of designs can be found which can be used for a series of models of reasonable complexity. The proposed designs are compared with known

  18. An Experimental Verification of morphology of ibuprofen crystals from CAMD designed solvent

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karunanithi, Arunprakash T.; Acquah, Charles; Achenie, Luke E.K.

    2007-01-01

    of crystals formed from solvents, necessitates additional experimental verification steps. In this work we report the experimental verification of crystal morphology for the case study, solvent design for ibuprofen crystallization, presented in Karunanithi et al. [2006. A computer-aided molecular design...

  19. Design and experimental characterization of an EM pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hee Reyoung; Hong, Sang Hee

    1999-01-01

    Generally, an EM (electromagnetic) pump is been employed to circulate electrically conducting liquids by using the Lorentz force. Especially, at the liquid metal reactor (LMR), which uses liquid sodium with high electrical conductivity as a coolant, an EM pump is needed due to its advantages over a mechanical pump, such as no rotating parts, no noise, and simplicity. In this research, an EM pump of a pilot annular linear induction type with a flow rate of 200 l/min was designed by using the electrical equivalent-circuit method. The pump was designed and manufactured by considering material and environmental (high temperature and liquid sodium) requirements. The pump performance was experimentally characterized based on input currents, voltage, power, and frequency. Also, the theoretical prediction was compared with the experimental result

  20. Experimental Design for Hanford Low-Activity Waste Glasses with High Waste Loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piepel, Gregory F.; Cooley, Scott K.; Vienna, John D.; Crum, Jarrod V.

    2015-01-01

    This report discusses the development of an experimental design for the initial phase of the Hanford low-activity waste (LAW) enhanced glass study. This report is based on a manuscript written for an applied statistics journal. Appendices A, B, and E include additional information relevant to the LAW enhanced glass experimental design that is not included in the journal manuscript. The glass composition experimental region is defined by single-component constraints (SCCs), linear multiple-component constraints (MCCs), and a nonlinear MCC involving 15 LAW glass components. Traditional methods and software for designing constrained mixture experiments with SCCs and linear MCCs are not directly applicable because of the nonlinear MCC. A modification of existing methodology to account for the nonlinear MCC was developed and is described in this report. One of the glass components, SO 3 , has a solubility limit in glass that depends on the composition of the balance of the glass. A goal was to design the experiment so that SO 3 would not exceed its predicted solubility limit for any of the experimental glasses. The SO 3 solubility limit had previously been modeled by a partial quadratic mixture model expressed in the relative proportions of the 14 other components. The partial quadratic mixture model was used to construct a nonlinear MCC in terms of all 15 components. In addition, there were SCCs and linear MCCs. This report describes how a layered design was generated to (i) account for the SCCs, linear MCCs, and nonlinear MCC and (ii) meet the goals of the study. A layered design consists of points on an outer layer, and inner layer, and a center point. There were 18 outer-layer glasses chosen using optimal experimental design software to augment 147 existing glass compositions that were within the LAW glass composition experimental region. Then 13 inner-layer glasses were chosen with the software to augment the existing and outer-layer glasses. The experimental

  1. Conceptual design of fusion experimental reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-02-01

    This report describes the engineering conceptual design of Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) which is to be built as a next generation tokamak machine. This design covers overall reactor systems including MHD equilibrium analysis, mechanical configuration of reactor, divertor, pumped limiter, first wall/breeding blanket/shield, toroidal field magnet, poloidal field magnet, cryostat, electromagnetic analysis, vacuum system, power handling and conversion, NBI, RF heating device, tritium system, neutronics, maintenance, cooling system and layout of facilities. The engineering comparison of a divertor with pumped limiters and safety analysis of reactor systems are also conducted. (author)

  2. Fast Bayesian optimal experimental design and its applications

    KAUST Repository

    Long, Quan

    2015-01-01

    We summarize our Laplace method and multilevel method of accelerating the computation of the expected information gain in a Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design (OED). Laplace method is a widely-used method to approximate an integration

  3. Optimal Experimental Design of Furan Shock Tube Kinetic Experiments

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Daesang

    2015-01-07

    A Bayesian optimal experimental design methodology has been developed and applied to refine the rate coefficients of elementary reactions in Furan combustion. Furans are considered as potential renewable fuels. We focus on the Arrhenius rates of Furan + OH ↔ Furyl-2 + H2O and Furan ↔ OH Furyl-3 + H2O, and rely on the OH consumption rate as experimental observable. A polynomial chaos surrogate is first constructed using an adaptive pseudo-spectral projection algorithm. The PC surrogate is then exploited in conjunction with a fast estimation of the expected information gain in order to determine the optimal design in the space of initial temperatures and OH concentrations.

  4. Experimental design and quantitative analysis of microbial community multiomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallick, Himel; Ma, Siyuan; Franzosa, Eric A; Vatanen, Tommi; Morgan, Xochitl C; Huttenhower, Curtis

    2017-11-30

    Studies of the microbiome have become increasingly sophisticated, and multiple sequence-based, molecular methods as well as culture-based methods exist for population-scale microbiome profiles. To link the resulting host and microbial data types to human health, several experimental design considerations, data analysis challenges, and statistical epidemiological approaches must be addressed. Here, we survey current best practices for experimental design in microbiome molecular epidemiology, including technologies for generating, analyzing, and integrating microbiome multiomics data. We highlight studies that have identified molecular bioactives that influence human health, and we suggest steps for scaling translational microbiome research to high-throughput target discovery across large populations.

  5. The influence of the design matrix on treatment effect estimates in the quantitative analyses of single-subject experimental design research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeyaert, Mariola; Ugille, Maaike; Ferron, John M; Beretvas, S Natasha; Van den Noortgate, Wim

    2014-09-01

    The quantitative methods for analyzing single-subject experimental data have expanded during the last decade, including the use of regression models to statistically analyze the data, but still a lot of questions remain. One question is how to specify predictors in a regression model to account for the specifics of the design and estimate the effect size of interest. These quantitative effect sizes are used in retrospective analyses and allow synthesis of single-subject experimental study results which is informative for evidence-based decision making, research and theory building, and policy discussions. We discuss different design matrices that can be used for the most common single-subject experimental designs (SSEDs), namely, the multiple-baseline designs, reversal designs, and alternating treatment designs, and provide empirical illustrations. The purpose of this article is to guide single-subject experimental data analysts interested in analyzing and meta-analyzing SSED data. © The Author(s) 2014.

  6. Intuitive web-based experimental design for high-throughput biomedical data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedrich, Andreas; Kenar, Erhan; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Nahnsen, Sven

    2015-01-01

    Big data bioinformatics aims at drawing biological conclusions from huge and complex biological datasets. Added value from the analysis of big data, however, is only possible if the data is accompanied by accurate metadata annotation. Particularly in high-throughput experiments intelligent approaches are needed to keep track of the experimental design, including the conditions that are studied as well as information that might be interesting for failure analysis or further experiments in the future. In addition to the management of this information, means for an integrated design and interfaces for structured data annotation are urgently needed by researchers. Here, we propose a factor-based experimental design approach that enables scientists to easily create large-scale experiments with the help of a web-based system. We present a novel implementation of a web-based interface allowing the collection of arbitrary metadata. To exchange and edit information we provide a spreadsheet-based, humanly readable format. Subsequently, sample sheets with identifiers and metainformation for data generation facilities can be created. Data files created after measurement of the samples can be uploaded to a datastore, where they are automatically linked to the previously created experimental design model.

  7. Experimental burn plot trial in the Kruger National Park: history, experimental design and suggestions for data analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Biggs

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available The experimental burn plot (EBP trial initiated in 1954 is one of few ongoing long-termfire ecology research projects in Africa. The trial aims to assess the impacts of differentfire regimes in the Kruger National Park. Recent studies on the EBPs have raised questions as to the experimental design of the trial, and the appropriate model specificationwhen analysing data. Archival documentation reveals that the original design was modified on several occasions, related to changes in the park's fire policy. These modifications include the addition of extra plots, subdivision of plots and changes in treatmentsover time, and have resulted in a design which is only partially randomised. The representativity of the trial plots has been questioned on account of their relatively small size,the concentration of herbivores on especially the frequently burnt plots, and soil variation between plots. It is suggested that these factors be included as covariates inexplanatory models or that certain plots be excluded from data analysis based on resultsof independent studies of these factors. Suggestions are provided for the specificationof the experimental design when analysing data using Analysis of Variance. It is concluded that there is no practical alternative to treating the trial as a fully randomisedcomplete block design.

  8. Experimental and Sampling Design for the INL-2 Sample Collection Operational Test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Piepel, Gregory F.; Amidan, Brett G.; Matzke, Brett D.

    2009-02-16

    This report describes the experimental and sampling design developed to assess sampling approaches and methods for detecting contamination in a building and clearing the building for use after decontamination. An Idaho National Laboratory (INL) building will be contaminated with BG (Bacillus globigii, renamed Bacillus atrophaeus), a simulant for Bacillus anthracis (BA). The contamination, sampling, decontamination, and re-sampling will occur per the experimental and sampling design. This INL-2 Sample Collection Operational Test is being planned by the Validated Sampling Plan Working Group (VSPWG). The primary objectives are: 1) Evaluate judgmental and probabilistic sampling for characterization as well as probabilistic and combined (judgment and probabilistic) sampling approaches for clearance, 2) Conduct these evaluations for gradient contamination (from low or moderate down to absent or undetectable) for different initial concentrations of the contaminant, 3) Explore judgment composite sampling approaches to reduce sample numbers, 4) Collect baseline data to serve as an indication of the actual levels of contamination in the tests. A combined judgmental and random (CJR) approach uses Bayesian methodology to combine judgmental and probabilistic samples to make clearance statements of the form "X% confidence that at least Y% of an area does not contain detectable contamination” (X%/Y% clearance statements). The INL-2 experimental design has five test events, which 1) vary the floor of the INL building on which the contaminant will be released, 2) provide for varying the amount of contaminant released to obtain desired concentration gradients, and 3) investigate overt as well as covert release of contaminants. Desirable contaminant gradients would have moderate to low concentrations of contaminant in rooms near the release point, with concentrations down to zero in other rooms. Such gradients would provide a range of contamination levels to challenge the sampling

  9. Design study of the experimental multi-purpose high temperature gas-cooled reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsunoda, Ryokichi

    1981-01-01

    In this paper, the design study carried out since 1973 is outlined. The basic conceptual design was performed in fiscal 1973. In this design, concept was established on the total system of the experimental high temperature gas-cooled reactor including heat-utilizing system. The first conceptual design was carried out in fiscal 1974. The range of design was limited to the experimental reactor and its direct heat-removing system. The part 2 of the first conceptual design was performed in fiscal 1975, and the system design concerning the plant characteristics was made. The part 1 of the adjustment design was carried out in fiscal 1976, and the subject was the adjustment design of plant systems. The part 2 was performed in fiscal 1977, and the characteristics of plant control system were analyzed. In fiscal 1978, the analysis of flow characteristics in the core was made. The integrated system design was carried out in fiscal 1979, and the design of the total plant system except heat-utilizing system was started again. The part 1 of the detailed design was performed in fiscal 1980, and in addition, the possibility of increasing power output was examined. The construction cost of the experimental reactor plant estimated in 1979 was far higher than that in 1973. (Kako, I.)

  10. Optimal Experimental Design for Large-Scale Bayesian Inverse Problems

    KAUST Repository

    Ghattas, Omar

    2014-01-06

    We develop a Bayesian framework for the optimal experimental design of the shock tube experiments which are being carried out at the KAUST Clean Combustion Research Center. The unknown parameters are the pre-exponential parameters and the activation energies in the reaction rate expressions. The control parameters are the initial mixture composition and the temperature. The approach is based on first building a polynomial based surrogate model for the observables relevant to the shock tube experiments. Based on these surrogates, a novel MAP based approach is used to estimate the expected information gain in the proposed experiments, and to select the best experimental set-ups yielding the optimal expected information gains. The validity of the approach is tested using synthetic data generated by sampling the PC surrogate. We finally outline a methodology for validation using actual laboratory experiments, and extending experimental design methodology to the cases where the control parameters are noisy.

  11. Study of Formulation Variables Influencing Polymeric Microparticles by Experimental Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jitendra B. Naik

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to prepare diclofenac sodium loaded microparticles by single emulsion [oil-in-water (o/w] solvent evaporation method. The 22 experimental design methodology was used to evaluate the effect of two formulation variables on microspheres properties using the Design-Expert® software and evaluated for their particle size, morphology, and encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release. The graphical and mathematical analysis of the design showed that the independent variables were a significant effect on the encapsulation efficiency and drug release of microparticles. The low magnitudes of error and significant values of R2 prove the high prognostic ability of the design. The microspheres showed high encapsulation efficiency with an increase in the amount of polymer and decrease in the amount of PVA in the formulation. The particles were found to be spherical with smooth surface. Prolonged drug release and enhancement of encapsulation efficiency of polymeric microparticles can be successfully obtained with an application of experimental design technique.

  12. Experimental Design for Hanford Low-Activity Waste Glasses with High Waste Loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Piepel, Gregory F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cooley, Scott K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Vienna, John D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Crum, Jarrod V. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2015-07-24

    This report discusses the development of an experimental design for the initial phase of the Hanford low-activity waste (LAW) enhanced glass study. This report is based on a manuscript written for an applied statistics journal. Appendices A, B, and E include additional information relevant to the LAW enhanced glass experimental design that is not included in the journal manuscript. The glass composition experimental region is defined by single-component constraints (SCCs), linear multiple-component constraints (MCCs), and a nonlinear MCC involving 15 LAW glass components. Traditional methods and software for designing constrained mixture experiments with SCCs and linear MCCs are not directly applicable because of the nonlinear MCC. A modification of existing methodology to account for the nonlinear MCC was developed and is described in this report. One of the glass components, SO3, has a solubility limit in glass that depends on the composition of the balance of the glass. A goal was to design the experiment so that SO3 would not exceed its predicted solubility limit for any of the experimental glasses. The SO3 solubility limit had previously been modeled by a partial quadratic mixture model expressed in the relative proportions of the 14 other components. The partial quadratic mixture model was used to construct a nonlinear MCC in terms of all 15 components. In addition, there were SCCs and linear MCCs. This report describes how a layered design was generated to (i) account for the SCCs, linear MCCs, and nonlinear MCC and (ii) meet the goals of the study. A layered design consists of points on an outer layer, and inner layer, and a center point. There were 18 outer-layer glasses chosen using optimal experimental design software to augment 147 existing glass compositions that were within the LAW glass composition experimental region. Then 13 inner-layer glasses were chosen with the software to augment the existing and outer

  13. Statistical experimental design for saltstone mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, S.P.; Postles, R.L.

    1992-01-01

    The authors used a mixture experimental design for determining a window of operability for a process at the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Site, Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The high-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site is stored in large underground carbon steel tanks. The waste consists of a supernate layer and a sludge layer. Cesium-137 will be removed from the supernate by precipitation and filtration. After further processing, the supernate layer will be fixed as a grout for disposal in concrete vaults. The remaining precipitate will be processed at the DWPF with treated waste tank sludge and glass-making chemicals into borosilicate glass. The leach-rate properties of the supernate grout formed from various mixes of solidified coefficients for NO 3 and chromium were used as a measure of leach rate. Various mixes of cement, Ca(OH) 2 , salt, slag, and fly ash were used. These constituents comprise the whole mix. Thus, a mixture experimental design was used. The regression procedure (PROC REG) in SAS was used to produce analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics. In addition, detailed model diagnostics are readily available for identifying suspicious observations. For convenience, trillinear contour (TLC) plots, a standard graphics tool for examining mixture response surfaces, of the fitted model were produced using ECHIP

  14. MUP, CEC-DES, STRADE. Codes for uncertainty propagation, experimental design and stratified random sampling techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amendola, A.; Astolfi, M.; Lisanti, B.

    1983-01-01

    The report describes the how-to-use of the codes: MUP (Monte Carlo Uncertainty Propagation) for uncertainty analysis by Monte Carlo simulation, including correlation analysis, extreme value identification and study of selected ranges of the variable space; CEC-DES (Central Composite Design) for building experimental matrices according to the requirements of Central Composite and Factorial Experimental Designs; and, STRADE (Stratified Random Design) for experimental designs based on the Latin Hypercube Sampling Techniques. Application fields, of the codes are probabilistic risk assessment, experimental design, sensitivity analysis and system identification problems

  15. Conceptual design of fusion experimental reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    The Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) being developed at JAERI as a next generation tokamak to JT-60 has a major mission of realizing a self-ignited long-burning DT plasma and demonstrating engineering feasibility. During FY82 and FY83 a comprehensive and intensive conceptual design study has been conducted for a pulsed operation FER as a reference option which employs a conventional inductive current drive and a double-null divertor. In parallel with the reference design, studies have been carried out to evaluate advanced reactor concepts such as quasi-steady state operation and steady state operation based on RF current drive and pumped limiter, and comparative studies for single-null divertor/pumped limiter. This report presents major results obtained primarily from FY83 design studies, while the results of FY82 design studies are described in previous references (JAERI-M 83-213--216). (author)

  16. Exploring Challenging Group Dynamics in Participatory Design with Children

    OpenAIRE

    Van Mechelen, Maarten; Gielen, Matthieu; Vanden Abeele, Vero; Laenen, Ann; Zaman, Bieke

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a structured way to evaluate challenging group or 'codesign dynamics' in participatory design processes with children. In the form of a critical reflection on a project in which 103 children were involved as design partners, we describe the most prevalent codesign dynamics. For example, some groups rush too quickly towards consensus to safeguard group cohesiveness instead of examining other choice alternatives (i.e., groupthink). Besides 'groupthink' we describe five more ...

  17. Group Contribution Based Process Flowsheet Synthesis, Design and Modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    d'Anterroches, Loïc; Gani, Rafiqul

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents a process-group-contribution Method to model. simulate and synthesize a flowsheet. The process-group based representation of a flowsheet together with a process "property" model are presented. The process-group based synthesis method is developed on the basis of the computer...... aided molecular design methods and gives the ability to screen numerous process alternatives without the need to use the rigorous process simulation models. The process "property" model calculates the design targets for the generated flowsheet alternatives while a reverse modelling method (also...... developed) determines the design variables matching the target. A simple illustrative example highlighting the main features of the methodology is also presented....

  18. Experimental Design: Utilizing Microsoft Mathematics in Teaching and Learning Calculus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oktaviyanthi, Rina; Supriani, Yani

    2015-01-01

    The experimental design was conducted to investigate the use of Microsoft Mathematics, free software made by Microsoft Corporation, in teaching and learning Calculus. This paper reports results from experimental study details on implementation of Microsoft Mathematics in Calculus, students' achievement and the effects of the use of Microsoft…

  19. Methods for the neutronic design of a Supersara experimental loop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casali, F.; Cepraga, D.

    1982-01-01

    This paper describes a method for the neutronic design of experimental loops irradiated in D 2 O experimental reactors, like Essor. The calculation approach concerns the definition of a Weigner-Seitz cell where the loop under examination be subjected to the same neutronic conditions as in the actual reactor

  20. Set membership experimental design for biological systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marvel Skylar W

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Experimental design approaches for biological systems are needed to help conserve the limited resources that are allocated for performing experiments. The assumptions used when assigning probability density functions to characterize uncertainty in biological systems are unwarranted when only a small number of measurements can be obtained. In these situations, the uncertainty in biological systems is more appropriately characterized in a bounded-error context. Additionally, effort must be made to improve the connection between modelers and experimentalists by relating design metrics to biologically relevant information. Bounded-error experimental design approaches that can assess the impact of additional measurements on model uncertainty are needed to identify the most appropriate balance between the collection of data and the availability of resources. Results In this work we develop a bounded-error experimental design framework for nonlinear continuous-time systems when few data measurements are available. This approach leverages many of the recent advances in bounded-error parameter and state estimation methods that use interval analysis to generate parameter sets and state bounds consistent with uncertain data measurements. We devise a novel approach using set-based uncertainty propagation to estimate measurement ranges at candidate time points. We then use these estimated measurements at the candidate time points to evaluate which candidate measurements furthest reduce model uncertainty. A method for quickly combining multiple candidate time points is presented and allows for determining the effect of adding multiple measurements. Biologically relevant metrics are developed and used to predict when new data measurements should be acquired, which system components should be measured and how many additional measurements should be obtained. Conclusions The practicability of our approach is illustrated with a case study. This

  1. Conceptual design studies of experimental and demonstration fusion reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    Since 1973 the FINTOR Group has been involved in conceptual design studies of TOKAMAK-type fusion reactors to precede the construction of a prototype power reactor plant. FINTOR-1 was the first conceptual design aimed at investigating the main physics and engineering constraints on a minimum-size (both dimensions and thermal power) tokamak experimental reactor. The required plasma energy confinement time as evaluated by various power balance models was compared with the values resulting from different transport models. For the reference design, an energy confinement time ten times smaller than neoclassical was assumed. This also implied a rather high (thermally stable) working temperature (above 20 keV) for the reactor. Other relevant points of the design were: circular plasma cross section, single-null axisymmetric divertor; lithium breeder, stainless steel structures, helium coolant; modular blanket and shield structure; copper-stabilized, superconducting Nb-Ti toroidal field and divertor coils; vertical field and transformer coils inside the toroidal coils; vacuum-tight containment vessel. Solutions involving air and iron transformer cores were compared. These assumptions led to a minimum size reactor with a thermal power of about 100MW and rather large dimensions (major radius of about 9m) similar to those of full-scale power reactors considered in other conceptual studies. The FINTOR-1 analysis was completed by the end of 1976. In 1977 a conceptual design of a Demonstration Power Reactor Plant (FINTOR-D) was started. In this study the main working assumptions differing from those of FINTOR-1 are: non-circular plasma cross section; plasma confinement compatible with trapped ion instabilities; cold (gas) blanket sufficient for wall protection (no divertor); wall loading between 1-3MW/m 2 and thermal power of a few GW. (author)

  2. Achieving optimal SERS through enhanced experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisk, Heidi; Westley, Chloe; Turner, Nicholas J; Goodacre, Royston

    2016-01-01

    One of the current limitations surrounding surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is the perceived lack of reproducibility. SERS is indeed challenging, and for analyte detection, it is vital that the analyte interacts with the metal surface. However, as this is analyte dependent, there is not a single set of SERS conditions that are universal. This means that experimental optimisation for optimum SERS response is vital. Most researchers optimise one factor at a time, where a single parameter is altered first before going onto optimise the next. This is a very inefficient way of searching the experimental landscape. In this review, we explore the use of more powerful multivariate approaches to SERS experimental optimisation based on design of experiments and evolutionary computational methods. We particularly focus on colloidal-based SERS rather than thin film preparations as a result of their popularity. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Development and Validation of a Rubric for Diagnosing Students' Experimental Design Knowledge and Difficulties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Annwesa P; Anderson, Trevor R; Pelaez, Nancy

    2014-01-01

    It is essential to teach students about experimental design, as this facilitates their deeper understanding of how most biological knowledge was generated and gives them tools to perform their own investigations. Despite the importance of this area, surprisingly little is known about what students actually learn from designing biological experiments. In this paper, we describe a rubric for experimental design (RED) that can be used to measure knowledge of and diagnose difficulties with experimental design. The development and validation of the RED was informed by a literature review and empirical analysis of undergraduate biology students' responses to three published assessments. Five areas of difficulty with experimental design were identified: the variable properties of an experimental subject; the manipulated variables; measurement of outcomes; accounting for variability; and the scope of inference appropriate for experimental findings. Our findings revealed that some difficulties, documented some 50 yr ago, still exist among our undergraduate students, while others remain poorly investigated. The RED shows great promise for diagnosing students' experimental design knowledge in lecture settings, laboratory courses, research internships, and course-based undergraduate research experiences. It also shows potential for guiding the development and selection of assessment and instructional activities that foster experimental design. © 2014 A. P. Dasgupta et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  4. Conceptual design of fusion experimental reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    Conceptual Design of Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) of which the objective will be to realize self-ignition with D-T reaction is reported. Mechanical Configurations of FER are characterized with a noncircular plasma and a double-null divertor. The primary aim of design studies is to demonstrate fissibility of reactor structures as compact and simple as possible with removable torus sectors. The structures of each component such as a first-wall, blanket, shielding, divertor, magnet and so on have been designed. It is also discussed about essential reactor plant system requirements. In addition to the above, a brief concept of a steady-state reactor based on RF current drive is also discussed. The main aim, in this time, is to examine physical studies of a possible RF steady-state reactor. (author)

  5. Experimental validation of a new heterogeneous mechanical test design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aquino, J.; Campos, A. Andrade; Souto, N.; Thuillier, S.

    2018-05-01

    Standard material parameters identification strategies generally use an extensive number of classical tests for collecting the required experimental data. However, a great effort has been made recently by the scientific and industrial communities to support this experimental database on heterogeneous tests. These tests can provide richer information on the material behavior allowing the identification of a more complete set of material parameters. This is a result of the recent development of full-field measurements techniques, like digital image correlation (DIC), that can capture the heterogeneous deformation fields on the specimen surface during the test. Recently, new specimen geometries were designed to enhance the richness of the strain field and capture supplementary strain states. The butterfly specimen is an example of these new geometries, designed through a numerical optimization procedure where an indicator capable of evaluating the heterogeneity and the richness of strain information. However, no experimental validation was yet performed. The aim of this work is to experimentally validate the heterogeneous butterfly mechanical test in the parameter identification framework. For this aim, DIC technique and a Finite Element Model Up-date inverse strategy are used together for the parameter identification of a DC04 steel, as well as the calculation of the indicator. The experimental tests are carried out in a universal testing machine with the ARAMIS measuring system to provide the strain states on the specimen surface. The identification strategy is accomplished with the data obtained from the experimental tests and the results are compared to a reference numerical solution.

  6. Multi-type Step-wise group screening designs with unequal A-priori ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... design with unequal group sizes and obtain values of the group sizes that minimize the expected number of runs.. Keywords: Group Screening, Group factors, multi-type step-wise group screening, expected number of runs, Optimum group screening designs > East African Journal of Statistics Vol. 1 (1) 2005: pp. 49-67 ...

  7. Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design Using Multilevel Monte Carlo

    KAUST Repository

    Ben Issaid, Chaouki; Long, Quan; Scavino, Marco; Tempone, Raul

    2015-01-01

    Experimental design is very important since experiments are often resource-exhaustive and time-consuming. We carry out experimental design in the Bayesian framework. To measure the amount of information, which can be extracted from the data in an experiment, we use the expected information gain as the utility function, which specifically is the expected logarithmic ratio between the posterior and prior distributions. Optimizing this utility function enables us to design experiments that yield the most informative data for our purpose. One of the major difficulties in evaluating the expected information gain is that the integral is nested and can be high dimensional. We propose using Multilevel Monte Carlo techniques to accelerate the computation of the nested high dimensional integral. The advantages are twofold. First, the Multilevel Monte Carlo can significantly reduce the cost of the nested integral for a given tolerance, by using an optimal sample distribution among different sample averages of the inner integrals. Second, the Multilevel Monte Carlo method imposes less assumptions, such as the concentration of measures, required by Laplace method. We test our Multilevel Monte Carlo technique using a numerical example on the design of sensor deployment for a Darcy flow problem governed by one dimensional Laplace equation. We also compare the performance of the Multilevel Monte Carlo, Laplace approximation and direct double loop Monte Carlo.

  8. Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design Using Multilevel Monte Carlo

    KAUST Repository

    Ben Issaid, Chaouki

    2015-01-07

    Experimental design is very important since experiments are often resource-exhaustive and time-consuming. We carry out experimental design in the Bayesian framework. To measure the amount of information, which can be extracted from the data in an experiment, we use the expected information gain as the utility function, which specifically is the expected logarithmic ratio between the posterior and prior distributions. Optimizing this utility function enables us to design experiments that yield the most informative data for our purpose. One of the major difficulties in evaluating the expected information gain is that the integral is nested and can be high dimensional. We propose using Multilevel Monte Carlo techniques to accelerate the computation of the nested high dimensional integral. The advantages are twofold. First, the Multilevel Monte Carlo can significantly reduce the cost of the nested integral for a given tolerance, by using an optimal sample distribution among different sample averages of the inner integrals. Second, the Multilevel Monte Carlo method imposes less assumptions, such as the concentration of measures, required by Laplace method. We test our Multilevel Monte Carlo technique using a numerical example on the design of sensor deployment for a Darcy flow problem governed by one dimensional Laplace equation. We also compare the performance of the Multilevel Monte Carlo, Laplace approximation and direct double loop Monte Carlo.

  9. COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGNS COMBINING PROCESS AND MIXTURE VARIABLES .2. DESIGN EVALUATION ON MEASURED DATA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DUINEVELD, C. A. A.; Smilde, A. K.; Doornbos, D. A.

    1993-01-01

    The construction of a small experimental design for a combination of process and mixture variables is a problem which has not been solved completely by now. In a previous paper we evaluated some designs with theoretical measures. This second paper evaluates the capabilities of the best of these

  10. COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGNS COMBINING PROCESS AND MIXTURE VARIABLES .2. DESIGN EVALUATION ON MEASURED DATA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DUINEVELD, CAA; SMILDE, AK; DOORNBOS, DA

    The construction of a small experimental design for a combination of process and mixture variables is a problem which has not been solved completely by now. In a previous paper we evaluated some designs with theoretical measures. This second paper evaluates the capabilities of the best of these

  11. MYRRHA/XT-ADS primary system design and experimental devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maes, D.

    2009-01-01

    The EUROTRANS project is an integrated project in the Sixth European Framework Program in the context of Partitioning and Transmutation. The objective of this project is to work towards an ETD (European Transmutation Demonstration) in a step-wise manner. The first step is to carry out an advanced design of a small-scale XT-ADS (eXperimental Transmutation in an Accelerator Driven System) for realisation in a short-term (about 10 years) as well as to accomplish a generic conceptual design of EFIT (European Facility for Industrial Transmutation) for realisation in the long-term. The MYRRHA-2005 design served as a starting basis for the XT-ADS. Many options have been revisited and the framework is now set up. While the MYRRHA-2005 design was still a conceptual design, the intention is to get at the end of the EUROTRANS project (March 2009) an advanced design of the XT-ADS, albeit a first advanced design. While the design work performed during the first years of the project (2005-2006) was mainly devoted to optimise and enhance the primary and secondary system configuration according to the suggestions and contributions of our industrial partners (Ansaldo Nucleare, Areva, Suez-Tractebel) within the DM1 (Domain 1 D ESIGN ) , the last year work objectives mainly consisted of (1) the release of the Remote Handling Design Catalogue for XT-ADS and (2) the formulation of the specification of the experimental devices according to the XT-ADS objectives and adapted to the actual XT-ADS core and core support structure design; (3) the detailed calculations of the main XT-ADS primary and secondary system components

  12. Hierarchical adaptive experimental design for Gaussian process emulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busby, Daniel

    2009-01-01

    Large computer simulators have usually complex and nonlinear input output functions. This complicated input output relation can be analyzed by global sensitivity analysis; however, this usually requires massive Monte Carlo simulations. To effectively reduce the number of simulations, statistical techniques such as Gaussian process emulators can be adopted. The accuracy and reliability of these emulators strongly depend on the experimental design where suitable evaluation points are selected. In this paper a new sequential design strategy called hierarchical adaptive design is proposed to obtain an accurate emulator using the least possible number of simulations. The hierarchical design proposed in this paper is tested on various standard analytic functions and on a challenging reservoir forecasting application. Comparisons with standard one-stage designs such as maximin latin hypercube designs show that the hierarchical adaptive design produces a more accurate emulator with the same number of computer experiments. Moreover a stopping criterion is proposed that enables to perform the number of simulations necessary to obtain required approximation accuracy.

  13. Design, construction and testing of a radon experimental chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chavez B, A.; Balcazar G, M.

    1991-10-01

    To carry out studies on the radon behavior under controlled and stable conditions it was designed and constructed a system that consists of two parts: a container of mineral rich in Uranium and an experimentation chamber with radon united one to the other one by a step valve. The container of uranium mineral approximately contains 800 gr of uranium with a law of 0.28%; the radon gas emanated by the mineral is contained tightly by the container. When the valve opens up the radon gas it spreads to the radon experimental chamber; this contains 3 accesses that allow to install different types of detectors. The versatility of the system is exemplified with two experiments: 1. With the radon experimental chamber and an associated spectroscopic system, the radon and two of its decay products are identified. 2. The design of the system allows to couple the mineral container to other experimental geometries to demonstrate this fact it was coupled and proved a new automatic exchanger system of passive detectors of radon. The results of the new automatic exchanger system when it leave to flow the radon freely among the container and the automatic exchanger through a plastic membrane of 15 m. are shown. (Author)

  14. Focus Group Evidence: Implications for Design and Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Katherine E.; Gandha, Tysza; Culbertson, Michael J.; Carlson, Crystal

    2014-01-01

    In evaluation and applied social research, focus groups may be used to gather different kinds of evidence (e.g., opinion, tacit knowledge). In this article, we argue that making focus group design choices explicitly in relation to the type of evidence required would enhance the empirical value and rigor associated with focus group utilization. We…

  15. Statistical experimental design for refractory coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKinnon, J.A.; Standard, O.C.

    2000-01-01

    The production of refractory coatings on metal casting moulds is critically dependent on the development of suitable rheological characteristics, such as viscosity and thixotropy, in the initial coating slurry. In this paper, the basic concepts of mixture design and analysis are applied to the formulation of a refractory coating, with illustration by a worked example. Experimental data of coating viscosity versus composition are fitted to a statistical model to obtain a reliable method of predicting the optimal formulation of the coating. Copyright (2000) The Australian Ceramic Society

  16. Teacher educators' design and implementation of group learning activities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Hei, Miranda S.A.; Sjoer, Ellen; Admiraal, Wilfried; Strijbos, J.W.

    2016-01-01

    Group Learning Activities (GLAs) are a key ingredient of course designs in higher education. Various approaches for designing GLAs have been developed, featuring different design components. However, this has not yet resulted in clear guidelines for teachers on how to design GLAs. The purpose of

  17. Fast Bayesian optimal experimental design and its applications

    KAUST Repository

    Long, Quan

    2015-01-07

    We summarize our Laplace method and multilevel method of accelerating the computation of the expected information gain in a Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design (OED). Laplace method is a widely-used method to approximate an integration in statistics. We analyze this method in the context of optimal Bayesian experimental design and extend this method from the classical scenario, where a single dominant mode of the parameters can be completely-determined by the experiment, to the scenarios where a non-informative parametric manifold exists. We show that by carrying out this approximation the estimation of the expected Kullback-Leibler divergence can be significantly accelerated. While Laplace method requires a concentration of measure, multi-level Monte Carlo method can be used to tackle the problem when there is a lack of measure concentration. We show some initial results on this approach. The developed methodologies have been applied to various sensor deployment problems, e.g., impedance tomography and seismic source inversion.

  18. Safety design guides for grouping and separation for CANDU 9

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Duk Su; Chang, Woo Hyun; Lee, Nam Young; A. C. D. Wright

    1996-03-01

    This safety design guide for grouping and separation describes the philosophy of physical and functional separation for systems, structures and components in CANDU 9 plants and provides the requirements for the implementation of the philosophy in the detailed plant design. The separation of the safety systems is to ensure that common cause events and functional interconnections between systems do not impair the capability to perform the required safety functions for accident conditions. The separation requirements are also applied to the design by grouping the plant systems into two basic groups. Group 1 includes the power production systems and Group 2 includes the safety related systems required for the mitigation of serious process failure. The Group 2 is further separated into subgroups to ensure that events that could cause failure of a special safety system in one subgroup can be mitigated by the other subgroup. The change status for the regulatory requirements, code and standards should be traced and this safety design guide shall be updated accordingly. 2 tabs., 6 figs. (Author) .new

  19. Safety design guides for grouping and separation for CANDU 9

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Duk Su; Chang, Woo Hyun; Lee, Nam Young [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daeduk (Korea, Republic of); Wright, A C.D. [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Toronto (Canada)

    1996-03-01

    This safety design guide for grouping and separation describes the philosophy of physical and functional separation for systems, structures and components in CANDU 9 plants and provides the requirements for the implementation of the philosophy in the detailed plant design. The separation of the safety systems is to ensure that common cause events and functional interconnections between systems do not impair the capability to perform the required safety functions for accident conditions. The separation requirements are also applied to the design by grouping the plant systems into two basic groups. Group 1 includes the power production systems and Group 2 includes the safety related systems required for the mitigation of serious process failure. The Group 2 is further separated into subgroups to ensure that events that could cause failure of a special safety system in one subgroup can be mitigated by the other subgroup. The change status for the regulatory requirements, code and standards should be traced and this safety design guide shall be updated accordingly. 2 tabs., 6 figs. (Author) .new.

  20. Analog Group Delay Equalizers Design Based on Evolutionary Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Laipert

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with a design method of the analog all-pass filter designated for equalization of the group delay frequency response of the analog filter. This method is based on usage of evolutionary algorithm, the Differential Evolution algorithm in particular. We are able to design such equalizers to be obtained equal-ripple group delay frequency response in the pass-band of the low-pass filter. The procedure works automatically without an input estimation. The method is presented on solving practical examples.

  1. Working group 4B - human intrusion: Design/performance requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Channell, J.

    1993-01-01

    There is no summary of the progress made by working group 4B (Human Intrusion: Design/performance Requirements) during the Electric Power Research Institute's EPRI Workshop on the technical basis of EPA HLW Disposal Criteria, March 1993. This group was to discuss the waste disposal standard, 40 CFR Part 191, in terms of the design and performance requirements of human intrusion. Instead, because there were so few members, they combined with working group 4A and studied the three-tier approach to evaluating postclosure performance

  2. SCRAED - Simple and Complex Random Assignment in Experimental Designs

    OpenAIRE

    Alferes, Valentim R.

    2009-01-01

    SCRAED is a package of 37 self-contained SPSS syntax files that performs simple and complex random assignment in experimental designs. For between-subjects designs, SCRAED includes simple random assignment (no restrictions, forced equal sizes, forced unequal sizes, and unequal probabilities), block random assignment (simple and generalized blocks), and stratified random assignment (no restrictions, forced equal sizes, forced unequal sizes, and unequal probabilities). For within-subject...

  3. Randomizing Roaches: Exploring the "Bugs" of Randomization in Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

    2014-01-01

    Understanding the roles of random selection and random assignment in experimental design is a central learning objective in most introductory statistics courses. This article describes an activity, appropriate for a high school or introductory statistics course, designed to teach the concepts, values and pitfalls of random selection and assignment…

  4. Providing guidance in virtual lab experimentation : the case of an experiment design tool

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Efstathiou, Charalampos; Hovardas, Tasos; Xenofontos, Nikoletta A.; Zacharia, Zacharias C.; de Jong, Ton A.J.M.; Anjewierden, Anjo; van Riesen, Siswa A.N.

    2018-01-01

    The present study employed a quasi-experimental design to assess a computer-based tool, which was intended to scaffold the task of designing experiments when using a virtual lab for the process of experimentation. In particular, we assessed the impact of this tool on primary school students’

  5. An Empirical Study of Parameter Estimation for Stated Preference Experimental Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Yang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The stated preference experimental design can affect the reliability of the parameters estimation in discrete choice model. Some scholars have proposed some new experimental designs, such as D-efficient, Bayesian D-efficient. But insufficient empirical research has been conducted on the effectiveness of these new designs and there has been little comparative analysis of the new designs against the traditional designs. In this paper, a new metro connecting Chengdu and its satellite cities is taken as the research subject to demonstrate the validity of the D-efficient and Bayesian D-efficient design. Comparisons between these new designs and orthogonal design were made by the fit of model and standard deviation of parameters estimation; then the best model result is obtained to analyze the travel choice behavior. The results indicate that Bayesian D-efficient design works better than D-efficient design. Some of the variables can affect significantly the choice behavior of people, including the waiting time and arrival time. The D-efficient and Bayesian D-efficient design for MNL can acquire reliability result in ML model, but the ML model cannot develop the theory advantages of these two designs. Finally, the metro can handle over 40% passengers flow if the metro will be operated in the future.

  6. Scaffolded Instruction Improves Student Understanding of the Scientific Method & Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Costa, Allison R.; Schlueter, Mark A.

    2013-01-01

    Implementation of a guided-inquiry lab in introductory biology classes, along with scaffolded instruction, improved students' understanding of the scientific method, their ability to design an experiment, and their identification of experimental variables. Pre- and postassessments from experimental versus control sections over three semesters…

  7. Optimal Experimental Design for Large-Scale Bayesian Inverse Problems

    KAUST Repository

    Ghattas, Omar

    2014-01-01

    We develop a Bayesian framework for the optimal experimental design of the shock tube experiments which are being carried out at the KAUST Clean Combustion Research Center. The unknown parameters are the pre-exponential parameters and the activation

  8. Some Proxy Signature and Designated verifier Signature Schemes over Braid Groups

    OpenAIRE

    Lal, Sunder; Verma, Vandani

    2009-01-01

    Braids groups provide an alternative to number theoretic public cryptography and can be implemented quite efficiently. The paper proposes five signature schemes: Proxy Signature, Designated Verifier, Bi-Designated Verifier, Designated Verifier Proxy Signature And Bi-Designated Verifier Proxy Signature scheme based on braid groups. We also discuss the security aspects of each of the proposed schemes.

  9. Establishing Equivalence: Methodological Progress in Group-Matching Design and Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kover, Sara T.; Atwood, Amy K.

    2013-01-01

    This methodological review draws attention to the challenges faced by intellectual and developmental disabilities researchers in the appropriate design and analysis of group comparison studies. We provide a brief overview of matching methodologies in the field, emphasizing group-matching designs used in behavioral research on cognition and…

  10. Group decision support system for customer-driven product design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Zhihang; Chen, Hang; Chen, Kuen; Che, Ada

    2000-10-01

    This paper describes the work on the development of a group decision support system for customer driven product design. The customer driven is to develop products, which meet all customer requirements in whole life cycle of products. A process model of decision during product primary design is proposed to formulate the structured, semi-structured and unstructured decision problems. The framework for the decision support system is presented that integrated both advances in the group decision making and distributed artificial intelligent. The system consists of the product primary design tool kit and the collaborative platform with multi-agent structure. The collaborative platform of the system and the product primary design tool kit, including the VOC (Voice of Customer) tool, QFD (Quality Function Deployment) tool, the Conceptual design tool, Reliability analysis tool and the cost and profit forecasting tool, are indicated.

  11. Computational design and experimental validation of new thermal barrier systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Shengmin [Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States)

    2015-03-31

    The focus of this project is on the development of a reliable and efficient ab initio based computational high temperature material design method which can be used to assist the Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) bond-coat and top-coat design. Experimental evaluations on the new TBCs are conducted to confirm the new TBCs’ properties. Southern University is the subcontractor on this project with a focus on the computational simulation method development. We have performed ab initio density functional theory (DFT) method and molecular dynamics simulation on screening the top coats and bond coats for gas turbine thermal barrier coating design and validation applications. For experimental validations, our focus is on the hot corrosion performance of different TBC systems. For example, for one of the top coatings studied, we examined the thermal stability of TaZr2.75O8 and confirmed it’s hot corrosion performance.

  12. Quasi-experimental designs in practice-based research settings: design and implementation considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handley, Margaret A; Schillinger, Dean; Shiboski, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    Although randomized controlled trials are often a gold standard for determining intervention effects, in the area of practice-based research (PBR), there are many situations in which individual randomization is not possible. Alternative approaches to evaluating interventions have received increased attention, particularly those that can retain elements of randomization such that they can be considered "controlled" trials. Methodological design elements and practical implementation considerations for two quasi-experimental design approaches that have considerable promise in PBR settings--the stepped-wedge design, and a variant of this design, a wait-list cross-over design, are presented along with a case study from a recent PBR intervention for patients with diabetes. PBR-relevant design features include: creation of a cohort over time that collects control data but allows all participants (clusters or patients) to receive the intervention; staggered introduction of clusters; multiple data collection points; and one-way cross-over into the intervention arm. Practical considerations include: randomization versus stratification, training run in phases; and extended time period for overall study completion. Several design features of practice based research studies can be adapted to local circumstances yet retain elements to improve methodological rigor. Studies that utilize these methods, such as the stepped-wedge design and the wait-list cross-over design, can increase the evidence base for controlled studies conducted within the complex environment of PBR.

  13. Optimization of single-walled carbon nanotube solubility by noncovalent PEGylation using experimental design methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadidi N

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Naghmeh Hadidi1, Farzad Kobarfard2, Nastaran Nafissi-Varcheh3, Reza Aboofazeli11Department of Pharmaceutics, 2Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, 3Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranAbstract: In this study, noncovalent functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs with phospholipid-polyethylene glycols (Pl-PEGs was performed to improve the solubility of SWCNTs in aqueous solution. Two kinds of PEG derivatives, ie, Pl-PEG 2000 and Pl-PEG 5000, were used for the PEGylation process. An experimental design technique (D-optimal design and second-order polynomial equations was applied to investigate the effect of variables on PEGylation and the solubility of SWCNTs. The type of PEG derivative was selected as a qualitative parameter, and the PEG/SWCNT weight ratio and sonication time were applied as quantitative variables for the experimental design. Optimization was performed for two responses, aqueous solubility and loading efficiency. The grafting of PEG to the carbon nanostructure was determined by thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Aqueous solubility and loading efficiency were determined by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and measurement of free amine groups, respectively. Results showed that Pl-PEGs were grafted onto SWCNTs. Aqueous solubility of 0.84 mg/mL and loading efficiency of nearly 98% were achieved for the prepared Pl-PEG 5000-SWCNT conjugates. Evaluation of functionalized SWCNTs showed that our noncovalent functionalization protocol could considerably increase aqueous solubility, which is an essential criterion in the design of a carbon nanotube-based drug delivery system and its biodistribution.Keywords: phospholipid-PEG, D-optimal design, loading efficiency, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, theromogravimetric analysis, carbon nanotubes

  14. Factorial experimental design intended for the optimization of the alumina purification conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brahmi, Mounaouer; Ba, Mohamedou; Hidri, Yassine; Hassen, Abdennaceur

    2018-04-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the optimal conditions by using the experimental design methodology for the removal of some impurities associated with the alumina. So, three alumina qualities of different origins were investigated under the same conditions. The application of full-factorial designs on the samples of different qualities of alumina has followed the removal rates of the sodium oxide. However, a factorial experimental design was developed to describe the elimination of sodium oxide associated with the alumina. The experimental results showed that chemical analyze followed by XRF prior treatment of the samples, provided a primary idea concerning these prevailing impurities. Therefore, it appeared that the sodium oxide constituted the largest amount among all impurities. After the application of experimental design, analysis of the effectors different factors and their interactions showed that to have a better result, we should reduce the alumina quantity investigated and by against increase the stirring time for the first two samples, whereas, it was necessary to increase the alumina quantity in the case of the third sample. To expand and improve this research, we should take into account all existing impurities, since we found during this investigation that the levels of partial impurities increased after the treatment.

  15. Development of rules for design at elevated temperatures (the RAMSES-group)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaller, K.H.; Jakubowicz, H.; Petrequin, P.; Roche, R.; Weisz, M.

    1977-01-01

    The design of structures of liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactors of the pool-type in France has to correspond to the national regulations and takes into account the rules adopted by other countries, essentially the U.S. ASME-CODE Ill and the CODE CASE 1592 for elevated temperatures. The existing rules need complements or modifications for the following reasons: the materials employed are not covered exactly by the specifications; the properties given are not necessarily equivalent; the simplified rules (normally on the base of an elastic calculation) are often penalizing as are not valid for the type of loads considered (an example are the ratcheting rules); the use of some rules, for example the creep-fatigue interaction tends to overestimate the safety-coefficients really obtained (long tensile-hold-time followed by a transient in compression is the best example for the austenitic-type steels); the environmental effects are excluded. The French Atomic Energy Commission has founded, for the reasons mentioned above, a working group, the RAMSES-GROUP (Regles d'Analyse Mecanique des Structures), in order to codify the information needed, taking into account the experience obtained in more than ten years of fast-reactor operation. The group, including experts of three departments (DMECN, DEMT, DRNR) has adopted a number of recommendations; projects of recommendations and basic experimental work are on going. The final scope is to obtain a coherent network of rules for the design of structures in the elevated-temperature range. The already adopted recommendations codify the characteristics of the materials mainly employed in the primary system ready for use in finite element computer programs and the procedures to follow for analysis. As inelastic stress-and strain-evaluations have become possible economically by use of programs of the CEASEMT-SYSTEM, the problem of simplified rules based on elastic computations can be very often avoided

  16. How Can Comparison Groups Strengthen Regression Discontinuity Designs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wing, Coady; Cook, Thomas D.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, the authors examine some of the ways that different types of non-equivalent comparison groups can be used to strengthen causal inferences based on regression discontinuity design (RDD). First, they consider a design that incorporates pre-test data on assignment scores and outcomes that were collected either before the treatment…

  17. Overview of design development of FCC-hh Experimental Interaction Regions

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2082479; Abelleira, Jose; Cruz Alaniz, Emilia; Van Riesen-Haupt, Leon; Benedikt, Michael; Besana, Maria Ilaria; Buffat, Xavier; Burkhardt, Helmut; Cerutti, Francesco; Langner, Andy Sven; Martin, Roman; Riegler, Werner; Schulte, Daniel; Tomas Garcia, Rogelio; Appleby, Robert Barrie; Rafique, Haroon; Barranco Garcia, Javier; Pieloni, Tatiana; Boscolo, Manuela; Collamati, Francesco; Nevay, Laurence James; Hofer, Michael

    2017-01-01

    The experimental interaction region (EIR) is one of the key areas that define the performance of the Future Circular Collider. In this overview we will describe the status and the evolution of the design of EIR of FCC-hh, focusing on design of the optics, energy deposition in EIR elements, beam-beam effects and machine detector interface issues.

  18. Second preliminary design of JAERI experimental fusion reactor (JXFR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sako, Kiyoshi; Tone, Tatsuzo; Seki, Yasushi; Iida, Hiromasa; Yamato, Harumi

    1979-06-01

    Second preliminary design of a tokamak experimental fusion reactor to be built in the near future has been performed. This design covers overall reactor system including plasma characteristics, reactor structure, blanket neutronics radiation shielding, superconducting magnets, neutral beam injector, electric power supply system, fuel recirculating system, reactor cooling and tritium recovery systems and maintenance scheme. Safety analyses of the reactor system have been also performed. This paper gives a brief description of the design as of January, 1979. The feasibility study of raising the power density has been also studied and is shown as appendix. (author)

  19. Conceptual design study of Fusion Experimental Reactor (FY87FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-05-01

    The design study of Fusion Experimental Reactor(FER) which has been proposed to be the next step fusion device has been conducted by JAERI Reactor System Laboratory since 1982 and by FER design team since 1984. This is the final report of the FER design team program and describes the results obtained in FY1987 (partially in FY1986) activities. The contents of this report consist of the reference design which is based on the guideline in FY1986 by the Subcomitees set up in Nuclear Fusion Council of Atomic Energy Commission of Japan, the Low-Physics-Risk reactor design for achieving physics mission more reliably and the system study of FER design candidates including above two designs. (author)

  20. First preliminary design of an experimental fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-09-01

    A preliminary design of a tokamak experimental fusion reactor to be built in the near future is under way. The goals of the reactor are to achieve reactor-level plasma conditions for a sufficiently long operation period and to obtain design, construction and operational experience for the main components of full-scale power reactors. This design covers overall reactor system including plasma characteristics, reactor structure, blanket neutronics, shielding, superconducting magnets, neutral beam injector, electric power supply system, fuel circulating system, reactor cooling system, tritium recovery system and maintenance scheme. The main design parameters are as follows: the reactor fusion power 100 MW, torus radius 6.75 m, plasma radius 1.5 m, first wall radius 1.75 m, toroidal magnet field on axis 6 T, blanket fertile material Li 2 O, coolant He, structural material 316SS and tritium breeding ratio 0.9. (auth.)

  1. User-centered Design Groups to Engage Patients and Caregivers with a Personalized Health IT Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maher, Molly; Kaziunas, Elizabeth; Ackerman, Mark; Derry, Holly; Forringer, Rachel; Miller, Kristen; O’Reilly, Dennis; An, Larry C.; Tewari, Muneesh; Hanauer, David A.; Choi, Sung Won

    2015-01-01

    Health information technology (IT) has opened exciting avenues for capturing, delivering and sharing data, and offers the potential to develop cost-effective, patient-focused applications. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of health IT applications such as outpatient portals. Rigorous evaluation is fundamental to ensure effectiveness and sustainability, as resistance to more widespread adoption of outpatient portals may be due to lack of user friendliness. Health IT applications that integrate with the existing electronic health record and present information in a condensed, user-friendly format could improve coordination of care and communication. Importantly, these applications should be developed systematically with appropriate methodological design and testing to ensure usefulness, adoption, and sustainability. Based on our prior work that identified numerous information needs and challenges of HCT, we developed an experimental prototype of a health IT tool, the BMT Roadmap. Our goal was to develop a tool that could be used in the real-world, daily practice of HCT patients and caregivers (users) in the inpatient setting. In the current study, we examined the views, needs, and wants of patients and caregivers in the design and development process of the BMT Roadmap through two user-centered Design Groups, conducted in March 2015 and April 2015, respectively: Design Group I utilized a low-fidelity paper-based prototype and Design Group II utilized a high-fidelity prototype presented to users as a web-app on Apple® iPads. There were 11 caregivers (median age 44, range 34–69 years) and 8 patients (median age 18 years, range 11–24 years) in the study population. The qualitative analyses revealed a wide range of responses helpful in guiding the iterative development of the system. Three important themes emerged from the Design Groups: 1) perception of core features as beneficial (views), 2) alerting the design team to potential issues with the user

  2. Design of JT-60SA magnets and associated experimental validations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zani, L.; Barabaschi, P.; Peyrot, M.; Meunier, L.; Tomarchio, V.; Duglue, D.; Decool, P.; Torre, A.; Marechal, J.L.; Della Corte, A.; Di Zenobio, A.; Muzzi, L.; Cucchiaro, A.; Turtu, S.; Ishida, S.; Yoshida, K.; Tsuchiya, K.; Kizu, K.; Murakami, H.

    2011-01-01

    In the framework of the JT-60SA project, aiming at upgrading the present JT-60U tokamak toward a fully superconducting configuration, the detailed design phase led to adopt for the three main magnet systems a brand new design. Europe (EU) is expected to provide to Japan (JA) the totality of the toroidal field (TF) magnet system, while JA will provide both Equilibrium field (EF) and Central Solenoid (CS) systems. All magnet designs were optimized trough the past years and entered in parallel into extensive experimentally-based phases of concept validation, which came to maturation in the years 2009 and 2010. For this, all magnet systems were investigated by mean of dedicated samples, e.g. conductor and joint samples designed, manufactured and tested at full scale in ad hoc facilities either in EU or in JA. The present paper, after an overall description of magnet systems layouts, presents in a general approach the different experimental campaigns dedicated to qualification design and manufacture processes of either coils, conductors and electrical joints. The main results with the associated analyses are shown and the main conclusions presented, especially regarding their contribution to consolidate the triggering of magnet mass production. The status of respective manufacturing stages in EU and in JA are also evoked. (authors)

  3. Multi-objective experimental design for (13)C-based metabolic flux analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouvin, Jeroen; Cajot, Simon; D'Huys, Pieter-Jan; Ampofo-Asiama, Jerry; Anné, Jozef; Van Impe, Jan; Geeraerd, Annemie; Bernaerts, Kristel

    2015-10-01

    (13)C-based metabolic flux analysis is an excellent technique to resolve fluxes in the central carbon metabolism but costs can be significant when using specialized tracers. This work presents a framework for cost-effective design of (13)C-tracer experiments, illustrated on two different networks. Linear and non-linear optimal input mixtures are computed for networks for Streptomyces lividans and a carcinoma cell line. If only glucose tracers are considered as labeled substrate for a carcinoma cell line or S. lividans, the best parameter estimation accuracy is obtained by mixtures containing high amounts of 1,2-(13)C2 glucose combined with uniformly labeled glucose. Experimental designs are evaluated based on a linear (D-criterion) and non-linear approach (S-criterion). Both approaches generate almost the same input mixture, however, the linear approach is favored due to its low computational effort. The high amount of 1,2-(13)C2 glucose in the optimal designs coincides with a high experimental cost, which is further enhanced when labeling is introduced in glutamine and aspartate tracers. Multi-objective optimization gives the possibility to assess experimental quality and cost at the same time and can reveal excellent compromise experiments. For example, the combination of 100% 1,2-(13)C2 glucose with 100% position one labeled glutamine and the combination of 100% 1,2-(13)C2 glucose with 100% uniformly labeled glutamine perform equally well for the carcinoma cell line, but the first mixture offers a decrease in cost of $ 120 per ml-scale cell culture experiment. We demonstrated the validity of a multi-objective linear approach to perform optimal experimental designs for the non-linear problem of (13)C-metabolic flux analysis. Tools and a workflow are provided to perform multi-objective design. The effortless calculation of the D-criterion can be exploited to perform high-throughput screening of possible (13)C-tracers, while the illustrated benefit of multi

  4. Entropy-Based Experimental Design for Optimal Model Discrimination in the Geosciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang Nowak

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Choosing between competing models lies at the heart of scientific work, and is a frequent motivation for experimentation. Optimal experimental design (OD methods maximize the benefit of experiments towards a specified goal. We advance and demonstrate an OD approach to maximize the information gained towards model selection. We make use of so-called model choice indicators, which are random variables with an expected value equal to Bayesian model weights. Their uncertainty can be measured with Shannon entropy. Since the experimental data are still random variables in the planning phase of an experiment, we use mutual information (the expected reduction in Shannon entropy to quantify the information gained from a proposed experimental design. For implementation, we use the Preposterior Data Impact Assessor framework (PreDIA, because it is free of the lower-order approximations of mutual information often found in the geosciences. In comparison to other studies in statistics, our framework is not restricted to sequential design or to discrete-valued data, and it can handle measurement errors. As an application example, we optimize an experiment about the transport of contaminants in clay, featuring the problem of choosing between competing isotherms to describe sorption. We compare the results of optimizing towards maximum model discrimination with an alternative OD approach that minimizes the overall predictive uncertainty under model choice uncertainty.

  5. ITER [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor] reactor building design study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomson, S.L.; Blevins, J.D.; Delisle, M.W.

    1989-01-01

    The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is at the midpoint of a two-year conceptual design. The ITER reactor building is a reinforced concrete structure that houses the tokamak and associated equipment and systems and forms a barrier between the tokamak and the external environment. It provides radiation shielding and controls the release of radioactive materials to the environment during both routine operations and accidents. The building protects the tokamak from external events, such as earthquakes or aircraft strikes. The reactor building requirements have been developed from the component designs and the preliminary safety analysis. The equipment requirements, tritium confinement, and biological shielding have been studied. The building design in progress requires continuous iteraction with the component and system designs and with the safety analysis. 8 figs

  6. Conceptual design study of fusion experimental reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-11-01

    Since 1980 the design study has been conducted at JAERI for the Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) which has been proposed to be the next machine to JT-60 in the Japanese long term program of fusion reactor development. During two years from 1984 to 1985 FER concept was reviewed and redesigned. This report is the summary of the results obtained in the review and redesign activities in 1984 and 85. In the first year FER concept was discussed again and its frame work was reestablished. According to the new frame work the major reactor components of FER were designed. In the second year the whole plant system design including plant layout plan was conducted as well as the more detailed design analysis of the reactor conponents. The newly established frame for FER design is as follows: 1) Plasma : Self-ignition. 2) Operation scenario : Quasi-steady state operation with long burn pulse. 3) Neutron fluence on the first wall : 0.3 MWY/M 2 . 4) Blanket : Non-tritium breeding blanket with test modules for breeding blanket development. 5) Magnets : Superconducting Magnets. (author)

  7. Design and experimental study of a solar system for heating water ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This work presents a design and an experimental study of a linear Fresnel reflector solar with trapezoidal cavity. This prototype is used for heating the tap water. The reflector was designed, constructed and tested in mechanical engineering department, University of Blida 1, Algeria. Various combinations of reflecting mirrors ...

  8. Designing Individual Education in a Group Setting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Damgrave, R. G. J.; Lutters, E.

    2016-01-01

    The structure of the educational program of Industrial Design Engineering at the University of Twente is based on project-led education. Consequently, students are experienced in working as a group in dynamic settings with changing characteristics for every project. The first and second year of the

  9. Group sequential designs for stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grayling, Michael J; Wason, James Ms; Mander, Adrian P

    2017-10-01

    The stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial design has received substantial attention in recent years. Although various extensions to the original design have been proposed, no guidance is available on the design of stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials with interim analyses. In an individually randomised trial setting, group sequential methods can provide notable efficiency gains and ethical benefits. We address this by discussing how established group sequential methodology can be adapted for stepped-wedge designs. Utilising the error spending approach to group sequential trial design, we detail the assumptions required for the determination of stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials with interim analyses. We consider early stopping for efficacy, futility, or efficacy and futility. We describe first how this can be done for any specified linear mixed model for data analysis. We then focus on one particular commonly utilised model and, using a recently completed stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial, compare the performance of several designs with interim analyses to the classical stepped-wedge design. Finally, the performance of a quantile substitution procedure for dealing with the case of unknown variance is explored. We demonstrate that the incorporation of early stopping in stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial designs could reduce the expected sample size under the null and alternative hypotheses by up to 31% and 22%, respectively, with no cost to the trial's type-I and type-II error rates. The use of restricted error maximum likelihood estimation was found to be more important than quantile substitution for controlling the type-I error rate. The addition of interim analyses into stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials could help guard against time-consuming trials conducted on poor performing treatments and also help expedite the implementation of efficacious treatments. In future, trialists should consider incorporating early stopping of some kind into

  10. TIBER: Tokamak Ignition/Burn Experimental Research. Final design report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henning, C.D.; Logan, B.G.; Barr, W.L.

    1985-01-01

    The Tokamak Ignition/Burn Experimental Research (TIBER) device is the smallest superconductivity tokamak designed to date. In the design plasma shaping is used to achieve a high plasma beta. Neutron shielding is minimized to achieve the desired small device size, but the superconducting magnets must be shielded sufficiently to reduce the neutron heat load and the gamma-ray dose to various components of the device. Specifications of the plasma-shaping coil, the shielding, coaling, requirements, and heating modes are given. 61 refs., 92 figs., 30 tabs

  11. DETERMINATION OF BRAKING OPTIMAL MODE OF CONTROLLED CUT OF DESIGN GROUP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. Dorosh

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The application of automation systems of breaking up process on the gravity hump is the efficiency improvement of their operation, absolute provision of trains breaking up safety demands, as well as improvement of hump staff working conditions. One of the main tasks of the indicated systems is the assurance of cuts reliable separation at all elements of their rolling route to the classification track. This task is a sophisticated optimization problem and has not received a final decision. Therefore, the task of determining the cuts braking mode is quite relevant. The purpose of this research is to find the optimal braking mode of control cut of design group. Methodology. In order to achieve the purpose is offered to use the direct search methods in the work, namely the Box complex method. This method does not require smoothness of the objective function, takes into account its limitations and does not require calculation of the function derivatives, and uses only its value. Findings. Using the Box method was developed iterative procedure for determining the control cut optimal braking mode of design group. The procedure maximizes the smallest controlled time interval in the group. To evaluate the effectiveness of designed procedure the series of simulation experiments of determining the control cut braking mode of design group was performed. The results confirmed the efficiency of the developed optimization procedure. Originality. The author formalized the task of optimizing control cut braking mode of design group, taking into account the cuts separation of design group at all elements (switches, retarders during cuts rolling to the classification track. The problem of determining the optimal control cut braking mode of design group was solved. The developed braking mode ensures cuts reliable separation of the group not only at the switches but at the retarders of brake position. Practical value. The developed procedure can be

  12. A quantitative review of ethnic group differences in experimental pain response: do biology, psychology, and culture matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahim-Williams, Bridgett; Riley, Joseph L; Williams, Ameenah K K; Fillingim, Roger B

    2012-04-01

    Pain is a subjectively complex and universal experience. We examine research investigating ethnic group differences in experimental pain response and factors contributing to group differences. We conducted a systematic literature review and analysis of studies using experimental pain stimuli to assess pain sensitivity across multiple ethnic groups. Our search covered the period from 1944 to 2011, and used the PubMed bibliographic database; a reference source containing over 17 million citations. We calculated effect sizes; identified ethnic/racial group categories, pain stimuli, and measures; and examined findings regarding biopsychosociocultural factors contributing to ethnic/racial group differences. We found 472 studies investigating ethnic group differences and pain. Twenty-six of these met our review inclusion criteria of investigating ethnic group differences in experimental pain. The majority of studies included comparisons between African Americans (AA) and non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). There were consistently moderate to large effect sizes for pain tolerance across multiple stimulus modalities; AA demonstrated lower pain tolerance. For pain threshold, findings were generally in the same direction, but effect sizes were small to moderate across ethnic groups. Limited data were available for suprathreshold pain ratings. A subset of studies comparing NHW and other ethnic groups showed a variable range of effect sizes for pain threshold and tolerance. There are potentially important ethnic/racial group differences in experimental pain perception. Elucidating ethnic group differences has translational merit for culturally competent clinical care and for addressing and reducing pain treatment disparities among ethnically/racially diverse groups. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Design and experimental results of the 1-T Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bates, E. M.; Birmingham, W. J.; Romero-Talamás, C. A.

    2018-05-01

    The Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA) is a 1-Tesla (T) technical prototype of the 10 T Adjustable Long Pulsed High-Field Apparatus. BETA's final design specifications are highlighted in this paper which include electromagnetic, thermal, and stress analyses. We discuss here the design and fabrication of BETA's core, vessel, cooling, and electrical subsystems. The electrical system of BETA is composed of a scalable solid-state DC breaker circuit. Experimental results display the stable operation of BETA at 1 T. These results are compared to both analytical design and finite element calculations. Experimental results validate analytical magnet designing methods developed at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory. The theoretical steady state maxima and the limits of BETA's design are explored in this paper.

  14. Experimental Device for Learning of Logical Circuit Design using Integrated Circuits

    OpenAIRE

    石橋, 孝昭

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental device for learning of logical circuit design using integrated circuits and breadboards. The experimental device can be made at a low cost and can be used for many subjects such as logical circuits, computer engineering, basic electricity, electrical circuits and electronic circuits. The proposed device is effective to learn the logical circuits than the usual lecture.

  15. Design study of blanket structure for tokamak experimental fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-11-01

    Design study of the blanket structure for JAERI Experimental Fusion Reactor (JXFR) has been carried out. Studied here were fabrication and testing of the blanket structure (blanket cells, blanket rings, piping and blanket modules), assembly and disassembly of the blanket module, and monitering and testing technique. Problems in design and fabrication of the blanket structure could be revealed. Research and development problems for the future were also disclosed. (author)

  16. Dealer Group or Financial Planning Group? A Brief Technical Note

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lujer Santacruz

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This technical note examines whether the industry practice of using the term dealer group when referring to afinancial planning group contributes to the general perception that financial advisers are not objective whenmaking financial product recommendations. An experimental design carried out through an online survey isused. This is supplemented by a direct comparison survey on the two terminologies. The results provide acase for the industry to adopt a new terminology.

  17. Group-wise ANOVA simultaneous component analysis for designed omics experiments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Saccenti, Edoardo; Smilde, Age K.; Camacho, José

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Modern omics experiments pertain not only to the measurement of many variables but also follow complex experimental designs where many factors are manipulated at the same time. This data can be conveniently analyzed using multivariate tools like ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis

  18. Design guide for fire protection of grouped electrical cables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dungan, K.W.

    1991-05-01

    This paper develops design guidance for fire protection of grouped electrical cables using previous research and the concept of design objectives based on damage limits. A quantitative approach is taken to establishing performance-oriented design objectives and addressing fires exposing cables as well as cable fires. A one-page Design Calculation Checklist is developed and examples are shown. In addition, testing was done for placement of linear thermal detection on cable trays and recommendations are given. 32 refs., 10 figs., 8 tabs

  19. Design of Passive Acoustic Wave Shaping Devices and Their Experimental Validation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Rasmus Ellebæk; Sigmund, Ole; Fernandez Grande, Efren

    We discuss a topology optimization based approach for designing passive acoustic wave shaping devices and demonstrate its application to; directional sound emission [1], sound focusing and wave splitting. Optimized devices, numerical and experimental results are presented and benchmarked against...... other designs proposed in the literature. We focus on design problems where the size of the device is on the order of the wavelength, a problematic region for traditional design methods, such as ray tracing.The acoustic optimization problem is formulated in the frequency domain and modeled...

  20. Benefits of smoking bans on preterm and early-term births: a natural experimental design in Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicedo-Cabrera, Ana M; Schindler, Christian; Radovanovic, Dragana; Grize, Leticia; Witassek, Fabienne; Dratva, Julia; Röösli, Martin; Perez, Laura

    2016-12-01

    Birth outcomes are relevant for future children's heath. Capitalising on a natural experimental design in Switzerland, we evaluated how regional smoking bans introduced at different time points affected birth outcomes, including preterm and early-term births. We used birth registry data of all singleton neonates born in Switzerland (2007-2012). We developed canton-specific interrupted time-series followed by random meta-analysis to evaluate the benefits of smoking bans on preterm (Switzerland with cantons that adopted more comprehensive smoking bans achieving greater benefits. Early-term births constitute a previously ignored though important group. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  1. Experimental concept and design of DarkLight, a search for a heavy photon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowan, Ray F.

    2013-01-01

    This talk gives an overview of the DarkLight experimental concept: a search for a heavy photon A′ in the 10-90 MeV/c 2 mass range. After briefly describing the theoretical motivation, the talk focuses on the experimental concept and design. Topics include operation using a half-megawatt, 100 MeV electron beam at the Jefferson Lab FEL, detector design and performance, and expected backgrounds estimated from beam tests and Monte Carlo simulations

  2. Training reactor deployment. Advanced experimental course on designing new reactor cores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skoda, Radek

    2009-01-01

    Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) operating its training nuclear reactor VR1, in cooperation with the North West University of South Africa (NWU), is applying for accreditation of the experimental training course ''Advanced experimental course on designing the new reactor core'' that will guide the students, young nuclear engineering professionals, through designing, calculating, approval, and assembling a new nuclear reactor core. Students, young professionals from the South African nuclear industry, face the situation when a new nuclear reactor core is to be build from scratch. Several reactor core design options are pre-calculated. The selected design is re-calculated by the students, the result is then scrutinized by the regulator and, once all the analysis is approved, physical dismantling of the current core and assembling of the new core is done by the students, under a close supervision of the CTU staff. Finally the reactor is made critical with the new core. The presentation focuses on practical issues of such a course, desired reactor features and namely pedagogical and safety aspects. (orig.)

  3. Designing the Widget: A Group Decision and Negotiation Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delise, Lisa A.; Mello, Abby L.

    2017-01-01

    The Widget design task is an in-class, experiential exercise that affords students the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills in group negotiation. Students engage in new product design in committees of two dyads where one dyad represents Consumer Research and the other represents Strategic Management. Task information creates different…

  4. Systematic review of control groups in nutrition education intervention research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Wu, FanFan; Spaccarotella, Kim; Quick, Virginia; Martin-Biggers, Jennifer; Zhang, Yingting

    2017-07-11

    Well-designed research trials are critical for determining the efficacy and effectiveness of nutrition education interventions. To determine whether behavioral and/or cognition changes can be attributed to an intervention, the experimental design must include a control or comparison condition against which outcomes from the experimental group can be compared. Despite the impact different types of control groups can have on study outcomes, the treatment provided to participants in the control condition has received limited attention in the literature. A systematic review of control groups in nutrition education interventions was conducted to better understand how control conditions are described in peer-reviewed journal articles compared with experimental conditions. To be included in the systematic review, articles had to be indexed in CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, WoS, and/or ERIC and report primary research findings of controlled nutrition education intervention trials conducted in the United States with free-living consumer populations and published in English between January 2005 and December 2015. Key elements extracted during data collection included treatment provided to the experimental and control groups (e.g., overall intervention content, tailoring methods, delivery mode, format, duration, setting, and session descriptions, and procedures for standardizing, fidelity of implementation, and blinding); rationale for control group type selected; sample size and attrition; and theoretical foundation. The search yielded 43 publications; about one-third of these had an inactive control condition, which is considered a weak study design. Nearly two-thirds of reviewed studies had an active control condition considered a stronger research design; however, many failed to report one or more key elements of the intervention, especially for the control condition. None of the experimental and control group treatments were sufficiently detailed to permit replication of the

  5. Renormalization group theory impact on experimental magnetism

    CERN Document Server

    Köbler, Ulrich

    2010-01-01

    Spin wave theory of magnetism and BCS theory of superconductivity are typical theories of the time before renormalization group (RG) theory. The two theories consider atomistic interactions only and ignore the energy degrees of freedom of the continuous (infinite) solid. Since the pioneering work of Kenneth G. Wilson (Nobel Prize of physics in 1982) we know that the continuous solid is characterized by a particular symmetry: invariance with respect to transformations of the length scale. Associated with this symmetry are particular field particles with characteristic excitation spectra. In diamagnetic solids these are the well known Debye bosons. This book reviews experimental work on solid state physics of the last five decades and shows in a phenomenological way that the dynamics of ordered magnets and conventional superconductors is controlled by the field particles of the infinite solid and not by magnons and Cooper pairs, respectively. In the case of ordered magnets the relevant field particles are calle...

  6. Group Dynamics in the Interior Design Studio: Student Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Caroline

    2008-01-01

    This article presents the findings of a study measuring the classroom climates in collegiate interior design studios and considers these findings within the group dynamics theory framework. Three groups of students completed the College Classroom Environment Scales (CCES) questionnaire. Five of the six CCES subscale F ratios were statistically…

  7. Design and Implementation of an Experimental Cataloging Advisor--Mapper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ercegovac, Zorana; Borko, Harold

    1992-01-01

    Describes the design of an experimental computer-aided cataloging advisor, Mapper, that was developed to help novice users with the descriptive cataloging of single-sheet maps from U.S. publishers. The human-computer interface is considered, the use of HyperCard is discussed, the knowledge base is explained, and assistance screens are described.…

  8. Experimental study of elementary collection efficiency of aerosols by spray: Design of the experimental device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ducret, D.; Vendel, J.; Garrec. S.L.

    1995-02-01

    The safety of a nuclear power plant containment building, in which pressure and temperature could increase because of a overheating reactor accident, can be achieved by spraying water drops. The spray reduces the pressure and the temperature levels by condensation of steam on cold water drops. The more stringent thermodynamic conditions are a pressure of 5.10{sup 5} Pa (due to steam emission) and a temperature of 413 K. Moreover its energy dissipation function, the spray leads to the washout of fission product particles emitted in the reactor building atmosphere. The present study includes a large program devoted to the evaluation of realistic washout rates. The aim of this work is to develop experiments in order to determine the collection efficiency of aerosols by a single drop. To do this, the experimental device has to be designed with fundamental criteria:-Thermodynamic conditions have to be representative of post-accident atmosphere. Thermodynamic equilibrium has to be attained between the water drops and the gaseous phase. Thermophoretic, diffusiophoretic and mechanical effects have to be studied independently. Operating conditions have to be homogenous and constant during each experiment. This paper presents the design of the experimental device. In practice, the consequences on the design of each of the criteria given previously and the necessity of being representative of the real conditions will be described.

  9. A new dietary model to study colorectal carcinogenesis: experimental design, food preparation, and experimental findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozen, P; Liberman, V; Lubin, F; Angel, S; Owen, R; Trostler, N; Shkolnik, T; Kritchevsky, D

    1996-01-01

    Experimental dietary studies of human colorectal carcinogenesis are usually based on the AIN-76A diet, which is dissimilar to human food in source, preparation, and content. The aims of this study were to examine the feasibility of preparing and feeding rats the diet of a specific human population at risk for colorectal neoplasia and to determine whether changes in the colonic morphology and metabolic contents would differ from those resulting from a standard rat diet. The mean daily food intake composition of a previously evaluated adenoma patient case-control study was used for the "human adenoma" (HA) experimental diet. Foods were prepared as for usual human consumption and processed by dehydration to the physical characteristics of an animal diet. Sixty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized and fed ad libitum the HA or the AIN-76A diet. Every eight weeks, eight rats from each group were sacrificed, and the colons and contents were examined. Analysis of the prepared food showed no significant deleterious changes; food intake and weight gain were similar in both groups. Compared with the controls, the colonic contents of rats fed the HA diet contained significantly less calcium, concentrations of neutral sterols, total lipids, and cholic and deoxycholic acids were increased, and there were no colonic histological changes other than significant epithelial hyperproliferation. This initial study demonstrated that the HA diet can be successfully processed for feeding to experimental animals and is acceptable and adequate for growth but induces significant metabolic and hyperproliferative changes in the rat colon. This dietary model may be useful for studies of human food, narrowing the gap between animal experimentation and human nutritional research.

  10. Control group design: enhancing rigor in research of mind-body therapies for depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinser, Patricia Anne; Robins, Jo Lynne

    2013-01-01

    Although a growing body of research suggests that mind-body therapies may be appropriate to integrate into the treatment of depression, studies consistently lack methodological sophistication particularly in the area of control groups. In order to better understand the relationship between control group selection and methodological rigor, we provide a brief review of the literature on control group design in yoga and tai chi studies for depression, and we discuss challenges we have faced in the design of control groups for our recent clinical trials of these mind-body complementary therapies for women with depression. To address the multiple challenges of research about mind-body therapies, we suggest that researchers should consider 4 key questions: whether the study design matches the research question; whether the control group addresses performance, expectation, and detection bias; whether the control group is ethical, feasible, and attractive; and whether the control group is designed to adequately control for nonspecific intervention effects. Based on these questions, we provide specific recommendations about control group design with the goal of minimizing bias and maximizing validity in future research.

  11. Participation in sports groups for patients with cardiac problems : An experimental study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaperclaus, G; deGreef, M; Rispens, P; deCalonne, D; Landsman, M; Lie, KI; Oudhof, J

    1997-01-01

    An experimental study was carried out to determine the influence of participation in Sports Groups for Patients with Cardiac Problems (SPCP) on physical and mental fitness and on risk factor level after myocardial infarction. SPCP members (n = 74; 67 men and 7 women) were compared with Nonsporting

  12. Flocculent and grand design spiral galaxies in groups: time scales for the persistence of grand design spiral structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elmegreen, B.G.; Elmegreen, D.M.

    1983-01-01

    Spiral arm classifications were made for 261 low-inclination galaxies in groups listed by Huchra and Geller. The fractional occurrence of grand design spiral structure in nonbarred galaxies was found to increase from approx.0.1 to approx.0.6 and then level off as the group crossing rate or galaxy collision rate in a group increases. A simple model is discussed where the random encounters between galaxies of any type and flocculent galaxies induce transient grand design spirals in the flocculent galaxies. If this grand-design stimulation occurs for binary collisions with impact parameters less than αR 25 , were R 25 is the galactic radius at 25 mag arcsec - 2 , and if the induced grand design spirals persist for an average time equal to #betta# galactic rotations, then the quantity α 2 #betta# equals approximately 3 x 10 4 . If binary collisions are responsible for grand design spirals, then this result implies either that the induced spirals last for many galactic rotations (#betta#>15), or that they can be stimulated by very remote encounters (α>45.) Alternatively, grand design spirals may be stimulated by multiple galaxy encounters, which would be the case for such large α, or by interactions with the potential well of the associated group, rather than by simple binary encounters. Weak correlations between the grand design fraction and the galaxy size, or between this fraction and the total number of galaxies in a group, were also found. Spiral structures of barred galaxies show no correlations with group environment

  13. Spent Fuel Transportation Package Performance Study - Experimental Design Challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snyder, A. M.; Murphy, A. J.; Sprung, J. L.; Ammerman, D. J.; Lopez, C.

    2003-01-01

    Numerous studies of spent nuclear fuel transportation accident risks have been performed since the late seventies that considered shipping container design and performance. Based in part on these studies, NRC has concluded that the level of protection provided by spent nuclear fuel transportation package designs under accident conditions is adequate. [1] Furthermore, actual spent nuclear fuel transport experience showcase a safety record that is exceptional and unparalleled when compared to other hazardous materials transportation shipments. There has never been a known or suspected release of the radioactive contents from an NRC-certified spent nuclear fuel cask as a result of a transportation accident. In 1999 the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated a study, the Package Performance Study, to demonstrate the performance of spent fuel and spent fuel packages during severe transportation accidents. NRC is not studying or testing its current regulations, a s the rigorous regulatory accident conditions specified in 10 CFR Part 71 are adequate to ensure safe packaging and use. As part of this study, NRC currently plans on using detailed modeling followed by experimental testing to increase public confidence in the safety of spent nuclear fuel shipments. One of the aspects of this confirmatory research study is the commitment to solicit and consider public comment during the scoping phase and experimental design planning phase of this research

  14. Publishing Single-Case Research Design Studies That Do Not Demonstrate Experimental Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tincani, Matt; Travers, Jason

    2018-01-01

    Demonstration of experimental control is considered a hallmark of high-quality single-case research design (SCRD). Studies that fail to demonstrate experimental control may not be published because researchers are unwilling to submit these papers for publication and journals are unlikely to publish negative results (i.e., the file drawer effect).…

  15. Experimental use of iteratively designed rotation invariant correlation filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sweeney, D.W.; Ochoa, E.; Schils, G.F.

    1987-01-01

    Iteratively designed filters are incorporated into an optical correlator for position, rotation, and intensity invariant recognition of target images. The filters exhibit excellent discrimination because they are designed to contain full information about the target image. Numerical simulations and experiments demonstrate detection of targets that are corrupted with random noise (SNR≅0.5) and also partially obscured by other objects. The complex valued filters are encoded in a computer generated hologram and fabricated directly using an electron-beam system. Experimental results using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator for real-time input show excellent agreement with analytical and numerical computations

  16. Reference design (MK-I and MK-II) for experimental multi-purpose VHTR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyamoto, Yoshiaki; Suzuki, Kunihiko; Sato, Sadao

    1975-10-01

    This report summarizes the results of a study on thermal and mechanical performances of the core, which are obtained in course of reference design (Mk-I and Mk-II) for the experimental multi-purpose VHTR: (1) Design criteria, design methods and design data. These bases are also discussed in order to refer in the case of proceeding a next design work. (2) The results of performance analysis such as the initial core and its prediction for the irradiated core. (auth.)

  17. The Integration of Family and Group Therapy as an Alternative to Juvenile Incarceration: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation Using Parenting with Love and Limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karam, Eli A; Sterrett, Emma M; Kiaer, Lynn

    2017-06-01

    The current study employed a quasi-experimental design using both intent-to-treat and protocol adherence analysis of 155 moderate- to high-risk juvenile offenders to evaluate the effectiveness of Parenting with Love and Limits® (PLL), an integrative group and family therapy approach. Youth completing PLL had significantly lower rates of recidivism than the comparison group. Parents also reported statistically significant improvements in youth behavior. Lengths of service were also significantly shorter for the treatment sample than the matched comparison group by an average of 4 months. This study contributes to the literature by suggesting that intensive community-based combined family and group treatment is effective in curbing recidivism among high-risk juveniles. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

  18. Experimental study of liquid-metal target designs of accelerating-controlled systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iarmonov, Mikhail; Makhov, Kirill; Novozhilova, Olga; Meluzov, A.G.; Beznosov, A.V.

    2011-01-01

    Models of a liquid-metal target of an accelerator-controlled system have been experimentally studied at the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University to develop an optimal design of the flow part of the target. The main explored variants of liquid-metal targets are: Design with a diaphragm (firm-and-impervious plug) mounted on the pipe tap of particle transport from the accelerator cavity to the working cavity of the liquid-metal target. Design without a diaphragm on the pipe tab of particle transport from the accelerator. The study was carried out in a high-temperature liquid-metal test bench under the conditions close to full-scale ones: the temperature of the eutectic lead-bismuth alloy was 260degC - 400degC, the coolant mass flow was 5-80 t/h, and the rarefaction in the gas cavity was 10 5 Pa, the coefficient of geometric similarity equal to 1. The experimental studies of hydrodynamic characteristics of flow parts in the designs of targets under full-scale conditions indicated high efficiency of a target in triggering, operating, and deactivating modes. Research and technology instructions for designs of the flow part of the liquid-metal target, the target design as a whole, and the target circuit of accelerator-controlled systems were formulated as a result of the studies. (author)

  19. Application of Iterative Robust Model-based Optimal Experimental Design for the Calibration of Biocatalytic Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Daele, Timothy; Gernaey, Krist V.; Ringborg, Rolf Hoffmeyer

    2017-01-01

    The aim of model calibration is to estimate unique parameter values from available experimental data, here applied to a biocatalytic process. The traditional approach of first gathering data followed by performing a model calibration is inefficient, since the information gathered during...... experimentation is not actively used to optimise the experimental design. By applying an iterative robust model-based optimal experimental design, the limited amount of data collected is used to design additional informative experiments. The algorithm is used here to calibrate the initial reaction rate of an ω......-transaminase catalysed reaction in a more accurate way. The parameter confidence region estimated from the Fisher Information Matrix is compared with the likelihood confidence region, which is a more accurate, but also a computationally more expensive method. As a result, an important deviation between both approaches...

  20. Experimental design, modeling and optimization of polyplex formation between DNA oligonucleotides and branched polyethylenimine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clima, Lilia; Ursu, Elena L; Cojocaru, Corneliu; Rotaru, Alexandru; Barboiu, Mihail; Pinteala, Mariana

    2015-09-28

    The complexes formed by DNA and polycations have received great attention owing to their potential application in gene therapy. In this study, the binding efficiency between double-stranded oligonucleotides (dsDNA) and branched polyethylenimine (B-PEI) has been quantified by processing of the images captured from the gel electrophoresis assays. The central composite experimental design has been employed to investigate the effects of controllable factors on the binding efficiency. On the basis of experimental data and the response surface methodology, a multivariate regression model has been constructed and statistically validated. The model has enabled us to predict the binding efficiency depending on experimental factors, such as concentrations of dsDNA and B-PEI as well as the initial pH of solution. The optimization of the binding process has been performed using simplex and gradient methods. The optimal conditions determined for polyplex formation have yielded a maximal binding efficiency close to 100%. In order to reveal the mechanism of complex formation at the atomic-scale, a molecular dynamic simulation has been carried out. According to the computation results, B-PEI amine hydrogen atoms have interacted with oxygen atoms from dsDNA phosphate groups. These interactions have led to the formation of hydrogen bonds between macromolecules, stabilizing the polyplex structure.

  1. Experimental facilities for PEC reactor design central channel test loop: CPC-1 - thermal shocks loop: CEDI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calvaresi, C.; Moreschi, L.F.

    1983-01-01

    PEC (Prova Elementi di Combustibile: Fuel Elements Test) is an experimental fast sodium-cooled reactor with a power of 120 MWt. This reactor aims at studying the behaviour of fuel elements under thermal and neutron conditions comparable with those existing in fast power nuclear facilities. Given the particular structure of the core, the complex operations to be performed in the transfer cell and the strict operating conditions of the central channel, two experimental facilities, CPC-1 and CEDI, have been designed as a support to the construction of the reactor. CPC-1 is a 1:1 scale model of the channel, transfer-cell and loop unit of the channel, whereas CEDI is a sodium-cooled loop which enables to carry out tests of isothermal endurance and thermal shocks on the group of seven forced elements, by simulating the thermo-hydraulic and mechanical conditions existing in the reactor. In this paper some experimental test are briefy discussed and some facilities are listed, both for the CPC-1 and for the CEDI. (Auth.)

  2. Collaborative Invention in Computer Prototype Design: Negotiating Group Processes and Artifacts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werner, Mark

    A study looked at four groups of mostly senior graphic and industrial design students in their final semester capstone course--a collaborative studio project intended to give them the opportunity to apply their design expertise to real-world problems for real clients. The study examined the ways in which one of these groups used arguments to…

  3. Experimental design of natural and accellerated bone and wood ageing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Facorellis, Y.; Pournou, A.; Richter, Jane

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the experimental design for natural and accelerated ageing of bone and wood samples found in museum conditions that was conceived as part of the INVENVORG (Thales Research Funding Program – NRSF) investigating the effects of the environmental factors on natural organic materials....

  4. Optimization of fast disintegration tablets using pullulan as diluent by central composite experimental design

    OpenAIRE

    Patel, Dipil; Chauhan, Musharraf; Patel, Ravi; Patel, Jayvadan

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this work was to apply central composite experimental design to investigate main and interaction effect of formulation parameters in optimizing novel fast disintegration tablets formulation using pullulan as diluents. Face centered central composite experimental design was employed to optimize fast disintegration tablet formulation. The variables studied were concentration of diluents (pullulan, X1), superdisintigrant (sodium starch glycolate, X2), and direct compression aid ...

  5. Section Preequating under the Equivalent Groups Design without IRT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Hongwen; Puhan, Gautam

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we introduce a section preequating (SPE) method (linear and nonlinear) under the randomly equivalent groups design. In this equating design, sections of Test X (a future new form) and another existing Test Y (an old form already on scale) are administered. The sections of Test X are equated to Test Y, after adjusting for the…

  6. Development of a Model for Measuring Scientific Processing Skills Based on Brain-Imaging Technology: Focused on the Experimental Design Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Il-Sun; Byeon, Jung-Ho; Kim, Young-shin; Kwon, Yong-Ju

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a model for measuring experimental design ability based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during biological inquiry. More specifically, the researchers developed an experimental design task that measures experimental design ability. Using the developed experimental design task, they measured…

  7. Supporting awareness in creative group work by exposing design rationale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umer Farooq

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available When creativity is taken as a long-term, complex, and collaborative activity, support for awareness is required for group members to monitor the development of ideas, track how these ideas became narrowed, and understand how alternatives are being implemented and integrated by colleagues. In this paper, we investigate the effects of exposing design rationale to convey awareness, specifically activity awareness, in group creativity. Through evaluating a prototype, we investigate status updates that convey design rationale, and to what consequences, in small groups in fully distributed collaboration. We found that status updates are used for a variety of purposes and that participants’ comments on their collaborators’ status updates provided feedback. Overall, results suggest that participants’ awareness about their collaborators’ future plans increased over time. Majority of participants found the status updates useful, particularly those with higher metacognitive knowledge. Based on our results, two design strategies for activity awareness are proposed.

  8. Computer-aided polymer design using group contribution plus property models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Satyanarayana, Kavitha Chelakara; Abildskov, Jens; Gani, Rafiqul

    2009-01-01

    . Polymer repeat unit property prediction models are required to calculate the properties of the generated repeat units. A systematic framework incorporating recently developed group contribution plus (GC(+)) models and an extended CAMD technique to include design of polymer repeat units is highlighted...... in this paper. The advantage of a GC(+) model in CAMD applications is that a very large number of polymer structures can be considered even though some of the group parameters may not be available. A number of case studies involving different polymer design problems have been solved through the developed......The preliminary step for polymer product design is to identify the basic repeat unit structure of the polymer that matches the target properties. Computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) approaches can be applied for generating the polymer repeat unit structures that match the required constraints...

  9. Overview of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) engineering design activities*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimomura, Y.

    1994-05-01

    The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1988), ITER Documentation Series, No. 1] project is a multiphased project, presently proceeding under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency according to the terms of a four-party agreement among the European Atomic Energy Community (EC), the Government of Japan (JA), the Government of the Russian Federation (RF), and the Government of the United States (US), ``the Parties.'' The ITER project is based on the tokamak, a Russian invention, and has since been brought to a high level of development in all major fusion programs in the world. The objective of ITER is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful purposes. The ITER design is being developed, with support from the Parties' four Home Teams and is in progress by the Joint Central Team. An overview of ITER Design activities is presented.

  10. Performance of 12Ah aerospace nickel-cadmium cells of design variable groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasanth, K. L.

    1985-01-01

    The design variable program of NASA is a systematic approach to evaluate the performance of 12Ah aerospace nickel-cadmium cells of 9 important cell designs. These cells were life cycled in a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) regime for 3 to 4 years. Representative cells taken from the design variable groups after different cycling periods have been examined. The results show that: (1) positive swelling and carbonate content in the electrolyte increases as a function of the number of cycles, (2) electrolyte distribution follows the order NEG greater than POS greater than SEP, 3) control and no PQ groups outperformed the rest of the groups and (4) the polypropylene group shows very heavy cadmium migration and poor performance.

  11. Study Design Rigor in Animal-Experimental Research Published in Anesthesia Journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoerauf, Janine M; Moss, Angela F; Fernandez-Bustamante, Ana; Bartels, Karsten

    2018-01-01

    Lack of reproducibility of preclinical studies has been identified as an impediment for translation of basic mechanistic research into effective clinical therapies. Indeed, the National Institutes of Health has revised its grant application process to require more rigorous study design, including sample size calculations, blinding procedures, and randomization steps. We hypothesized that the reporting of such metrics of study design rigor has increased over time for animal-experimental research published in anesthesia journals. PubMed was searched for animal-experimental studies published in 2005, 2010, and 2015 in primarily English-language anesthesia journals. A total of 1466 publications were graded on the performance of sample size estimation, randomization, and blinding. Cochran-Armitage test was used to assess linear trends over time for the primary outcome of whether or not a metric was reported. Interrater agreement for each of the 3 metrics (power, randomization, and blinding) was assessed using the weighted κ coefficient in a 10% random sample of articles rerated by a second investigator blinded to the ratings of the first investigator. A total of 1466 manuscripts were analyzed. Reporting for all 3 metrics of experimental design rigor increased over time (2005 to 2010 to 2015): for power analysis, from 5% (27/516), to 12% (59/485), to 17% (77/465); for randomization, from 41% (213/516), to 50% (243/485), to 54% (253/465); and for blinding, from 26% (135/516), to 38% (186/485), to 47% (217/465). The weighted κ coefficients and 98.3% confidence interval indicate almost perfect agreement between the 2 raters beyond that which occurs by chance alone (power, 0.93 [0.85, 1.0], randomization, 0.91 [0.85, 0.98], and blinding, 0.90 [0.84, 0.96]). Our hypothesis that reported metrics of rigor in animal-experimental studies in anesthesia journals have increased during the past decade was confirmed. More consistent reporting, or explicit justification for absence

  12. An Experimental Design of Bypass Magneto-Rheological (MR) damper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, MM; Aziz, Mohammad Abdul; Raisuddin Khan, Md.

    2017-11-01

    The magnetorheological (MR) fluid bypass damper fluid flow through a bypass by utilizing an external channel which allows the controllability of MR fluid in the channel. The Bypass MR damper (BMRD) contains a rectangular bypass flow channel, current controlled movable piston shaft arrangement and MR fluid. The static piston coil case is winding by a coil which is used inside the piston head arrangement. The current controlled coil case provides a magnetic flux through the BMRD cylinder for controllability. The high strength of alloy steel materials are used for making piston shaft which allows magnetic flux propagation throughout the BMRD cylinder. Using the above design materials, a Bypass MR damper is designed and tested. An excitation of current is applied during the experiment which characterizes the BMRD controllability. It is shown that the BMRD with external flow channel allows a high controllable damping force using an excitation current. The experimental result of damping force-displacement characteristics with current excitation and without current excitation are compared in this research. The BMRD model is validated by the experimental result at various frequencies and applied excitation current.

  13. Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 11: supporting the production and use of health systems research syntheses that draw on quasi-experimental study designs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavis, John N; Bärnighausen, Till; El-Jardali, Fadi

    2017-09-01

    To describe the infrastructure available to support the production of policy-relevant health systems research syntheses, particularly those incorporating quasi-experimental evidence, and the tools available to support the use of these syntheses. Literature review. The general challenges associated with the available infrastructure include their sporadic nature or limited coverage of issues and countries, whereas the specific ones related to policy-relevant syntheses of quasi-experimental evidence include the lack of mechanism to register synthesis titles and scoping review protocols, the limited number of groups preparing user-friendly summaries, and the difficulty of finding quasi-experimental studies for inclusion in rapid syntheses and research syntheses more generally. Although some new tools have emerged in recent years, such as guidance workbooks and citizen briefs and panels, challenges related to using available tools to support the use of policy-relevant syntheses of quasi-experimental evidence arise from such studies potentially being harder for policymakers and stakeholders to commission and understand. Policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers need to expand the coverage and institutionalize the use of the available infrastructure and tools to support the use of health system research syntheses containing quasi-experimental evidence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Flow cytometry: design, development and experimental validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seigneur, Alain

    1987-01-01

    The flow cytometry techniques allow the analysis and sorting of living biologic cells at rates above five to ten thousand events per second. After a short review, we present in this report the design and development of a 'high-tech' apparatus intended for research laboratories and the experimental results. The first part deals with the physical principles allowing morphologic and functional analysis of cells or cellular components. The measured parameters are as follows: electrical resistance pulse sizing, light scattering and fluorescence. Hydrodynamic centering is used, and in the same way, the division of a water-stream into droplets leading to electrostatic sorting of particles. The second part deals with the apparatus designed by the 'Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique' (C.E.A.) and industrialised by 'ODAM' (ATC 3000). The last part of this thesis work is the performance evaluations of this cyto-meter. The difference between the two size measurement methods are analyzed: electrical resistance pulse sizing versus small-angle light scattering. By an original optics design, high sensitivity has been reached in the fluorescence measurement: the equivalent noise corresponds to six hundred fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) molecules. The sorting performances have also been analyzed and the cell viability proven. (author) [fr

  15. Single case design studies in music therapy: resurrecting experimental evidence in small group and individual music therapy clinical settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geist, Kamile; Hitchcock, John H

    2014-01-01

    The profession would benefit from greater and routine generation of causal evidence pertaining to the impact of music therapy interventions on client outcomes. One way to meet this goal is to revisit the use of Single Case Designs (SCDs) in clinical practice and research endeavors in music therapy. Given the appropriate setting and goals, this design can be accomplished with small sample sizes and it is often appropriate for studying music therapy interventions. In this article, we promote and discuss implementation of SCD studies in music therapy settings, review the meaning of internal study validity and by extension the notion of causality, and describe two of the most commonly used SCDs to demonstrate how they can help generate causal evidence to inform the field. In closing, we describe the need for replication and future meta-analysis of SCD studies completed in music therapy settings. SCD studies are both feasible and appropriate for use in music therapy clinical practice settings, particularly for testing effectiveness of interventions for individuals or small groups. © the American Music Therapy Association 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Accessibility and replacement as prime constraints in the design of large experimental tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Challender, R.S.; Reynolds, P.

    1976-01-01

    An attempt is made to bring together those design features of large, experimental Tokamaks, which would lead to better accessibility during non-active operation and, in particular, permit replacement and repair after activation, thereby making possible an extended period of experimental operation into the ignition phase

  17. Mechanical design of the small-scale experimental ADS: MYRRHA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maes, Dirk [SCKCEN, Reactor Physics and MYRRHA Department, Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol (Belgium)

    2006-10-15

    Since 1998, SCK*CEN, in partnership with IBA s.a. and many European research laboratories, is designing a multipurpose Accelerator Driven System (ADS) - MYRRHA - and is conducting an associated R and D support programme. MYRRHA aims to serve as a basis for the European experimental ADS to provide protons and neutrons for various R and D applications. Besides an overall configuration of the MYRRHA reactor internals, the description in this paper is limited to the mechanical design of the main components of the Primary System and Associated Equipment (vessel and cover, diaphragm, spallation loop, sub-critical core, primary cooling system, emergency cooling system, in-vessel fuel storage and fuel transfer machine), the conceptual design of the robotics for In-Service Inspection and Repair (ISIR), together with the remote handling for operation and maintenance (O and M). (author)

  18. Quasi-Experiments in Schools: The Case for Historical Cohort Control Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walser, Tamara M.

    2014-01-01

    There is increased emphasis on using experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate educational programs; however, educational evaluators and school leaders are often faced with challenges when implementing such designs in educational settings. Use of a historical cohort control group design provides a viable option for conducting…

  19. Design, construction and testing of a radon experimental chamber; Diseno, construccion y pruebas de una camara experimental de radon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chavez B, A; Balcazar G, M

    1991-10-15

    To carry out studies on the radon behavior under controlled and stable conditions it was designed and constructed a system that consists of two parts: a container of mineral rich in Uranium and an experimentation chamber with radon united one to the other one by a step valve. The container of uranium mineral approximately contains 800 gr of uranium with a law of 0.28%; the radon gas emanated by the mineral is contained tightly by the container. When the valve opens up the radon gas it spreads to the radon experimental chamber; this contains 3 accesses that allow to install different types of detectors. The versatility of the system is exemplified with two experiments: 1. With the radon experimental chamber and an associated spectroscopic system, the radon and two of its decay products are identified. 2. The design of the system allows to couple the mineral container to other experimental geometries to demonstrate this fact it was coupled and proved a new automatic exchanger system of passive detectors of radon. The results of the new automatic exchanger system when it leave to flow the radon freely among the container and the automatic exchanger through a plastic membrane of 15 m. are shown. (Author)

  20. Group sequential and confirmatory adaptive designs in clinical trials

    CERN Document Server

    Wassmer, Gernot

    2016-01-01

    This book provides an up-to-date review of the general principles of and techniques for confirmatory adaptive designs. Confirmatory adaptive designs are a generalization of group sequential designs. With these designs, interim analyses are performed in order to stop the trial prematurely under control of the Type I error rate. In adaptive designs, it is also permissible to perform a data-driven change of relevant aspects of the study design at interim stages. This includes, for example, a sample-size reassessment, a treatment-arm selection or a selection of a pre-specified sub-population. Essentially, this adaptive methodology was introduced in the 1990s. Since then, it has become popular and the object of intense discussion and still represents a rapidly growing field of statistical research. This book describes adaptive design methodology at an elementary level, while also considering designing and planning issues as well as methods for analyzing an adaptively planned trial. This includes estimation methods...

  1. Summary, Working Group 1: Electron guns and injector designs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben-Zvi, I.; Bazarov, I.V.

    2006-01-01

    We summarize the proceedings of Working Group 1 of the 2005 Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) Workshop. The subject of this working group, the electron gun and injector design, is arguably the most critical part of the ERL as it determines the ultimate performance of this type of accelerators. Working Group 1 dealt with a variety of subjects: The technology of DC, normal-conducting RF and superconducting RF guns; beam dynamics in the gun and injector; the cathode and laser package; modeling and computational issues; magnetized beams and polarization. A short overview of these issues covered in the Working Group is presented in this paper

  2. Effect of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) on Student Achievement, Attitude, and Self-Concept in College General Chemistry in Randomized and Quasi Experimental Designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Julia Y. K.; Bauer, Christopher F.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated exam achievement and affective characteristics of students in general chemistry in a fully-randomized experimental design, contrasting Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) participation with a control group balanced for time-on-task and study activity. This study population included two independent first-semester courses with…

  3. Superconducting coil design for a tokamak experimental power reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, L.R.; Wang, S.T.; Smelser, P.

    1977-01-01

    Superconducting toroidal field (TF) and polodial-field (PF) coils have been designed for the proposed Argonne National Laboratory experimental power reactor (EPR). Features of the design include: (1) Peak field of 8 T at 4.2 K or 10 T at 3.0 K. (2) Constant-tension shape for the TF coils, corrected for the finite number (16) of coils. (3) Analysis of errors in coil alignment. (4) Comparison of safety aspects of series-connected and parallel-connected coils. (5) A 60 kA sheet conductor of NbTi with copper stabilizer and stainless steel for support. (6) Superconducting PF coils outside the TF coils. (7) The TF coils shielded from pulsed fields by high-purity aluminum

  4. Tasks related to increase of RA reactor exploitation and experimental potential, 03. Crane for handling the vertical experimental channels of the RA reactor - design project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavicevic, M.

    1963-07-01

    Within the work related to improvement of experimental potential of the RA reactor, this document describes the design project of the new crane for handling the vertical experimental channels of the RA reactor, engineering drawings of the crane main elements, mechanical part, design project of the electrical part of the crane and cost estimation

  5. Work group design in pharmacy: the pharmacist-technician team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kershaw, B P; Solomon, D K; Zarowitz, B J

    1987-05-01

    The contemporary pharmacy practice manager faces the challenge of designing pharmacy service programs that not only satisfy the needs of the patient, but at the same time satisfy and motivate the pharmacists and technicians who sustain the programs. This research examined the team design, which has been recommended but not fully described in the literature. This application did not explore the full potential of the team design in the hospital pharmacy setting. More study is needed in this area to assess the impact of work group design on the expansion of clinical programs, employee turnover rates, quality and quantity of work produced, and, most important, the impact on job satisfaction enjoyed by pharmacists and technicians.

  6. Conceptual design study of fusion experimental reactor (FY86 FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, Ryusei; Kashihara, Shin-ichiro; Itoh, Shin-ichi

    1987-08-01

    This report describes the results of conceptual design study on plant systems for the Fusion Experimental Reactor (FY86 FER). Design studies for FER plant systems have been continued from FY85, especially for design modifications made in accordance with revisions of plasma scaling parameters and system improvements. This report describes 1) system construction, 2) site and reactor building plan, 3) repaire and maintenance system, 4) tritium circulation system, 5) heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, 6) tritium clean-up system, 7) cooling and baking system, 8) waste treatment and storage system, 9) control system, 10) electric power system, 11) site factory plan, all of which are a part of FY86 design work. The plant systems described in this report generally have been based on the FY86 FER (ACS Reactor) which is an one of the six candidates for FER. (author)

  7. Experimental Evaluation of Unicast and Multicast CoAP Group Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isam Ishaq

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The Internet of Things (IoT is expanding rapidly to new domains in which embedded devices play a key role and gradually outnumber traditionally-connected devices. These devices are often constrained in their resources and are thus unable to run standard Internet protocols. The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP is a new alternative standard protocol that implements the same principals as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP, but is tailored towards constrained devices. In many IoT application domains, devices need to be addressed in groups in addition to being addressable individually. Two main approaches are currently being proposed in the IoT community for CoAP-based group communication. The main difference between the two approaches lies in the underlying communication type: multicast versus unicast. In this article, we experimentally evaluate those two approaches using two wireless sensor testbeds and under different test conditions. We highlight the pros and cons of each of them and propose combining these approaches in a hybrid solution to better suit certain use case requirements. Additionally, we provide a solution for multicast-based group membership management using CoAP.

  8. Surface laser marking optimization using an experimental design approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brihmat-Hamadi, F.; Amara, E. H.; Lavisse, L.; Jouvard, J. M.; Cicala, E.; Kellou, H.

    2017-04-01

    Laser surface marking is performed on a titanium substrate using a pulsed frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser ( λ= 532 nm, τ pulse=5 ns) to process the substrate surface under normal atmospheric conditions. The aim of the work is to investigate, following experimental and statistical approaches, the correlation between the process parameters and the response variables (output), using a Design of Experiment method (DOE): Taguchi methodology and a response surface methodology (RSM). A design is first created using MINTAB program, and then the laser marking process is performed according to the planned design. The response variables; surface roughness and surface reflectance were measured for each sample, and incorporated into the design matrix. The results are then analyzed and the RSM model is developed and verified for predicting the process output for the given set of process parameters values. The analysis shows that the laser beam scanning speed is the most influential operating factor followed by the laser pumping intensity during marking, while the other factors show complex influences on the objective functions.

  9. General description of preliminary design of an experimental fusion reactor and the future problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sako, Kiyoshi

    1976-01-01

    Recently, the studies on plasma physics has progressed rapidly, and promising experimental data emerged successively. Especially expectation mounts high that Tokamak will develop into power reactors. In Japan, the construction of large plasma devices such as JT-60 of JAERI is going to start, and after several years, the studies on plasma physics will come to the end of first stage, then the main research and development will be directed to power reactors. The studies on the design of practical fusion reactors have been in progress since 1973 in JAERI, and the preliminary design is being carried out. The purposes of the preliminary design are the clarification of the concept of the experimental reactor and the requirements for the studies on core plasma, the examination of the problems for developing main components and systems of the reactor, and the development of design technology. The experimental reactor is the quasi-steady reactor of 100 MW fusion reaction output, and the conditions set for the design and the basis of their setting are explained. The outline of the design, namely core plasma, blankets, superconductive magnets and the shielding with them, vacuum wall, neutral particle injection heating device, core fuel supply and exhaust system, and others, is described. In case of scale-up the reactor structural material which can withstand neutron damage must be developed. (Kako, I.)

  10. Group Projects in Interior Design Studio Classes: Peer Feedback Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurado, Juan A.

    2011-01-01

    Group projects have been shown to be effective for providing peer feedback in classrooms. While students in regular enrollment classes benefit from peer feedback, low-enrollment classes face many challenges. This study compares peer feedback effectiveness between two interior design studio classes with different design projects. In one class,…

  11. Optimization Of Freeze-Dried Starter For Yogurt By Full Factorial Experimental Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen He

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available With the rapidly development of fermented milk product, it is significant for enhancing the performance of starter culture. This paper not only investigated the influence of anti-freeze factors and freeze-drying protective agents on viable count, freeze-drying survival rate and yield of Lactobacillus bulgaricus (LB and Streptococcus thermophilus (ST, but also optimized the bacteria proportion of freeze-dried starter culture for yogurt by full factorial experimental design. The results showed as following: the freeze-drying protective agents or anti-freeze factors could enhanced survival rate of LB and ST; the freeze-dried LB and ST powders containing both of anti-freeze factors and freeze-drying protective agents had higher viable count and freeze-drying survival rate that were 84.7% and 79.7% respectively; In terms of fermentation performance, the best group of freeze-dried starter for yogurt was the compound of LB3 and ST2.

  12. Mirrors design, analysis and manufacturing of the 550mm Korsch telescope experimental model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Po-Hsuan; Huang, Yi-Kai; Ling, Jer

    2017-08-01

    In 2015, NSPO (National Space Organization) began to develop the sub-meter resolution optical remote sensing instrument of the next generation optical remote sensing satellite which follow-on to FORMOSAT-5. Upgraded from the Ritchey-Chrétien Cassegrain telescope optical system of FORMOSAT-5, the experimental optical system of the advanced optical remote sensing instrument was enhanced to an off-axis Korsch telescope optical system which consists of five mirrors. It contains: (1) M1: 550mm diameter aperture primary mirror, (2) M2: secondary mirror, (3) M3: off-axis tertiary mirror, (4) FM1 and FM2: two folding flat mirrors, for purpose of limiting the overall volume, reducing the mass, and providing a long focal length and excellent optical performance. By the end of 2015, we implemented several important techniques including optical system design, opto-mechanical design, FEM and multi-physics analysis and optimization system in order to do a preliminary study and begin to develop and design these large-size lightweight aspheric mirrors and flat mirrors. The lightweight mirror design and opto-mechanical interface design were completed in August 2016. We then manufactured and polished these experimental model mirrors in Taiwan; all five mirrors ware completed as spherical surfaces by the end of 2016. Aspheric figuring, assembling tests and optical alignment verification of these mirrors will be done with a Korsch telescope experimental structure model in 2018.

  13. Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design Using Multilevel Monte Carlo

    KAUST Repository

    Ben Issaid, Chaouki

    2015-05-12

    Experimental design can be vital when experiments are resource-exhaustive and time-consuming. In this work, we carry out experimental design in the Bayesian framework. To measure the amount of information that can be extracted from the data in an experiment, we use the expected information gain as the utility function, which specifically is the expected logarithmic ratio between the posterior and prior distributions. Optimizing this utility function enables us to design experiments that yield the most informative data about the model parameters. One of the major difficulties in evaluating the expected information gain is that it naturally involves nested integration over a possibly high dimensional domain. We use the Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) method to accelerate the computation of the nested high dimensional integral. The advantages are twofold. First, MLMC can significantly reduce the cost of the nested integral for a given tolerance, by using an optimal sample distribution among different sample averages of the inner integrals. Second, the MLMC method imposes fewer assumptions, such as the asymptotic concentration of posterior measures, required for instance by the Laplace approximation (LA). We test the MLMC method using two numerical examples. The first example is the design of sensor deployment for a Darcy flow problem governed by a one-dimensional Poisson equation. We place the sensors in the locations where the pressure is measured, and we model the conductivity field as a piecewise constant random vector with two parameters. The second one is chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) core flooding experiment assuming homogeneous permeability. We measure the cumulative oil recovery, from a horizontal core flooded by water, surfactant and polymer, for different injection rates. The model parameters consist of the endpoint relative permeabilities, the residual saturations and the relative permeability exponents for the three phases: water, oil and

  14. Design studies of back up cores for the experimental multi-purpose VHTR, (1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasuno, Takehiko; Miyamoto, Yoshiaki; Mitake, Susumu

    1982-09-01

    For the Experimental Multi-Purpose Very High Temperature Reactor, design studies have been made of two backup cores loaded with new type fuel elements. The purpose is to improve core operational characteristics of the standard design core (Mark-III core) consisting of pin-in-block type fuel element having externally cooled hollow fuel rods. The first backup core (semi-pin fuel core) is composed of fuel elements with internally cooled fuel pins, and the second core (multihole fuel core) is composed of multihole fuel elements, which can be adopted for the experimental VHTR as the substitution of the standard Mark-III fuel element. Either of the cores has 73 fuel columns and 4 m height. The arrangement of active core and reactor internal structure is same as that in the standard design core. These backup cores meet almost all design requirements of the VHTR and increase the margins for some important design items in comparison with the standard core (Mark-III core). This report describes the overall characteristics of nuclear, thermal-hydraulic, fuel and safety, and structural consideration for these cores. (author)

  15. Pre-design stage of the intermediate heat exchanger for experimental fast reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luz, M.; Borges, E.M.; Braz Filho, F.A.; Hirdes, V.R.

    1986-09-01

    This report presents the outlines of a thermal-hydraulic calculation procedure for the pre-design stage of the Intermediate Heat Exchanger for a 5 MW Experimental Fast Reactor (EFR), which can be used in other similar projects, at the same stage of evolution. Heat transfer and heat loss computations for the preliminary design of the heat exchanger are presented. (author) [pt

  16. Exploring multi-metal biosorption by indigenous metal-hyperresistant Enterobacter sp. J1 using experimental design methodologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, W.-B.; Kao, W.-C.; Shi, J.-J.; Chang, J.-S.

    2008-01-01

    A novel experimental design, combining mixture design and response surface methodology (RSM), was developed to investigate the competitive adsorption behavior of lead, copper and cadmium by an indigenous isolate Enterobacter sp. J1 able to tolerate high concentrations of a variety of heavy metals. Using the proposed combinative experimental design, two different experiment designs in a ternary metal biosorption system can be integrated to a succinct experiment and the number of experimental trials was markedly reduced from 38 to 26 by reusing the mutual experimental data. Triangular contour diagrams and triangular three-dimensional surface plots were generated to describe the ternary metal biosorption equilibrium data in mixture design systems. The results show that the preference of metal sorption of Enterobacter sp. J1 decreased in the order of Pb 2+ > Cu 2+ > Cd 2+ . The presence of other metals resulted in a competitive effect. The influence of the other two metals in ternary metal biosorption system can be easily determined by comparing the stray distance from the single metal biosorption. The behavior of competitive biosorption was successfully described and predicted using a combined Langmuir-Freundlich model along with new three-dimensional contour-surface plots

  17. Exploring multi-metal biosorption by indigenous metal-hyperresistant Enterobacter sp. J1 using experimental design methodologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, W.-B. [Department of Cosmetic Science, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Kao, W.-C.; Shi, J.-J. [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Chang, J.-S. [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: changjs@mail.ncku.edu.tw

    2008-05-01

    A novel experimental design, combining mixture design and response surface methodology (RSM), was developed to investigate the competitive adsorption behavior of lead, copper and cadmium by an indigenous isolate Enterobacter sp. J1 able to tolerate high concentrations of a variety of heavy metals. Using the proposed combinative experimental design, two different experiment designs in a ternary metal biosorption system can be integrated to a succinct experiment and the number of experimental trials was markedly reduced from 38 to 26 by reusing the mutual experimental data. Triangular contour diagrams and triangular three-dimensional surface plots were generated to describe the ternary metal biosorption equilibrium data in mixture design systems. The results show that the preference of metal sorption of Enterobacter sp. J1 decreased in the order of Pb{sup 2+} > Cu{sup 2+} > Cd{sup 2+}. The presence of other metals resulted in a competitive effect. The influence of the other two metals in ternary metal biosorption system can be easily determined by comparing the stray distance from the single metal biosorption. The behavior of competitive biosorption was successfully described and predicted using a combined Langmuir-Freundlich model along with new three-dimensional contour-surface plots.

  18. Experimental design optimisation: theory and application to estimation of receptor model parameters using dynamic positron emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delforge, J.; Syrota, A.; Mazoyer, B.M.

    1989-01-01

    General framework and various criteria for experimental design optimisation are presented. The methodology is applied to estimation of receptor-ligand reaction model parameters with dynamic positron emission tomography data. The possibility of improving parameter estimation using a new experimental design combining an injection of the β + -labelled ligand and an injection of the cold ligand is investigated. Numerical simulations predict remarkable improvement in the accuracy of parameter estimates with this new experimental design and particularly the possibility of separate estimations of the association constant (k +1 ) and of receptor density (B' max ) in a single experiment. Simulation predictions are validated using experimental PET data in which parameter uncertainties are reduced by factors ranging from 17 to 1000. (author)

  19. Tritium system design studies of fusion experimental breeder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng Baiquan; Huang Jinhua

    2003-01-01

    A summary of the tritium system design studies for the engineering outline design of a fusion experimental breeder (FEB-E) is presented. This paper is divided into three sections. In first section, the geometry, loading features and tritium concentrations in liquid lithium of tritium breeding zones of blanket are described. The tritium flow chart corresponding to the tritium fuel cycle system has been constructed, and the inventories in ten subsystems are calculated using SWITRIM code in section 2. Results show that the necessary initial tritium storage to start up FEB-E with fusion power of 143 MW is about 319 g. In final section, the tritium leakage issues under different operation circumstances have been analyzed. It was found that the potential danger of tritium leakage could be resulted from the exhausted gas of the diverter system. It is important to elevate the tritium burnup fraction and reduce the tritium throughput. (authors)

  20. Effects of a music-creation programme on the anxiety, self-esteem, and quality of life of people with severe mental illness: A quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Beh-Huan; Chen, Bo-Wei; Beckstead, Jason W; Yang, Chiu-Yueh

    2018-06-01

    Many studies have shown that music therapy improves patients' symptoms. However, interventions using music creation as their core await further development for patients with severe mental illness (SMI). The current study investigated the effect of a music-creation programme on the anxiety, self-esteem, and quality of life of patients with SMI. A quasi-experimental design using convenience sampling was adopted to recruit patients with SMI from a psychiatric day care centre. Participants were grouped based on their willingness to undergo an intervention (26 patients in the experimental group and 23 patients in the control group). The control groups participated in conventional mental rehabilitation therapy activities. The experimental group participated in a music-creation session for 90 min every week over a 32-week period. The outcome indicators before and after the intervention were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). Finally, the intervention effect was determined using generalized estimating equations (GEEs). After 32 weeks of intervention activities, the experimental group showed significant improvements in their HAM-A total scores (P < 0.001) and RSES total scores (P = 0.005). Regarding quality of life, the improvements of the experimental group in terms of the psychological (P = 0.016) and social relationship domains (P = 0.033) were superior to those of the control group. Music-creation programmes are recommended for inclusion in the routine rehabilitation activities of patients with SMI. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  1. A newly-designed temporary cardia stent for the treatment of achalasia:an experimental study in canine models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuang Xiaochun; Cheng Yingsheng; Zhu Yueqi; Li Feng; Wang Weiguo

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of a newly-designed temporary covered cardia stent for the treatment of achalasia in canine models and to investigate the histopathological changes at different points of follow-up time after the stent was removed. Methods: The canine achalasia model was created by injecting benzyl-dimethyl-tetradecyl ammonium chloride (BAC) circumferentially into the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) of the dogs. Twenty-four dogs with achalasia were randomly and equally divided into two groups with 12 dogs in each group: control group (using routine esophageal stents) and study group (using newly-designed temporary covered cardia stents). Under fluoroscopic guidance stents were implanted in the esophagus and were taken away from the esophagus 4 days after stent insertion in experimental dogs of both groups. LES pressures and timed barium esophagography (TBE) were performed in all dogs before and immediately after the stenting procedure, as well as at one week, 3 and 6 months after the stent was removed. Every three dogs were sacrificed each time at one week, 3 and 6 months after the stent was removed. The esophageal cardia was excised and sent for pathological examination. Results: All animals well tolerated the stent insertion / removal and the follow-up procedures. No severe complications such as esophageal perforation occurred. Comparison between two groups showed that stent migration occurrence was much lower in study group (n = 1) than that in control group (n = 5). The reduction of LES pressures in study group was more significant in comparison with control group (at 6-month follow-up, P = 0.027). The difference in barium column product (height x width) between 0-min and 5-min TBE was statistically significant in study group (at 3-month follow-up, P = 0.009). Integrated analysis of multi-comparison for LES pressures among subgroups of each group revealed that the dogs in study group exhibited better outcomes than the dogs in

  2. A survey of Wien bridge-based chaotic oscillators: Design and experimental issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilic, Recai; Yildirim, Fatma

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents a comparative study on design and implementation of Wien type chaotic oscillators. By making a collection of almost all Wien bridge-based chaotic circuits, we have investigated these oscillators in terms of chaotic dynamics, circuit structures, active building blocks, nonlinear element structures and operating frequency by using PSpice simulations and laboratory experiments. In addition to this comparative investigation, we present our two basic experimental contributions to referred implementations. While the first of our experimental contributions consists of the experimentally implementation of CFOA-based Chua's circuit modified for very high chaotic oscillations, the scope of the second is to experimentally implement a Wien type high frequency chaos generator, which has the diode-inductor composite, in the inductorless form by using CFOA-based synthetic inductor

  3. Design and experimental tests of a novel neutron spin analyzer for wide angle spin echo spectrometers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fouquet, Peter; Farago, Bela; Andersen, Ken H.; Bentley, Phillip M.; Pastrello, Gilles; Sutton, Iain; Thaveron, Eric; Thomas, Frederic [Institut Laue-Langevin, BP 156, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Moskvin, Evgeny [Helmholtzzentrum Berlin, Glienicker Strasse 100, D-14109 Berlin (Germany); Pappas, Catherine [Helmholtzzentrum Berlin, Glienicker Strasse 100, D-14109 Berlin (Germany); Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft (Netherlands)

    2009-09-15

    This paper describes the design and experimental tests of a novel neutron spin analyzer optimized for wide angle spin echo spectrometers. The new design is based on nonremanent magnetic supermirrors, which are magnetized by vertical magnetic fields created by NdFeB high field permanent magnets. The solution presented here gives stable performance at moderate costs in contrast to designs invoking remanent supermirrors. In the experimental part of this paper we demonstrate that the new design performs well in terms of polarization, transmission, and that high quality neutron spin echo spectra can be measured.

  4. Can a Virtual Design Environment Enhance Group Creativity and the Use of Stimuli?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elias, Ed; Chamakiotis, Petros; Howard, Thomas J.

    2011-01-01

    of generating idea in such a fashion. This paper puts together three ways of improving the group brainstorming session; working in nominal groups, using stimuli and working in a virtual team. The final sections sets out recommendations for a future virtual design environment capable of supporting group......It is a common perception that creativity for design is best performed in a collaborative, group environment. Group idea generation and brainstorm sessions are of widespread practice across industries. This technique remains popular despite numerous studies highlighting the inefficiencies...

  5. Remote maintenance design for Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tachikawa, K.; Iida, H.; Nishio, S.; Tone, T.; Aota, T.; Iwamoto, T.; Niikura, S.; Nishizawa, H.

    1984-01-01

    Design of Fusion Experimental Reactor, FER, has been conducted by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) since 1981. Two typical reactors can be classified in general from the viewpoints of remote maintenance among four design concepts of FER. In the case of the type 1 FER, the torus module consists of shield structure and blanket, and the connective joints between toruses provided at the outer region of the reactor. As for the type 2 FER, the shield structure is joined with the vacuum cryostat, and only the blanket module is allowed to move, but connection between toruses are located in the inner region of the reactor. Comparing type 1 with type 2 FER, this paper describes on the remote maintenance of FER including reactor configurations, work procedures, remote systems/equipments, repairing facility and future R and D problems. Reviewing design studies and investigation for the existing robotics technologies, R and D for FER remote maintenance technology should be performed under the reasonable long-term program. The main items of remote technology required to start urgently are multi-purpose manipulator system with performance of dextrousity, tele-viewing system which reduces operator fatigue and remote tests for commercially available components

  6. Issues and recent advances in optimal experimental design for site investigation (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowak, W.

    2013-12-01

    This presentation provides an overview over issues and recent advances in model-based experimental design for site exploration. The addressed issues and advances are (1) how to provide an adequate envelope to prior uncertainty, (2) how to define the information needs in a task-oriented manner, (3) how to measure the expected impact of a data set that it not yet available but only planned to be collected, and (4) how to perform best the optimization of the data collection plan. Among other shortcomings of the state-of-the-art, it is identified that there is a lack of demonstrator studies where exploration schemes based on expert judgment are compared to exploration schemes obtained by optimal experimental design. Such studies will be necessary do address the often voiced concern that experimental design is an academic exercise with little improvement potential over the well- trained gut feeling of field experts. When addressing this concern, a specific focus has to be given to uncertainty in model structure, parameterizations and parameter values, and to related surprises that data often bring about in field studies, but never in synthetic-data based studies. The background of this concern is that, initially, conceptual uncertainty may be so large that surprises are the rule rather than the exception. In such situations, field experts have a large body of experience in handling the surprises, and expert judgment may be good enough compared to meticulous optimization based on a model that is about to be falsified by the incoming data. In order to meet surprises accordingly and adapt to them, there needs to be a sufficient representation of conceptual uncertainty within the models used. Also, it is useless to optimize an entire design under this initial range of uncertainty. Thus, the goal setting of the optimization should include the objective to reduce conceptual uncertainty. A possible way out is to upgrade experimental design theory towards real-time interaction

  7. Empirical evidence of bias in the design of experimental stroke studies - A metaepidemiologic approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Crossley, Nicolas A.; Sena, Emily; Goehler, Jos; Horn, Jannekke; van der Worp, Bart; Bath, Philip M. W.; Macleod, Malcolm; Dirnagl, Ulrich

    2008-01-01

    Background and Purpose - At least part of the failure in the transition from experimental to clinical studies in stroke has been attributed to the imprecision introduced by problems in the design of experimental stroke studies. Using a metaepidemiologic approach, we addressed the effect of

  8. Optimal experimental design in an epidermal growth factor receptor signalling and down-regulation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, F P; Baird, D; Feng, Q; Gutenkunst, R N; Waterfall, J J; Myers, C R; Brown, K S; Cerione, R A; Sethna, J P

    2007-05-01

    We apply the methods of optimal experimental design to a differential equation model for epidermal growth factor receptor signalling, trafficking and down-regulation. The model incorporates the role of a recently discovered protein complex made up of the E3 ubiquitin ligase, Cbl, the guanine exchange factor (GEF), Cool-1 (beta -Pix) and the Rho family G protein Cdc42. The complex has been suggested to be important in disrupting receptor down-regulation. We demonstrate that the model interactions can accurately reproduce the experimental observations, that they can be used to make predictions with accompanying uncertainties, and that we can apply ideas of optimal experimental design to suggest new experiments that reduce the uncertainty on unmeasurable components of the system.

  9. Online Group Work Design: Processes, Complexities, and Intricacies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleinsasser, Robert; Hong, Yi-Chun

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes the challenges of designing and implementing online group work. We are responsible for a seven-and-a-half week's online literacy and bi-literacy graduate course in a Bilingual/English as a Second Language (BLE/ESL) Master of Arts program. One of the tasks includes online literacy circle exchanges where students are encouraged…

  10. Used frying oil biodiesel production: experimental factorial design and multivariate analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosana de Cassia de Souza Schneider

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel é derivado de fontes renováveis ereduz significativamente as emissões atmosféricas. Pode serobtido de diversos processos, como a alcoolise. Nestetrabalho, o biodiesel foi produzido através da alcoolise doóleo de fritura usado de indústrias de alimentação. Umplanejamento experimental foi utilizado e os produtos dereação foram analisados por cromatografia gasosa (CGespectroscopia na região do infravermelho com acessório dereflexão total atenuada horizontal (IV-HATR e análiseexploratória por análise de componentes principais (PCA eanálise hierárquica de grupos (HCA. De acordo com ascondições analisadas obteve-se alta conversão em ésteresmetílicos. Por IV-HATR, a conversão máxima foi observadaem condições experimentais de temperatura ( 50 e 60°C,concentração de catalisador (0,6 e 1,2% e a 1:8 de relaçãomolar entre óleo e metanol. Também foi possíveldiscriminar por análise quimiométrica, 4 grupos noplanejamento experimental e determinar as melhorescondições para a produção de biodiesel de óleo de friturausado.Abstract Biodiesel is derived from renewable sources and it significantly reduces atmospheric emissions. It can be obtained byseveral processes, such as alcoholysis. In this work, biodiesel was produced through alcoholysis of used frying oil from a cateringbusiness. An experimental factorial design was used and the reaction products were analyzed through gas chromatography (GC,horizontal attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (HATR/FT-IR spectroscopy and exploratory analysis withprincipal component analysis (PCA and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA. Under the conditions analyzed, a high degree ofconversion to methyl ester was found. As shown by HATR/FT-IR, the maximum conversion was obtained when the experimentalconditions had the temperature ( 50 e 60°C, largest catalyst concentration (0,6 e 1,2% and a 1:8 molar proportion of oil tomethanol. It was possible to discriminate

  11. Experimental system design for the integration of trapped-ion and superconducting qubit systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Motte, D.; Grounds, A. R.; Rehák, M.; Rodriguez Blanco, A.; Lekitsch, B.; Giri, G. S.; Neilinger, P.; Oelsner, G.; Il'ichev, E.; Grajcar, M.; Hensinger, W. K.

    2016-12-01

    We present a design for the experimental integration of ion trapping and superconducting qubit systems as a step towards the realization of a quantum hybrid system. The scheme addresses two key difficulties in realizing such a system: a combined microfabricated ion trap and superconducting qubit architecture, and the experimental infrastructure to facilitate both technologies. Developing upon work by Kielpinski et al. (Phys Rev Lett 108(13):130504, 2012. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.130504), we describe the design, simulation and fabrication process for a microfabricated ion trap capable of coupling an ion to a superconducting microwave LC circuit with a coupling strength in the tens of kHz. We also describe existing difficulties in combining the experimental infrastructure of an ion trapping set-up into a dilution refrigerator with superconducting qubits and present solutions that can be immediately implemented using current technology.

  12. Cooperative Experimental System Development - cooperative techniques beyound initial design and analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønbæk, Kaj; Kyng, Morten; Mogensen, Preben Holst

    1995-01-01

    This chapter represents a step towards the establishment of a new system development approach, called Cooperative Experimental System Development (CESD). CESD seeks to overcome a number of limitations in existing approaches: specification oriented methods usually assume that system design can....../design activities of development projects. In contrast, the CESD approach is characterized by its focus on: active user involvement throughout the entire development process; prototyping experiments closely coupled to work-situations and use-scenarios; transforming results from early cooperative analysis...... be based solely on observation and detached reflection; prototyping methods often have a narrow focus on the technical construction of various kinds of prototypes; Participatory Design techniques—including the Scandinavian Cooperative Design (CD) approaches—seldom go beyond the early analysis...

  13. Combined application of mixture experimental design and artificial neural networks in the solid dispersion development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medarević, Djordje P; Kleinebudde, Peter; Djuriš, Jelena; Djurić, Zorica; Ibrić, Svetlana

    2016-01-01

    This study for the first time demonstrates combined application of mixture experimental design and artificial neural networks (ANNs) in the solid dispersions (SDs) development. Ternary carbamazepine-Soluplus®-poloxamer 188 SDs were prepared by solvent casting method to improve carbamazepine dissolution rate. The influence of the composition of prepared SDs on carbamazepine dissolution rate was evaluated using d-optimal mixture experimental design and multilayer perceptron ANNs. Physicochemical characterization proved the presence of the most stable carbamazepine polymorph III within the SD matrix. Ternary carbamazepine-Soluplus®-poloxamer 188 SDs significantly improved carbamazepine dissolution rate compared to pure drug. Models developed by ANNs and mixture experimental design well described the relationship between proportions of SD components and percentage of carbamazepine released after 10 (Q10) and 20 (Q20) min, wherein ANN model exhibit better predictability on test data set. Proportions of carbamazepine and poloxamer 188 exhibited the highest influence on carbamazepine release rate. The highest carbamazepine release rate was observed for SDs with the lowest proportions of carbamazepine and the highest proportions of poloxamer 188. ANNs and mixture experimental design can be used as powerful data modeling tools in the systematic development of SDs. Taking into account advantages and disadvantages of both techniques, their combined application should be encouraged.

  14. New synthetic thrombin inhibitors: molecular design and experimental verification.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena I Sinauridze

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The development of new anticoagulants is an important goal for the improvement of thromboses treatments. OBJECTIVES: The design, synthesis and experimental testing of new safe and effective small molecule direct thrombin inhibitors for intravenous administration. METHODS: Computer-aided molecular design of new thrombin inhibitors was performed using our original docking program SOL, which is based on the genetic algorithm of global energy minimization in the framework of a Merck Molecular Force Field. This program takes into account the effects of solvent. The designed molecules with the best scoring functions (calculated binding energies were synthesized and their thrombin inhibitory activity evaluated experimentally in vitro using a chromogenic substrate in a buffer system and using a thrombin generation test in isolated plasma and in vivo using the newly developed model of hemodilution-induced hypercoagulation in rats. The acute toxicities of the most promising new thrombin inhibitors were evaluated in mice, and their stabilities in aqueous solutions were measured. RESULTS: New compounds that are both effective direct thrombin inhibitors (the best K(I was 1111.1 mg/kg. A plasma-substituting solution supplemented with one of the new inhibitors prevented hypercoagulation in the rat model of hemodilution-induced hypercoagulation. Activities of the best new inhibitors in physiological saline (1 µM solutions were stable after sterilization by autoclaving, and the inhibitors remained stable at long-term storage over more than 1.5 years at room temperature and at 4°C. CONCLUSIONS: The high efficacy, stability and low acute toxicity reveal that the inhibitors that were developed may be promising for potential medical applications.

  15. design and experimental study of a solar system for heating water ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    M. Ghodbane, B. Boumeddane, N. Said

    2016-09-01

    Sep 1, 2016 ... This work presents a design and an experimental study of a linear Fresnel reflector solar with trapezoidal cavity. ... concentrator in the solar fields allocated to the domestics and industrial water-heaters. Keywords: ...... integrated photovoltaic panels, Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Transactions of the ...

  16. Bayesian optimal experimental design for priors of compact support

    KAUST Repository

    Long, Quan

    2016-01-08

    In this study, we optimize the experimental setup computationally by optimal experimental design (OED) in a Bayesian framework. We approximate the posterior probability density functions (pdf) using truncated Gaussian distributions in order to account for the bounded domain of the uniform prior pdf of the parameters. The underlying Gaussian distribution is obtained in the spirit of the Laplace method, more precisely, the mode is chosen as the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate, and the covariance is chosen as the negative inverse of the Hessian of the misfit function at the MAP estimate. The model related entities are obtained from a polynomial surrogate. The optimality, quantified by the information gain measures, can be estimated efficiently by a rejection sampling algorithm against the underlying Gaussian probability distribution, rather than against the true posterior. This approach offers a significant error reduction when the magnitude of the invariants of the posterior covariance are comparable to the size of the bounded domain of the prior. We demonstrate the accuracy and superior computational efficiency of our method for shock-tube experiments aiming to measure the model parameters of a key reaction which is part of the complex kinetic network describing the hydrocarbon oxidation. In the experiments, the initial temperature and fuel concentration are optimized with respect to the expected information gain in the estimation of the parameters of the target reaction rate. We show that the expected information gain surface can change its shape dramatically according to the level of noise introduced into the synthetic data. The information that can be extracted from the data saturates as a logarithmic function of the number of experiments, and few experiments are needed when they are conducted at the optimal experimental design conditions.

  17. Evaluation of a New Dental Implant Cervical Design in Comparison with a Conventional Design in an Experimental American Foxhound Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Albacete Martínez, Maria Ángeles; Pérez-Albacete Martínez, Carlos; Maté Sánchez De Val, José Eduardo; Ramos Oltra, María Luisa; Fernández Domínguez, Manuel; Calvo Guirado, Jose Luis

    2018-03-21

    The aim of this study was to evaluate osseointegration and crestal bone height in implants with a triangular cervical design in comparison with a standard rounded cervical design. The control group consisted of 24 implants with a standard cervical design, and the test group of 24 implants with a triangular cervical design. The implants were inserted in healed bone in six American Foxhounds. Crestal bone height and tissue thickness in the cervical portion were measured after 12 weeks healing. Data analysis found mean crestal bone loss of: 0.31 ± 0.24 mm on the buccal side, 0.35 ± 0.14 mm on the lingual in the test group, and 0.71 ± 0.28 mm buccal loss, and 0.42 ± 0.30 mm lingual in the control group; with statistically significant differences on the buccal aspect ( p = 0.0019). Mean tissue thickness in the test group was 1.98 ± 0.17 mm on the buccal aspect, and 2.43 ± 0.93 mm in the lingual; in the control group it was 2.48 ± 0.61 mm buccal thickness, and 2.88 ± 0.14 mm lingual, with significant differences on both aspects ( p = 0.0043; p = 0.0029). The results suggest that greater thickness of peri-implant tissue can be expected when the triangular cervical implant design is used rather than the standard cervical design.

  18. A survey of Wien bridge-based chaotic oscillators: Design and experimental issues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilic, Recai [Erciyes University, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 38039 Kayseri (Turkey)], E-mail: kilic@erciyes.edu.tr; Yildirim, Fatma [Erciyes University, Civil Aviation School, 38039 Kayseri (Turkey)

    2008-12-15

    This paper presents a comparative study on design and implementation of Wien type chaotic oscillators. By making a collection of almost all Wien bridge-based chaotic circuits, we have investigated these oscillators in terms of chaotic dynamics, circuit structures, active building blocks, nonlinear element structures and operating frequency by using PSpice simulations and laboratory experiments. In addition to this comparative investigation, we present our two basic experimental contributions to referred implementations. While the first of our experimental contributions consists of the experimentally implementation of CFOA-based Chua's circuit modified for very high chaotic oscillations, the scope of the second is to experimentally implement a Wien type high frequency chaos generator, which has the diode-inductor composite, in the inductorless form by using CFOA-based synthetic inductor.

  19. Using a Discussion about Scientific Controversy to Teach Central Concepts in Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Kimberley Ann

    2015-01-01

    Students may need explicit training in informal statistical reasoning in order to design experiments or use formal statistical tests effectively. By using scientific scandals and media misinterpretation, we can explore the need for good experimental design in an informal way. This article describes the use of a paper that reviews the measles mumps…

  20. South Korean military service promotes smoking: a quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allem, Jon-Patrick; Ayers, John W; Irvin, Veronica L; Hofstetter, C Richard; Hovell, Melbourne F

    2012-03-01

    The South Korean (SK) government monopolizes the tobacco industry and is accused of pushing smoking on captive military personnel. However, estimating the association between military service and smoking is difficult, since military service is required for all SK men and the few civilian waivers are usually based on smoking determinants, e.g., social status. Using a quasi-experimental design we validly estimate the association between military service and smoking. Military service was assigned by immigration patterns to the United States, instead of an experimenter, by comparing Korean Americans who happened to immigrate before or after the age(s) of mandated service. Smoking promotion in the military was also described among SK veterans, to identify the probable mechanisms for veterans' smoking tendencies. Veterans were 15% [95% confidence interval (CI), 4 to 27] more likely to ever-puff and 10% (95% CI, 0 to 23) more likely to ever-smoke cigarettes, compared to a similar group of civilians. Among veterans, 92% (95% CI, 89 to 95) recalled cigarettes were free, 30% (95% CI, 25 to 35) recalled smokers were given more work breaks and 38% (95% CI, 32 to 43) felt explicit "social pressure" to smoke. Free cigarettes was the strongest mechanism for veterans' smoking tendencies, e.g., veterans recalling free cigarette distribution were 16% (95% CI, 1 to 37) more likely to ever-smoke than veterans not recalling. These patterns suggest military service is strongly associated with smoking, and differences between veterans and civilians smoking may carry over long after military service. Given military service remains entirely in government purview, actively changing military smoking policies may prove most efficacious. This highlights the importance of recent bans on military cigarette distribution, but policies eliminating other smoking encouragements described by veterans are necessary and could effectively reduce the smoking prevalence by as much as 10% in SK.

  1. Conceptual design study of fusion experimental reactor (FY86 FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Takeshi; Yamada, Masao; Mizoguchi, Tadanori

    1987-09-01

    This report describes the results of the reactor configuration/structure design for the fusion experimental reactor (FER) performed in FY 1986. The design was intended to meet the physical and engineering mission of the next step device which was decided by the subcommittee on the next step device of the nuclear fusion council. The objectives of the design study in FY 1986 are to advance and optimize the design concept of the last year because the recommendation of the subcommittee was basically the same as the design philosophy of the last year. Six candidate reactor configurations which correspond to options C ∼ D presented by the subcommittee were extensively examined. Consequently, ACS reactor (Advanced Option-C with Single Null Divertor) was selected as the reference configuration from viewpoints of technical risks and cost performance. Regarding the reactor structure, the following items were investigated intensively: minimization of reactor size, protection of first wall against plasma disruption, simplification of shield structure, reactor configuration which enables optimum arrangement of poloidal field coils. (author)

  2. modelling of directed evolution: Implications for experimental design and stepwise evolution

    OpenAIRE

    Wedge , David C.; Rowe , William; Kell , Douglas B.; Knowles , Joshua

    2009-01-01

    In silico modelling of directed evolution: Implications for experimental design and stepwise evolution correspondence: Corresponding author. Tel.: +441613065145. (Wedge, David C.) (Wedge, David C.) Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester - 131 Princess Street--> , Manchester--> , M1 7ND--> - UNITED KINGDOM (Wedge, David C.) UNITED KINGDOM (Wedge, David C.) Man...

  3. Design study of toroidal magnets for tokamak experimental power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stekly, Z.J.J.; Lucas, E.J.

    1976-12-01

    This report contains the results of a six-month study of superconducting toroidal field coils for a Tokamak Experimental Power Reactor to be built in the late 1980s. The designs are for 8 T and 12 T maximum magnetic field at the superconducting winding. At each field level two main concepts were generated; one in which each of the 16 coils comprising the system has an individual vacuum vessel and the other in which all the coils are contained in a single vacuum vessel. The coils have a D shape and have openings of 11.25 m x 7.5 m for the 8 T coils and 10.2 m x 6.8 m for the 12 T coils. All the designs utilize rectangular cabled conductor made from copper stabilized Niobium Titanium composite which operates at 4.2 K for the 8 T design and at 2.5 K for the 12 T design. Manufacturing procedures, processes and schedule estimates are also discussed

  4. Sparse linear models: Variational approximate inference and Bayesian experimental design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seeger, Matthias W

    2009-01-01

    A wide range of problems such as signal reconstruction, denoising, source separation, feature selection, and graphical model search are addressed today by posterior maximization for linear models with sparsity-favouring prior distributions. The Bayesian posterior contains useful information far beyond its mode, which can be used to drive methods for sampling optimization (active learning), feature relevance ranking, or hyperparameter estimation, if only this representation of uncertainty can be approximated in a tractable manner. In this paper, we review recent results for variational sparse inference, and show that they share underlying computational primitives. We discuss how sampling optimization can be implemented as sequential Bayesian experimental design. While there has been tremendous recent activity to develop sparse estimation, little attendance has been given to sparse approximate inference. In this paper, we argue that many problems in practice, such as compressive sensing for real-world image reconstruction, are served much better by proper uncertainty approximations than by ever more aggressive sparse estimation algorithms. Moreover, since some variational inference methods have been given strong convex optimization characterizations recently, theoretical analysis may become possible, promising new insights into nonlinear experimental design.

  5. Sparse linear models: Variational approximate inference and Bayesian experimental design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seeger, Matthias W [Saarland University and Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Campus E1.4, 66123 Saarbruecken (Germany)

    2009-12-01

    A wide range of problems such as signal reconstruction, denoising, source separation, feature selection, and graphical model search are addressed today by posterior maximization for linear models with sparsity-favouring prior distributions. The Bayesian posterior contains useful information far beyond its mode, which can be used to drive methods for sampling optimization (active learning), feature relevance ranking, or hyperparameter estimation, if only this representation of uncertainty can be approximated in a tractable manner. In this paper, we review recent results for variational sparse inference, and show that they share underlying computational primitives. We discuss how sampling optimization can be implemented as sequential Bayesian experimental design. While there has been tremendous recent activity to develop sparse estimation, little attendance has been given to sparse approximate inference. In this paper, we argue that many problems in practice, such as compressive sensing for real-world image reconstruction, are served much better by proper uncertainty approximations than by ever more aggressive sparse estimation algorithms. Moreover, since some variational inference methods have been given strong convex optimization characterizations recently, theoretical analysis may become possible, promising new insights into nonlinear experimental design.

  6. Delineamento experimental e tamanho de amostra para alface cultivada em hidroponia Experimental design and sample size for hydroponic lettuce crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valéria Schimitz Marodim

    2000-10-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo visa a estabelecer o delineamento experimental e o tamanho de amostra para a cultura da alface (Lactuca sativa em hidroponia, pelo sistema NFT (Nutrient film technique. O experimento foi conduzido no Laboratório de Cultivos Sem Solo/Hidroponia, no Departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria e baseou-se em dados de massa de plantas. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, usando estrutura de cultivo de alface em hidroponia sobre bancadas de fibrocimento com seis canais, o delineamento experimental adequado é blocos ao acaso se a unidade experimental for constituída de faixas transversais aos canais das bancadas, e deve ser inteiramente casualizado se a bancada for a unidade experimental; para a variável massa de plantas, o tamanho da amostra é de 40 plantas para uma semi-amplitude do intervalo de confiança em percentagem da média (d igual a 5% e de 7 plantas para um d igual a 20%.This study was carried out to establish the experimental design and sample size for hydroponic lettuce (Lactuca sativa crop under nutrient film technique. The experiment was conducted in the Laboratory of Hydroponic Crops of the Horticulture Department of the Federal University of Santa Maria. The evaluated traits were plant weight. Under hydroponic conditions on concrete bench with six ducts, the most indicated experimental design for lettuce is randomised blocks for duct transversal plots or completely randomised for bench plot. The sample size for plant weight should be 40 and 7 plants, respectively, for a confidence interval of mean percentage (d equal to 5% and 20%.

  7. Microrandomized trials: An experimental design for developing just-in-time adaptive interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klasnja, Predrag; Hekler, Eric B; Shiffman, Saul; Boruvka, Audrey; Almirall, Daniel; Tewari, Ambuj; Murphy, Susan A

    2015-12-01

    This article presents an experimental design, the microrandomized trial, developed to support optimization of just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs). JITAIs are mHealth technologies that aim to deliver the right intervention components at the right times and locations to optimally support individuals' health behaviors. Microrandomized trials offer a way to optimize such interventions by enabling modeling of causal effects and time-varying effect moderation for individual intervention components within a JITAI. The article describes the microrandomized trial design, enumerates research questions that this experimental design can help answer, and provides an overview of the data analyses that can be used to assess the causal effects of studied intervention components and investigate time-varying moderation of those effects. Microrandomized trials enable causal modeling of proximal effects of the randomized intervention components and assessment of time-varying moderation of those effects. Microrandomized trials can help researchers understand whether their interventions are having intended effects, when and for whom they are effective, and what factors moderate the interventions' effects, enabling creation of more effective JITAIs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Towards designing polymers for photovoltaic applications: A DFT and experimental study of polyazomethines with various chemical structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojtkiewicz, Jacek; Iwan, Agnieszka; Pilch, Marek; Boharewicz, Bartosz; Wójcik, Kamil; Tazbir, Igor; Kaminska, Maria

    2017-06-15

    Theoretical studies of polyazomethines (PAZs) with various chemical structures designated for photovoltaic applications are presented. PAZ energy levels and optical properties were calculated within density-functional theory (DFT and TDDFT) framework for 28 oligomers (monomer, dimer and trimer) of PAZs. The correlations between chemical structure of PAZ and location of its highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels were examined. It turned out that the presence of triaminophenylene, dimethoxydiphenylene and fluorine group raises the orbital energies. As a consequence, it is a factor which improves the photovoltaic efficiency of solar cell built on the base of the corresponding PAZ and [6,6]-phenyl C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). On the contrary, quinone, 1,3,5-triazine and perfluorophenylene groups lower orbital energies and have negative influence on the photovoltaic efficiency. Moreover, calculations for methyl, ethyl and butyl analogs of P3HT as well as polythiophenes were performed and compared with the results obtained for PAZs. In addition experimental data are presented, which cover optical, electrochemical and electrical transport properties of the studied PAZs, allowing to determine HOMO and LUMO energies of the polymers and their conductivity. Finally, comparison between calculated and experimental results were made and discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Design Methodology and Experimental Verification of Serpentine/Folded Waveguide TWTs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-17

    FW), oscillation, serpentine, stopband, traveling -wave tube (TWT), vacuum electronics. I. INTRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT of high-power broadband vacuum elec...tron devices (VEDs) beyond Ka-band using conventional coupled-cavity and helix traveling -wave tube (TWT) RF cir- cuit fabrication techniques is...bottom plot. III. G-BAND CIRCUIT DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION The primary motivation for the G-band amplifier was to develop a high-power broadband

  10. Evaluation of a New Dental Implant Cervical Design in Comparison with a Conventional Design in an Experimental American Foxhound Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Ángeles Pérez-Albacete Martínez

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate osseointegration and crestal bone height in implants with a triangular cervical design in comparison with a standard rounded cervical design. The control group consisted of 24 implants with a standard cervical design, and the test group of 24 implants with a triangular cervical design. The implants were inserted in healed bone in six American Foxhounds. Crestal bone height and tissue thickness in the cervical portion were measured after 12 weeks healing. Data analysis found mean crestal bone loss of: 0.31 ± 0.24 mm on the buccal side, 0.35 ± 0.14 mm on the lingual in the test group, and 0.71 ± 0.28 mm buccal loss, and 0.42 ± 0.30 mm lingual in the control group; with statistically significant differences on the buccal aspect (p = 0.0019. Mean tissue thickness in the test group was 1.98 ± 0.17 mm on the buccal aspect, and 2.43 ± 0.93 mm in the lingual; in the control group it was 2.48 ± 0.61 mm buccal thickness, and 2.88 ± 0.14 mm lingual, with significant differences on both aspects (p = 0.0043; p = 0.0029. The results suggest that greater thickness of peri-implant tissue can be expected when the triangular cervical implant design is used rather than the standard cervical design.

  11. A new experimental design method to optimize formulations focusing on a lubricant for hydrophilic matrix tablets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Du Hyung; Shin, Sangmun; Khoa Viet Truong, Nguyen; Jeong, Seong Hoon

    2012-09-01

    A robust experimental design method was developed with the well-established response surface methodology and time series modeling to facilitate the formulation development process with magnesium stearate incorporated into hydrophilic matrix tablets. Two directional analyses and a time-oriented model were utilized to optimize the experimental responses. Evaluations of tablet gelation and drug release were conducted with two factors x₁ and x₂: one was a formulation factor (the amount of magnesium stearate) and the other was a processing factor (mixing time), respectively. Moreover, different batch sizes (100 and 500 tablet batches) were also evaluated to investigate an effect of batch size. The selected input control factors were arranged in a mixture simplex lattice design with 13 experimental runs. The obtained optimal settings of magnesium stearate for gelation were 0.46 g, 2.76 min (mixing time) for a 100 tablet batch and 1.54 g, 6.51 min for a 500 tablet batch. The optimal settings for drug release were 0.33 g, 7.99 min for a 100 tablet batch and 1.54 g, 6.51 min for a 500 tablet batch. The exact ratio and mixing time of magnesium stearate could be formulated according to the resulting hydrophilic matrix tablet properties. The newly designed experimental method provided very useful information for characterizing significant factors and hence to obtain optimum formulations allowing for a systematic and reliable experimental design method.

  12. Grouping of the design issues for KNGR MMI evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, In Seok; Lee, Dong Young; Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Hyn Chul; Park, Jae Chang

    2001-05-01

    The Korean Next Generation Reactor(KNGR) man-machine interface(MMI) design adopting digital technologies has been developed since 1997. The KNGR MMI consists of CRT-based operator workstations, large display panel(LDP), alarm System, soft control and computerized procedure system. Westinghouse tried to systematically identify and evaluate human factor potential issues of advanced control room. The KNGR MMI design features are very similar with those of the Westinghouse AP-600. The KNGR will try to reflect the evaluation results of 15 issues that the Westinghouse has developed. But it needs much time and costs to evaluate the 15 issues during this design phase. In this study, we analyzed evaluation issues of the AP-600 and classified the 13 issues, which the Westinghouse developed, into 5 groups to simultaneously except 2 issues which can not evaluate in this design phase

  13. New synthetic thrombin inhibitors: molecular design and experimental verification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinauridze, Elena I; Romanov, Alexey N; Gribkova, Irina V; Kondakova, Olga A; Surov, Stepan S; Gorbatenko, Aleksander S; Butylin, Andrey A; Monakov, Mikhail Yu; Bogolyubov, Alexey A; Kuznetsov, Yuryi V; Sulimov, Vladimir B; Ataullakhanov, Fazoyl I

    2011-01-01

    The development of new anticoagulants is an important goal for the improvement of thromboses treatments. The design, synthesis and experimental testing of new safe and effective small molecule direct thrombin inhibitors for intravenous administration. Computer-aided molecular design of new thrombin inhibitors was performed using our original docking program SOL, which is based on the genetic algorithm of global energy minimization in the framework of a Merck Molecular Force Field. This program takes into account the effects of solvent. The designed molecules with the best scoring functions (calculated binding energies) were synthesized and their thrombin inhibitory activity evaluated experimentally in vitro using a chromogenic substrate in a buffer system and using a thrombin generation test in isolated plasma and in vivo using the newly developed model of hemodilution-induced hypercoagulation in rats. The acute toxicities of the most promising new thrombin inhibitors were evaluated in mice, and their stabilities in aqueous solutions were measured. New compounds that are both effective direct thrombin inhibitors (the best K(I) was 50) in the thrombin generation assay of approximately 100 nM) were discovered. These compounds contain one of the following new residues as the basic fragment: isothiuronium, 4-aminopyridinium, or 2-aminothiazolinium. LD(50) values for the best new inhibitors ranged from 166.7 to >1111.1 mg/kg. A plasma-substituting solution supplemented with one of the new inhibitors prevented hypercoagulation in the rat model of hemodilution-induced hypercoagulation. Activities of the best new inhibitors in physiological saline (1 µM solutions) were stable after sterilization by autoclaving, and the inhibitors remained stable at long-term storage over more than 1.5 years at room temperature and at 4°C. The high efficacy, stability and low acute toxicity reveal that the inhibitors that were developed may be promising for potential medical applications.

  14. Experimental fusion power reactor conceptual design study. Final report. Volume III

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, C.C.

    1976-12-01

    This document is the final report which describes the work carried out by General Atomic Company for the Electric Power Research Institute on a conceptual design study of a fusion experimental power reactor (EPR) and an overall EPR facility. The primary objective of the two-year program was to develop a conceptual design of an EPR that operates at ignition and produces continuous net power. A conceptual design was developed for a Doublet configuration based on indications that a noncircular tokamak offers the best potential of achieving a sufficiently high effective fuel containment to provide a viable reactor concept at reasonable cost. Other objectives included the development of a planning cost estimate and schedule for the plant and the identification of critical R and D programs required to support the physics development and engineering and construction of the EPR. This volume contains the following appendices: (1) tradeoff code analysis, (2) residual mode transport, (3) blanket/first wall design evaluations, (4) shielding design evaluation, (5) toroidal coil design evaluation, (6) E-coil design evaluation, (7) F-coil design evaluation, (8) plasma recycle system design evaluation, (9) primary coolant purification design evaluation, (10) power supply system design evaluation, (11) number of coolant loops, (12) power conversion system design evaluation, and (13) maintenance methods evaluation

  15. Innovation in the teaching of astrophysics and space science - spacecraft design group study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castelli, C

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes how the design of a scientific satellite can be used to provide both a stimulating and effective subject for a physics based group study. The group study divides the satellite into distinct subsystems and small teams of two or three students carry out the detailed design of each subsystem. The aim is to produce a complete satellite system design along with the choice of launch vehicle, orbit and communications system so that all the mission requirements can be met. An important feature of the group study is that it is a student led activity with staff acting as mentors. The development of key skills and important learning outcomes from the group study is discussed along with the method for assessment, structuring and resourcing the study

  16. LOGICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN FOR PHENOL DEGRADATION USING IMMOBILIZED ACINETOBACTER SP. CULTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amro Abd Al Fattah Amara

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Phenol degradation processes were conducted through a series of enzymatic reactions effects and is affect by different components of the microbial metabolic flux. Using different optimization strategies like mutagenesis could lead to a successful optimization but also lead to lost of some important microbial features or to release a new virulence or unexpected characters. Plackett-Burman closes much gab between optimization, safety, time, cost, Man/hr, the complexity of the metabolic flux etc. Using Plackett-Burman experimental design lead to map the points affect in the optimization process by well understanding their request from nutrient and the best environmental condition required. In this study nine variables include pH (X1, oC (X2, glucose (X3, yeast extract (X4, meat extract (X5, NH4NO3 (X6, K-salt (X7, Mg-salt (X8 and trace element (X9 are optimized during phenol degradation by Acinetobacter sp., using Plackett-Burman design method. Plackett-Burman included 16 experiments, each was used in two levels, [-1] low and high [+1]. According to Blackett-Burman design experiments the maximum degradation rate was 31.25 mg/l/h. Logical and statistical analysis of the data lead to select pH, Temperature and Meat extract as three factors affecting on phenol degradation rate. These three variables have been used in Box-Behnken experimental design for further optimization. Meat extract, which is not statistically recommended for optimization has been used while it can substitute trace element, which is statistically significant. Glucose, which is statistically significant, did not included while it has a negative effect and gave the best result at 0 g/l amount. Glucose has been completely omitted from the media.  pH, temperature and meat extract were used in fifteen experiments each was used in three levels, –1, 0, and +1 according to Box-Behnken design. Microsoft Excel 2002 solver tool was used to optimize the model created from Box-Behnken. The

  17. Structural and compositional features of high-rise buildings: experimental design in Yekaterinburg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yankovskaya, Yulia; Lobanov, Yuriy; Temnov, Vladimir

    2018-03-01

    The study looks at the specifics of high-rise development in Yekaterinburg. High-rise buildings are considered in the context of their historical development, structural features, compositional and imaginative design techniques. Experience of Yekaterinburg architects in experimental design is considered and analyzed. Main issues and prospects of high-rise development within the Yekaterinburg structure are studied. The most interesting and significant conceptual approaches to the structural and compositional arrangement of high-rise buildings are discussed.

  18. The participation of the Experimental Design Factory of the Uranium Industry of Czechoslovakia in the design of a tunneling machine with disk bits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kastner, P

    1983-01-01

    A tunneling machine, two prototypes of which were designed and built jointly on the basis of scientific and technical cooperation between the Experimental Design Factory of the Uranium Industry of Czechoslovakia and the VEB-Schachtbau enterprise (East Germany), is described. The experimental design operations were conducted under the methodological leadership of the Mine Construction in the Uranium Industry (Czechoslovakia) enterprise. The experimental design factory developed a general design system for the machine and its individual subassemblies. The detailed technical documentation for the machine units was developed by both enterprises. Each enterprise made two complexes of specific units and spare parts. The prototypes were assembled in both countries with the technical assistance of the producer enterprise of the appropriate subassembly. Industrial tests were conducted by each enterprise independently with technical assistance and delivery of spare parts on the part of the producer enterprise. A machine under the title of VM 24-27 was used to drill more than 2,300 meters of water supply tunnel in East Germany in 1982 and a machine called the RS 24-27 (29) was used in Prague in the same year to drill approximately 1,400 meters of cable collectors. The machine is designed for the passage of rounded mine drifts with a diameter of 2.4 to 2.7 (2.9) meters) to the full cross section in stable rocks. Its overall length is 32.5 meters, while the total weight is 85 tons. The shift productivity was 9.55 meters. Since 1979 the Mining Construction in the Uranium Industry and the Experimental Design Plant of the Uranium Industry Enterprises of Czechoslovakia have supplied disk bits for the TVM Demag tunnel drilling machines (West Germany) and RS 24-27 and the HG 210 Wirth (West Germany) cross cut drills.

  19. Development (design and systematization) of HMS Group pump ranges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tverdokhleb, I.; Yamburenko, V.

    2017-08-01

    The article reveals the need for pump range charts development for different applications and describes main principles used by HMS Group. Some modern approaches to pump selection are reviewed and highlighted the need for pump compliance with international standards and modern customer requirements. Even though pump design types are similar for different applications they need adjustment to specific requirements, which gets manufacturers develop their particular design for each pump range. Having wide pump ranges for different applications enables to create pump selection software, facilitating manufacturers to prepare high quality quotations in shortest time.

  20. Digital learning material for experimental design and model building in molecular biology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aegerter-Wilmsen, T.

    2005-01-01

    Designing experimental approaches is a major cognitive skill in molecular biology research, and building models, including quantitative ones, is a cognitive skill which is rapidly gaining importance. Since molecular biology education at university level is aimed at educating future researchers, we

  1. Design and experimental investigation of a Multi-segment plate concentrated photovoltaic solar energy system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Gang; Chen, Zeshao; Hu, Peng

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A multi-segment plate concentrated photovoltaic solar energy system was proposed. • A prototype of this new concentrator was developed for experimental investigation. • Experimental investigation results showed a good concentrating uniformity. - Abstract: Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energies and meaningful for the sustainable development of energy source. A multi-segment plate concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power system was proposed in this paper, the design principle of the multi-segment plate concentrator of this solar power system was given, which could provide uniform solar radiation flux density distribution on solar cells. A prototype of this multi-segment plate CPV solar power system was developed for the experimental study, aiming at the investigations of solar radiation flux density distribution and PV performances under this concentrator design. The experimental results showed that the solar radiation flux density distribution provided by the multi-segment plate concentrator had a good uniformity, and the number and temperature of solar cells both influence the photoelectric transformation efficiency of the CPV solar power system.

  2. An experimental method for designing the municipal solid waste biodrying

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rada, E.C.; Politecnico Univ., Bucarest; Franzinelli, A.; Taiss, M.; Ragazzi, M.; Panaitescu, V.; Apostol, T.

    2005-01-01

    In the management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), in agreement with the new European directives concerning the valorization of materials and energy recovery, a recent approach based on a one-stream Biological Mechanical Treatment (BMT) is spreading as an alternative to the traditional two-stream approach. The bio-mechanical treatment of MSW is an increasing option either as a pre-treatment before land filling or as a pre-treatment before combustion. In the present paper an experimental method for designing the Municipal Solid Waste bio-drying is proposed. That means this paper deals with the option of energy recovery. The aim is to provide design criteria for bio-drying plants independent from the patents available in the sector [it

  3. Experimental system design of liquid lithium-lead alloy bubbler for DFLL-TBM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Bo; Li Junge; Xu Shaomei; Weng Kuiping

    2011-01-01

    The liquid lithium-lead alloy bubbler is a very important composition in the tritium unit of Chinese Dual-Functional Lithium Lead Test Blanket Module (DFLL-TBM). In order to complete the construction and run of the bubbler experimental system,overall design of the system, main circuit design and auxiliary system design have been proposed on the basis of theoretical calculations for the interaction of hydrogen isotope with lithium-lead alloy and experiment for hydrogen extraction from liquid lithium-lead alloy by bubbling with rotational jet nozzle. The key of this design is gas-liquid exchange packed column, to achieve the measurement and extraction of hydrogen isotopes from liquid lithium-lead alloy. (authors)

  4. Fast Bayesian optimal experimental design for seismic source inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Long, Quan

    2015-07-01

    We develop a fast method for optimally designing experiments in the context of statistical seismic source inversion. In particular, we efficiently compute the optimal number and locations of the receivers or seismographs. The seismic source is modeled by a point moment tensor multiplied by a time-dependent function. The parameters include the source location, moment tensor components, and start time and frequency in the time function. The forward problem is modeled by elastodynamic wave equations. We show that the Hessian of the cost functional, which is usually defined as the square of the weighted L2 norm of the difference between the experimental data and the simulated data, is proportional to the measurement time and the number of receivers. Consequently, the posterior distribution of the parameters, in a Bayesian setting, concentrates around the "true" parameters, and we can employ Laplace approximation and speed up the estimation of the expected Kullback-Leibler divergence (expected information gain), the optimality criterion in the experimental design procedure. Since the source parameters span several magnitudes, we use a scaling matrix for efficient control of the condition number of the original Hessian matrix. We use a second-order accurate finite difference method to compute the Hessian matrix and either sparse quadrature or Monte Carlo sampling to carry out numerical integration. We demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and applicability of our method on a two-dimensional seismic source inversion problem. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

  5. Fast Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design for Seismic Source Inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Long, Quan

    2016-01-06

    We develop a fast method for optimally designing experiments [1] in the context of statistical seismic source inversion [2]. In particular, we efficiently compute the optimal number and locations of the receivers or seismographs. The seismic source is modeled by a point moment tensor multiplied by a time-dependent function. The parameters include the source location, moment tensor components, and start time and frequency in the time function. The forward problem is modeled by the elastic wave equations. We show that the Hessian of the cost functional, which is usually defined as the square of the weighted L2 norm of the difference between the experimental data and the simulated data, is proportional to the measurement time and the number of receivers. Consequently, the posterior distribution of the parameters, in a Bayesian setting, concentrates around the true parameters, and we can employ Laplace approximation and speed up the estimation of the expected Kullback-Leibler divergence (expected information gain), the optimality criterion in the experimental design procedure. Since the source parameters span several magnitudes, we use a scaling matrix for efficient control of the condition number of the original Hessian matrix. We use a second-order accurate finite difference method to compute the Hessian matrix and either sparse quadrature or Monte Carlo sampling to carry out numerical integration. We demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and applicability of our method on a two-dimensional seismic source inversion problem.

  6. Fast Bayesian Optimal Experimental Design for Seismic Source Inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Long, Quan; Motamed, Mohammad; Tempone, Raul

    2016-01-01

    We develop a fast method for optimally designing experiments [1] in the context of statistical seismic source inversion [2]. In particular, we efficiently compute the optimal number and locations of the receivers or seismographs. The seismic source is modeled by a point moment tensor multiplied by a time-dependent function. The parameters include the source location, moment tensor components, and start time and frequency in the time function. The forward problem is modeled by the elastic wave equations. We show that the Hessian of the cost functional, which is usually defined as the square of the weighted L2 norm of the difference between the experimental data and the simulated data, is proportional to the measurement time and the number of receivers. Consequently, the posterior distribution of the parameters, in a Bayesian setting, concentrates around the true parameters, and we can employ Laplace approximation and speed up the estimation of the expected Kullback-Leibler divergence (expected information gain), the optimality criterion in the experimental design procedure. Since the source parameters span several magnitudes, we use a scaling matrix for efficient control of the condition number of the original Hessian matrix. We use a second-order accurate finite difference method to compute the Hessian matrix and either sparse quadrature or Monte Carlo sampling to carry out numerical integration. We demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and applicability of our method on a two-dimensional seismic source inversion problem.

  7. The experimental modification of sonorous breathing.

    OpenAIRE

    Josephson, S C; Rosen, R C

    1980-01-01

    Loud snoring is a noxious habit and potential personal health risk. We are reporting the first experimental study of simple behavioral techniques for the modification of chronic snoring. Twenty-four volunteers participated in a repeated measures, randomized group design over 2 weeks of intervention and one-month follow-up. Treatment groups included a contingent-awakening and breathing retraining (self-control) condition. Both treatment groups were compared to a no-treatment control. Despite c...

  8. High School Student Information Access and Engineering Design Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mentzer, Nathan

    2014-01-01

    Developing solutions to engineering design problems requires access to information. Research has shown that appropriately accessing and using information in the design process improves solution quality. This quasi-experimental study provides two groups of high school students with a design problem in a three hour design experience. One group has…

  9. Increased performance in a bottom-up designed robot by experimentally guided redesign

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jørgen Christian

    2013-01-01

    Purpose – Using a bottom-up, model-free approach when building robots is often seen as a less scientific way, compared to a top-down model-based approach, because the results are not easily generalizable to other systems. The authors, however, hypothesize that this problem may be addressed by using...... the bottom-up, mode-free approach, the authors used the robotic construction kit, LocoKit. This construction kit allows researchers to construct legged robots, without having a mathematical model beforehand. The authors used no specific mathematical model to design the robot, but instead used intuition...... solid experimental methods. The purpose of this paper is to show how well-known experimental methods from bio-mechanics are used to measure and locate weaknesses in a bottom-up, model-free implementation of a quadruped walker and come up with a better solution. Design/methodology/approach – To study...

  10. Design and application on experimental platform for high-speed bearing with grease lubrication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    He Qiang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The experimental platform for high-speed grease is an important tool for research and development of high-speed motorized spindle with grease lubrication. In this article, the experimental platform for high-speed grease is designed and manufactured which consists of the drive system, the test portion, the loading system, the lubrication system, the control system, and so on. In the meantime, the high-speed angular contact ceramic ball bearings B7005C/HQ1P4 as the research object are tested and contrasted in the grease lubrication and oil mist lubrication. The experimental platform performance is validated by contrast experiment, and the high-speed lubricated bearing performance is also studied especially in the relationship among the rotating speed,load and temperature rise. The results show that the experimental platform works steadily, accurate, and reliable in the experimental testing. And the grease lubrication ceramic ball bearings B7005C/HQ1P4 can be used in high-speed motorized spindle in the circular water cooling conditions when the rotating speed is lower than 40,000 r/min or the DN value (the value of the bearing diameter times the rotating speed is lower than the 1.44 × 106 mm r/min. Grease lubrication instead of oil mist lubrication under high-speed rotating will simplify the structure design of the high-speed motorized spindle and reduce the pollution to the environment.

  11. Conceptual design of superconducting magnet systems for the Argonne Tokamak Experimental Power Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, S.T.; Turner, L.R.; Mills, F.E.; DeMichele, D.W.; Smelser, P.; Kim, S.H.

    1976-01-01

    As an integral effort in the Argonne Tokamak Experimental Power Reactor Conceptual Design, the conceptual design of a 10-tesla, pure-tension superconducting toroidal-field (TF) coil system has been developed in sufficient detail to define a realistic design for the TF coil system that could be built based upon the current state of technology with minimum technological extrapolations. A conceptual design study on the superconducting ohmic-heating (OH) coils and the superconducting equilibrium-field (EF) coils were also completed. These conceptual designs are developed in sufficient detail with clear information on high current ac conductor design, cooling, venting provision, coil structural support and zero loss poloidal coil cryostat design. Also investigated is the EF penetration into the blanket and shield

  12. Experimental strategies in carrying out VCU for tobacco crop I: plot design and size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toledo, F H R B; Ramalho, M A P; Pulcinelli, C E; Bruzi, A T

    2013-09-19

    We aimed to establish standards for tobacco Valor de Cultivo e Uso (VCU) in Brazil. We obtained information regarding the size and design of plots of two varietal groups of tobacco (Virginia and Burley). Ten inbred lines of each varietal group were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The plot contained 42 plants with six rows of seven columns each. For each experiment plant, considering the position of the respective plant in the plot (row and column) as a reference, cured leaf weight (g/plant), total sugar content (%), and total alkaloid content (%) were determined. The maximum curvature of the variations in coefficients was estimated. Trials with the number of plants per plot ranging from 2 to 41 were simulated. The use of a border was not justified because the interactions between inbred lines x position in the plots were never significant, showing that the behavior of the inbred lines coincided with the different positions. The plant performance varied according to the column position in the plot. To lessen the effect of this factor, the use of plots with more than one row is recommended. Experimental precision, evaluated by the CV%, increased with an increase in plot size; nevertheless, the maximum curvature of the variation coefficient method showed no expressive increase in precision if the number of plants was greater than seven. The result in identification of the best inbred line, in terms of the size of each plot, coincided with the maximum curvature method.

  13. [How to design workshops to promote health in community groups].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Díaz, Josefina; Paredes-Carbonell, Joan J; Marín Torrens, Rosa

    2014-01-01

    One of the strategies of health promotion is to develop life skills people considering themselves as the main health resource. A workshop has to get its participants become «asset» to make decisions and create health, focusing on the development and acquisition of skills in a motivating group and in order to achieve health objectives. The concepts behind the design of a workshop are: participatory planning, training, meaningful learning, group learning and participatory techniques. The steps to follow to design a workshop and facilitate their application are: Stage 0, founding; initial stage, host and initial evaluation; central or construction stage based learning in the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and skills, and final stage or evaluation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  14. QuantifyMe: An Open-Source Automated Single-Case Experimental Design Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Taylor

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Smartphones and wearable sensors have enabled unprecedented data collection, with many products now providing feedback to users about recommended step counts or sleep durations. However, these recommendations do not provide personalized insights that have been shown to be best suited for a specific individual. A scientific way to find individualized recommendations and causal links is to conduct experiments using single-case experimental design; however, properly designed single-case experiments are not easy to conduct on oneself. We designed, developed, and evaluated a novel platform, QuantifyMe, for novice self-experimenters to conduct proper-methodology single-case self-experiments in an automated and scientific manner using their smartphones. We provide software for the platform that we used (available for free on GitHub, which provides the methodological elements to run many kinds of customized studies. In this work, we evaluate its use with four different kinds of personalized investigations, examining how variables such as sleep duration and regularity, activity, and leisure time affect personal happiness, stress, productivity, and sleep efficiency. We conducted a six-week pilot study (N = 13 to evaluate QuantifyMe. We describe the lessons learned developing the platform and recommendations for its improvement, as well as its potential for enabling personalized insights to be scientifically evaluated in many individuals, reducing the high administrative cost for advancing human health and wellbeing.

  15. QuantifyMe: An Open-Source Automated Single-Case Experimental Design Platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Sara; Sano, Akane; Ferguson, Craig; Mohan, Akshay; Picard, Rosalind W

    2018-04-05

    Smartphones and wearable sensors have enabled unprecedented data collection, with many products now providing feedback to users about recommended step counts or sleep durations. However, these recommendations do not provide personalized insights that have been shown to be best suited for a specific individual. A scientific way to find individualized recommendations and causal links is to conduct experiments using single-case experimental design; however, properly designed single-case experiments are not easy to conduct on oneself. We designed, developed, and evaluated a novel platform, QuantifyMe, for novice self-experimenters to conduct proper-methodology single-case self-experiments in an automated and scientific manner using their smartphones. We provide software for the platform that we used (available for free on GitHub), which provides the methodological elements to run many kinds of customized studies. In this work, we evaluate its use with four different kinds of personalized investigations, examining how variables such as sleep duration and regularity, activity, and leisure time affect personal happiness, stress, productivity, and sleep efficiency. We conducted a six-week pilot study ( N = 13) to evaluate QuantifyMe. We describe the lessons learned developing the platform and recommendations for its improvement, as well as its potential for enabling personalized insights to be scientifically evaluated in many individuals, reducing the high administrative cost for advancing human health and wellbeing.

  16. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH REGARDING LEATHER APPLICATIONS IN PRODUCT DESIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PRALEA Jeni

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the role and importance of experimental research in design activity. The designer, as a researcher and a project manager, proposes to establish a relationship between functional-aesthetic-constructive-technological-economic,based on the aesthetic possibilities of the materials used for the experiments. With the aim to identify areas for the application of leather waste resulted from the production process, the paper presents experiments conducted with this material in combination with wood, by using different techniques that lead to different aesthetic effects. Identifying the areas to use and creating products from leather and/or wood waste, is based on the properties of these materials. Leather, the subject of these experiments, has the advantage that it can be used on both sides. Tactile differences of the two sides of this material has both aesthetical and functional advantages, which makes it suitable for applications on products that meet the requirements of "design for all". With differentiated tactile characteristics, in combination with other materials, for these experiments wood, easily "read touch" products can be generated to help people with certain disabilities. Thus, experiments presented in this paper allows the establishment of aesthetic schemes applicable to products that are friendly both with the environment (based on the reuse of wood and leather waste and with the users (can be used as applications, accessories and concepts of products for people with certain disabilities. The designer’s choices or decisions can be based on the results of this experiment. The experiment enables the designer to develop creative, innovative and environmentally friendly products.

  17. Computational Protein Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansson, Kristoffer Enøe

    Proteins are the major functional group of molecules in biology. The impact of protein science on medicine and chemical productions is rapidly increasing. However, the greatest potential remains to be realized. The fi eld of protein design has advanced computational modeling from a tool of support...... to a central method that enables new developments. For example, novel enzymes with functions not found in natural proteins have been de novo designed to give enough activity for experimental optimization. This thesis presents the current state-of-the-art within computational design methods together...... with a novel method based on probability theory. With the aim of assembling a complete pipeline for protein design, this work touches upon several aspects of protein design. The presented work is the computational half of a design project where the other half is dedicated to the experimental part...

  18. Wind refrigeration : design and results of an experimental facility; Refrigeracion eolica: Diseno y resultados de una instalacion experimental

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beltran, R. G.; Talero, A.

    2004-07-01

    This article describes the experimental setup used to obtain design parameters for a wind driven refrigeration equipment. The system compressor is directly coupled to the wind mill and will provide refrigeration to a community located in La Guajira in northern Colombia. The testing on the experimental installation assessed the refrigeration capacity that could be provided by an open type commercial compressor coupled to the wind mill axis. Power and torque requirements have been evaluated for different wind mill rotational speeds. An assessment of the local conditions relating to wind speed, frequency and preferred direction for the installation site has been made based on measurements by the Meteorological National Institute and independent data from other sources. (Author)

  19. The emergence of modern statistics in agricultural science: analysis of variance, experimental design and the reshaping of research at Rothamsted Experimental Station, 1919-1933.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parolini, Giuditta

    2015-01-01

    During the twentieth century statistical methods have transformed research in the experimental and social sciences. Qualitative evidence has largely been replaced by quantitative results and the tools of statistical inference have helped foster a new ideal of objectivity in scientific knowledge. The paper will investigate this transformation by considering the genesis of analysis of variance and experimental design, statistical methods nowadays taught in every elementary course of statistics for the experimental and social sciences. These methods were developed by the mathematician and geneticist R. A. Fisher during the 1920s, while he was working at Rothamsted Experimental Station, where agricultural research was in turn reshaped by Fisher's methods. Analysis of variance and experimental design required new practices and instruments in field and laboratory research, and imposed a redistribution of expertise among statisticians, experimental scientists and the farm staff. On the other hand the use of statistical methods in agricultural science called for a systematization of information management and made computing an activity integral to the experimental research done at Rothamsted, permanently integrating the statisticians' tools and expertise into the station research programme. Fisher's statistical methods did not remain confined within agricultural research and by the end of the 1950s they had come to stay in psychology, sociology, education, chemistry, medicine, engineering, economics, quality control, just to mention a few of the disciplines which adopted them.

  20. Both experimental hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism increase cardiac irisin levels in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atici, E; Menevse, E; Baltaci, A K; Mogulkoc, R

    2018-01-01

    Irisin is a newly discovered myokine and adipokine that increases total body energy expenditure. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of experimental hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism on the levels of irisin in heart tissue in rats. The study was performed on the 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Experimental groups were designed as; Control, Hypothyroidism, Hypothyroidism+L-Thyroxine, Hyperthyroidism and Hyperthyroidism + PTU. Following 3 weeks experimental period, irisin levels were determined in heart tissues. Hypothyroidism group values of irisin were higher than in the control group, but lower than in the hyperthyroidism group. The hyperthyroidism group had the highest levels of cardiac irisin. The results of the study showed that the experimental hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism increased the heart irisin levels, but the increase in the hyperthyroidism group was much higher than in the hypothyroidism group. However, treatment of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism corrected cardiac irisin levels (Fig. 1, Ref. 28).

  1. The Effects of Phonological Short-Term Memory and Speech Perception on Spoken Sentence Comprehension in Children: Simulating Deficits in an Experimental Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Meaghan C; Penney, Sarah B; Robertson, Erin K

    2017-10-01

    The roles of phonological short-term memory (pSTM) and speech perception in spoken sentence comprehension were examined in an experimental design. Deficits in pSTM and speech perception were simulated through task demands while typically-developing children (N [Formula: see text] 71) completed a sentence-picture matching task. Children performed the control, simulated pSTM deficit, simulated speech perception deficit, or simulated double deficit condition. On long sentences, the double deficit group had lower scores than the control and speech perception deficit groups, and the pSTM deficit group had lower scores than the control group and marginally lower scores than the speech perception deficit group. The pSTM and speech perception groups performed similarly to groups with real deficits in these areas, who completed the control condition. Overall, scores were lowest on noncanonical long sentences. Results show pSTM has a greater effect than speech perception on sentence comprehension, at least in the tasks employed here.

  2. Study design elements for rigorous quasi-experimental comparative effectiveness research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maciejewski, Matthew L; Curtis, Lesley H; Dowd, Bryan

    2013-03-01

    Quasi-experiments are likely to be the workhorse study design used to generate evidence about the comparative effectiveness of alternative treatments, because of their feasibility, timeliness, affordability and external validity compared with randomized trials. In this review, we outline potential sources of discordance in results between quasi-experiments and experiments, review study design choices that can improve the internal validity of quasi-experiments, and outline innovative data linkage strategies that may be particularly useful in quasi-experimental comparative effectiveness research. There is an urgent need to resolve the debate about the evidentiary value of quasi-experiments since equal consideration of rigorous quasi-experiments will broaden the base of evidence that can be brought to bear in clinical decision-making and governmental policy-making.

  3. Experimental Investigations of Decentralised Control Design for The Stabilisation of Rotor-Gas Bearings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Theisen, Lukas Roy Svane; Galeazzi, Roberto; Niemann, Hans Henrik

    2015-01-01

    frequencies. Active lubrication of the journal during operations could enhance the damping and stabilisation characteristics of the sytems, and this could be achieved by means of stabilising controllers. This paper investigates the feasibility of using reduced order models obtained through Grey......-Box identification for the design of stabilising controllers, capable of enabling the active lubrication of the journal. The root locus analysis shows that two different control solutions are feasible for the dampening of the first two eigenfrequencies of the rotor-gas bearing in the horizontal and vertical...... directions. Hardening and softening P-lead controllers are designed based on the models experimentally identified, and salient features of both controllers are discussed. Both controllers are implemented and validated on the physical test rig. Experimental results confirm the validity of the proposed...

  4. Group interventions to improve health outcomes: a framework for their design and delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avenell Alison

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Delivering an intervention to a group of patients to improve health outcomes is increasingly popular in public health and primary care, yet "group" is an umbrella term which encompasses a complex range of aims, theories, implementation processes and evaluation methods. We propose a framework for the design and process evaluation of health improvement interventions occurring in a group setting, which will assist practitioners, researchers and policy makers. Methods We reviewed the wider literature on health improvement interventions delivered to patient groups and identified a gap in the literature for designing, evaluating and reporting these interventions. We drew on our experiences conducting systematic reviews, intervention, mixed method and ethnographic studies of groups for breastfeeding and weight management. A framework for health improvement group design and delivery evolved through an iterative process of primary research, reference to the literature and research team discussion. Results Although there is an extensive literature on group processes in education, work, politics and psychological therapies, far less is known about groups where the aim is health improvement. Theories of behaviour change which are validated for individual use are often assumed to be generalisable to group settings, without being rigorously tested. Health improvement or behaviour change interventions delivered in a group setting are complex adaptive social processes with interactions between the group leader, participants, and the wider community and environment. Ecological models of health improvement, which embrace the complex relationship between behaviour, systems and the environment may be more relevant than an individual approach to behaviour change. Conclusion The evidence for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group compared with one-to-one interventions for many areas of health improvement in public health and primary care is

  5. An experimental design approach for optimization of spectrophotometric method for estimation of cefixime trihydrate using ninhydrin as derivatizing reagent in bulk and pharmaceutical formulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yogita B. Wani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present work is to use experimental design to screen and optimize experimental variables for developing a spectrophotometric method for determining cefixime trihydrate content using ninhydrin as a derivatizing reagent. The method is based on the reaction of the amino group of cefixime with ninhydrin in an alkaline medium to form a yellow-colored derivative (λmax 436 nm. A two-level full factorial design was utilized to screen the effect of ninhydrin reagent concentration (X1, volume of ninhydrin reagent (X2, heating temperature (X3 and heating time (X4 on the formation of the cefixime–ninhydrin complex Y (absorbance. One way ANOVA and Pareto ranking analyses have shown that the ninhydrin reagent concentration (X1, volume of ninhydrin reagent (X2 and heating temperature (X3 were statistically significant factors (P < 0.05 affecting the formation of the cefixime–ninhydrin complex Y (absorbance. A Box-Behnken experimental design with response surface methodology was then utilized to evaluate the main, interaction and quadratic effects of these three factors on the selected response. With the help of a response surface plot and contour plot the optimum values of the selected factors were determined and used for further experiments. These values were a ninhydrin reagent concentration (X1 of 0.2% w/v, volume of ninhydrin reagent (X2 of 1 mL and heating temperature (X3 of 80 °C. The proposed method was validated according to the ICH Q2 (R1 method validation guidelines. The results of the present study have clearly shown that an experimental design concept may be effectively applied to the optimization of a spectrophotometric method for estimating the cefixime trihydrate content in bulk and pharmaceutical formulation with the least number of experimental runs possible.

  6. Conceptual design of neutron diagnostic systems for fusion experimental reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iguchi, T.; Kaneko, J.; Nakazawa, M.

    1994-01-01

    Neutron measurement in fusion experimental reactors is very important for burning plasma diagnostics and control, monitoring of irradiation effects on device components, neutron source characterization for in-situ engineering tests, etc. A conceptual design of neutron diagnostic systems for an ITER-like fusion experimental reactor has been made, which consists of a neutron yield monitor, a neutron emission profile monitor and a 14-MeV spectrometer. Each of them is based on a unique idea to meet the required performances for full power conditions assumed at ITER operation. Micro-fission chambers of 235 U (and 238 U) placed at several poloidal angles near the first wall are adopted as a promising neutron yield monitor. A collimated long counter system using a 235 U fission chamber and graphite neutron moderators is also proposed to improve the calibration accuracy of absolute neutron yield determination

  7. Young adult smoking in peer groups: an experimental observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harakeh, Zeena; Vollebergh, Wilma A M

    2013-03-01

    The aim of this experimental observational study is to examine whether, in a group setting (same-sex triads), passive peer influence (imitation) in the context of homogeneous and heterogeneous (contradictory) behavior of peer models affects young adults' smoking behavior. An experiment was conducted among 48 daily-smoking college and university students aged 17-25. Participants had to complete a 30-min music task with two same-sex confederates. We tested the following three conditions: (a) neither of the confederates is smoking, (b) one confederate is smoking and the other is not, and (c) both confederates are smoking. The primary outcome tested was the total number of cigarettes smoked during the task. Students in the condition with two smoking peer models and in the condition with one smoking peer model and one nonsmoking peer model smoked significantly more cigarettes than those in the condition with two nonsmoking peer models. However, results for the condition with two smoking peer models did not differ significantly from the condition with one smoking peer model and one nonsmoking peer model. Our findings show that in a group setting, the impact of the homogeneity of smoking peers on young adults' smoking behavior is not greater than the impact of the heterogeneity of smoking and nonsmoking peers. This would suggest that the smoking peer in the group has a greater impact on the daily-smoking young adult, thus reducing or even eliminating the protective effect of the nonsmoking peer model.

  8. The Effect of WhatsApp Messenger As Mobile Learning Integrated with Group Investigation Method of Learning Achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hendrik Pratama

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was determined the effect of application WhatsApp Messenger in the Group Investigation (GI method on learning achievement. The methods used experimental research with control group pretest-postest design. The sampling procedure used the purposive sampling technique that consists of 17 students as a control group and 17 students as an experimental group. The sample in this research is students in Electrical Engineering Education Study Program. The experimental group used the GI method that integrated with WhatsApp Messenger. The control group used lecture method without social media integration. The collecting data used observation, documentation, interview, questionnaire, and test. The researcher used a t-test for compared the control group and the experimental group’s learning outcomes at an alpha level of 0,05. The results showed differences between the experiment group and the control group. The study result of the experimental higher than the control groups. This learning was designed with start, grouping, planning, presenting, organizing, investigating, evaluating, ending’s stage. Integration of WhatsApp with group investigation method could cause the positive communication between student and lecturer. Discussion in this learning was well done, the student’s knowledge could appear in a group and the information could spread evenly and quickly.

  9. Back up core designs for the experimental multi-purpose VHTR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aochi, Tetsuo; Yasuno, Takehiko; Miyamoto, Yoshiaki; Shindo, Ryuichi; Ikushima, Takeshi

    1979-02-01

    For the Experimental Multi-Purpose Very High Temperature Reactor (thermal power 50 MW and reactor outlet helium temperature 1000 0 C), design studies have been made of two backup cores loaded with new-type fuel elements. The purpose is to improve core operational characteristics, especially in thermohydraulics, of the reference design core consisting of pin-in-block type fuel elements having externally cooled hollow fuel rods. In this report are described the design principles and the analyses made of nuclear, thermal and hydraulic, fuel, and safety performances to determine the backup fuel and core design parameters. The first backup core (SP fuel core) is composed of fuel elements with internally cooled fuel rods (semi-pin), 36 rods in each standard element and 18 rods in each control element. The second backup core (MH fuel core) is composed of multihole fuel elements. 102 fuel and 54 coolant holes in each standard element and 30 fuel and 18 coolant holes in each control element. Either of the cores has 73 fuel columns 4 m high; the arrangement of active core and reactor internal structures is the same as that in the reference design. The backup cores meet nearly all design requirements of the VHTR, permitting the rated power operation with coolant Reynolds number of over 10,000 in the SP core and over 6,000 in the MH core. (author)

  10. The effectiveness of a community-based health promotion program for rural elders: a quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jeng; Chen, Chu-Yeh; Lai, Li-Ju; Chen, Min-Li; Chen, Mei-Yen

    2014-08-01

    A community-based health promotion program (CBHP) might be beneficial for the elderly, but evidence is limited. We therefore examined the effect of a CBHP on change of lifestyle, physiological indicators and depression score among seniors in 2 rural areas. A prospective quasi-experimental design involved a total of 520 senior participants living in 6 rural villages, who were clustered and conveniently assigned to 2 intervention groups. Senior nursing students were the interveners for group 1 and community peer supporters for group 2. The primary outcome measure was the change in health-related behavior measured on the geriatric health promotion scale (GHPS). The secondary outcome comprised changes in the short form of the Chinese geriatric depression scale (CGDS-15), fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, waist circumference and blood pressure. Paired-t test and analysis of covariance were used for statistical inspection. Most of the participants were retired farmers or fishermen >75years of age who had little education. The total scores and all subscales of GHPS, along with some physiological indicators, improved significantly between pretest and post-test in both groups. After adjustment for confounders, intervention in group 1 was more effective than that in group 2 regarding self-protection behaviors. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower in group 2. CBHP programs are valuable for improving healthy lifestyle, fasting blood sugar, blood pressure and depression score among seniors. The low cost and effectiveness of incorporating multidisciplinary resources to help rural elders to maintain a healthy status and a healthier lifestyle. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. D-OPTIMAL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS TO TEST FOR DEPARTURE FROM ADDITIVITY IN A FIXED-RATIO MIXTURE RAY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humans are exposed to mixtures of environmental compounds. A regulatory assumption is that the mixtures of chemicals act in an additive manner. However, this assumption requires experimental validation. Traditional experimental designs (full factorial) require a large number of e...

  12. Accelerating Mathematics Achievement Using Heterogeneous Grouping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burris, Carol Corbett; Heubert, Jay P.; Levin, Henry M.

    2006-01-01

    This longitudinal study examined the effects of providing an accelerated mathematics curriculum in heterogeneously grouped middle school classes in a diverse suburban school district. A quasi-experimental cohort design was used to evaluate subsequent completion of advanced high school math courses as well as academic achievement. Results showed…

  13. Experimental validation of the design method to prevent flow-induced vibration in high Reynolds-number

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakai, Takaaki; Yamaguchi, Akira; Morisita, Masaki; Iwata, Koji

    1998-08-01

    The incident of sodium leakage from a main pipe of the secondary heat transport system of Monju fast breeder reactor was caused by the failure of a thermometer well. 'Flow-induced vibration design guide for thermometer wells' (express as 'design guide') was proposed by PNC Working Group to prevent the same cause of the sodium leak incident in future. On this report, applicability of the 'design guide' was estimated to plant conditions in high Reynolds-number(approximately 3x10 5 ∼ 3x10 6 ) involving the supercritical region, by measured data on a vortex synchronized vibration and a turbulence induced vibration. Experiments were performed for cylindrical and taper shaped types of test pieces. As results, reduced velocity (Vr) at onsets of the inline synchronized vibration were evaluated to be grater than 1.0 in the range of experimental conditions. Fluctuating drag and lift coefficients, which were evaluated from power spectrum of turbulence for Vr < 1.0 condition, were 0.01 ∼ 0.05 for drag direction and 0.04 ∼ 0.13 for lift direction. The fluctuating drag and lift coefficients used in the 'design guide' were estimated to be conservative by comparison with these data. Correlation lengths for a cylinder and a taper shaped one in the high Reynolds-number region were estimated to be 1.6 times of the diameter(D) in the maximum case. The measured value of correlation length is enough smaller than the 'design guide' value of 3.0D. Displacement amplitudes of test pieces for Vr < 1.0 conditions were enough smaller (fives times) than calculated values based on the 'design guide'. Consequently, the applicability of the design guide' was confirmed in the range of experiments involving the super critical Reynolds-number region. (author)

  14. Experimental fusion power reactor conceptual design study. Final report. Volume II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, C.C.

    1976-12-01

    This document is the final report which describes the work carried out by General Atomic Company for the Electric Power Research Institute on a conceptual design study of a fusion experimental power reactor (EPR) and an overall EPR facility. The primary objective of the two-year program was to develop a conceptual design of an EPR that operates at ignition and produces continuous net power. A conceptual design was developed for a Doublet configuration based on indications that a noncircular tokamak offers the best potential of achieving a sufficiently high effective fuel containment to provide a viable reactor concept at reasonable cost. Other objectives included the development of a planning cost estimate and schedule for the plant and the identification of critical R and D programs required to support the physics development and engineering and construction of the EPR. This volume contains the following sections: (1) reactor components, (2) auxiliary systems, (3) operations, (4) facility design, (5) program considerations, and (6) conclusions and recommendations

  15. Simulation-based optimal Bayesian experimental design for nonlinear systems

    KAUST Repository

    Huan, Xun

    2013-01-01

    The optimal selection of experimental conditions is essential to maximizing the value of data for inference and prediction, particularly in situations where experiments are time-consuming and expensive to conduct. We propose a general mathematical framework and an algorithmic approach for optimal experimental design with nonlinear simulation-based models; in particular, we focus on finding sets of experiments that provide the most information about targeted sets of parameters.Our framework employs a Bayesian statistical setting, which provides a foundation for inference from noisy, indirect, and incomplete data, and a natural mechanism for incorporating heterogeneous sources of information. An objective function is constructed from information theoretic measures, reflecting expected information gain from proposed combinations of experiments. Polynomial chaos approximations and a two-stage Monte Carlo sampling method are used to evaluate the expected information gain. Stochastic approximation algorithms are then used to make optimization feasible in computationally intensive and high-dimensional settings. These algorithms are demonstrated on model problems and on nonlinear parameter inference problems arising in detailed combustion kinetics. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

  16. Experimental and Theoretical Progress of Linear Collider Final Focus Design and ATF2 Facility

    CERN Document Server

    Seryi, Andrei; Zimmermann, Frank; Kubo, Kiyoshi; Kuroda, Shigeru; Okugi, Toshiyuki; Tauchi, Toshiaki; Terunuma, Nobuhiro; Urakawa, Junji; White, Glen; Woodley, Mark; Angal-Kalinin, Deepa

    2014-01-01

    In this brief overview we will reflect on the process of the design of the linear collider (LC) final focus (FF) optics, and will also describe the theoretical and experimental efforts on design and practical realisation of a prototype of the LC FF optics implemented in the ATF2 facility at KEK, Japan, presently being commissioned and operated.

  17. Learning physics: A comparative analysis between instructional design methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathew, Easow

    The purpose of this research was to determine if there were differences in academic performance between students who participated in traditional versus collaborative problem-based learning (PBL) instructional design approaches to physics curricula. This study utilized a quantitative quasi-experimental design methodology to determine the significance of differences in pre- and posttest introductory physics exam performance between students who participated in traditional (i.e., control group) versus collaborative problem solving (PBL) instructional design (i.e., experimental group) approaches to physics curricula over a college semester in 2008. There were 42 student participants (N = 42) enrolled in an introductory physics course at the research site in the Spring 2008 semester who agreed to participate in this study after reading and signing informed consent documents. A total of 22 participants were assigned to the experimental group (n = 22) who participated in a PBL based teaching methodology along with traditional lecture methods. The other 20 students were assigned to the control group (n = 20) who participated in the traditional lecture teaching methodology. Both the courses were taught by experienced professors who have qualifications at the doctoral level. The results indicated statistically significant differences (p traditional (i.e., lower physics posttest scores and lower differences between pre- and posttest scores) versus collaborative (i.e., higher physics posttest scores, and higher differences between pre- and posttest scores) instructional design approaches to physics curricula. Despite some slight differences in control group and experimental group demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, and age) there were statistically significant (p = .04) differences between female average academic improvement which was much higher than male average academic improvement (˜63%) in the control group which may indicate that traditional teaching methods

  18. Experimental and Numerical Design and Optimization of a Counter-Flow Heat Exchanger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahrami Salman

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A new inexpensive counter-flow heat exchanger has been designed and optimized for a vapor-compression cooling system in this research. The main aim is to experimentally and numerically evaluate the effect of an internal heat exchanger (IHX adaptation in an automotive air conditioning system. In this new design of IHX, the high-pressure liquid passes through the central channel and the low-pressure vapor flows in several parallel channels in the opposite direction. The experimental set-up has been made up of original components of the air conditioning system of a medium sedan car, specially designed and built to analyze vehicle A/C equipment under real operating conditions. The results show that this compact IHX may achieve up to 10% of the evaporator capacity while low pressure drop will be imposed on this refrigeration cycle. Also, they confirm considerable decrease of compressor power consumption (CPC, which is intensified at higher evaporator air flow. A significant improvement of the coefficient of performance (COP is achieved with the IHX employment too. The influence of operating conditions has been also discussed in this paper. Finally, numerical analyses have been briefly presented, which bring more details of the flow behavior and heat transfer phenomena, and help to determine the optimal arrangement of channels.

  19. Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests at SLAC (FACET) Conceptual Design Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amann, J.; Bane, K.; /SLAC

    2009-10-30

    This Conceptual Design Report (CDR) describes the design of FACET. It will be updated to stay current with the developing design of the facility. This CDR begins as the baseline conceptual design and will evolve into an 'as-built' manual for the completed facility. The Executive Summary, Chapter 1, gives an introduction to the FACET project and describes the salient features of its design. Chapter 2 gives an overview of FACET. It describes the general parameters of the machine and the basic approaches to implementation. The FACET project does not include the implementation of specific scientific experiments either for plasma wake-field acceleration for other applications. Nonetheless, enough work has been done to define potential experiments to assure that the facility can meet the requirements of the experimental community. Chapter 3, Scientific Case, describes the planned plasma wakefield and other experiments. Chapter 4, Technical Description of FACET, describes the parameters and design of all technical systems of FACET. FACET uses the first two thirds of the existing SLAC linac to accelerate the beam to about 20GeV, and compress it with the aid of two chicanes, located in Sector 10 and Sector 20. The Sector 20 area will include a focusing system, the generic experimental area and the beam dump. Chapter 5, Management of Scientific Program, describes the management of the scientific program at FACET. Chapter 6, Environment, Safety and Health and Quality Assurance, describes the existing programs at SLAC and their application to the FACET project. It includes a preliminary analysis of safety hazards and the planned mitigation. Chapter 7, Work Breakdown Structure, describes the structure used for developing the cost estimates, which will also be used to manage the project. The chapter defines the scope of work of each element down to level 3.

  20. Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests at SLAC (FACET) Conceptual Design Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amann, J.; Bane, K.

    2009-01-01

    This Conceptual Design Report (CDR) describes the design of FACET. It will be updated to stay current with the developing design of the facility. This CDR begins as the baseline conceptual design and will evolve into an 'as-built' manual for the completed facility. The Executive Summary, Chapter 1, gives an introduction to the FACET project and describes the salient features of its design. Chapter 2 gives an overview of FACET. It describes the general parameters of the machine and the basic approaches to implementation. The FACET project does not include the implementation of specific scientific experiments either for plasma wake-field acceleration for other applications. Nonetheless, enough work has been done to define potential experiments to assure that the facility can meet the requirements of the experimental community. Chapter 3, Scientific Case, describes the planned plasma wakefield and other experiments. Chapter 4, Technical Description of FACET, describes the parameters and design of all technical systems of FACET. FACET uses the first two thirds of the existing SLAC linac to accelerate the beam to about 20GeV, and compress it with the aid of two chicanes, located in Sector 10 and Sector 20. The Sector 20 area will include a focusing system, the generic experimental area and the beam dump. Chapter 5, Management of Scientific Program, describes the management of the scientific program at FACET. Chapter 6, Environment, Safety and Health and Quality Assurance, describes the existing programs at SLAC and their application to the FACET project. It includes a preliminary analysis of safety hazards and the planned mitigation. Chapter 7, Work Breakdown Structure, describes the structure used for developing the cost estimates, which will also be used to manage the project. The chapter defines the scope of work of each element down to level 3.

  1. Optimal design and experimental analyses of a new micro-vibration control payload-platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiaoqing; Yang, Bintang; Zhao, Long; Sun, Xiaofen

    2016-07-01

    This paper presents a new payload-platform, for precision devices, which possesses the capability of isolating the complex space micro-vibration in low frequency range below 5 Hz. The novel payload-platform equipped with smart material actuators is investigated and designed through optimization strategy based on the minimum energy loss rate, for the aim of achieving high drive efficiency and reducing the effect of the magnetic circuit nonlinearity. Then, the dynamic model of the driving element is established by using the Lagrange method and the performance of the designed payload-platform is further discussed through the combination of the controlled auto regressive moving average (CARMA) model with modified generalized prediction control (MGPC) algorithm. Finally, an experimental prototype is developed and tested. The experimental results demonstrate that the payload-platform has an impressive potential of micro-vibration isolation.

  2. Mechanical design of experimental apparatus for FIREX cryo-target cooling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwamoto, A.; Norimatsu, T.; Nakai, M.; Sakagami, H.; Fujioka, S.; Shiraga, H.; Azechi, H.

    2016-05-01

    Mechanical design of an experimental apparatus for FIREX cryo-target cooling is described. Gaseous helium (GHe) sealing system at a cryogenic environment is an important issue for laser fusion experiments. The dedicated loading system was designed for a metal gasket. We take U-TIGHTSEAL® (Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha. Ltd.) with an indium plated copper jacket as an example. According to its specification, a linear load of 110 N/m along its circumference is the optimum compression; however a lower load would still maintain helium (He) leak below the required level. Its sealing performance was investigated systematically. Our system demanded 27 N/mm of the load to keep He leak tightness in a cryogenic environment. Once leak tightness was obtained, it could be reduced to 9.5 N/mm.

  3. Present activities for the preparation of a Japanese draft of structural design guidelines for the experimental fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miya, K.; Muto, Y.; Takatsu, H.; Hada, K.; Koizumi, K.; Jitsukawa, S.; Arai, T.; Ohkawa, Y.; Shimakawa, T.; Aoto, K.; Shiraishi, H.; Takagi, T.; Miki, N.; Takahashi, S.; Sato, K.; Takemasa, F.; Kasaba, M.; Kudough, F.; Fujita, J.; Kajiura, S.; Kinoshita, S.

    1996-01-01

    Since November 1990, systematic research has been carried out in preparation for a Japanese draft of structural design guidelines for the experimental fusion reactor. This report summarizes the major results of the work and the status of these efforts. A classification of components and definition of operating conditions are proposed on the basis of the ITER-CDA design, in the light of the safety characteristics of the fusion reactor and relevant conventions for the existing fission reactor design code. Specific issues regarding the structural design of the experimental fusion reactor are discussed based on the experimental and analytical work. The validity of the existing structural design method is confirmed for the use of irradiated 316 SS, irrespective of the significant reduction in uniform elongation capability caused by heavy neutron irradiation. Further important phenomena are treated such as magnetic damping, magnetic stiffness and fracture due to electromagnetic forces. Finally, the issues concerned with welding and non-destructive examinations are discussed with relevance to component classification. (orig.)

  4. PLS-based quantitative structure-activity relationship for substituted benzamides of clebopride type. Application of experimental design in drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norinder, U; Högberg, T

    1992-04-01

    The advantageous approach of using an experimentally designed training set as the basis for establishing a quantitative structure-activity relationship with good predictive capability is described. The training set was selected from a fractional factorial design scheme based on a principal component description of physico-chemical parameters of aromatic substituents. The derived model successfully predicts the activities of additional substituted benzamides of 6-methoxy-N-(4-piperidyl)salicylamide type. The major influence on activity of the 3-substituent is demonstrated.

  5. Studies on design principles and criteria of fuels and graphites for experimental multi-purpose very high temperature reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arai, Taketoshi; Sato, Sadao; Tani, Yutaro

    1977-12-01

    Design principles and criteria of fuels and graphites have been studied to determine the main design parameters of a reference core MARK-III of the Experimental Multi-purpose Very High Temperature Reactor. The present status of research and development for HTGR fuels and graphites is reviewed from a standpoint of their integrity and safety aspects, and is compared to the specific design requirements for the VHTR fuels and graphites. Consequently, reasonable materials specifications, safety criteria and design analysis methods are presented for coated fuel particle, fuel compact, graphite sleeve, core support graphite and neutron absorber material. These design principles and criteria will be refined by further experimental investigations. (auth.)

  6. Integration of computational modeling and experimental techniques to design fuel surrogates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choudhury, H.A.; Intikhab, S.; Kalakul, Sawitree

    2017-01-01

    performance. A simplified alternative is to develop surrogate fuels that have fewer compounds and emulate certain important desired physical properties of the target fuels. Six gasoline blends were formulated through a computer aided model based technique “Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming” (MINLP...... Virtual Process-Product Design Laboratory (VPPD-Lab) are applied onto the defined compositions of the surrogate gasoline. The aim is to primarily verify the defined composition of gasoline by means of VPPD-Lab. ρ, η and RVP are calculated with more accuracy and constraints such as distillation curve...... and flash point on the blend design are also considered. A post-design experiment-based verification step is proposed to further improve and fine-tune the “best” selected gasoline blends following the computation work. Here, advanced experimental techniques are used to measure the RVP, ρ, η, RON...

  7. Visual Servoing Tracking Control of a Ball and Plate System: Design, Implementation and Experimental Validation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Tzu Ho

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the design, implementation and validation of real-time visual servoing tracking control for a ball and plate system. The position of the ball is measured with a machine vision system. The image processing algorithms of the machine vision system are pipelined and implemented on a field programmable gate array (FPGA device to meet real-time constraints. A detailed dynamic model of the system is derived for the simulation study. By neglecting the high-order coupling terms, the ball and plate system model is simplified into two decoupled ball and beam systems, and an approximate input-output feedback linearization approach is then used to design the controller for trajectory tracking. The designed control law is implemented on a digital signal processor (DSP. The validity of the performance of the developed control system is investigated through simulation and experimental studies. Experimental results show that the designed system functions well with reasonable agreement with simulations.

  8. Report for Working Group 1: Design Research in Civil and Environmental Engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thompson, Mary Kathryn; Paradisi, Irene

    2013-01-01

    The first 2013 DCEE working group meeting focused on issues associated with design research in civil and environmental engineering. It addressed some of the motivation for establishing design as a research discipline in CEE and some of the challenges and outstanding questions about how to do so....

  9. Experimental and theoretical analysis for improved microscope design of optical projection tomographic microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coe, Ryan L; Seibel, Eric J

    2013-09-01

    We present theoretical and experimental results of axial displacement of objects relative to a fixed condenser focal plane (FP) in optical projection tomographic microscopy (OPTM). OPTM produces three-dimensional, reconstructed images of single cells from two-dimensional projections. The cell rotates in a microcapillary to acquire projections from different perspectives where the objective FP is scanned through the cell while the condenser FP remains fixed at the center of the microcapillary. This work uses a combination of experimental and theoretical methods to improve the OPTM instrument design.

  10. Time-oriented experimental design method to optimize hydrophilic matrix formulations with gelation kinetics and drug release profiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Sangmun; Choi, Du Hyung; Truong, Nguyen Khoa Viet; Kim, Nam Ah; Chu, Kyung Rok; Jeong, Seong Hoon

    2011-04-04

    A new experimental design methodology was developed by integrating the response surface methodology and the time series modeling. The major purposes were to identify significant factors in determining swelling and release rate from matrix tablets and their relative factor levels for optimizing the experimental responses. Properties of tablet swelling and drug release were assessed with ten factors and two default factors, a hydrophilic model drug (terazosin) and magnesium stearate, and compared with target values. The selected input control factors were arranged in a mixture simplex lattice design with 21 experimental runs. The obtained optimal settings for gelation were PEO, LH-11, Syloid, and Pharmacoat with weight ratios of 215.33 (88.50%), 5.68 (2.33%), 19.27 (7.92%), and 3.04 (1.25%), respectively. The optimal settings for drug release were PEO and citric acid with weight ratios of 191.99 (78.91%) and 51.32 (21.09%), respectively. Based on the results of matrix swelling and drug release, the optimal solutions, target values, and validation experiment results over time were similar and showed consistent patterns with very small biases. The experimental design methodology could be a very promising experimental design method to obtain maximum information with limited time and resources. It could also be very useful in formulation studies by providing a systematic and reliable screening method to characterize significant factors in the sustained release matrix tablet. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. EBTS: DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    PIKIN, A.; ALESSI, J.; BEEBE, E.; KPONOU, A.; PRELEC, K.; KUZNETSOV, G.; TIUNOV, M.

    2000-01-01

    Experimental study of the BNL Electron Beam Test Stand (EBTS), which is a prototype of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS), is currently underway. The basic physics and engineering aspects of a high current EBIS implemented in EBTS are outlined and construction of its main systems is presented. Efficient transmission of a 10 A electron beam through the ion trap has been achieved. Experimental results on generation of multiply charged ions with both continuous gas and external ion injection confirm stable operation of the ion trap

  12. Establishing the experimenting society : The historical origin of social experimentation according to the randomized controlled design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dehue, T

    2001-01-01

    This article tl aces the historical origin of social experimentation. It highlights the central role of psychology in establishing the randomized controlled design and its quasi-experimental derivatives. The author investigates the differences in the 19th- and 20th-century meaning of the expression

  13. Experimental design: Case studies of diagnostics optimization for W7-X

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreier, H.; Dinklage, A.; Fischer, R.; Hartfuss, H.-J.; Hirsch, M.; Kornejew, P.; Pasch, E.; Turkin, Yu.

    2005-01-01

    The preparation of diagnostics for Wendelstein 7-X is accompanied by diagnostics simulations and optimization. Starting from the physical objectives, the design of diagnostics should incorporate predictive modelling (e.g. transport modelling) and simulations of respective measurements. Although technical constraints are governing design considerations, it appears that several design parameters of different diagnostics can be optimized. However, a general formulation for fusion diagnostics design in terms of optimization is lacking. In this paper, first case studies of Bayesian experimental design aiming at applications on W7-X diagnostics preparation are presented. The information gain of a measurement is formulated as a utility function which is expressed in terms of the Kullback-Leibler divergence. Then, the expected range of data is to be included and the resulting expected utility represents the objective for optimization. Bayesian probability theory gives a framework allowing us for an appropriate formulation of the design problem in terms of probability distribution functions. Results are obtained for the information gain from interferometry and for the design of polychromators for Thomson scattering. For interferometry, studies of the choice of line-of-sights for optimum signal and for the reproduction of gradient positions are presented for circular, elliptical and W7-X geometries. For Thomson scattering, the design of filter transmissions for density and temperature measurements are discussed. (author)

  14. Design considerations for ITER [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor] magnet systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henning, C.D.; Miller, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is now completing a definition phase as a beginning of a three-year design effort. Preliminary parameters for the superconducting magnet system have been established to guide further and more detailed design work. Radiation tolerance of the superconductors and insulators has been of prime importance, since it sets requirements for the neutron-shield dimension and sensitively influences reactor size. The major levels of mechanical stress in the structure appear in the cases of the inboard legs of the toroidal-field (TF) coils. The cases of the poloidal-field (PF) coils must be made thin or segmented to minimize eddy current heating during inductive plasma operation. As a result, the winding packs of both the TF and PF coils includes significant fractions of steel. The TF winding pack provides support against in-plane separating loads but offers little support against out-of-plane loads, unless shear-bonding of the conductors can be maintained. The removal of heat due to nuclear and ac loads has not been a fundamental limit to design, but certainly has non-negligible economic consequences. We present here preliminary ITER magnetic systems design parameters taken from trade studies, designs, and analyses performed by the Home Teams of the four ITER participants, by the ITER Magnet Design Unit in Garching, and by other participants at workshops organized by the Magnet Design Unit. The work presented here reflects the efforts of many, but the responsibility for the opinions expressed is the authors'. 4 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

  15. Experimental design technique applied to the validation of an instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Uanda Paula de M. dos; Moreira, Edson Gonçalves

    2017-01-01

    In this study optimization of procedures and standardization of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method were carried out for the determination of the elements bromine, chlorine, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium and vanadium in biological matrix materials using short irradiations at a pneumatic system. 2 k experimental designs were applied for evaluation of the individual contribution of selected variables of the analytical procedure in the final mass fraction result. The chosen experimental designs were the 2 3 and the 2 4 , depending on the radionuclide half life. Different certified reference materials and multi-element comparators were analyzed considering the following variables: sample decay time, irradiation time, counting time and sample distance to detector. Comparator concentration, sample mass and irradiation time were maintained constant in this procedure. By means of the statistical analysis and theoretical and experimental considerations, it was determined the optimized experimental conditions for the analytical methods that will be adopted for the validation procedure of INAA methods in the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN) of the Research Reactor Center (CRPq) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN /CNEN-SP). Optimized conditions were estimated based on the results of z-score tests, main effect, interaction effects and better irradiation conditions. (author)

  16. Experimental design technique applied to the validation of an instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis procedure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Uanda Paula de M. dos; Moreira, Edson Gonçalves, E-mail: uandapaula@gmail.com, E-mail: emoreira@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    In this study optimization of procedures and standardization of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method were carried out for the determination of the elements bromine, chlorine, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium and vanadium in biological matrix materials using short irradiations at a pneumatic system. 2{sup k} experimental designs were applied for evaluation of the individual contribution of selected variables of the analytical procedure in the final mass fraction result. The chosen experimental designs were the 2{sup 3} and the 2{sup 4}, depending on the radionuclide half life. Different certified reference materials and multi-element comparators were analyzed considering the following variables: sample decay time, irradiation time, counting time and sample distance to detector. Comparator concentration, sample mass and irradiation time were maintained constant in this procedure. By means of the statistical analysis and theoretical and experimental considerations, it was determined the optimized experimental conditions for the analytical methods that will be adopted for the validation procedure of INAA methods in the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN) of the Research Reactor Center (CRPq) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN /CNEN-SP). Optimized conditions were estimated based on the results of z-score tests, main effect, interaction effects and better irradiation conditions. (author)

  17. Oak Ridge Tokamak experimental power reactor study reference design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, M.; Bettis, E.S.

    1975-11-01

    A Tokamak EPR Reference Design is presented as a basis for further design study leading to a Conceptual Design. The set of basic plasma parameters selected--minor radius of 2.25 m, major radius of 6.75 m, magnetic field on axis of 4.8 T and plasma current of 7.2 MA--should produce a reactor-grade plasma with a significant neutron flux, even with the great uncertainty in plasma physics scaling from present experience to large sizes. Neutronics and heat transfer calculations coupled with mechanical design and materials considerations were used to develop a blanket and shield capable of operating at high temperature, protecting the surrounding coils, being maintained remotely and, in a few experimental modules, breeding tritium. Nb 3 Sn and NbTi superconductors are used in the toroidal field coil design. The coil system was developed for a maximum field of 11 T at the winding (to give a field on axis of 4.8 T), and combines multifilamentary superconducting cable with forced flow of supercritical helium enclosed in a steel conduit. The structural system uses a stainless steel center bucking ring and intercoil box beam bracing to provide rigid support for coils against the centering force, overturning moments from poloidal fields and faults, other external forces, and thermal stresses. The poloidal magnetics system is specially designed both to reduce the total volt-second energy requirements and to reduce the magnitude of the rate of field change at the toroidal field coils. The rate of field change imposed upon the toroidal field coils is reduced by at least a factor of 3.3 compared to that due to the plasma alone. Tritium processing, tritium containment and vacuum systems employ double containment and atmospheric cleanup to minimize releases. The document also contains discussions of systems integration and assembly, key research and development needs, and schedule considerations

  18. Experimental investigation on feasibility of two-region-designed pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Xingtuan; Hu Wenping; Jiang Shengyao

    2009-01-01

    Phenomenological experiments were performed on a 2-dimensional scaled model of the two-region designed pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor core consisting of the distinct fuel pebble region and graphite pebble region. Issues with respect to the feasibility of the two-region design, including the establishment of the two-region arrangement, the mixing zone between the two regions, and the stagnant zone existence, were investigated. Three equilibrium conditions were proposed to evaluate the stable two-region arrangement formation. The general characteristics of the flow of the pebble bed were analyzed on basis of the observed phenomenon. It was found that a stable two-region arrangement was formed under the experimental conditions: the pebbles' motion was to some extent random but also confined by the neighbors of pebbles so that the mixing zone is constrained to a reasonable size. Guide plates utilized to improve mixing are proved to be effective without noticeable effect on the two-region arrangement features. Stagnant zones were observed under the experimental conditions and they were expected to be avoided by improving the design of the experimental setup. (author)

  19. The distribution of blood group antigens in experimentally produced carcinomas of rat palate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reibel, J; Philipsen, H P; Fisker, A V

    1986-01-01

    palate induced by a chemical carcinogen (4NQO). The H antigen, normally expressed on spinous cells in rats, was absent in malignant epithelium, whereas staining for the B antigen, normally expressed on basal cells, was variable. These changes are equivalent to those seen in human squamous cell carcinomas....... The blood group antigen staining pattern in experimentally produced verrucous carcinomas showed an almost normal blood group antigen expression. This may have diagnostic significance. Localized areas of hyperplastic palatal epithelium with slight dysplasia revealed loss of H antigen and the presence of B...... antigen in suprabasal strata equivalent to the pattern seen in human premalignant epithelium. We conclude from these findings, that the rat model is well suited to study changes in cell surface carbohydrates during chemical carcinogenesis....

  20. Belt restraint reduction in nursing homes: design of a quasi-experimental study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Rossum Erik

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The use of physical restraints still is common practice in the nursing home care. Since physical restraints have been shown to be an ineffective and sometimes even hazardous measure, interventions are needed to reduce their usage. Several attempts have been made to reduce the use of physical restraints. Most studies used educational approaches and introduced a nurse specialist as a consultant. However, the success rate of these interventions has been inconsistent. We developed a new multi-component intervention (EXBELT comprising an educational intervention for nursing home staff in combination with a policy change (belt use is prohibited by the nursing home management, availability of a nurse specialist and nursing home manager as consultants, and availability of alternative interventions. The first aim of this study is to further develop and test the effectiveness of EXBELT on belt restraint reduction in Dutch psychogeriatric nursing homes. However, the reduction of belts should not result in an increase of other restrictive restraints (such as a chair with locked tray table or psychoactive drug use. The overall aim is an effective and feasible intervention that can be employed on a large scale in Dutch nursing homes. Methods and design Effects of EXBELT will be studied in a quasi-experimental longitudinal study design. Alongside the effect evaluation, a process evaluation will be carried out in order to further develop EXBELT. Data regarding age, gender, use of physical restraints, the number of falls and fall related injuries, psychoactive drug use, and the use of alternative interventions will be collected at baseline and after four and eight months of follow-up. Data regarding the process evaluation will be gathered in a period of eight months between baseline and the last measurement. Furthermore, changing attitudes will become an important addition to the educational part of EXBELT. Discussion A quasi-experimental

  1. Development and verification test of integral reactor major components - Development of MCP impeller design, performance prediction code and experimental verification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Myung Kyoon; Oh, Woo Hyoung; Song, Jae Wook [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea)

    1999-03-01

    The present study is aimed at developing a computational code for design and performance prediction of an axial-flow pump. The proposed performance prediction method is tested against a model axial-flow pump streamline curvature method. The preliminary design is made by using the ideal velocity triangles at inlet and exit and the three dimensional blade shape is calculated by employing the free vortex design method. Then the detailed blading design is carried out by using experimental database of double circular arc cambered hydrofoils. To computationally determine the design incidence, deviation, blade camber, solidity and stagger angle, a number of correlation equations are developed form the experimental database and a theorical formula for the lift coefficient is adopted. A total of 8 equations are solved iteratively using an under-relaxation factor. An experimental measurement is conducted under a non-cavitating condition to obtain the off-design performance curve and also a cavitation test is carried out by reducing the suction pressure. The experimental results are very satisfactorily compared with the predictions by the streamline curvature method. 28 refs., 26 figs., 11 tabs. (Author)

  2. Accessibility and replacement as prime constraints in the design of large experimental Tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Challender, R.S.; Reynolds, P.

    1976-01-01

    Many of the designs being developed for large Tokamak experiments are based on the classical geometry of the small machines in laboratories throughout the world: a circular array of coils interlinked by an inner toroidal vessel. An attempt is made to bring together those design features which would lead to better accessibility during non-active operation and in particular permit replacement and repair after activation, thereby making possible an extended period of experimental operation into the ignition phase

  3. Sliding spool design for reducing the actuation forces in direct operated proportional directional valves: Experimental validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amirante, Riccardo; Distaso, Elia; Tamburrano, Paolo

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An innovative procedure to design a commercial proportional directional valve is shown. • Experimental tests are performed to demonstrate the flow force reduction. • The design is improved by means of a previously made optimization procedure. • Great reduction in the flow forces without reducing the flow rate is demonstrated. - Abstract: This paper presents the experimental validation of a new methodology for the design of the spool surfaces of four way three position direct operated proportional directional valves. The proposed methodology is based on the re-design of both the compensation profile (the central conical surface of the spool) and the lateral surfaces of the spool, in order to reduce the flow forces acting on the spool and hence the actuation forces. The aim of this work is to extend the application range of these valves to higher values of pressure and flow rate, thus avoiding the employment of more expensive two stage configurations in the case of high-pressure conditions and/or flow rate. The paper first presents a theoretical approach and a general strategy for the sliding spool design to be applied to any four way three position direct operated proportional directional valve. Then, the proposed approach is experimentally validated on a commercially available valve using a hydraulic circuit capable of measuring the flow rate as well as the actuation force over the entire spool stroke. The experimental results, performed using both the electronic driver provided by the manufacturer and a manual actuation system, show that the novel spool surface requires remarkably lower actuation forces compared to the commercial configuration, while maintaining the same flow rate trend as a function of the spool position.

  4. Investigation of the effect of rollbond evaporator design on the performance of direct expansion heat pump experimentally

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerit, Emine; Erbay, L. Berrin

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Effect of rollbond evaporator design to performance of the DX-SAHP is investigated. • Experiments performed on three identical DX-SAHP systems except evaporator design. • Evaporators’ material is aluminum and R134a is the working fluid. • Empirical correlation derived for system COP in terms of radiation and temperature. • The correlation provides the average deviation of 9% with the experimental data. - Abstract: In this study, the rollbond evaporator design which gives maximum coefficient of performance for the direct expansion solar assisted heat pump (DX-SAHP) water heater is investigated experimentally on the three separate heat pump systems due to the lack of studies on the effect of collector-evaporator design to the system performance. Three DX-SAHP systems are identical except collector-evaporator design. Aluminum is preferred for the evaporator material and R134a as the working fluid. Maximum COP value was obtained as 3.30 for System-1 while COP values for System-2 and System-3 were 3.14 and 2.42 respectively at the same conditions. An empirical correlation which gives the COP value of the System-1, which provides highest COP, with respect to the solar radiation and outdoor temperature of the system has been found using the experimental results obtained during the study. The correlation was found to be in good agreement with the average deviation of 9% with the experimental data

  5. Experimental and Kinetic Investigation of the Influence of OH Groups on NOX Formation

    KAUST Repository

    Bohon, Myles

    2016-05-04

    This work investigates the influence of one or more OH groups present on the fuel molecule and the resultant formation of NOX emissions. Combustion of oxygenated fuels has been increasing globally and such fuels offer significant potential in the reduction of pollutant emissions. One such emission class is the oxides of nitrogen, which typically form through a combination of two regimes: the thermal and non-thermal mechanisms. While thermal NO formation can be reduced by lowering the combustion temperature, non-thermal NO formation is coupled to the fuel chemistry. An experimental and computational investigation of NOX formation in three different burner configurations and under a range of equivalence ratios and temperature regimes explored the differences in NO formation. Measurements of temperature profiles and in-flame species concentrations, utilizing both probed and non-intrusive laser based techniques, allowed for the investigation of NO formation through non-thermal pathways and the differences that exist between fuels with varying numbers of OH groups. The first burner configuration was composed of a high swirl liquid spray burner with insulted combustion chamber walls designed specifically for the combustion of low energy density fuels. In this system the combustion of alcohols and glycerol (the largest by-product of biodiesel production), along with other fuels with multiple hydroxyl groups, was studied. Measurements of the mean flame temperature and exhaust gas measurements of NOX showed significant reductions in non-thermal NO concentrations with increasing numbers of OH groups. An accompanying modeling study and detailed reaction path analysis showed that fuel decomposition pathways through formaldehyde were shown a preference due to the presence of the OH groups which resulted in reduced contributions to the hydrocarbon radical pools subsequent reductions to the Prompt NO mechanism. Two burner configurations with reduced dimensionality facilitated

  6. Material design data of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and hastelloy-x for the experimental multi-purpose very-high temperature gas-cooled reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kodaira, Tsuneo; Suzuki, Michiaki; Uga, Takeo

    1975-08-01

    The preliminary structural design guidelines for the experimental multi-purpose very-high temperature gas-cooled reactor have recently been prepared. The components of the primary system operating at temperatures of creep dominant range are grouped in those of pressure and temperature boundaries respectively. In the material selection, 2 1/4Cr-1Mo steel is chosen for the former and Hastelloy-X for the latter taking into account of material properties at operating temperature. Deriving from the literature in the field, material design data of the alloys are established in design forms such as Sy, So, Sm, St, 100% of minimum stress to rupture, design fatigue curves, isochronous stress-strain curves, creep-fatigue interaction damage factor and so on, which are defined in ASME Code Section III, Code Case 1592. (auth.)

  7. Optimization of Protease Production from Aspergillus Oryzae Sp. Using Box-Behnken Experimental Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Srinu Babu

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Protease production by Aspergillus oryzae was optimized in shake-flask cultures using Box-Behnken experimental design. An empirical model was developed through response surface methodology to describe the relationship between tested variable (peptone, glucose, soyabeanmeal and pH. Maximum enzyme activity was attained with Peptone at 4 g∕L; temperature at 30 °C glucose at 6 g∕L; 30 °C and pH at 10. Experimental verification of the model showed a validation of 95%, which is more than 3-fold increase compare to the basal medium.

  8. Micro-Randomized Trials: An Experimental Design for Developing Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klasnja, Predrag; Hekler, Eric B.; Shiffman, Saul; Boruvka, Audrey; Almirall, Daniel; Tewari, Ambuj; Murphy, Susan A.

    2015-01-01

    Objective This paper presents an experimental design, the micro-randomized trial, developed to support optimization of just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs). JITAIs are mHealth technologies that aim to deliver the right intervention components at the right times and locations to optimally support individuals’ health behaviors. Micro-randomized trials offer a way to optimize such interventions by enabling modeling of causal effects and time-varying effect moderation for individual intervention components within a JITAI. Methods The paper describes the micro-randomized trial design, enumerates research questions that this experimental design can help answer, and provides an overview of the data analyses that can be used to assess the causal effects of studied intervention components and investigate time-varying moderation of those effects. Results Micro-randomized trials enable causal modeling of proximal effects of the randomized intervention components and assessment of time-varying moderation of those effects. Conclusions Micro-randomized trials can help researchers understand whether their interventions are having intended effects, when and for whom they are effective, and what factors moderate the interventions’ effects, enabling creation of more effective JITAIs. PMID:26651463

  9. Guidelines for the structural design of experimental multi-purpose VHTR at the elevated temperature services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomura, Sueo; Uga, Takeo; Miyamoto, Yoshiaki; Muto, Yasushi; Ikushima, Takeshi

    1976-02-01

    The guidelines are presented for structural design of the experimental multi-purpose VHTR(Very High Temperature Reactor) at the elevated temperature services. Covered are features of the VHTR structural design, specifications, safety design, seismic design, failure modes to be considered, stress criteria for various load combinations and the mechanical properties of the materials. The guidelines were prepared by referring to safety criteria of high-temperature gas cooled reactors, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel code, Section III, case 1592 and the domestic seismic design guide of nuclear power facilities. (auth.)

  10. Computational Design and Experimental Validation of New Thermal Barrier Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Shengmin; Yang, Shizhong; Khosravi, Ebrahim

    2011-12-31

    This project (10/01/2010-9/30/2013), “Computational Design and Experimental Validation of New Thermal Barrier Systems”, originates from Louisiana State University (LSU) Mechanical Engineering Department and Southern University (SU) Department of Computer Science. This proposal will directly support the technical goals specified in DE-FOA-0000248, Topic Area 3: Turbine Materials, by addressing key technologies needed to enable the development of advanced turbines and turbine-based systems that will operate safely and efficiently using coal-derived synthesis gases. We will develop novel molecular dynamics method to improve the efficiency of simulation on novel TBC materials; we will perform high performance computing (HPC) on complex TBC structures to screen the most promising TBC compositions; we will perform material characterizations and oxidation/corrosion tests; and we will demonstrate our new Thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems experimentally under Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) environments. The durability of the coating will be examined using the proposed High Temperature/High Pressure Durability Test Rig under real syngas product compositions.

  11. He-cooled divertor for DEMO: Experimental verification of the conceptual modular design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norajitra, P.; Gervash, A.; Giniyatulin, R.; Ihli, T.; Krauss, W.; Kruessmann, R.; Kuznetsov, V.; Makhankov, A.; Mazul, I.; Ovchinnikov, I.

    2006-01-01

    A modular He-cooled divertor concept is being developed at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The design goal is to withstand a high heat flux of 10 MW/m 2 at least. The work programme of 2004 focused on experiments to verify the design and thermohydraulics layout. In cooperation with the Efremov Institute, experimental investigations were performed for the joining of tungsten parts and/or tungsten parts with steel and the fabrication of divertor components from tungsten. Moreover, gas puffing experiments were carried out with a stationary approach to measuring pressure loss and heat transfer for the purpose of screening the design options and verifying the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations. The status and results of the technological and helium experiments shall be outlined in this report

  12. Plant Disease Severity Assessment-How Rater Bias, Assessment Method, and Experimental Design Affect Hypothesis Testing and Resource Use Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Kuo-Szu; Bock, Clive H; Lee, I-Hsuan; El Jarroudi, Moussa; Delfosse, Philippe

    2016-12-01

    The effect of rater bias and assessment method on hypothesis testing was studied for representative experimental designs for plant disease assessment using balanced and unbalanced data sets. Data sets with the same number of replicate estimates for each of two treatments are termed "balanced" and those with unequal numbers of replicate estimates are termed "unbalanced". The three assessment methods considered were nearest percent estimates (NPEs), an amended 10% incremental scale, and the Horsfall-Barratt (H-B) scale. Estimates of severity of Septoria leaf blotch on leaves of winter wheat were used to develop distributions for a simulation model. The experimental designs are presented here in the context of simulation experiments which consider the optimal design for the number of specimens (individual units sampled) and the number of replicate estimates per specimen for a fixed total number of observations (total sample size for the treatments being compared). The criterion used to gauge each method was the power of the hypothesis test. As expected, at a given fixed number of observations, the balanced experimental designs invariably resulted in a higher power compared with the unbalanced designs at different disease severity means, mean differences, and variances. Based on these results, with unbiased estimates using NPE, the recommended number of replicate estimates taken per specimen is 2 (from a sample of specimens of at least 30), because this conserves resources. Furthermore, for biased estimates, an apparent difference in the power of the hypothesis test was observed between assessment methods and between experimental designs. Results indicated that, regardless of experimental design or rater bias, an amended 10% incremental scale has slightly less power compared with NPEs, and that the H-B scale is more likely than the others to cause a type II error. These results suggest that choice of assessment method, optimizing sample number and number of replicate

  13. In-Service Performance and Costs of Methods for Control of Urban Rail System Noise : Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-05-01

    This report presents an experimental design for a project to evaluate four techniques for reducing wheel-rail noise on urban rail transit systems: (a) resilient wheels, (b) damped wheels, (c) wheel truing, and (d) rail griding. The design presents th...

  14. Guided-Inquiry Labs Using Bean Beetles for Teaching the Scientific Method & Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlueter, Mark A.; D'Costa, Allison R.

    2013-01-01

    Guided-inquiry lab activities with bean beetles ("Callosobruchus maculatus") teach students how to develop hypotheses, design experiments, identify experimental variables, collect and interpret data, and formulate conclusions. These activities provide students with real hands-on experiences and skills that reinforce their understanding of the…

  15. QuantifyMe: An Open-Source Automated Single-Case Experimental Design Platform †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sano, Akane; Ferguson, Craig; Mohan, Akshay; Picard, Rosalind W.

    2018-01-01

    Smartphones and wearable sensors have enabled unprecedented data collection, with many products now providing feedback to users about recommended step counts or sleep durations. However, these recommendations do not provide personalized insights that have been shown to be best suited for a specific individual. A scientific way to find individualized recommendations and causal links is to conduct experiments using single-case experimental design; however, properly designed single-case experiments are not easy to conduct on oneself. We designed, developed, and evaluated a novel platform, QuantifyMe, for novice self-experimenters to conduct proper-methodology single-case self-experiments in an automated and scientific manner using their smartphones. We provide software for the platform that we used (available for free on GitHub), which provides the methodological elements to run many kinds of customized studies. In this work, we evaluate its use with four different kinds of personalized investigations, examining how variables such as sleep duration and regularity, activity, and leisure time affect personal happiness, stress, productivity, and sleep efficiency. We conducted a six-week pilot study (N = 13) to evaluate QuantifyMe. We describe the lessons learned developing the platform and recommendations for its improvement, as well as its potential for enabling personalized insights to be scientifically evaluated in many individuals, reducing the high administrative cost for advancing human health and wellbeing. PMID:29621133

  16. When Theater Comes to Engineering Design: Oh How Creative They Can Be.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeiffer, Ferris M; Bauer, Rachel E; Borgelt, Steve; Burgoyne, Suzanne; Grant, Sheila; Hunt, Heather K; Pardoe, Jennie J; Schmidt, David C

    2017-07-01

    The creative process is fun, complex, and sometimes frustrating, but it is critical to the future of our nation and progress in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), as well as other fields. Thus, we set out to see if implementing methods of active learning typical to the theater department could impact the creativity of senior capstone design students in the bioengineering (BE) department. Senior bioengineering capstone design students were allowed to self-select into groups. Prior to the beginning of coursework, all students completed a validated survey measuring engineering design self-efficacy. The control and experimental groups both received standard instruction, but in addition the experimental group received 1 h per week of creativity training developed by a theater professor. Following the semester, the students again completed the self-efficacy survey. The surveys were examined to identify differences in the initial and final self-efficacy in the experimental and control groups over the course of the semester. An analysis of variance was used to compare the experimental and control groups with p engineering design following the semester of creativity instruction. The results of this pilot study indicate that there is a significant potential to improve engineering students' creative self-efficacy through the implementation of a "curriculum of creativity" which is developed using theater methods.

  17. Tabletop Games: Platforms, Experimental Games and Design Recommendations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haller, Michael; Forlines, Clifton; Koeffel, Christina; Leitner, Jakob; Shen, Chia

    While the last decade has seen massive improvements in not only the rendering quality, but also the overall performance of console and desktop video games, these improvements have not necessarily led to a greater population of video game players. In addition to continuing these improvements, the video game industry is also constantly searching for new ways to convert non-players into dedicated gamers. Despite the growing popularity of computer-based video games, people still love to play traditional board games, such as Risk, Monopoly, and Trivial Pursuit. Both video and board games have their strengths and weaknesses, and an intriguing conclusion is to merge both worlds. We believe that a tabletop form-factor provides an ideal interface for digital board games. The design and implementation of tabletop games will be influenced by the hardware platforms, form factors, sensing technologies, as well as input techniques and devices that are available and chosen. This chapter is divided into three major sections. In the first section, we describe the most recent tabletop hardware technologies that have been used by tabletop researchers and practitioners. In the second section, we discuss a set of experimental tabletop games. The third section presents ten evaluation heuristics for tabletop game design.

  18. Journaling: a quasi-experimental study of student nurses' reflective learning ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakude, L P; Bruce, J C

    2003-08-01

    The use of journaling or journal writing in clinical education is one of the strategies used to develop critical thinking. Reflective journal writing, as it is commonly known, can nurture many qualities of a critical thinker and promote thoughtful nursing practice. Using a quasi-experimental design in this study, reflective journaling was introduced to a sample of first year Bridging Course student nurses at a Private Nursing Education Institution, to assess its effectiveness in reflective learning. The study design enabled comparisons between two groups: one group of students assigned to do journaling (experimental group) and another group of students (control group) who did not journal. The students in the experimental group were given a period of eight weeks to journal their clinical experiences. At the end of this period, both groups were given an exercise, based on a clinical situation, to analyse reflectively and a comparison made on their performance. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and Fisher's Exact Test was used to determine the significance of differences observed within and between groups. The results showed that students in the experimental group performed better in exploring alternatives of action (p < 0.10) and formulating responses in similar future situations (p < 0.05) during the process of reflection. There was no significant difference between the groups' scores with regard to their ability to describe the clinical experience, to explore their related feelings, to evaluate the experience and to interpret/create meaning for themselves. Recommendations are made for continued student support and guidance during clinical education if reflection is considered to enhance reflective, thoughtful nursing practice.

  19. Return to Our Roots: Raising Radishes to Teach Experimental Design. Methods and Techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stallings, William M.

    1993-01-01

    Reviews research in teaching applied statistics. Concludes that students should analyze data from studies they have designed and conducted. Describes an activity in which students study germination and growth of radish seeds. Includes a table providing student instructions for both the experimental procedure and data analysis. (CFR)

  20. Effect of Solution Focused Group Counseling for High School Students in Order to Struggle with School Burnout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ates, Bünyamin

    2016-01-01

    In this research, the effect of solution focused group counseling upon high school students struggling with school burnout was analyzed. The research was an experimental study in which a pre-test post-test control group random design was used, depending upon the real experimental model. The study group included 30 students that volunteered from…

  1. Design preferences and cognitive styles: experimentation by automated website synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Siu-Wai; Lee, John; Johnson, Chris; Robertson, David

    2012-06-29

    This article aims to demonstrate computational synthesis of Web-based experiments in undertaking experimentation on relationships among the participants' design preference, rationale, and cognitive test performance. The exemplified experiments were computationally synthesised, including the websites as materials, experiment protocols as methods, and cognitive tests as protocol modules. This work also exemplifies the use of a website synthesiser as an essential instrument enabling the participants to explore different possible designs, which were generated on the fly, before selection of preferred designs. The participants were given interactive tree and table generators so that they could explore some different ways of presenting causality information in tables and trees as the visualisation formats. The participants gave their preference ratings for the available designs, as well as their rationale (criteria) for their design decisions. The participants were also asked to take four cognitive tests, which focus on the aspects of visualisation and analogy-making. The relationships among preference ratings, rationale, and the results of cognitive tests were analysed by conservative non-parametric statistics including Wilcoxon test, Krustal-Wallis test, and Kendall correlation. In the test, 41 of the total 64 participants preferred graphical (tree-form) to tabular presentation. Despite the popular preference for graphical presentation, the given tabular presentation was generally rated to be easier than graphical presentation to interpret, especially by those who were scored lower in the visualization and analogy-making tests. This piece of evidence helps generate a hypothesis that design preferences are related to specific cognitive abilities. Without the use of computational synthesis, the experiment setup and scientific results would be impractical to obtain.

  2. Outcomes of an acceptance and commitment therapy-based skills training group for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: a quasi-experimental pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pahnke, Johan; Lundgren, Tobias; Hursti, Timo; Hirvikoski, Tatja

    2014-11-01

    Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by social impairments and behavioural inflexibility. In this pilot study, the feasibility and outcomes of a 6-week acceptance and commitment therapy-based skills training group were evaluated in a special school setting using a quasi-experimental design (acceptance and commitment therapy/school classes as usual). A total of 28 high-functioning students with autism spectrum disorder (aged 13-21 years) were assessed using self- and teacher-ratings at pre- and post-assessment and 2-month follow-up. All participants completed the skills training, and treatment satisfaction was high. Levels of stress, hyperactivity and emotional distress were reduced in the treatment group. The acceptance and commitment therapy group also reported increased prosocial behaviour. These changes were stable or further improved at the 2-month follow-up. Larger studies are needed to further evaluate the benefits of acceptance and commitment therapy for autism spectrum disorder. © The Author(s) 2013.

  3. Fermilab D-0 Experimental Facility: Energy conservation report and mechanical systems design optimization and cost analysis study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krstulovich, S.F.

    1987-01-01

    This report is developed as part of the Fermilab D-0 Experimental Facility Project Title II Design Documentation Update. As such, it concentrates primarily on HVAC mechanical systems design optimization and cost analysis

  4. Statistical analysis of sonochemical synthesis of SAPO-34 nanocrystals using Taguchi experimental design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Askari, Sima; Halladj, Rouein; Nazari, Mahdi

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Sonochemical synthesis of SAPO-34 nanocrystals. ► Using Taguchi experimental design (L9) for optimizing the experimental procedure. ► The significant effects of all the ultrasonic parameters on the response. - Abstract: SAPO-34 nanocrystals with high crystallinity were synthesized by means of sonochemical method. An L9 orthogonal array of the Taguchi method was implemented to investigate the effects of sonication conditions on the preparation of SAPO-34 with respect to crystallinity of the final product phase. The experimental data establish the favorable phase crystallinity which is improved by increasing the ultrasonic power and the sonication temperature. In the case of ultrasonic irradiation time, however, an initial increases in crystallinity from 5 min to 15 min is followed by a decrease in crystallinity for longer sonication time

  5. Conceptual design study of quasi-steady state fusion experimental reactor (FEQ-Q), part 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-12-01

    Since 1980 the design study has been conducted at JAERI for the Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) which has been proposed to be the next machine to JT-60 in the Japanese long term program of fusion reactor development. Starting from 1984 JER design is being reviewed and redesigned. This report is a part of the interim report which describes the results obtained in the review and redesign activities in FY 1984. The results of the following design items are included; core plasma, reactor structure, reactor core components, magnets. (author)

  6. Optimal design of disc-type magneto-rheological brake for mid-sized motorcycle: experimental evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohn, Jung Woo; Jeon, Juncheol; Nguyen, Quoc Hung; Choi, Seung-Bok

    2015-08-01

    In this paper, a disc-type magneto-rheological (MR) brake is designed for a mid-sized motorcycle and its performance is experimentally evaluated. The proposed MR brake consists of an outer housing, a rotating disc immersed in MR fluid, and a copper wire coiled around a bobbin to generate a magnetic field. The structural configuration of the MR brake is first presented with consideration of the installation space for the conventional hydraulic brake of a mid-sized motorcycle. The design parameters of the proposed MR brake are optimized to satisfy design requirements such as the braking torque, total mass of the MR brake, and cruising temperature caused by the magnetic-field friction of the MR fluid. In the optimization procedure, the braking torque is calculated based on the Herschel-Bulkley rheological model, which predicts MR fluid behavior well at high shear rate. An optimization tool based on finite element analysis is used to obtain the optimized dimensions of the MR brake. After manufacturing the MR brake, mechanical performances regarding the response time, braking torque and cruising temperature are experimentally evaluated.

  7. Acting like a physicist: Student approach study to experimental design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karelina, Anna; Etkina, Eugenia

    2007-12-01

    National studies of science education have unanimously concluded that preparing our students for the demands of the 21st century workplace is one of the major goals. This paper describes a study of student activities in introductory college physics labs, which were designed to help students acquire abilities that are valuable in the workplace. In these labs [called Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) labs], students design their own experiments. Our previous studies have shown that students in these labs acquire scientific abilities such as the ability to design an experiment to solve a problem, the ability to collect and analyze data, the ability to evaluate assumptions and uncertainties, and the ability to communicate. These studies mostly concentrated on analyzing students’ writing, evaluated by specially designed scientific ability rubrics. Recently, we started to study whether the ISLE labs make students not only write like scientists but also engage in discussions and act like scientists while doing the labs. For example, do students plan an experiment, validate assumptions, evaluate results, and revise the experiment if necessary? A brief report of some of our findings that came from monitoring students’ activity during ISLE and nondesign labs was presented in the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. We found differences in student behavior and discussions that indicated that ISLE labs do in fact encourage a scientistlike approach to experimental design and promote high-quality discussions. This paper presents a full description of the study.

  8. Acting like a physicist: Student approach study to experimental design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Karelina

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available National studies of science education have unanimously concluded that preparing our students for the demands of the 21st century workplace is one of the major goals. This paper describes a study of student activities in introductory college physics labs, which were designed to help students acquire abilities that are valuable in the workplace. In these labs [called Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE labs], students design their own experiments. Our previous studies have shown that students in these labs acquire scientific abilities such as the ability to design an experiment to solve a problem, the ability to collect and analyze data, the ability to evaluate assumptions and uncertainties, and the ability to communicate. These studies mostly concentrated on analyzing students’ writing, evaluated by specially designed scientific ability rubrics. Recently, we started to study whether the ISLE labs make students not only write like scientists but also engage in discussions and act like scientists while doing the labs. For example, do students plan an experiment, validate assumptions, evaluate results, and revise the experiment if necessary? A brief report of some of our findings that came from monitoring students’ activity during ISLE and nondesign labs was presented in the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. We found differences in student behavior and discussions that indicated that ISLE labs do in fact encourage a scientistlike approach to experimental design and promote high-quality discussions. This paper presents a full description of the study.

  9. Active vibration absorber for CSI evolutionary model: Design and experimental results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruner, Anne M.; Belvin, W. Keith; Horta, Lucas G.; Juang, Jer-Nan

    1991-01-01

    The development of control of large flexible structures technology must include practical demonstration to aid in the understanding and characterization of controlled structures in space. To support this effort, a testbed facility was developed to study practical implementation of new control technologies under realistic conditions. The design is discussed of a second order, acceleration feedback controller which acts as an active vibration absorber. This controller provides guaranteed stability margins for collocated sensor/actuator pairs in the absence of sensor/actuator dynamics and computational time delay. The primary performance objective considered is damping augmentation of the first nine structural modes. Comparison of experimental and predicted closed loop damping is presented, including test and simulation time histories for open and closed loop cases. Although the simulation and test results are not in full agreement, robustness of this design under model uncertainty is demonstrated. The basic advantage of this second order controller design is that the stability of the controller is model independent.

  10. Design Parameters of Vortex Pumps: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Gerlach

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Vortex pumps can impel solid-containing fluids and are therefore widely applied, from wastewater transport to the food industry. Despite constant efforts to improve vortex pumps, however, they have remained relatively inefficient compared to conventional centrifugal pumps. To find an optimized design of vortex pumps, this paper provides a systematic analysis on experimental studies that investigated how variations in geometric parameters influence vortex pump characteristics, in particular the pump head, the pressure coefficient and the efficiency for best point operation. To this end, an extensive literature search was conducted, and eighteen articles with 53 primary investigations were identified and meta-integrated. This showed that it is not yet clarified how vortex pumps operate. Two different assumptions of the underlying operating principle of a vortex pump lead to diverging design principles. From the results of this meta-analysis, we deduce recommendations for a more efficient design of a vortex pump and emphasize further aspects on the underlying operating principle of a vortex pump.

  11. Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 6: risk of bias assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waddington, Hugh; Aloe, Ariel M; Becker, Betsy Jane; Djimeu, Eric W; Hombrados, Jorge Garcia; Tugwell, Peter; Wells, George; Reeves, Barney

    2017-09-01

    Rigorous and transparent bias assessment is a core component of high-quality systematic reviews. We assess modifications to existing risk of bias approaches to incorporate rigorous quasi-experimental approaches with selection on unobservables. These are nonrandomized studies using design-based approaches to control for unobservable sources of confounding such as difference studies, instrumental variables, interrupted time series, natural experiments, and regression-discontinuity designs. We review existing risk of bias tools. Drawing on these tools, we present domains of bias and suggest directions for evaluation questions. The review suggests that existing risk of bias tools provide, to different degrees, incomplete transparent criteria to assess the validity of these designs. The paper then presents an approach to evaluating the internal validity of quasi-experiments with selection on unobservables. We conclude that tools for nonrandomized studies of interventions need to be further developed to incorporate evaluation questions for quasi-experiments with selection on unobservables. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Designation and Implementation of Microcomputer Principle and Interface Technology Virtual Experimental Platform Website

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, JinYue; Tang, Yin

    This paper explicitly discusses the designation and implementation thought and method of Microcomputer Principle and Interface Technology virtual experimental platform website construction. The instructional design of this platform mainly follows with the students-oriented constructivism learning theory, and the overall structure is subject to the features of teaching aims, teaching contents and interactive methods. Virtual experiment platform production and development should fully take the characteristics of network operation into consideration and adopt relevant technologies to improve the effect and speed of network software application in internet.

  13. Impact of engaging middle management in practice interventions on staff support and learning culture: a quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Amanda; Burmeister, Liz; Schoonbeek, Sue; Ossenberg, Christine; Gneilding, Julieanne

    2014-11-01

    This study evaluated the impact of different levels of engaging middle management in ward based strategies implemented by a project educator. The challenge for learning in practice is to develop effective teams where experienced staff engage and foster learning with students and other novice staff. A quasi-experimental pre- and post- intervention four group design was conducted from November 2009 to May 2010 across four general surgical and four general medical inpatient matched units in two settings in South East Queensland, Australia. Staff survey data was used to compare control and intervention groups (one actively engaging nurse managers) before and after 'practice learning' interventions. The survey comprised demographic data and data from two validated scales (support instrument for nurses facilitating learning and clinical learning organisational culture). Number of surveys returned pre- and post-intervention was 336 from 713 (47%). There were significant differences across many subscales pertaining to staff perception of support in the intervention groups, with only one change in the control group. The number of significant different subscales in the learning culture was also greater when middle management supported the intervention. Middle management should work closely with facilitators to assist embedding practice interventions. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Multi-arm group sequential designs with a simultaneous stopping rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urach, S; Posch, M

    2016-12-30

    Multi-arm group sequential clinical trials are efficient designs to compare multiple treatments to a control. They allow one to test for treatment effects already in interim analyses and can have a lower average sample number than fixed sample designs. Their operating characteristics depend on the stopping rule: We consider simultaneous stopping, where the whole trial is stopped as soon as for any of the arms the null hypothesis of no treatment effect can be rejected, and separate stopping, where only recruitment to arms for which a significant treatment effect could be demonstrated is stopped, but the other arms are continued. For both stopping rules, the family-wise error rate can be controlled by the closed testing procedure applied to group sequential tests of intersection and elementary hypotheses. The group sequential boundaries for the separate stopping rule also control the family-wise error rate if the simultaneous stopping rule is applied. However, we show that for the simultaneous stopping rule, one can apply improved, less conservative stopping boundaries for local tests of elementary hypotheses. We derive corresponding improved Pocock and O'Brien type boundaries as well as optimized boundaries to maximize the power or average sample number and investigate the operating characteristics and small sample properties of the resulting designs. To control the power to reject at least one null hypothesis, the simultaneous stopping rule requires a lower average sample number than the separate stopping rule. This comes at the cost of a lower power to reject all null hypotheses. Some of this loss in power can be regained by applying the improved stopping boundaries for the simultaneous stopping rule. The procedures are illustrated with clinical trials in systemic sclerosis and narcolepsy. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Consequences of Violated Equating Assumptions under the Equivalent Groups Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyren, Per-Erik; Hambleton, Ronald K.

    2011-01-01

    The equal ability distribution assumption associated with the equivalent groups equating design was investigated in the context of a selection test for admission to higher education. The purpose was to assess the consequences for the test-takers in terms of receiving improperly high or low scores compared to their peers, and to find strong…

  16. The Efficacy of a Family-Based Intervention Program on Childhood Obesity: A Quasi-Experimental Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chia-Ying; Kao, Chia-Chan; Hsu, Hsiu-Yueh; Wang, Ruey-Hsia; Hsu, Shu-Hua

    2015-10-01

    The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the efficacy of a family-based (FB) weight-loss and behavior-modification intervention among overweight/obese children (age 9-11 years) and their parents in Taiwan. The intervention group (52 child-parent dyads) participated in an FB program for 7 weeks. The control group (55 child-parent dyads) received an educational pamphlet about obesity prevention. The children's body mass index (BMI) z-scores were the primary outcome variable. The parents' BMI, high-calorie (HC) food-intake behaviors, screen-related behaviors, and restrictions on children's consumption of HC foods and screen-related behaviors and the availability of HC foods at home were the secondary outcome variables. Outcome variables were measured at baseline (T0), at the end of the intervention (T1), and 4 weeks after the end of the intervention (T2). A linear mixed model was used to assess the efficacy of the FB program. Results indicated that the children's BMI z-scores decreased significantly more from T0 to T2 in the experimental group than in the control group. The decreases in parents' HC food-intake behaviors and availability of HC foods at home and the increase in parental restrictions on children's consumption of HC foods were significantly greater in the experimental than in the control group from T0 to T1 and T0 to T2. The FB program was effective in modifying parental behaviors and the weight of overweight/obese children in a Taiwanese population. © The Author(s) 2015.

  17. Summary of Working Group 3: Machine Design and R and D

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohmori, C.; Kirk, H.; Haseroth, H.

    2006-01-01

    Various topics on machine studies and component R and D for Neutrino Factory subsystems were discussed in Working Group 3 (WG3) at the NuFact05 Workshop. In this working group, 29 talks and 2 posters were presented. We also had special focus sessions for lively discussions on several important issues; targets, cooling, proton driver, FFAGs and acceleration, and a World Wide Design study. Joint Sessions were held with WG1 and WG4 on machine requirements

  18. A case study on robust optimal experimental design for model calibration of ω-Transaminase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daele, Timothy, Van; Van Hauwermeiren, Daan; Ringborg, Rolf Hoffmeyer

    the experimental space. However, it is expected that more informative experiments can be designed to increase the confidence of the parameter estimates. Therefore, we apply Optimal Experimental Design (OED) to the calibrated model of Shin and Kim (1998). The total number of samples was retained to allow fair......” parameter values are not known before finishing the model calibration. However, it is important that the chosen parameter values are close to the real parameter values, otherwise the OED can possibly yield non-informative experiments. To counter this problem, one can use robust OED. The idea of robust OED......Proper calibration of models describing enzyme kinetics can be quite challenging. This is especially the case for more complex models like transaminase models (Shin and Kim, 1998). The latter fitted model parameters, but the confidence on the parameter estimation was not derived. Hence...

  19. [Experimental study on novel hybrid artificial trachea transplantation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wenliang; Xiao, Peng; Liang, Hengxing; An, Ran; Cheng, Gang; Yu, Fenglei

    2014-04-01

    We developed and designed a new type of artificial trachea. The basic structure of the artificial trachea was polytetrafluoroethylene vascular prosthesis linked with titanium rings on both sides. Dualmesh was sutured on titanium rings. This experimentation follows the replacement of trachea in dogs with a combined artificial trachea to investigate the feasibility of this type of prosthesis. Sixteen dogs were implanted with the combined artificial trachea after resection of 5 cm of cervical trachea. The 5 cm-long trachea of dogs on the necks were resected and the reconstruction of the defect of the trachea was performed with trachea prosthesis. According to the method of trachea reconstruction, the models were divided into 2 groups, artificial trachea implantation group (the control group, n = 8) and group of artificial trachea implantation with growth factor (the experimental group, n = 8). Then computer tomography scan (CT), bronchoscope and pathologic examination were conducted periodically to observe the healing state of the hybrid artificial trachea. None of the dogs died during operation of cervical segmental trachea construction. But four dogs in the control group died of apnea in succession because artificial trachea was displaced and the lumen was obstructed, while 2 dogs died in the experimental group. In the first month there was granulation around anastomosis with slight stenosis. The rest of dogs were well alive until they were sacrificed 14 months later. The mean survival time of the experimental group was longer than that of the control group. The rate of infection, anastomotic dehiscence, severe stenosis and accidental death in the experimental group were lower than the control group (P anastomosis effectively but infections and split or displacement of the artificial trachea are still major problems affecting long-term survival of the animals. Application of growth factors to a certain extent promotes tissue healing by changing the local environment.

  20. The Impact of Group Design Projects in Engineering on Achievement Goal Orientations and Academic Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rambo-Hernandez, Karen E.; Atadero, Rebecca A.; Balgopal, Meena

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the impact of incorporating group design projects into a second-year engineering class on achievement goal orientations and two academic outcomes: concept inventory and final exam scores. In this study, two sections were taught using lecture format, but one section also completed three group design projects as part of their…

  1. A design and experimental verification methodology for an energy harvester skin structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Soobum; Youn, Byeng D.

    2011-05-01

    This paper presents a design and experimental verification methodology for energy harvesting (EH) skin, which opens up a practical and compact piezoelectric energy harvesting concept. In the past, EH research has primarily focused on the design improvement of a cantilever-type EH device. However, such EH devices require additional space for proof mass and fixture and sometimes result in significant energy loss as the clamping condition becomes loose. Unlike the cantilever-type device, the proposed design is simply implemented by laminating a thin piezoelectric patch onto a vibrating structure. The design methodology proposed, which determines a highly efficient piezoelectric material distribution, is composed of two tasks: (i) topology optimization and (ii) shape optimization of the EH material. An outdoor condensing unit is chosen as a case study among many engineered systems with harmonic vibrating configuration. The proposed design methodology determined an optimal PZT material configuration on the outdoor unit skin structure. The designed EH skin was carefully prototyped to demonstrate that it can generate power up to 3.7 mW, which is sustainable for operating wireless sensor units for structural health monitoring and/or building automation.

  2. A design and experimental verification methodology for an energy harvester skin structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Soobum; Youn, Byeng D

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a design and experimental verification methodology for energy harvesting (EH) skin, which opens up a practical and compact piezoelectric energy harvesting concept. In the past, EH research has primarily focused on the design improvement of a cantilever-type EH device. However, such EH devices require additional space for proof mass and fixture and sometimes result in significant energy loss as the clamping condition becomes loose. Unlike the cantilever-type device, the proposed design is simply implemented by laminating a thin piezoelectric patch onto a vibrating structure. The design methodology proposed, which determines a highly efficient piezoelectric material distribution, is composed of two tasks: (i) topology optimization and (ii) shape optimization of the EH material. An outdoor condensing unit is chosen as a case study among many engineered systems with harmonic vibrating configuration. The proposed design methodology determined an optimal PZT material configuration on the outdoor unit skin structure. The designed EH skin was carefully prototyped to demonstrate that it can generate power up to 3.7 mW, which is sustainable for operating wireless sensor units for structural health monitoring and/or building automation. (technical note)

  3. Representation of Coordination Mechanisms in IMS Learning Design to Support Group-based Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miao, Yongwu; Burgos, Daniel; Griffiths, David; Koper, Rob

    2007-01-01

    Miao, Y., Burgos, D., Griffiths, D., & Koper, R. (2008). Representation of Coordination Mechanisms in IMS Learning Design to Support Group-based Learning. In L. Lockyer, S. Bennet, S. Agostinho & B. Harper (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Learning Design and Learning Objects: Issues, Applications and

  4. Extended Group Contribution Model for Polyfunctional Phase Equilibria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abildskov, Jens

    of physical separation processes. In a thermodynamic sense, design requires detailed knowledge of activity coefficients in the phases at equilibrium. The prediction of these quantities from a minimum of experimental data is the broad scope of this thesis. Adequate equations exist for predicting vapor......Material and energy balances and equilibrium data form the basis of most design calculations. While material and energy balances may be stated without much difficulty, the design engineer is left with a choice between a wide variety of models for describing phase equilibria in the design......-liquid equilibria from data on binary mixtures, composed of structurally simple molecules with a single functional group. More complex is the situation with mixtures composed of structurally more complicated molecules or molecules with more than one functional group. The UNIFAC method is extended to handle...

  5. Reactions to ingroup and outgroup deviants: an experimental group paradigm for black sheep effect.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marika Rullo

    Full Text Available In the classic black sheep effect (BSE an ingroup deviant member is usually evaluated more negatively than the corresponding outgroup deviant. This effect is usually obtained by using scenarios and asking people to imagine the situation as vividly as possible. The present study proposes a new method to investigate the BSE by considering the behavioral and physiological reactions to unfair behavior (aggressive game behavior in a realistic experimental group-setting. The study involved 52 university students in a minimal group setting who performed a modified version of the competitive reaction time (CRT task adapted to be played in groups of four people. The classic BSE was replicated for evaluation but not for the behavioral reactions (retaliate to aggression to deviants. More interestingly, a negative relationship emerged in the ingroup deviant condition between the level of behavioral derogation and the systolic blood pressure level.

  6. Combustion Dynamics Facility: April 1990 workshop working group reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kung, A.H.; Lee, Y.T.

    1990-04-01

    This document summarizes results from a workshop held April 5--7, 1990, on the proposed Combustion Dynamics Facility (CDF). The workshop was hosted by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to provide an opportunity for potential users to learn about the proposed experimental and computational facilities, to discuss the science that could be conducted with such facilities, and to offer suggestions as to how the specifications and design of the proposed facilities might be further refined to address the most visionary scientific opportunities. Some 130 chemical physicists, combustion chemists, and specialists in UV synchrotron radiation sources and free-electron lasers (more than half of whom were from institutions other than LBL and SNL) attended the five plenary sessions and participated in one or more of the nine parallel working group sessions. Seven of these sessions were devoted to broadening and strengthening the scope of CDF scientific opportunities and to detail the experimental facilities required to realize these opportunities. Two technical working group sessions addressed the design and proposed performance of two of the major CDF experimental facilities. These working groups and their chairpersons are listed below. A full listing of the attendees of the workshop is given in Appendix A. 1 tab.

  7. Experimental design for estimating unknown groundwater pumping using genetic algorithm and reduced order model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ushijima, Timothy T.; Yeh, William W.-G.

    2013-10-01

    An optimal experimental design algorithm is developed to select locations for a network of observation wells that provide maximum information about unknown groundwater pumping in a confined, anisotropic aquifer. The design uses a maximal information criterion that chooses, among competing designs, the design that maximizes the sum of squared sensitivities while conforming to specified design constraints. The formulated optimization problem is non-convex and contains integer variables necessitating a combinatorial search. Given a realistic large-scale model, the size of the combinatorial search required can make the problem difficult, if not impossible, to solve using traditional mathematical programming techniques. Genetic algorithms (GAs) can be used to perform the global search; however, because a GA requires a large number of calls to a groundwater model, the formulated optimization problem still may be infeasible to solve. As a result, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is applied to the groundwater model to reduce its dimensionality. Then, the information matrix in the full model space can be searched without solving the full model. Results from a small-scale test case show identical optimal solutions among the GA, integer programming, and exhaustive search methods. This demonstrates the GA's ability to determine the optimal solution. In addition, the results show that a GA with POD model reduction is several orders of magnitude faster in finding the optimal solution than a GA using the full model. The proposed experimental design algorithm is applied to a realistic, two-dimensional, large-scale groundwater problem. The GA converged to a solution for this large-scale problem.

  8. Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 1: introduction: two historical lineages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bärnighausen, Till; Røttingen, John-Arne; Rockers, Peter; Shemilt, Ian; Tugwell, Peter

    2017-09-01

    The objective of this study was to contrast the historical development of experiments and quasi-experiments and provide the motivation for a journal series on quasi-experimental designs in health research. A short historical narrative, with concrete examples, and arguments based on an understanding of the practice of health research and evidence synthesis. Health research has played a key role in developing today's gold standard for causal inference-the randomized controlled multiply blinded trial. Historically, allocation approaches developed from convenience and purposive allocation to alternate and, finally, to random allocation. This development was motivated both by concerns for manipulation in allocation as well as statistical and theoretical developments demonstrating the power of randomization in creating counterfactuals for causal inference. In contrast to the sequential development of experiments, quasi-experiments originated at very different points in time, from very different scientific perspectives, and with frequent and long interruptions in their methodological development. Health researchers have only recently started to recognize the value of quasi-experiments for generating novel insights on causal relationships. While quasi-experiments are unlikely to replace experiments in generating the efficacy and safety evidence required for clinical guidelines and regulatory approval of medical technologies, quasi-experiments can play an important role in establishing the effectiveness of health care practice, programs, and policies. The papers in this series describe and discuss a range of important issues in utilizing quasi-experimental designs for primary research and quasi-experimental results for evidence synthesis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Design and experimental study on desulphurization process of ship exhaust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Mingyang; Hao, Shan; Zhou, Junbo; Gao, Liping

    2018-02-01

    This desulfurization process involves removing sulfur oxides with seawater or alkaline aqueous solutions and then treating the effluent by aeration and pH adjustment before discharging it into the ocean. In the desulfurization system, the spray tower is the key equipment and the venturi tubes are the pretreatment device. The two stages of plates are designed to fully absorb sulfur oxides in exhaust gases. The spiral nozzles atomize and evenly spray the desulfurizers into the tower. This study experimentally investigated the effectiveness of this desulfurization process and the factors influencing it under laboratory conditions, with a diesel engine exhaust used to represent ship exhaust. The experimental results show that this process can effectively absorb the SO2 in the exhaust. When the exhaust flow rate was 25 m3/h and the desulfurizer flow rate was 4 L/min, the sulfur removal efficiency (SRE) reached 99.7%. The flow rate, alkalinity, and temperature of seawater were found to have significant effects on the SRE. Adjusting seawater flow rate (SWR) and alkalinity within certain ranges can substantially improve the SRE.

  10. Norms for creativity and implementation in healthcare teams: testing the group innovation inventory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.M.H. Strating (Mathilde); A.P. Nieboer (Anna)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractAbstract OBJECTIVE: To test to what extent the four-factor structure of the group innovation inventory (GII) is confirmed for improvement teams participating in a quality improvement collaborative. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental design with baseline and end-measurement after

  11. Theory, design, and experimental verification of a reflectionless bianisotropic Huygens' metasurface for wide-angle refraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Michael; Abdo-Sánchez, Elena; Epstein, Ariel; Eleftheriades, George V.

    2018-03-01

    Huygens' metasurfaces are electrically thin devices which allow arbitrary field transformations. Beam refraction is among the first demonstrations of realized metasurfaces. As previously shown for extreme-angle refraction, control over only the electric impedance and magnetic admittance of the Huygens' metasurface proved insufficient to produce the desired reflectionless field transformation. To maintain zero reflections for wide refraction angles, magnetoelectric coupling between the electric and magnetic response of the metasurface, leading to bianisotropy, can be introduced. In this paper, we report the theory, design, and experimental characterization of a reflectionless bianisotropic metasurface for extreme-angle refraction of a normally incident plane wave towards 71.8° at 20 GHz. The theory and design of three-layer asymmetric bianisotropic unit cells are discussed. The realized printed circuit board structure was tested via full-wave simulations as well as experimental characterization. To experimentally verify the prototype, two setups were used. A quasi-optical experiment was conducted to assess the specular reflections of the metasurface, while a far-field antenna measurement characterized its refraction nature. The measurements verify that the fabricated metasurface has negligible reflections and the majority of the scattered power is refracted to the desired Floquet mode. This provides an experimental demonstration of a reflectionless wide-angle refracting metasurface using a bianisotropic Huygens' metasurface at microwave frequencies.

  12. Life on rock. Scaling down biological weathering in a new experimental design at Biosphere-2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaharescu, D. G.; Dontsova, K.; Burghelea, C. I.; Chorover, J.; Maier, R.; Perdrial, J. N.

    2012-12-01

    Biological colonization and weathering of bedrock on Earth is a major driver of landscape and ecosystem development, its effects reaching out into other major systems such climate and geochemical cycles of elements. In order to understand how microbe-plant-mycorrhizae communities interact with bedrock in the first phases of mineral weathering we developed a novel experimental design in the Desert Biome at Biosphere-2, University of Arizona (U.S.A). This presentation will focus on the development of the experimental setup. Briefly, six enclosed modules were designed to hold 288 experimental columns that will accommodate 4 rock types and 6 biological treatments. Each module is developed on 3 levels. A lower volume, able to withstand the weight of both, rock material and the rest of the structure, accommodates the sampling elements. A middle volume, houses the experimental columns in a dark chamber. A clear, upper section forms the habitat exposed to sunlight. This volume is completely sealed form exterior and it allows a complete control of its air and water parameters. All modules are connected in parallel with a double air purification system that delivers a permanent air flow. This setup is expected to provide a model experiment, able to test important processes in the interaction rock-life at grain-to- molecular scale.

  13. Bias Corrections for Standardized Effect Size Estimates Used with Single-Subject Experimental Designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ugille, Maaike; Moeyaert, Mariola; Beretvas, S. Natasha; Ferron, John M.; Van den Noortgate, Wim

    2014-01-01

    A multilevel meta-analysis can combine the results of several single-subject experimental design studies. However, the estimated effects are biased if the effect sizes are standardized and the number of measurement occasions is small. In this study, the authors investigated 4 approaches to correct for this bias. First, the standardized effect…

  14. Conceptual design study of fusion experimental reactor (FY86 FER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seki, Yasushi; Iida, Hiromasa; Honda, Tsutomu.

    1987-08-01

    This report describes the study on safety for FER(Fusion Experimental Reactor) which has been designed as a next step machine to the JT-60. Though the final purpose of this study is to have an image of design base accident, maximum credible accident and to assess their risk or probability, etc., as FER plant system, the emphasis of this years study is placed on fuel-gas circulation system where the tritium inventory is maximum. This report consists of two chapters. The first chapter of this report summaries the FER system and describes FMEA(Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and related accident progression sequence for FER plant system as a whole. The second chapter of this report is focused on fuel-gas circulation system including the purification, isotope separation system and storage system. Here, probability of risk is assessed by the probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) procedure based on FMEA, ETA and FTA. (author)

  15. Labeled experimental choice design for estimating attribute and availability cross effects with N attributes and specific brand attribute levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nguyen, Thong Tien

    2011-01-01

    Experimental designs are required in widely used techniques in marketing research, especially for preference-based conjoint analysis and discrete-choice studies. Ideally, marketing researchers prefer orthogonal designs because this technique could give uncorrelated parameter estimates. However, o...... for implementing designs that is efficient enough to estimate model with N brands, each brand have K attributes, and brand attribute has specific levels. The paper also illustrates an example in food consumption study.......Experimental designs are required in widely used techniques in marketing research, especially for preference-based conjoint analysis and discrete-choice studies. Ideally, marketing researchers prefer orthogonal designs because this technique could give uncorrelated parameter estimates. However......, orthogonal design is not available for every situation. Instead, efficient design based on computerized design algorithm is always available. This paper presents the method of efficient design for estimating brand models having attribute and availability cross effects. The paper gives a framework...

  16. Conceptual design study of quasi-steady state fusion experimental reactor (FER-Q), part 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-12-01

    Since 1980 the design study has been conducted at JAERI for the Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) which has been proposed to be the next machine to JT-60 in the Japanese long term program of fusion reactor development. Starting from 1984 FER design is being reviewed and redesigned. This report is a part of the interim report which describes the results obtained in the review and redesign activities in FY 1984. The results of the following design items are included: heating/current drive system, plasma position control, power supply, diagnostics, neutronics, blanket test module, repair and maintenance and safety. (author)

  17. Experimental Design of Electrocoagulation and Magnetic Technology for Enhancing Suspended Solids Removal from Synthetic Wastewater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moh Faiqun Ni'am

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Design of experiments (DOE is one of the statistical method that is used as a tool to enhance and improve experimental quality. The changes to the variables of a process or system is supposed to give the optimal result (response and quite satisfactory. Experimental design can defined as a test or series of test series by varying the input variables (factors of a process that can known to cause changes in output (response. This paper presents the results of experimental design of wastewater treatment by electrocoagulation (EC technique. A combined magnet and electrocoagulation (EC technology were designed to increase settling velocity and to enhance suspended solid removal efficiencies from wastewater samples. In this experiment, a synthetic wastewater samples were prepared by mixing 700 mg of the milk powder in one litre of water and treated by using an acidic buffer solution. The monopolar iron (Fe plate anodes and cathodes were employed as electrodes. Direct current was varied in a range of between 0.5 and 1.1 A, and flowrate in a range of between 1.00 to 3.50 mL/s. One permanent magnets namely AlNiCo with a magnetic strength of 0.16T was used in this experiment. The results show that the magnetic field and the flowrate have major influences on suspended solids removal. The efficiency removals of suspended solids, turbidity and COD removal efficiencies at optimum conditions were found to be more than 85%, 95%, and 75%, respectively.

  18. Materials by design: An experimental and computational investigation on the microanatomy arrangement of porous metallic glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarac, Baran; Klusemann, Benjamin; Xiao, Tao; Bargmann, Swantje

    2014-01-01

    The correlation of a material’s structure with its properties is one of the important unresolved issues in materials science research. This paper discusses a novel experimental and computational approach by which the influence of the pores on the mechanical properties of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) can be systematically and quantitatively analyzed. The experimental stage involves the fabrication of a template whose pore configurations are pre-determined by computer-aided design tools, and replication of the designed patterns with BMGs. Quasi-static mechanical characterization of these complex microstructures is conducted under uniaxial tension and in-plane compression. For the numerical simulations, a non-local gradient-enhanced continuum mechanical model is established, using thermodynamic principles and periodic boundary conditions. The combination of the experimental and numerical results has identified the importance of the pore configuration, overall porosity and diameter to the spacing ratio of the pores to attain optimized material properties

  19. Using factorial experimental design to evaluate the separation of plastics by froth flotation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salerno, Davide; Jordão, Helga; La Marca, Floriana; Carvalho, M Teresa

    2018-03-01

    This paper proposes the use of factorial experimental design as a standard experimental method in the application of froth flotation to plastic separation instead of the commonly used OVAT method (manipulation of one variable at a time). Furthermore, as is common practice in minerals flotation, the parameters of the kinetic model were used as process responses rather than the recovery of plastics in the separation products. To explain and illustrate the proposed methodology, a set of 32 experimental tests was performed using mixtures of two polymers with approximately the same density, PVC and PS (with mineral charges), with particle size ranging from 2 to 4 mm. The manipulated variables were frother concentration, air flow rate and pH. A three-level full factorial design was conducted. The models establishing the relationships between the manipulated variables and their interactions with the responses (first order kinetic model parameters) were built. The Corrected Akaike Information Criterion was used to select the best fit model and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to identify the statistically significant terms of the model. It was shown that froth flotation can be used to efficiently separate PVC from PS with mineral charges by reducing the floatability of PVC, which largely depends on the action of pH. Within the tested interval, this is the factor that most affects the flotation rate constants. The results obtained show that the pure error may be of the same magnitude as the sum of squares of the errors, suggesting that there is significant variability within the same experimental conditions. Thus, special care is needed when evaluating and generalizing the process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Some Practical Issues in the Design and Implementation of Group Communication Services

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mishra, Shivakant

    2000-01-01

    The main objective of the proposed research was to investigate four important practical issues in the understanding, design, and implementation of group communication services. These issues were (1) Performance...

  1. Design and experimental study of a multi-modal piezoelectric energy harvester

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiong, Xing Yu [School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing (China); Oyadiji, S. Olutunde [School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester (United States)

    2017-01-15

    A multi-modal piezoelectric vibration energy harvester is designed in this article. It consists of a cantilevered base beam and some upper and lower layer beams with rigid masses bonded between the beams as spacers. For a four-layer harvester subjected to random base excitations, relocating the mass positions leads to the generation of up to four close resonance frequencies over the frequency range from 10 Hz to 100 Hz with relative large power output. The harvesters are connected with a resistance decade box and the frequency response functions of the voltage and power on resistive loads are determined. The experimental results are validated with the simulation results using the finite element method. On a certain level of power output, the experimental results show that the multi-modal harvesters can generate a frequency band that is more than two times greater than the frequency band produced by a cantilevered beam harvester.

  2. First conceptual design of the experimental multi-purpose high temperature reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsunoda, T [Fuji Electric Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    1976-02-01

    A part of the multi-purpose high temperature reactor (VHTR) was designed by the First Atomic Power Industry Group (FAPIG). Both Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. of the FAPIG group took charge of the design of main parts of the reactor Kobe Steel, Ltd., Ebara Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Shimizu Construction Co., Ltd. and the Nuclear Fuel Corp. have associated with this group. The reactor system includes a nuclear reactor and two cooling loops provided through intermediate heat exchangers in order to utilize the heat of helium gas delivered from the reactor outlet at 1,000 deg C. One is a reformer loop to produce the reducing gas for steel manufacture. The other is a testing loop for a reducing gas heater and a gas turbine. These loops transfer heat of about 25 MW at 930 deg C at rated capacity. The reformer can supply the reducing gas equivalent to the production of 100 tons per day sponge iron. A housing of the reactor is composed of a primary steel container, internal concrete and a secondary container made of reinforced concrete. The construction is based on the following principles. (1) For the very high temperature portion at 1,000 deg C, a non-metallic material such as graphite should be used. (2) The metallic construction shall be cooled with return gas below 400 deg C. (3) The steel pressure vessel shall be employed. (4) The design shall be based on the existing gas furnace.

  3. Calibration of an experimental model of tritium storage bed designed for 'in situ' accountability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bidica, Nicolae; Stefanescu, Ioan; Bucur, Ciprian; Bulubasa, Gheorghe; Deaconu, Mariea

    2009-01-01

    Full text: Objectives: Tritium accountancy of the storage beds in tritium facilities is an important issue for tritium inventory control. The purpose of our work was to perform calibration of an experimental model of tritium storage bed with a special design, using electric heaters to simulate tritium decay, and to evaluate the detection limit of the accountancy method. The objective of this paper is to present an experimental method used for calibration of the storage bed and the experimental results consisting of calibration curves and detection limit. Our method is based on a 'self-assaying' tritium storage bed. The basic characteristics of the design of our storage bed consists, in principle, of a uniform distribution of the storage material on several copper thin fins (in order to obtain a uniform temperature field inside the bed), an electrical heat source to simulate the tritium decay heat, a system of thermocouples for measuring the temperature field inside the bed, and good thermal isolation of the bed from the external environment. Within this design of the tritium storage bed, the tritium accounting method is based on determining the decay heat of tritium by measuring the temperature increase of the isolated storage bed. Experimental procedure consisted in measuring of temperature field inside the bed for few values of the power injected with the aid of electrical heat source. Data have been collected for few hours and the temperature increase rate was determined for each value of the power injected. Graphical representation of temperature rise versus injected powers was obtained. This accounting method of tritium inventory stored as metal tritide is a reliable solution for in-situ tritium accountability in a tritium handling facility. Several improvements can be done regarding the design of the storage bed in order to improve the measurement accuracy and to obtain a lower detection limit as for instance use of more accurate thermocouples or special

  4. Experimental design and analysis for piezoelectric circular actuators in flow control applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mane, Poorna; Mossi, Karla; Bryant, Robert

    2008-01-01

    Flow control can lead to saving millions of dollars in fuel costs each year by making an aircraft more efficient. Synthetic jets, a device for active flow control, operate by introducing small amounts of energy locally to achieve non-local changes in the flow field with large performance gains. These devices consist of a cavity with an oscillating diaphragm that divides it into active and passive sides. The active side has a small opening where a jet is formed, while the passive side does not directly participate in the fluidic jet. Over the years, research has shown that synthetic jet behavior is dependent on the active diaphragm and the cavity design; hence, the focus of this work. The performance of the synthetic jet is studied under various factors related to the diaphragm and the cavity geometry. Three diaphragms, manufactured from piezoelectric composites, were selected for this study: Bimorph, Thunder ® and Lipca. The overall factors considered are the driving signals, voltage, frequency, cavity height, orifice size, and passive cavity pressure. Using the average maximum jet velocity as the response variable, these factors are individually studied for each actuator, and statistical analysis tools are used to select the relevant factors in the response variable. The factors are divided into two experimental fractional factorial design matrices, with five and four factors, respectively. Both experiments are chosen to be of resolution V, where main factors are confounded with three-factor interactions. In the first experimental design, the results show that frequency is not a significant factor, while waveform is significant for all the actuators. In addition, the magnitude of the regression coefficients suggests that a model that includes the diaphragm as a factor may be possible. These results are valid within the ranges tested, that is low frequencies and sawtooth and sine waveform as driving signals. In the second experimental design, cavity dimensions are

  5. The tragedy of the commons revisited: the importance of group decision-making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gillet, J.; Schram, A.; Sonnemans, J.

    2007-01-01

    We use a laboratory experiment to compare the way groups and individuals behave in an inter-temporal common pool dilemma. The experimental design distinguishes between a non-strategic problem where players (individuals or groups of three) make decisions without interaction and a strategic part where

  6. Process synthesis, design and analysis using a process-group contribution method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kumar Tula, Anjan; Eden, Mario R.; Gani, Rafiqul

    2015-01-01

    ) techniques. The fundamental pillars of this framework are the definition and use of functional process-groups (building blocks) representing a wide range of process operations, flowsheet connectivity rules to join the process-groups to generate all the feasible flowsheet alternatives and flowsheet property...... models like energy consumption, atom efficiency, environmental impact to evaluate the performance of the generated alternatives. In this way, a list of feasible flowsheets are quickly generated, screened and selected for further analysis. Since the flowsheet is synthesized and the operations......This paper describes the development and application of a process-group contribution method to model, simulate and synthesize chemical processes. Process flowsheets are generated in the same way as atoms or groups of atoms are combined to form molecules in computer aided molecular design (CAMD...

  7. SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN OF GIS WEB SERVICE AGGREGATION BASED ON SERVICE GROUP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-C. Liu

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Based on the analysis of research status of domestic and international GIS web service aggregation and development tendency of public platform of GIS web service, the paper designed software architecture of GIS web service aggregation based on GIS web service group. Firstly, using heterogeneous GIS services model, the software architecture converted a variety of heterogeneous services to a unified interface of GIS services, and divided different types of GIS services into different service groups referring to description of GIS services. Secondly, a service aggregation process model was designed. This model completed the task of specific service aggregation instance, by automatically selecting member GIS Web services in the same service group. Dynamic capabilities and automatic adaptation of GIS Web services aggregation process were achieved. Thirdly, this paper designed a service evaluation model of GIS web service aggregation based on service group from three aspects, i.e. GIS Web Service itself, networking conditions and service consumer. This model implemented effective quality evaluation and performance monitoring of GIS web service aggregation. It could be used to guide the execution, monitor and service selection of aggregation process. Therefore, robustness of aggregated GIS web service was improved. Finally, the software architecture has been widely used in public platform of GIS web service and a number of geo-spatial framework constructions for digital city in Sichuan Province, and aggregated various GIS web services such as World Map(National Public Platform of Geo-spatial Service, ArcGIS, SuperMap, MapGIS, NewMap etc. Applications of items showed that this software architecture was practicability.

  8. Teaching in Cyberspace: Online versus Traditional Instruction Using a Waiting-List Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poirier, Christopher R.; Feldman, Robert S.

    2004-01-01

    To test the effectiveness of an online introductory psychology course, we randomly assigned students to a large, traditional course or to an online course from a population of students who indicated that either course type was acceptable using a "waiting list" experimental design. Students in the online course performed better on exams and equally…

  9. Experimental design for reflection measurements of highly reactive liquid or solid substances with application to liquid sodium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, S.H.; Gossler, A.A.

    1980-01-01

    This technical report describes the experimental part of a program on thermal radiation properties of reactor materials. A versatile goniometer system with associated electronic components and mechanical instruments has been assembled. It is designed to measure spectral, specular reflectances of highly reactive liquid or solid substances over a spectral range of 0.3 μ to 9 μ and incidence angles of 12 0 to 30 0 off the normal direction. The capability of measuring reflectances of liquid substances clearly distinguishes this experimental design from conventional systems which are applicable only to solid substances. This design has been used to measure the spectral, specular reflectance of liquid sodium and preliminary results obtained are compared with those of solid sodium measured by other investigators

  10. An experimental school prototype: Integrating 3rs (reduce, reuse & recycle concept into architectural design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kong Seng Yeap

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The authors conducted a design project to examine the use of school as an ecological learning hub for children. Specifically, this study explores the ecological innovations that transform physical environment into three-dimensional textbooks for environmental education. A series of design workshops were carried out to gain interdisciplinary input for ecological school design. The findings suggest to integrate the concept of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle into the physical environment. As a result, an experimental school prototype is developed. It represents a series of recommendations that are rendered by novel ideas through the amalgamation of architecture, ecology and education. These findings promote the development of sustainable and interactive learning spaces through cross-disciplinary investigations in school architecture. Designers and practitioners interested in educational facilities design would find this article useful.

  11. Fast Synthesis of Gibbsite Nanoplates and Process Optimization using Box-Behnken Experimental Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Xianwen; Graham, Trenton R.; Pearce, Carolyn I.; Mehdi, Beata L.; N' Diaye, Alpha T.; Kerisit, Sebastien N.; Browning, Nigel D.; Clark, Sue B.; Rosso, Kevin M.

    2017-10-26

    Developing the ability to synthesize compositionally and morphologically well-defined gibbsite particles at the nanoscale with high yield is an ongoing need that has not yet achieved the level of rational design. Here we report optimization of a clean inorganic synthesis route based on statistical experimental design examining the influence of Al(OH)3 gel precursor concentration, pH, and aging time at temperature. At 80 oC, the optimum synthesis conditions of gel concentration at 0.5 M, pH at 9.2, and time at 72 h maximized the reaction yield up to ~87%. The resulting gibbsite product is composed of highly uniform euhedral hexagonal nanoplates within a basal plane diameter range of 200-400 nm. The independent roles of key system variables in the growth mechanism are considered. On the basis of these optimized experimental conditions, the synthesis procedure, which is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly, has the potential for mass production scale-up of high quality gibbsite material for various fundamental research and industrial applications.

  12. Intentional Teaching, Intentional Scholarship: Applying Backward Design Principles in a Faculty Writing Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linder, Kathryn E.; Cooper, Frank Rudy; McKenzie, Elizabeth M.; Raesch, Monika; Reeve, Patricia A.

    2014-01-01

    Backward design is a course creation method that encourages teachers to identify their goals for student understanding and measurable objectives for learning from the outset. In this article we explore the application of backward design to the production of scholarly articles. Specifically, we report on a writing group program that encourages…

  13. Experimental analysis of ratchetting in elbows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acker, D.; Touboul, F.; Brouard, D.

    1991-01-01

    Despite of their apparent simplicity, elbows or curved tubes are one of the most tested and analyzed structures to the last years when a large effort has been done by CEA in the framework of the European Structural Integrity Working Group in order to reassess the RCC-MR (1985) piping design rules for elbows and straight parts (TOUBOUL (1988-1989)). It is impossible to mention all the authors and an extensive bibliography has been done by BENDJEDIDIA (1987). But nobody in our knowledge has taken care in experimental validation of design rules against ratcheting. With such objectives, an experimental test program has been performed at CEA, in order to appraise the design methods based on shakedown model like 3 S m rule used by ASME section III (1989) in USA or RCC-M (1988) in FRANCE, or based on the efficiency Diagram used by the french design code for Fast Breeder reactors RCC-MR (1985). The first results were published by M. BENDJEDIDIA (1987). They have been completed by additional tests and improved by a better material characterisation

  14. Experimental design and Bayesian networks for enhancement of delta-endotoxin production by Bacillus thuringiensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ennouri, Karim; Ayed, Rayda Ben; Hassen, Hanen Ben; Mazzarello, Maura; Ottaviani, Ennio

    2015-12-01

    Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a Gram-positive bacterium. The entomopathogenic activity of Bt is related to the existence of the crystal consisting of protoxins, also called delta-endotoxins. In order to optimize and explain the production of delta-endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, we studied seven medium components: soybean meal, starch, KH₂PO₄, K₂HPO₄, FeSO₄, MnSO₄, and MgSO₄and their relationships with the concentration of delta-endotoxins using an experimental design (Plackett-Burman design) and Bayesian networks modelling. The effects of the ingredients of the culture medium on delta-endotoxins production were estimated. The developed model showed that different medium components are important for the Bacillus thuringiensis fermentation. The most important factors influenced the production of delta-endotoxins are FeSO₄, K2HPO₄, starch and soybean meal. Indeed, it was found that soybean meal, K₂HPO₄, KH₂PO₄and starch also showed positive effect on the delta-endotoxins production. However, FeSO4 and MnSO4 expressed opposite effect. The developed model, based on Bayesian techniques, can automatically learn emerging models in data to serve in the prediction of delta-endotoxins concentrations. The constructed model in the present study implies that experimental design (Plackett-Burman design) joined with Bayesian networks method could be used for identification of effect variables on delta-endotoxins variation.

  15. Load and resistance factor design of bridge foundations accounting for pile group-soil interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-01

    Pile group foundations are used in most foundation solutions for transportation structures. Rigorous and reliable pile design methods are : required to produce designs whose level of safety (probability of failure) is known. By utilizing recently dev...

  16. Design considerations for ITER [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor] toroidal field coils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalsi, S.S.; Lousteau, D.C.; Miller, J.R.

    1987-01-01

    The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a new tokamak design project with joint participation from Europe, Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and the United States. This paper describes a magnetic and mechanical design methodology for toroidal field (TF) coils that employs Nb/sub 3/Sn superconductor technology. Coil winding is sized by using conductor concepts developed for the US TIBER concept. The nuclear heating generated during operation is removed from the windings by helium flowing through the conductor. The heat in the coil case is removed through a separate cooling circuit operating at approximately 20 K. Manifold concepts are presented for the complete coil cooling system. Also included are concepts for the coil structural arrangement. The effects of in-plane and out-of-plane loads are included in the design considerations for the windings and case. Concepts are presented for reacting these loads with a minimum amount of additional structural material. Concepts discussed in this paper could be considered for the ITER TF coils. 6 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

  17. Design and adjustment on test bed of replacing subassembly machine control system for China experimental fast reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong Shengguo; Ma Hongsheng; Zhao Lixia

    2008-01-01

    The present research concerns in the design and adjustment of replacing sub- assembly machine control system of China Experimental Fast Reactor. The design of replacing subassembly machine control system adopts some electric equipments, such as programmable controllers, digital DC drivers. The designed control system was adjusted on the test bed. The results indicate that the operation of the control system is steady and reliable, and designed control system can meet the needs of the design specification. (authors)

  18. Design of experimental system for supercritical CO2 fracturing under confining pressure conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, H.; Lu, Q.; Li, X.; Yang, B.; Zheng, Y.; Shi, L.; Shi, X.

    2018-03-01

    Supercritical CO2 has the characteristics of low viscosity, high diffusion and zero surface tension, and it is considered as a new fluid for non-polluting and non-aqueous fracturing which can be used for shale gas development. Fracturing refers to a method of utilizing the high-pressure fluid to generate fractures in the rock formation so as to improve the oil and gas flow conditions and increase the oil and gas production. In this article, a new type of experimental system for supercritical CO2 fracturing under confining pressure conditions is designed, which is based on characteristics of supercritical CO2, shale reservoir and down-hole environment. The experimental system consists of three sub-systems, including supercritical CO2 generation system, supercritical CO2 fracturing system and data analysis system. It can be used to simulate supercritical CO2 fracturing under geo-stress conditions, thus to study the rock initiation pressure, the formation of the rock fractures, fractured surface morphology and so on. The experimental system has successfully carried out a series of supercritical CO2 fracturing experiments. The experimental results confirm the feasibility of the experimental system and the high efficiency of supercritical CO2 in fracturing tight rocks.

  19. The Impact of Diagnostic Code Misclassification on Optimizing the Experimental Design of Genetic Association Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven J. Schrodi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Diagnostic codes within electronic health record systems can vary widely in accuracy. It has been noted that the number of instances of a particular diagnostic code monotonically increases with the accuracy of disease phenotype classification. As a growing number of health system databases become linked with genomic data, it is critically important to understand the effect of this misclassification on the power of genetic association studies. Here, I investigate the impact of this diagnostic code misclassification on the power of genetic association studies with the aim to better inform experimental designs using health informatics data. The trade-off between (i reduced misclassification rates from utilizing additional instances of a diagnostic code per individual and (ii the resulting smaller sample size is explored, and general rules are presented to improve experimental designs.

  20. Design of Experimental Suspended Footbridge with Deck Made of UHPC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blank Marek

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the static and dynamic design of experimental footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists in the municipality Lužec nad Vltavou in Czech Republic, Europe. This work aims to familiarize the reader with calculations carried out and the results obtained, describing the static and dynamic properties of proposed footbridge. The construction of footbridge is designed as a suspended structure with prestressed bridge deck consisting of prefabricated UHPC panels and reversed “V” shaped steel pylon with height of approximately 40 meters. The deck is anchored using 24 steel hangers in one row in a steel pylon - 17 ropes in the main span and 7 cables on the other side. Range of the main span is 99.18 meters and the secondary span is 31.9 m. Deck width is 4.5 meters with 3.0 meters passing space. The bridge is designed for the possibility of passage of vehicles weighting up to 3.5 tons. Deck panels are made of UHPC with reinforcement. At the edge of the bridge on the side of the shorter span the bridge deck is firmly connected with abutment and on the other deck it is stored using a pair of sliding bearings. The utilization of the excellent properties of UHPC allows to design a very thin and lightweight construction of the deck, which could not be achieved with the use of normal concrete.

  1. The Cornell field-reversed ion ring experiment FIREX: experimental design and first results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podulka, W.J.; Greenly, J.B.; Anderson, D.E.; Glidden, S.C.; Hammer, D.A.; Omelchenko, Yu.A.; Sudan, R.N.

    1996-01-01

    The goal of FIREX (Field-reversed Ion Ring EXperiment) is to produce a fully field-reversed ring with 1 MeV protons. Such a ring requires about (2-3) x 10 17 protons, or 30-50 mC of charge. This charge is to be injected as an annular proton beam through a suitable magnetic cusp configuration to produce a compact ring. The critical design issues for the ion beam accelerator are described. First experimental results of ion diode operation indicate that the design is capable of producing the required beam parameters. (author). 4 figs., 4 refs

  2. The Cornell field-reversed ion ring experiment FIREX: experimental design and first results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Podulka, W J; Greenly, J B; Anderson, D E; Glidden, S C; Hammer, D A; Omelchenko, Yu A; Sudan, R N [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). Laboratory of Plasma Studies

    1997-12-31

    The goal of FIREX (Field-reversed Ion Ring EXperiment) is to produce a fully field-reversed ring with 1 MeV protons. Such a ring requires about (2-3) x 10{sup 17} protons, or 30-50 mC of charge. This charge is to be injected as an annular proton beam through a suitable magnetic cusp configuration to produce a compact ring. The critical design issues for the ion beam accelerator are described. First experimental results of ion diode operation indicate that the design is capable of producing the required beam parameters. (author). 4 figs., 4 refs.

  3. Experimental design and estimation of growth rate distributions in size-structured shrimp populations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banks, H T; Davis, Jimena L; Ernstberger, Stacey L; Hu, Shuhua; Artimovich, Elena; Dhar, Arun K

    2009-01-01

    We discuss inverse problem results for problems involving the estimation of probability distributions using aggregate data for growth in populations. We begin with a mathematical model describing variability in the early growth process of size-structured shrimp populations and discuss a computational methodology for the design of experiments to validate the model and estimate the growth-rate distributions in shrimp populations. Parameter-estimation findings using experimental data from experiments so designed for shrimp populations cultivated at Advanced BioNutrition Corporation are presented, illustrating the usefulness of mathematical and statistical modeling in understanding the uncertainty in the growth dynamics of such populations

  4. Fundamental conceptual design of the experimental multi-purpose high-temperature gas-cooled reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimokawa, Junichi; Yasuno, Takehiko; Yasukawa, Shigeru; Mitake, Susumu; Miyamoto, Yoshiaki

    1975-06-01

    The fundamental conceptual design of the experimental multi-purpose very high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (experimental VHTR of thermal output 50 MW with reactor outlet-gas temperature 1,000 0 C) has been carried out to provide the operation modes of the system consisting of the reactor and the heat-utilization system, including characteristics and performance of the components and safety of the plant system. For the heat-utilization system of the plant, heat distribution, temperature condition, cooling system constitution, and the containment facility are specified. For the operation of plant, testing capability of the reactor and controlability of the system are taken into consideration. Detail design is made of the fuel element, reactor core, reactivity control and pressure vessel, and also the heat exchanger, steam reformer, steam generator, helium circulator, helium-gas turbine, and helium-gas purification, fuel handling, and engineered safety systems. Emphasis is placed on providing the increase of the reactor outlet-gas temperature. Fuel element design is directed to the prismatic graphite blocks of hexagonal cross-section accommodating the hollow or tubular fuel pins sheathed in graphite sleeve. The reactor core is composed of 73 fuel columns in 7 stages, concerning the reference design MK-II. Orificing is made in the upper portion of core; one orifice for every 7 fuel columns. Average core power density is 2.5 watts/cm 3 . Fuel temperature is kept below 1,300 0 C in rated power. The main components, i.e. pressure vessel, reformer, gas turbine and intermediate heat exchanger are designed in detail; the IHX is of a double-shell and helically-wound tube coils, the reformer is of a byonet tube type, and the turbine-compressor unit is of an axial flow type (turbine in 6 stages and compressor in 16 stages). (auth.)

  5. Design and Experimental Study of an Over-Under TBCC Exhaust System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mo, Jianwei; Xu, Jinglei; Zhang, Liuhuan

    2014-01-01

    Turbine-based combined-cycle (TBCC) propulsion systems have been a topic of research as a means for more efficient flight at supersonic and hypersonic speeds. The present study focuses on the fundamental physics of the complex flow in the TBCC exhaust system during the transition mode as the turbine exhaust is shut off and the ramjet exhaust is increased. A TBCC exhaust system was designed using methods of characteristics (MOC) and subjected to experimental and computational study. The main objectives of the study were: (1) to identify the interactions between the two exhaust jet streams during the transition mode phase and their effects on the whole flow-field structure; (2) to determine and verify the aerodynamic performance of the over-under TBCC exhaust nozzle; and (3) to validate the simulation ability of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software according to the experimental conditions. Static pressure taps and Schlieren apparatus were employed to obtain the wall pressure distributions and flow-field structures. Steady-state tests were performed with the ramjet nozzle cowl at six different positions at which the turbine flow path were half closed and fully opened, respectively. Methods of CFD were used to simulate the exhaust flow and they complemented the experimental study by providing greater insight into the details of the flow field and a means of verifying the experimental results. Results indicated that the flow structure was complicated because the two exhaust jet streams interacted with each other during the exhaust system mode transition. The exhaust system thrust coefficient varied from 0.9288 to 0.9657 during the process. The CFD simulation results agree well with the experimental data, which demonstrated that the CFD methods were effective in evaluating the aerodynamic performance of the TBCC exhaust system during the mode transition.

  6. LASL experimental engineered waste burial facility: design considerations and preliminary plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DePoorter, G.L.

    1980-01-01

    The LASL Experimental Engineered Waste Burial Facility is a part of the National Low-Level Waste Management Program on Shallow-Land Burial Technology. It is a test facility where basic information can be obtained on the processes that occur in shallow-land burial operations and where new concepts for shallow-land burial can be tested on an accelerated basis on an appropriate scale. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the factors considered in the design of the facility and to present a preliminary description of the experiments that are initially planned. This will be done by discussing waste management philosophies, the purposes of the facility in the context of the waste management philosophy for the facility, and the design considerations, and by describing the experiments initially planned for inclusion in the facility, and the facility site

  7. Experimental design for optimizing MALDI-TOF-MS analysis of palladium complexes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakić-Kostić Tijana M.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents optimization of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI time-of-flight (TOF mass spectrometer (MS instrumental parameters for the analysis of chloro(2,2'',2"-terpyridinepalladium(II chloride dihydrate complex applying design of experiments methodology (DoE. This complex is of interest for potential use in the cancer therapy. DoE methodology was proved to succeed in optimization of many complex analytical problems. However, it has been poorly used for MALDI-TOF-MS optimization up to now. The theoretical mathematical relationships which explain the influence of important experimental factors (laser energy, grid voltage and number of laser shots on the selected responses (signal to noise – S/N ratio and the resolution – R of the leading peak is established. The optimal instrumental settings providing maximal S/N and R are identified and experimentally verified. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 172052 and Grant no. 172011

  8. Design, Simulation and Experimental Investigation of a Solar System Based on PV Panels and PVT Collectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annamaria Buonomano

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents numerical and experimental analyses aimed at evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of photovoltaic/thermal (PVT collectors. An experimental setup was purposely designed and constructed in order to compare the electrical performance of a PVT solar field with the one achieved by an identical solar field consisting of conventional photovoltaic (PV panels. The experimental analysis also aims at evaluating the potential advantages of PVT vs. PV in terms of enhancement of electrical efficiency and thermal energy production. The installed experimental set-up includes four flat polycrystalline silicon PV panels and four flat unglazed polycrystalline silicon PVT collectors. The total electrical power and area of the solar field are 2 kWe and 13 m2, respectively. The experimental set-up is currently installed at the company AV Project Ltd., located in Avellino (Italy. This study also analyzes the system from a numerical point of view, including a thermo-economic dynamic simulation model for the design and the assessment of energy performance and economic profitability of the solar systems consisting of glazed PVT and PV collectors. The experimental setup was modelled and partly simulated in TRNSYS environment. The simulation model was useful to analyze efficiencies and temperatures reached by such solar technologies, by taking into account the reference technology of PVTs (consisting of glazed collectors as well as to compare the numerical data obtained by dynamic simulations with the gathered experimental results for the PV technology. The numerical analysis shows that the PVT global efficiency is about 26%. Conversely, from the experimental point of view, the average thermal efficiency of PVT collectors is around 13% and the electrical efficiencies of both technologies are almost coincident and equal to 15%.

  9. The Experimental Research on E-Learning Instructional Design Model Based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Xianzhong; Wang, Feng; Zheng, Zhongmei

    The paper reports an educational experiment on the e-Learning instructional design model based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory, the experiment were made to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of the model in promoting the learning quality in ill-structured domain. The study performed the experiment on two groups of students: one group learned through the system designed by the model and the other learned by the traditional method. The results of the experiment indicate that the e-Learning designed through the model is helpful to promote the intrinsic motivation, learning quality in ill-structured domains, ability to resolve ill-structured problem and creative thinking ability of the students.

  10. The Land Use Model Intercomparison Project (LUMIP) contribution to CMIP6: rationale and experimental design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, David M.; Hurtt, George C.; Arneth, Almut; Brovkin, Victor; Calvin, Kate V.; Jones, Andrew D.; Jones, Chris D.; Lawrence, Peter J.; de Noblet-Ducoudré, Nathalie; Pongratz, Julia; Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Shevliakova, Elena

    2016-09-01

    complementary to simulations requested in the CMIP6 DECK and historical simulations and other CMIP6 MIPs including ScenarioMIP, C4MIP, LS3MIP, and DAMIP. LUMIP includes a two-phase experimental design. Phase one features idealized coupled and land-only model simulations designed to advance process-level understanding of LULCC impacts on climate, as well as to quantify model sensitivity to potential land-cover and land-use change. Phase two experiments focus on quantification of the historic impact of land use and the potential for future land management decisions to aid in mitigation of climate change. This paper documents these simulations in detail, explains their rationale, outlines plans for analysis, and describes a new subgrid land-use tile data request for selected variables (reporting model output data separately for primary and secondary land, crops, pasture, and urban land-use types). It is essential that modeling groups participating in LUMIP adhere to the experimental design as closely as possible and clearly report how the model experiments were executed.

  11. Development of a fast, lean and agile direct pelletization process using experimental design techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Politis, Stavros N; Rekkas, Dimitrios M

    2017-04-01

    A novel hot melt direct pelletization method was developed, characterized and optimized, using statistical thinking and experimental design tools. Mixtures of carnauba wax (CW) and HPMC K100M were spheronized using melted gelucire 50-13 as a binding material (BM). Experimentation was performed sequentially; a fractional factorial design was set up initially to screen the factors affecting the process, namely spray rate, quantity of BM, rotor speed, type of rotor disk, lubricant-glidant presence, additional spheronization time, powder feeding rate and quantity. From the eight factors assessed, three were further studied during process optimization (spray rate, quantity of BM and powder feeding rate), at different ratios of the solid mixture of CW and HPMC K100M. The study demonstrated that the novel hot melt process is fast, efficient, reproducible and predictable. Therefore, it can be adopted in a lean and agile manufacturing setting for the production of flexible pellet dosage forms with various release rates easily customized between immediate and modified delivery.

  12. Electrochemical production and use of free chlorine for pollutant removal: an experimental design approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonelli, Raissa; de Araújo, Karla Santos; Pires, Ricardo Francisco; Fornazari, Ana Luiza de Toledo; Granato, Ana Claudia; Malpass, Geoffroy Roger Pointer

    2017-10-28

    The present paper presents the study of (1) the optimization of electrochemical-free chlorine production using an experimental design approach, and (2) the application of the optimum conditions obtained for the application in photo-assisted electrochemical degradation of simulated textile effluent. In the experimental design the influence of inter-electrode gap, pH, NaCl concentration and current was considered. It was observed that the four variables studied are significant for the process, with NaCl concentration and current being the most significant variables for free chlorine production. The maximum free chlorine production was obtained at a current of 2.33 A and NaCl concentrations in 0.96 mol dm -3 . The application of the optimized conditions with simultaneous UV irradiation resulted in up to 83.1% Total Organic Carbon removal and 100% of colour removal over 180 min of electrolysis. The results indicate that a systematic (statistical) approach to the electrochemical treatment of pollutants can save time and reagents.

  13. Experimental investigation of undesired stable equilibria in pumpkin shape super-pressure balloon designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schur, W. W.

    2004-01-01

    Excess in skin material of a pneumatic envelope beyond what is required for minimum enclosure of a gas bubble is a necessary but by no means sufficient condition for the existence of multiple equilibrium configurations for that pneumatic envelope. The very design of structurally efficient super-pressure balloons of the pumpkin shape type requires such excess. Undesired stable equilibria in pumpkin shape balloons have been observed on experimental pumpkin shape balloons. These configurations contain regions with stress levels far higher than those predicted for the cyclically symmetric design configuration under maximum pressurization. Successful designs of pumpkin shape super-pressure balloons do not allow such undesired stable equilibria under full pressurization. This work documents efforts made so far and describes efforts still underway by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Balloon Program Office to arrive on guidance on the design of pumpkin shape super-pressure balloons that guarantee full and proper deployment.

  14. Left-turn phase: permissive, protected, or both? A quasi-experimental design in New York City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Li; Chen, Cynthia; Ewing, Reid

    2015-03-01

    The practice of left-turn phasing selection (permissive, protected-only, or both) varies from one locality to another. The literature evidence on this issue is equally mixed and insufficient. In this study, we evaluate the safety impacts of changing left-turn signal phasing from permissive to protected/permissive or protected-only at 68 intersections in New York City using a rigorous quasi-experimental design accompanied with regression modeling. Changes in police reported crashes including total crashes, multiple-vehicle crashes, left-turn crashes, pedestrian crashes and bicyclist crashes were compared between before period and after period for the treatment group and comparison group by means of negative binomial regression using a Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) technique. Confounding factors such as the built environment characteristics that were not controlled in comparison group selection are accounted for by this approach. The results show that the change of permissive left-turn signal phasing to protected/permissive or protected-only signal phasing does not result in a significant reduction in intersection crashes. Though the protected-only signal phasing does reduce the left-turn crashes and pedestrian crashes, this reduction was offset by a possible increase in over-taking crashes. These results suggest that left-turn phasing should not be treated as a universal solution that is always better than the permissive control for left-turn vehicles. The selection and implementation of left-turn signal phasing needs to be done carefully, considering potential trade-offs between safety and delay, and many other factors such as geometry, traffic flows and operations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. On the design of experimental separation processes for maximum accuracy in the estimation of their parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volkman, Y.

    1980-07-01

    The optimal design of experimental separation processes for maximum accuracy in the estimation of process parameters is discussed. The sensitivity factor correlates the inaccuracy of the analytical methods with the inaccuracy of the estimation of the enrichment ratio. It is minimized according to the design parameters of the experiment and the characteristics of the analytical method

  16. Experimental Designs Exercises and Solutions

    CERN Document Server

    Kabe, DG

    2007-01-01

    This volume provides a collection of exercises together with their solutions in design and analysis of experiments. The theoretical results, essential for understanding, are given first. These exercises have been collected during the authors teaching courses over a long period of time. These are particularly helpful to the students studying the design of experiments and instructors and researchers engaged in the teaching and research of design by experiment.

  17. A Strengths-Based Group Intervention for Women Who Experienced Child Sexual Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker-Williams, Hayley J.; Fouché, Ansie

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This study evaluated the benefits of a ''survivor to thriver'' strengths-based group intervention program to facilitate posttraumatic growth in women survivors of child sexual abuse. Method: A quasi-experimental, one group, pretest, posttest, time-delay design was employed using qualitative methods to evaluate the benefits of the…

  18. Physics design and experimental study of tokamak divertor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Jiancheng; Gao Qingdi; Yan Longwen; Wang Mingxu; Deng Baiquan; Zhang Fu; Zhang Nianman; Ran Hong; Cheng Fayin; Tang Yiwu; Chen Xiaoping

    2007-06-01

    The divertor configuration of HL-2A tokamak is optimized, and the plasma performance in divertor is simulated with B2-code. The effects of collisionality on plasma-wall transition in the scrape-off layer of divertor are investigated, high performances of the divertor plasma in HL-2A are simulated, and a quasi- stationary RS operation mode is established with the plasma controlled by LHCD and NBI. HL-2A tokamak has been successfully operated in divertor configuration. The major parameters: plasma current I p =320 kA, toroidal field B t =2.2 T, plasma discharger duration T d =1580 ms ware achieved at the end of 2004. The preliminary experimental researches of advanced diverter have been carried out. Design studies of divertor target plate for high power density fusion reactor have been carried out, especially, the physical processes on the surface of flowing liquid lithium target plate. The exploration research of improving divertor ash removal efficiency and reducing tritium inventory resulting from applying the RF ponderomotive force potential is studied. The optimization structure design studies of FEB-E reactor divertor are performed. High flux thermal shock experiments were carried on tungsten and carbon based materials. Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) method was employed to bond tungsten to copper alloys. Electron beam simulated thermal fatigue tests were also carried out to W/Cu bondings. Thermal desorption and surface modification of He + implanted into tungsten have been studied. (authors)

  19. An experimental design method leading to chemical Turing patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horváth, Judit; Szalai, István; De Kepper, Patrick

    2009-05-08

    Chemical reaction-diffusion patterns often serve as prototypes for pattern formation in living systems, but only two isothermal single-phase reaction systems have produced sustained stationary reaction-diffusion patterns so far. We designed an experimental method to search for additional systems on the basis of three steps: (i) generate spatial bistability by operating autoactivated reactions in open spatial reactors; (ii) use an independent negative-feedback species to produce spatiotemporal oscillations; and (iii) induce a space-scale separation of the activatory and inhibitory processes with a low-mobility complexing agent. We successfully applied this method to a hydrogen-ion autoactivated reaction, the thiourea-iodate-sulfite (TuIS) reaction, and noticeably produced stationary hexagonal arrays of spots and parallel stripes of pH patterns attributed to a Turing bifurcation. This method could be extended to biochemical reactions.

  20. Diverse Effects of a Seven-Year Experimental Grassland Fragmentation on Major Invertebrate Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braschler, Brigitte; Baur, Bruno

    2016-01-01

    Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of biodiversity loss, but observed effects vary and may depend on the group examined. Time since fragmentation may explain some differences between taxonomical groups, as some species and thus species composition respond with a delay to changes in their environment. Impacts of drivers of global change may thus be underestimated in short-term studies. In our study we experimentally fragmented nutrient-poor dry calcareous grasslands and studied the response of species richness, individual density and species composition of various groups of invertebrates (gastropods, ants, ground beetles, rove beetles, orthoptera, spiders, woodlice) in 12 small (1.5 m * 1.5 m) and 12 large (4.5 m * 4.5 m) fragments and their corresponding control plots after 7 years. We further examined responses to fragmentation in relation to body size and habitat preferences. Responses to fragmentation varied between taxonomical groups. While spider species richness and individual density were lower in fragments, the opposite was true for an orthopteran species and woodlice. Species composition and β-diversity differed between fragments and control plots for some groups. However, the interaction treatment*plot size was rarely significant. Species with high occupancy rates in undisturbed control plots responded more negatively to the fragmentation, while species with large body size were relatively more abundant in fragments in some groups. No effect of the fragmentation was found for ants, which may have the longest lag times because of long-lived colonies. However, relationships between abundance and the species' preferences for environmental factors affected by edge effects indicate that ant diversity too may be affected in the longer-term. Our results show the importance of considering different groups in conservation management in times of widespread fragmentation of landscapes. While species richness may respond slowly, changes in abundance related to

  1. A Field Experimental Design of a Strengths-Based Training to Overcome Academic Procrastination: Short- and Long-Term Effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lennart Visser

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study reports on the effect of a newly developed 4-week strengths-based training approach to overcome academic procrastination, given to first-year elementary teacher education students (N = 54. The training was based on a strengths-based approach, in which elements of the cognitive behavioral approach were also used. The purpose of the training was to promote awareness of the personal strengths of students who experience academic procrastination regularly and to teach them how to use their personal strengths in situations in which they usually tend to procrastinate. With a pretest-posttest control group design (two experimental groups: n = 31, control group: n = 23, the effect of the training on academic procrastination was studied after 1, 11, and 24 weeks. Results of a one-way analysis of covariance revealed a significant short-term effect of the training. In the long term (after 11 and 24 weeks, the scores for academic procrastination for the intervention groups remained stable, whereas the scores for academic procrastination for the control group decreased to the same level as those of the intervention groups. The findings of this study suggest that a strengths-based approach can be helpful to students at an early stage of their academic studies to initiate their individual process of dealing with academic procrastination. The findings for the long term show the importance of measuring the outcomes of an intervention not only shortly after the intervention but also in the long term. Further research is needed to find out how the short-term effect can be maintained in the long-term.

  2. A Field Experimental Design of a Strengths-Based Training to Overcome Academic Procrastination: Short- and Long-Term Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visser, Lennart; Schoonenboom, Judith; Korthagen, Fred A J

    2017-01-01

    This study reports on the effect of a newly developed 4-week strengths-based training approach to overcome academic procrastination, given to first-year elementary teacher education students ( N = 54). The training was based on a strengths-based approach, in which elements of the cognitive behavioral approach were also used. The purpose of the training was to promote awareness of the personal strengths of students who experience academic procrastination regularly and to teach them how to use their personal strengths in situations in which they usually tend to procrastinate. With a pretest-posttest control group design (two experimental groups: n = 31, control group: n = 23), the effect of the training on academic procrastination was studied after 1, 11, and 24 weeks. Results of a one-way analysis of covariance revealed a significant short-term effect of the training. In the long term (after 11 and 24 weeks), the scores for academic procrastination for the intervention groups remained stable, whereas the scores for academic procrastination for the control group decreased to the same level as those of the intervention groups. The findings of this study suggest that a strengths-based approach can be helpful to students at an early stage of their academic studies to initiate their individual process of dealing with academic procrastination. The findings for the long term show the importance of measuring the outcomes of an intervention not only shortly after the intervention but also in the long term. Further research is needed to find out how the short-term effect can be maintained in the long-term.

  3. Ice condenser experimental plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kannberg, L.D.; Piepel, G.F.; Owczarski, P.C.; Liebetrau, A.M.

    1986-01-01

    An experimental plan is being developed to validate the computer code ICEDF. The code was developed to estimate the extent of aerosol retention in the ice compartments of pressurized water reactor ice condenser containment systems during severe accidents. The development of the experimental plan began with review of available information on the conditions under which the code will be applied. Computer-generated estimates of thermohydraulic and aerosol conditions entering the ice condenser were evaluated and along with other information, used to generate design criteria. The design criteria have been used for preliminary test assembly design and for generation of statistical test designs. Consideration of the phenomena to be evaluated in the testing program, as well as equipment and measurement limitations, have led to changes in the design criteria and to subsequent changes in the test assembly design and statistical test design. The overall strategy in developing the experimental plan includes iterative generation and evaluation of candidate test designs using computer codes for statistical test design and ICEDF for estimation of experimental results. Estimates of experimental variability made prior to actual testing will be verified by replicate testing at preselected design points

  4. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Engineering Design Activities (EDA). Agreement and protocol 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This document contains protocol 1 to the agreement among the European Atomic Energy Community, the government of Japan, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the Government of the United States of America on cooperation in the engineering design activities for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, which activities shall be conducted under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency

  5. Optimization of natural lipstick formulation based on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) seed oil using D-optimal mixture experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamairudin, Norsuhaili; Gani, Siti Salwa Abd; Masoumi, Hamid Reza Fard; Hashim, Puziah

    2014-10-16

    The D-optimal mixture experimental design was employed to optimize the melting point of natural lipstick based on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) seed oil. The influence of the main lipstick components-pitaya seed oil (10%-25% w/w), virgin coconut oil (25%-45% w/w), beeswax (5%-25% w/w), candelilla wax (1%-5% w/w) and carnauba wax (1%-5% w/w)-were investigated with respect to the melting point properties of the lipstick formulation. The D-optimal mixture experimental design was applied to optimize the properties of lipstick by focusing on the melting point with respect to the above influencing components. The D-optimal mixture design analysis showed that the variation in the response (melting point) could be depicted as a quadratic function of the main components of the lipstick. The best combination of each significant factor determined by the D-optimal mixture design was established to be pitaya seed oil (25% w/w), virgin coconut oil (37% w/w), beeswax (17% w/w), candelilla wax (2% w/w) and carnauba wax (2% w/w). With respect to these factors, the 46.0 °C melting point property was observed experimentally, similar to the theoretical prediction of 46.5 °C. Carnauba wax is the most influential factor on this response (melting point) with its function being with respect to heat endurance. The quadratic polynomial model sufficiently fit the experimental data.

  6. Optimization of Natural Lipstick Formulation Based on Pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus Seed Oil Using D-Optimal Mixture Experimental Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norsuhaili Kamairudin

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The D-optimal mixture experimental design was employed to optimize the melting point of natural lipstick based on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus seed oil. The influence of the main lipstick components—pitaya seed oil (10%–25% w/w, virgin coconut oil (25%–45% w/w, beeswax (5%–25% w/w, candelilla wax (1%–5% w/w and carnauba wax (1%–5% w/w—were investigated with respect to the melting point properties of the lipstick formulation. The D-optimal mixture experimental design was applied to optimize the properties of lipstick by focusing on the melting point with respect to the above influencing components. The D-optimal mixture design analysis showed that the variation in the response (melting point could be depicted as a quadratic function of the main components of the lipstick. The best combination of each significant factor determined by the D-optimal mixture design was established to be pitaya seed oil (25% w/w, virgin coconut oil (37% w/w, beeswax (17% w/w, candelilla wax (2% w/w and carnauba wax (2% w/w. With respect to these factors, the 46.0 °C melting point property was observed experimentally, similar to the theoretical prediction of 46.5 °C. Carnauba wax is the most influential factor on this response (melting point with its function being with respect to heat endurance. The quadratic polynomial model sufficiently fit the experimental data.

  7. Report on the NGS3 Working Group on Safeguards by Design For Aqueous Reprocessing Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, Shirley J.; Ehinger, Michael; Schanfein, Mark

    2011-02-01

    The objective of the Working Group on SBD for Aqueous Reprocessing Facilities was to provide recommendations, for facility operators and designers, which would aid in the coordination and integration of nuclear material accountancy and the safeguards requirements of all concerned parties - operators, state/regional authorities, and the IAEA. The recommendations, which are to be provided to the IAEA, are intended to assist in optimizing facility design and operating parameters to ensure the safeguardability of the facility while minimizing impact on the operations. The one day Working Group session addressed a wide range of design and operating topics.

  8. Review of the conceptual design of a Doublet fusion experimental power reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, C.C.

    1976-01-01

    The results of a two-year, conceptual design study of a fusion experimental power reactor (EPR) are presented. For this study, the primary objectives of the EPR are to obtain plasma ignition conditions and produce net electrical power. The design features a Doublet plasma configuration with a major radius of 4.5 m. The average plasma beta is 10 percent which yields a thermonuclear power level of 410 MW during a 105-sec burn period. With a duty factor of 0.84, the gross electrical output is 124 MW(e) while the net output is 37 MW(e). The design features a 25-cm-thick, helium-cooled, modular, stainless-steel blanket with a 1-cm-thick, silicon carbide first wall. Sufficient shielding is provided to permit contact maintenance outside the shield envelope within 24 hr after shutdown. An overall plant concept has been developed including a superheated steam cycle power conversion system. Preliminary cost estimates and construction schedules have also been developed. 3 refs

  9. Aerospace Vehicle Design, Spacecraft Section. Volume 1: Project Groups 3-5

    Science.gov (United States)

    1989-01-01

    Three groups of student engineers in an aerospace vehicle design course present their designs for a vehicle that can be used to resupply the Space Station Freedom and provide an emergency crew return to earth capability. The vehicle's requirements include a lifetime that exceeds six years, low cost, the capability for withstanding pressurization, launch, orbit, and reentry hazards, and reliability. The vehicle's subsystems are analyzed. These subsystems are structures, communication and command data systems, attitude and articulation control, life support and crew systems, power and propulsion, reentry and recovery systems, and mission management, planning, and costing.

  10. Design and experimental characterization of a NiTi-based, high-frequency, centripetal peristaltic actuator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borlandelli, E; Scarselli, D; Bettini, P; Morandini, M; Sala, G; Quadrio, M; Nespoli, A; Rigamonti, D; Villa, E

    2015-01-01

    Development and experimental testing of a peristaltic device actuated by a single shape-memory NiTi wire are described. The actuator is designed to radially shrink a compliant silicone pipe, and must work on a sustained basis at an actuation frequency that is higher than those typical of NiTi actuators. Four rigid, aluminum-made circular sectors are sitting along the pipe circumference and provide the required NiTi wire housing. The aluminum assembly acts as geometrical amplifier of the wire contraction and as heat sink required to dissipate the thermal energy of the wire during the cooling phase. We present and discuss the full experimental investigation of the actuator performance, measured in terms of its ability to reduce the pipe diameter, at a sustained frequency of 1.5 Hz. Moreover, we investigate how the diameter contraction is affected by various design parameters as well as actuation frequencies up to 4 Hz. We manage to make the NiTi wire work at 3% in strain, cyclically providing the designed pipe wall displacement. The actuator performance is found to decay approximately linearly with actuation frequencies up to 4 Hz. Also, the interface between the wire and the aluminum parts is found to be essential in defining the functional performance of the actuator. (paper)

  11. Experimental facility design for study of fretting in steam generator tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balbiani, J.P.; Bergant, M.; Yawny, A.

    2012-01-01

    The design of an experimental facility for fretting wear testing of steam generator tubes under pressurized water up to 340 o C, is presented. The main component of the device consists in an autoclave which permits to recreate steam generator operating conditions. CAD CATIA V5R18, CAE ABAQUS and ASME Sec. VII Div. 1 (Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels) were used along the design process. The design of the autoclave included the pressure vessel itself and the necessary flanges and nozzles. In addition, an axial dynamic sealing system was designed to allow for actuation from outside the pressure boundary. Complementary, typical tube - support contact conditions were analyzed and the principal variables affecting their mutual interaction determined. In addition, a simple device which allows performing fretting wear testing on steam generator tubes in air at room temperature was fabricated and the feasibility of a quantitative assessment of different aspects related with the fretting induced damage was explored. Characterization techniques available at Centro Atomico Bariloche, like light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) and surface damage analysis by optic profilometry were shown to be appropriate for this aim. The designed facility will allow evaluating fretting damage of tubes - support combinations that might be used on the steam generator of the prototype reactor CAREM-25. It is also expected it could be applied to characterize fretting severity in other applications (nuclear fuel elements) (author)

  12. Experimental study of lithium free-surface flow for IFMIF target design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kondo, H.; Fujisato, A.; Yamaoka, N.; Inoue, S.; Miyamoto, S.; Iida, T.; Nakamura, H.; Ida, M.; Matushita, I.; Muroga, T.; Horiike, H.

    2006-01-01

    Lithium free-surface flow experiments to verify the design of IFMIF target have been carried out at Osaka University. The present report summarizes experimental results of surface phenomena, and cavitation characteristics of the loop, so as to try to apply these results to design parameters. Waves on the lithium flow surface is similar to that on water, and can be predicted by a linear stability theory. The wave amplitude is measured by an electro-contact probe. Surface roughness on a target nozzle, caused for example by attached chemical compounds and/or wastages by erosion and corrosion, can lead to a significant loss of target flow stability as well as surface wakes. The need of a polishing manipulator or exchange of the nozzle may be anticipated. Cavitation characteristic of the loop was measured by an accelerometer. From the results, a friction factor could be estimated fort he lithium flow

  13. Design of passive directional acoustic devices using Topology Optimization - from method to experimental validation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Rasmus Ellebæk; Fernandez Grande, Efren

    2016-01-01

    emission in two dimensions and is experimentally validated using three dimensional prints of the optimized designs. The emitted fields exhibit a level difference of at least 15 dB on axis relative to the off-axis directions, over frequency bands of approximately an octave. It is demonstrated to be possible...

  14. A theory-based educational intervention targeting nurses' attitudes and knowledge concerning cancer-related pain management: A study protocol of a quasi-experimental design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustafsson Markus

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pain is one of the most frequent problems among patients diagnosed with cancer. Despite the availability of effective pharmacological treatments, this group of patients often receives less than optimal treatment. Research into nurses' pain management highlights certain factors, such as lack of knowledge and attitudes and inadequate procedures for systematic pain assessment, as common barriers to effective pain management. However, educational interventions targeting nurses' pain management have shown promise. As cancer-related pain is also known to have a negative effect on vital aspects of the patient's life, as well as being commonly associated with problems such as sleep, fatigue, depression and anxiety, further development of knowledge within this area is warranted. Methods/design A quasi-experimental study design will be used to investigate whether the implementation of guidelines for systematic daily pain assessments following a theory-based educational intervention will result in an improvement in knowledge and attitude among nurses. A further aim is to investigate whether the intervention that targets nurses' behaviour will improve hospital patients' perception of pain. Data regarding nurses' knowledge and attitudes to pain (primary outcome, patient perception regarding pain (secondary outcome, together with socio-demographic variables, will be collected at baseline and at four weeks and 12 weeks following the intervention. Discussion Nursing care is nowadays acknowledged as an increasingly complicated activity and "nursing complexity is such that it can be seen as the quintessential complex intervention." To be able to change and improve clinical practice thus requires multiple points of attack appropriate to meet complex challenges. Consequently, we expect the theory-based intervention used in our quasi-experimental study to improve care as well as quality of life for this group of patients and we also envisage that

  15. A conceptual design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor for the Central Solenoid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heim, J.R.; Parker, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    Conceptual design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) superconducting magnet system is nearing completion by the ITER Design Team, and one of the Central Solenoid (CS) designs is presented. The CS part of this magnet system will be a vertical stack of eight modules, approximately 16 m high, each having a approximate dimensions of: 4.1-m o.d., 2.8-m i.d., 1.9-m h. The peak field at the bore is approximately 13.5 T. Cable-in-conduit conductor with Nb 3 Sn composite wire will be used to wind the coils. The overall coil fabrication will use the insulate-wind-react-impregnate method. Coil modules will be fabricated using double-pancake coils with all splice joints located in the low-field region on the outside of the coils. All coils will be structurally graded with high-strength steel reinforcement which is co-wound with the conductor. We describe details of the CS coil design and analysis

  16. Removal of thorium(IV) from aqueous solution by biosorption onto modified powdered waste sludge. Experimental design approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yunus Pamukoglu, M.; Mustafa Senyurt; Bulent Kirkan

    2017-01-01

    The biosorption of radioactive Th(IV) ions in the aqueous solutions onto the modified powdered waste sludge (MPWS) has been examined. In this context, the parameters affecting biosorption of Th(IV) from aqueous solutions has been examined by using MPWS biosorbent in Box Behnken statistical experimental design. The structure of MPWS biosorbent was characterized by using SEM and BET techniques. According to the experimental design results, MPWS and Th(IV) concentrations should be kept high to achieve the maximum efficiency in Th(IV) biosorption. On the other hand, MPWS, which is also used as a biosorbent, is an economical, effective and natural biosorbent. (author)

  17. Fast Bayesian experimental design: Laplace-based importance sampling for the expected information gain

    KAUST Repository

    Beck, Joakim

    2018-02-19

    In calculating expected information gain in optimal Bayesian experimental design, the computation of the inner loop in the classical double-loop Monte Carlo requires a large number of samples and suffers from underflow if the number of samples is small. These drawbacks can be avoided by using an importance sampling approach. We present a computationally efficient method for optimal Bayesian experimental design that introduces importance sampling based on the Laplace method to the inner loop. We derive the optimal values for the method parameters in which the average computational cost is minimized for a specified error tolerance. We use three numerical examples to demonstrate the computational efficiency of our method compared with the classical double-loop Monte Carlo, and a single-loop Monte Carlo method that uses the Laplace approximation of the return value of the inner loop. The first demonstration example is a scalar problem that is linear in the uncertain parameter. The second example is a nonlinear scalar problem. The third example deals with the optimal sensor placement for an electrical impedance tomography experiment to recover the fiber orientation in laminate composites.

  18. Fast Bayesian experimental design: Laplace-based importance sampling for the expected information gain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Joakim; Dia, Ben Mansour; Espath, Luis F. R.; Long, Quan; Tempone, Raúl

    2018-06-01

    In calculating expected information gain in optimal Bayesian experimental design, the computation of the inner loop in the classical double-loop Monte Carlo requires a large number of samples and suffers from underflow if the number of samples is small. These drawbacks can be avoided by using an importance sampling approach. We present a computationally efficient method for optimal Bayesian experimental design that introduces importance sampling based on the Laplace method to the inner loop. We derive the optimal values for the method parameters in which the average computational cost is minimized according to the desired error tolerance. We use three numerical examples to demonstrate the computational efficiency of our method compared with the classical double-loop Monte Carlo, and a more recent single-loop Monte Carlo method that uses the Laplace method as an approximation of the return value of the inner loop. The first example is a scalar problem that is linear in the uncertain parameter. The second example is a nonlinear scalar problem. The third example deals with the optimal sensor placement for an electrical impedance tomography experiment to recover the fiber orientation in laminate composites.

  19. Improvement of Iranian nurses' competence through professional portfolio: a quasi-experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahreini, Masoud; Moattari, Marzieh; Shahamat, Shohreh; Dobaradaran, Sina; Ravanipour, Mariam

    2013-03-01

    The aim of the study was to determine the effect of a portfolio-based professional development program on nurses' competence in a university hospital in Iran. A pre-test/post-test, controlled, quasi-experimental design was used. From the university hospital's 18 general wards, four wards were randomly selected. Two wards were randomly allocated as the experimental group (35 subjects) and two wards as the control group (38 subjects). Nurses in the experimental group participated in a 12-month portfolio-based professional development program and nurses in the control group participated in the routine professional development programs of their wards. The data were collected by the Nurse Competence Scale and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent and paired t-tests. After intervention, the average nurses' competence in the experimental group increased significantly (P professional portfolio is an effective tool for improving nurses' competence. The professional portfolios help nurses update their knowledge, skills, and competence towards their full role as nurses. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  20. An innovative magnetorheological damper for automotive suspension: from design to experimental characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sassi, Sadok; Cherif, Khaled; Mezghani, Lotfi; Thomas, Marc; Kotrane, Asma

    2005-08-01

    The development of a powerful new magnetorheological fluid (MRF), together with recent progress in the understanding of the behavior of such fluids, has convinced researchers and engineers that MRF dampers are among the most promising devices for semi-active automotive suspension vibration control, because of their large force capacity and their inherent ability to provide a simple, fast and robust interface between electronic controls and mechanical components. In this paper, theoretical and experimental studies are performed for the design, development and testing of a completely new MRF damper model that can be used for the semi-active control of automotive suspensions. The MR damper technology presented in this paper is based on a completely new approach where, in contrast to in the conventional solutions where the coil axis is usually superposed on the damper axis and where the inner cylindrical housing is part of the magnetic circuit, the coils are wound in a direction perpendicular to the damper axis. The paper investigates approaches to optimizing the dynamic response and provides experimental verification. Both experimental and theoretical results have shown that, if this particular model is filled with an 'MRF 336AG' MR fluid, it can provide large controllable damping forces that require only a small amount of energy. For a magnetizing system with four coils, the damping coefficient could be increased by up to three times for an excitation current of only 2 A. Such current could be reduced to less than 1 A if the magnetizing system used eight small cores. In this case, the magnetic field will be more powerful and more regularly distributed. In the presence of harmonic excitation, such a design will allow the optimum compromise between comfort and stability to be reached over different intervals of the excitation frequencies.

  1. Design considerations and experimental observations for the TAMU air-cooled reactor cavity cooling system for the VHTR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sulaiman, S. A., E-mail: shamsulamri@tamu.edu; Dominguez-Ontiveros, E. E., E-mail: elvisdom@tamu.edu; Alhashimi, T., E-mail: jbudd123@tamu.edu; Budd, J. L., E-mail: dubaiboy@tamu.edu; Matos, M. D., E-mail: mailgoeshere@gmail.com; Hassan, Y. A., E-mail: yhasssan@tamu.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX, 77843-3133 (United States)

    2015-04-29

    The Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) is a promising passive decay heat removal system for the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) to ensure reliability of the transfer of the core residual and decay heat to the environment under all off-normal circumstances. A small scale experimental test facility was constructed at Texas A and M University (TAMU) to study pertinent multifaceted thermal hydraulic phenomena in the air-cooled reactor cavity cooling system (RCCS) design based on the General Atomics (GA) concept for the Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (MHTGR). The TAMU Air-Cooled Experimental Test Facility is ⅛ scale from the proposed GA-MHTGR design. Groundwork for experimental investigations focusing into the complex turbulence mixing flow behavior inside the upper plenum is currently underway. The following paper illustrates some of the chief design considerations used in construction of the experimental test facility, complete with an outline of the planned instrumentation and data acquisition methods. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were carried out to furnish some insights on the overall behavior of the air flow in the system. CFD simulations assisted the placement of the flow measurement sensors location. Preliminary experimental observations of experiments at 120oC inlet temperature suggested the presence of flow reversal for cases involving single active riser at both 5 m/s and 2.25 m/s, respectively and four active risers at 2.25 m/s. Flow reversal may lead to thermal stratification inside the upper plenum by means of steady state temperature measurements. A Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experiment was carried out to furnish some insight on flow patterns and directions.

  2. Statistics in experimental design, preprocessing, and analysis of proteomics data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Klaus

    2011-01-01

    High-throughput experiments in proteomics, such as 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS), yield usually high-dimensional data sets of expression values for hundreds or thousands of proteins which are, however, observed on only a relatively small number of biological samples. Statistical methods for the planning and analysis of experiments are important to avoid false conclusions and to receive tenable results. In this chapter, the most frequent experimental designs for proteomics experiments are illustrated. In particular, focus is put on studies for the detection of differentially regulated proteins. Furthermore, issues of sample size planning, statistical analysis of expression levels as well as methods for data preprocessing are covered.

  3. Design and experimental study of a novel giant magnetostrictive actuator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xue, Guangming, E-mail: yy0youxia@163.com [Vehicle and Electrical Engineering Department, Ordnance Engineering College, Shijiazhuang, 050003 China (China); Zhang, Peilin; He, Zhongbo; Li, Dongwei; Huang, Yingjie [Vehicle and Electrical Engineering Department, Ordnance Engineering College, Shijiazhuang, 050003 China (China); Xie, Wenqiang [Cadre Rotational Training Brigade, Ordnance Engineering College, Shijiazhuang, 050003 China (China)

    2016-12-15

    Giant magnetostrictive actuator has been widely used in precise driving occasions for its excellent performance. However, in driving a switching valve, especially the ball-valve in an electronic controlled injector, the actuator can’t exhibit its good performance for limits in output displacement and responding speed. A novel giant magnetostrictive actuator, which can reach its maximum displacement for being exerted with no bias magnetic field, is designed in this paper. Simultaneously, elongating of the giant magetostrictive material is converted to shortening of the actuator's axial dimension with the help of an output rod in “T” type. Furthermore, to save responding time, the driving voltage with high opening voltage while low holding voltage is designed. Responding time and output displacement are studied experimentally with the help of a measuring system. From measured results, designed driving voltage can improve the responding speed of actuator displacement quite effectively. And, giant magnetostrictive actuator can output various steady-state displacements to reach more driving effects. - Highlights: • GMA with zero bias magnetic field can reach maximum displacement in one direction. • Driving wave with high opening voltage can promote GMA's responding speed. • Higher opening voltage is exerted, less rise time is reached. • Continuous displacements from 0 to maximum value can be achieved by GMA.

  4. Modeling NIF experimental designs with adaptive mesh refinement and Lagrangian hydrodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koniges, A. E.; Anderson, R. W.; Wang, P.; Gunney, B. T. N.; Becker, R.; Eder, D. C.; MacGowan, B. J.; Schneider, M. B.

    2006-06-01

    Incorporation of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) into Lagrangian hydrodynamics algorithms allows for the creation of a highly powerful simulation tool effective for complex target designs with three-dimensional structure. We are developing an advanced modeling tool that includes AMR and traditional arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) techniques. Our goal is the accurate prediction of vaporization, disintegration and fragmentation in National Ignition Facility (NIF) experimental target elements. Although our focus is on minimizing the generation of shrapnel in target designs and protecting the optics, the general techniques are applicable to modern advanced targets that include three-dimensional effects such as those associated with capsule fill tubes. Several essential computations in ordinary radiation hydrodynamics need to be redesigned in order to allow for AMR to work well with ALE, including algorithms associated with radiation transport. Additionally, for our goal of predicting fragmentation, we include elastic/plastic flow into our computations. We discuss the integration of these effects into a new ALE-AMR simulation code. Applications of this newly developed modeling tool as well as traditional ALE simulations in two and three dimensions are applied to NIF early-light target designs.

  5. Modeling NIF Experimental Designs with Adaptive Mesh Refinement and Lagrangian Hydrodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koniges, A E; Anderson, R W; Wang, P; Gunney, B N; Becker, R; Eder, D C; MacGowan, B J

    2005-01-01

    Incorporation of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) into Lagrangian hydrodynamics algorithms allows for the creation of a highly powerful simulation tool effective for complex target designs with three-dimensional structure. We are developing an advanced modeling tool that includes AMR and traditional arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) techniques. Our goal is the accurate prediction of vaporization, disintegration and fragmentation in National Ignition Facility (NIF) experimental target elements. Although our focus is on minimizing the generation of shrapnel in target designs and protecting the optics, the general techniques are applicable to modern advanced targets that include three-dimensional effects such as those associated with capsule fill tubes. Several essential computations in ordinary radiation hydrodynamics need to be redesigned in order to allow for AMR to work well with ALE, including algorithms associated with radiation transport. Additionally, for our goal of predicting fragmentation, we include elastic/plastic flow into our computations. We discuss the integration of these effects into a new ALE-AMR simulation code. Applications of this newly developed modeling tool as well as traditional ALE simulations in two and three dimensions are applied to NIF early-light target designs

  6. Modeling Nif experimental designs with adaptive mesh refinement and Lagrangian hydrodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koniges, A.E.; Anderson, R.W.; Wang, P.; Gunney, B.T.N.; Becker, R.; Eder, D.C.; MacGowan, B.J.; Schneider, M.B.

    2006-01-01

    Incorporation of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) into Lagrangian hydrodynamics algorithms allows for the creation of a highly powerful simulation tool effective for complex target designs with three-dimensional structure. We are developing an advanced modeling tool that includes AMR and traditional arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) techniques. Our goal is the accurate prediction of vaporization, disintegration and fragmentation in National Ignition Facility (NIF) experimental target elements. Although our focus is on minimizing the generation of shrapnel in target designs and protecting the optics, the general techniques are applicable to modern advanced targets that include three-dimensional effects such as those associated with capsule fill tubes. Several essential computations in ordinary radiation hydrodynamics need to be redesigned in order to allow for AMR to work well with ALE, including algorithms associated with radiation transport. Additionally, for our goal of predicting fragmentation, we include elastic/plastic flow into our computations. We discuss the integration of these effects into a new ALE-AMR simulation code. Applications of this newly developed modeling tool as well as traditional ALE simulations in two and three dimensions are applied to NIF early-light target designs. (authors)

  7. Rugby-like hohlraum experimental designs for demonstrating x-ray drive enhancement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amendt, Peter; Cerjan, C.; Hinkel, D. E.; Milovich, J. L.; Park, H.-S.; Robey, H. F.

    2008-01-01

    A suite of experimental designs for the Omega laser facility [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] using rugby and cylindrical hohlraums is proposed to confirm the energetics benefits of rugby-shaped hohlraums over cylinders under optimal implosion symmetry conditions. Postprocessed Dante x-ray drive measurements predict a 12-17eV (23%-36%) peak hohlraum temperature (x-ray flux) enhancement for a 1ns flattop laser drive history. Simulated core self-emission x-ray histories also show earlier implosion times by 200-400ps, depending on the hohlraum case-to-capsule ratio and laser-entrance-hole size. Capsules filled with 10 or 50atm of deuterium (DD) are predicted to give in excess of 1010 neutrons in two-dimensional hohlraum simulations in the absence of mix, enabling DD burn history measurements for the first time in indirect-drive on Omega. Capsule designs with 50atm of DHe3 are also proposed to make use of proton slowing for independently verifying the drive benefits of rugby hohlraums. Scale-5/4 hohlraum designs are also introduced to provide further margin to potential laser-plasma-induced backscatter and hot-electron production.

  8. Rugby-like hohlraum experimental designs for demonstrating x-ray drive enhancement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amendt, Peter; Cerjan, C.; Hinkel, D. E.; Milovich, J. L.; Park, H.-S.; Robey, H. F.

    2008-01-01

    A suite of experimental designs for the Omega laser facility [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] using rugby and cylindrical hohlraums is proposed to confirm the energetics benefits of rugby-shaped hohlraums over cylinders under optimal implosion symmetry conditions. Postprocessed Dante x-ray drive measurements predict a 12-17 eV (23%-36%) peak hohlraum temperature (x-ray flux) enhancement for a 1 ns flattop laser drive history. Simulated core self-emission x-ray histories also show earlier implosion times by 200-400 ps, depending on the hohlraum case-to-capsule ratio and laser-entrance-hole size. Capsules filled with 10 or 50 atm of deuterium (DD) are predicted to give in excess of 10 10 neutrons in two-dimensional hohlraum simulations in the absence of mix, enabling DD burn history measurements for the first time in indirect-drive on Omega. Capsule designs with 50 atm of D 3 He are also proposed to make use of proton slowing for independently verifying the drive benefits of rugby hohlraums. Scale-5/4 hohlraum designs are also introduced to provide further margin to potential laser-plasma-induced backscatter and hot-electron production

  9. A statistical approach to the experimental design of the sulfuric acid leaching of gold-copper ore

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mendes F.D.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The high grade of copper in the Igarapé Bahia (Brazil gold-copper ore prevents the direct application of the classic cyanidation process. Copper oxides and sulfides react with cyanides in solution, causing a high consumption of leach reagent and thereby raising processing costs and decreasing recovery of gold. Studies have showm that a feasible route for this ore would be a pretreatment for copper minerals removal prior to the cyanidation stage. The goal of this experimental work was to study the experimental conditions required for copper removal from Igarapé Bahia gold-copper ore by sulfuric acid leaching by applying a statistical approach to the experimental design. By using the Plackett Burman method, it was possible to select the variables that had the largest influence on the percentage of copper extracted at the sulfuric acid leaching stage. These were temperature of leach solution, stirring speed, concentration of sulfuric acid in the leach solution and particle size of the ore. The influence of the individual effects of these variables and their interactions on the experimental response were analyzed by applying the replicated full factorial design method. Finally, the selected variables were optimized by the ascending path statistical method, which determined the best experimental conditions for leaching to achieve the highest percentage of copper extracted. Using the optimized conditions, the best leaching results showed a copper extraction of 75.5%.

  10. The Influence of Older Age Groups to Sustainable Product Design Research of Urban Public Facilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen-juan, Zhang; Hou-peng, Song

    2017-01-01

    Through summarize the status quo of public facilities design to older age groups in China and a variety of factors what influence on them, the essay, from different perspective, is designed to put forward basic principle to sustainable design of public facilities for the aged in the city, and thus further promote and popularize the necessity of sustainable design applications in the future design of public facilities for elderly people.

  11. Relationship of Leadership/Delegation to Group Effectiveness in Youth Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamon, Julia A.; Carter, Richard I.

    1987-01-01

    Instructional materials designed to teach high school age youth how to increase member involvement by delegating leadership were experimentally tested. New materials made a difference in one test situation. Positive correlations were found between group effectiveness and tendency toward delegation. (Author/CH)

  12. Leadership Styles: An Experimental Study to Determine the Comparative Effectiveness of Democratic and Autocratic Leadership in Adult, "Real World" Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadely, L. Dean; Fadely, Patricia R.

    To study the effect of democratic and autocratic leadership styles upon the commitment and productivity of voluntary adult groups, eight tenant councils, composed of approximately six persons each, were selected to serve as experimental groups. Trained researchers acting as discussion leaders for each council functioned as either democratic or…

  13. Codes maintained by the LAACG [Los Alamos Accelerator Code Group] at the NMFECC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallace, R.; Barts, T.

    1990-01-01

    The Los Alamos Accelerator Code Group (LAACG) maintains two groups of design codes at the National Magnetic Fusion Energy Computing Center (NMFECC). These codes, principally electromagnetic field solvers, are used for the analysis and design of electromagnetic components for accelerators, e.g., magnets, rf structures, pickups, etc. In this paper, the status and future of the installed codes will be discussed with emphasis on an experimental version of one set of codes, POISSON/SUPERFISH

  14. Design and feasibility testing of a novel group intervention for young women who binge drink in groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvine, Linda; Crombie, Iain K; Swanson, Vivien; Dimova, Elena D; Melson, Ambrose J; Fraser, Tracey M; Barbour, Rosaline; Rice, Peter M; Allan, Sheila

    2018-01-01

    Young women frequently drink alcohol in groups and binge drinking within these natural drinking groups is common. This study describes the design of a theoretically and empirically based group intervention to reduce binge drinking among young women. It also evaluates their engagement with the intervention and the acceptability of the study methods. Friendship groups of women aged 18-35 years, who had two or more episodes of binge drinking (>6 UK units on one occasion; 48g of alcohol) in the previous 30 days, were recruited from the community. A face-to-face group intervention, based on the Health Action Process Approach, was delivered over three sessions. Components of the intervention were woven around fun activities, such as making alcohol free cocktails. Women were followed up four months after the intervention was delivered. The target of 24 groups (comprising 97 women) was recruited. The common pattern of drinking was infrequent, heavy drinking (mean consumption on the heaviest drinking day was UK 18.1 units). Process evaluation revealed that the intervention was delivered with high fidelity and acceptability of the study methods was high. The women engaged positively with intervention components and made group decisions about cutting down. Twenty two groups set goals to reduce their drinking, and these were translated into action plans. Retention of individuals at follow up was 87%. This study successfully recruited groups of young women whose patterns of drinking place them at high risk of acute harm. This novel approach to delivering an alcohol intervention has potential to reduce binge drinking among young women. The high levels of engagement with key steps in the behavior change process suggests that the group intervention should be tested in a full randomised controlled trial.

  15. Experimental Study and Computational Simulations of Key Pebble Bed Thermo-mechanics Issues for Design and Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tokuhiro, Akira; Potirniche, Gabriel; Cogliati, Joshua; Ougouag, Abderrafi

    2014-07-08

    An experimental and computational study, consisting of modeling and simulation (M&S), of key thermal-mechanical issues affecting the design and safety of pebble-bed (PB) reactors was conducted. The objective was to broaden understanding and experimentally validate thermal-mechanic phenomena of nuclear grade graphite, specifically, spheres in frictional contact as anticipated in the bed under reactor relevant pressures and temperatures. The contact generates graphite dust particulates that can subsequently be transported into the flowing gaseous coolent. Under postulated depressurization transients and with the potential for leaked fission products to be adsorbed onto graphite 'dust', there is the potential for fission products to escape from the primary volume. This is a design safety concern. Furthermore, earlier safety assessment identified the distinct possibility for the dispersed dust to combust in contact with air if sufficient conditions are met. Both of these phenomena were noted as important to design review and containing uncertainty to warrant study. The team designed and conducted two separate effects tests to study and benchmark the potential dust-generation rate, as well as study the conditions under which a dust explosion may occure in a standardized, instrumented explosion chamber.

  16. Sampling flies or sampling flaws? Experimental design and inference strength in forensic entomology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaud, J-P; Schoenly, Kenneth G; Moreau, G

    2012-01-01

    Forensic entomology is an inferential science because postmortem interval estimates are based on the extrapolation of results obtained in field or laboratory settings. Although enormous gains in scientific understanding and methodological practice have been made in forensic entomology over the last few decades, a majority of the field studies we reviewed do not meet the standards for inference, which are 1) adequate replication, 2) independence of experimental units, and 3) experimental conditions that capture a representative range of natural variability. Using a mock case-study approach, we identify design flaws in field and lab experiments and suggest methodological solutions for increasing inference strength that can inform future casework. Suggestions for improving data reporting in future field studies are also proposed.

  17. A Simulation Study of Threats to Validity in Quasi-Experimental Designs: Interrelationship between Design, Measurement, and Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holgado-Tello, Fco P; Chacón-Moscoso, Salvador; Sanduvete-Chaves, Susana; Pérez-Gil, José A

    2016-01-01

    The Campbellian tradition provides a conceptual framework to assess threats to validity. On the other hand, different models of causal analysis have been developed to control estimation biases in different research designs. However, the link between design features, measurement issues, and concrete impact estimation analyses is weak. In order to provide an empirical solution to this problem, we use Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as a first approximation to operationalize the analytical implications of threats to validity in quasi-experimental designs. Based on the analogies established between the Classical Test Theory (CTT) and causal analysis, we describe an empirical study based on SEM in which range restriction and statistical power have been simulated in two different models: (1) A multistate model in the control condition (pre-test); and (2) A single-trait-multistate model in the control condition (post-test), adding a new mediator latent exogenous (independent) variable that represents a threat to validity. Results show, empirically, how the differences between both the models could be partially or totally attributed to these threats. Therefore, SEM provides a useful tool to analyze the influence of potential threats to validity.

  18. Generating Improved Experimental Designs with Spatially and Genetically Correlated Observations Using Mixed Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lazarus K. Mramba

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to generate and evaluate the efficiency of improved field experiments while simultaneously accounting for spatial correlations and different levels of genetic relatedness using a mixed models framework for orthogonal and non-orthogonal designs. Optimality criteria and a search algorithm were implemented to generate randomized complete block (RCB, incomplete block (IB, augmented block (AB and unequally replicated (UR designs. Several conditions were evaluated including size of the experiment, levels of heritability, and optimality criteria. For RCB designs with half-sib or full-sib families, the optimization procedure yielded important improvements under the presence of mild to strong spatial correlation levels and relatively low heritability values. Also, for these designs, improvements in terms of overall design efficiency (ODE% reached values of up to 8.7%, but these gains varied depending on the evaluated conditions. In general, for all evaluated designs, higher ODE% values were achieved from genetically unrelated individuals compared to experiments with half-sib and full-sib families. As expected, accuracy of prediction of genetic values improved as levels of heritability and spatial correlations increased. This study has demonstrated that important improvements in design efficiency and prediction accuracies can be achieved by optimizing how the levels of a treatment are assigned to the experimental units.

  19. ENGINEERING DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF HEEL TESTING EQUIPMENT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF SAFE WALKING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristiano Fragassa

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Experimental test methods for the evaluation of the resistance of heels of ladies' shoes in the case of impact loads are fully defined by International Organization for Standardization (ISO procedures that indicate all the conditions of experiment. A first Standard (ISO 19553 specifies the test method for determining the strength of the heels in the case of single impact. The result offers a valuation of the liability to fail under the sporadic heavy blows. A second Standard (ISO 19556 details a method for testing the capability of heels of women' shoes to survive to the repetition of small impacts provoked by normal walking. These Standards strictly define the features for two different testing devices (with specific materials, geometries, weights, etc. and all the experimental procedures to be followed during tests. On the contrary, this paper describes the technical solutions adopted to design one single experimental device able to perform impact testing of heels in both conditions. Joining the accuracy of mechanic movements with the speed of an electronic control system, a new and flexible equipment for the complete characterization of heels respect to (single or fatigue impacts was developed. Moreover a new level of performances in experimental validation of heel resistance was introduced by the versatility of the user-defined software control programs, able to encode every complex time-depending cycle of impact loads. Dynamic simulations permitted to investigate the impacts on heel in different conditions of testing, optimizing the machine design. The complexity of real stresses on shoes during an ordinary walk and in other common situations (as going up and downstairs was considered for a proper dimensioning.

  20. [The effect of group-based psychodrama therapy on decreasing the level of aggression in adolescents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karataş, Zeynep; Gökçakan, Dan Zafer

    2009-01-01

    This study aimed to examine the effect of group-based psychodrama therapy on the level aggression in adolescents. The study included 23 students from Nezihe Yalvac Anatolian Vocational High School of Hotel Management and Tourism that had high aggression scores. Eleven of the participants (6 female, 5 male) constituted the experimental group and 12 (6 male, 6 female) were in the control group. The 34-item Aggression Scale was used to measure level of aggression. We utilized mixed pattern design including experiment-control, pre-test and post test and follow up. The experimental group participated in group-based psychodrama therapy once a week for 90 minutes, for 14 weeks in total. The Aggression Scale was administered to the experimental and control groups before and after treatment; it was additionally administered to the experimental group 16 weeks after treatment. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA and dependent samples t tests. Our analysis shows that group-based psychodrama had an effect on the experimental group in terms of total aggression, anger, hostility, and indirect aggression scores (F=65.109, F=20.175, F=18.593, F=40.987, respectively, Ppsychodrama therapy decreased the level of aggression in the experimental group. Current findings are discussed with reference to the literature. Recommendations for further research and for psychiatric counselors are provided.

  1. Manifold Regularized Experimental Design for Active Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lining; Shum, Hubert P H; Shao, Ling

    2016-12-02

    Various machine learning and data mining tasks in classification require abundant data samples to be labeled for training. Conventional active learning methods aim at labeling the most informative samples for alleviating the labor of the user. Many previous studies in active learning select one sample after another in a greedy manner. However, this is not very effective because the classification models has to be retrained for each newly labeled sample. Moreover, many popular active learning approaches utilize the most uncertain samples by leveraging the classification hyperplane of the classifier, which is not appropriate since the classification hyperplane is inaccurate when the training data are small-sized. The problem of insufficient training data in real-world systems limits the potential applications of these approaches. This paper presents a novel method of active learning called manifold regularized experimental design (MRED), which can label multiple informative samples at one time for training. In addition, MRED gives an explicit geometric explanation for the selected samples to be labeled by the user. Different from existing active learning methods, our method avoids the intrinsic problems caused by insufficiently labeled samples in real-world applications. Various experiments on synthetic datasets, the Yale face database and the Corel image database have been carried out to show how MRED outperforms existing methods.

  2. Evaluation of a two-phase experimental study of a small group (“MultiLit” reading intervention for older low-progress readers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Buckingham

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The study reported here examined the efficacy of a small group (Tier 2 in a three-tier Response to Intervention model literacy intervention for older low-progress readers (in Years 3–6. This article focuses on the second phase of a two-phase, crossover randomized control trial involving 26 students. In Phase 1, the experimental group (E1 received the 1 h literacy intervention daily for three school terms. The control group received regular classroom instruction. In Phase 2, the original control group received the intervention (E2. At the end of Phase 1, there was a statistically significant difference between groups and a large treatment effect on one of five measures—the Martin and Pratt Non-word Reading Test of phonological recoding. At the end of Phase 2, the large effect on phonological recoding was confirmed for the second experimental group, and there were also statistically significant differences with moderate or large effect sizes on four other measures—single word reading, fluency, passage reading accuracy, and comprehension.

  3. User-Centered Design Groups to Engage Patients and Caregivers with a Personalized Health Information Technology Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maher, Molly; Kaziunas, Elizabeth; Ackerman, Mark; Derry, Holly; Forringer, Rachel; Miller, Kristen; O'Reilly, Dennis; An, Larry C; Tewari, Muneesh; Hanauer, David A; Choi, Sung Won

    2016-02-01

    Health information technology (IT) has opened exciting avenues for capturing, delivering and sharing data, and offers the potential to develop cost-effective, patient-focused applications. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of health IT applications such as outpatient portals. Rigorous evaluation is fundamental to ensure effectiveness and sustainability, as resistance to more widespread adoption of outpatient portals may be due to lack of user friendliness. Health IT applications that integrate with the existing electronic health record and present information in a condensed, user-friendly format could improve coordination of care and communication. Importantly, these applications should be developed systematically with appropriate methodological design and testing to ensure usefulness, adoption, and sustainability. Based on our prior work that identified numerous information needs and challenges of HCT, we developed an experimental prototype of a health IT tool, the BMT Roadmap. Our goal was to develop a tool that could be used in the real-world, daily practice of HCT patients and caregivers (users) in the inpatient setting. Herein, we examined the views, needs, and wants of users in the design and development process of the BMT Roadmap through user-centered Design Groups. Three important themes emerged: 1) perception of core features as beneficial (views), 2) alerting the design team to potential issues with the user interface (needs); and 3) providing a deeper understanding of the user experience in terms of wider psychosocial requirements (wants). These findings resulted in changes that led to an improved, functional BMT Roadmap product, which will be tested as an intervention in the pediatric HCT population in the fall of 2015 (ClinicalTrials.govNCT02409121). Copyright © 2016 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Design of charge exchange recombination spectroscopy for the joint Texas experimental tokamak

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chi, Y.; Zhuang, G., E-mail: ge-zhuang@hust.edu.cn; Cheng, Z. F.; Hou, S. Y.; Cheng, C.; Li, Z.; Wang, J. R.; Wang, Z. J. [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)

    2014-11-15

    The old diagnostic neutral beam injector first operated at the University of Texas at Austin is ready for rejoining the joint Texas experimental tokamak (J-TEXT). A new set of high voltage power supplies has been equipped and there is no limitation for beam modulation or beam pulse duration henceforth. Based on the spectra of fully striped impurity ions induced by the diagnostic beam the design work for toroidal charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) system is presented. The 529 nm carbon VI (n = 8 − 7 transition) line seems to be the best choice for ion temperature and plasma rotation measurements and the considered hardware is listed. The design work of the toroidal CXRS system is guided by essential simulation of expected spectral results under the J-TEXT tokamak operation conditions.

  5. A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of Volunteer Mentorship for Young Adults With Self-Harm Behaviors Using a Quasi-Experimental Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Yik-Wa; Yip, Paul S F; Lai, Carmen C S; Kwok, Chi Leung; Wong, Paul W C; Liu, Kwong-Sun; Ng, Pauline W L; Liao, Carmen W M; Wong, Tai-Wai

    2016-11-01

    Studies have shown that postdischarge care for self-harm patients is effective in reducing repeated suicidal behaviors. Little is known about whether volunteer support can help reduce self-harm repetition and improve psychosocial well-being. This study investigated the efficacy of volunteer support in preventing repetition of self-harm. This study used a quasi-experimental design by assigning self-harm patients admitted to the emergency departments to an intervention group with volunteer support and treatment as usual (TAU) for 9 months and to a control group of TAU. Outcome measures include repetition of self-harm, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and level of depressive and anxiety symptoms. A total of 74 cases were recruited (38 participants; 36 controls). There were no significant differences in age, gender, and clinical condition between the two groups at the baseline. The intervention group showed significant improvements in hopelessness and depressive symptoms. However, the number of cases of suicide ideation and of repetition of self-harm episodes was similar for both groups at the postintervention period. Postdischarge care provided by volunteers showed significant improvement in hopelessness and depression. Volunteers have been commonly involved in suicide prevention services. Further research using rigorous methods is recommended for improving service quality in the long term.

  6. Design, experimental investigation and multi-objective optimization of a small-scale radial compressor for heat pump applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiffmann, J. [Fischer Engineering Solutions AG, Birkenweg 3, CH-3360 Herzogenbuchsee (Switzerland); Favrat, D. [Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, EPFL STI IGM LENI, Station 9, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2010-01-15

    The main driver for small scale turbomachinery in domestic heat pumps is the potential for reaching higher efficiencies than volumetric compressors currently used and the potential for making the compressor oil-free, bearing a considerable advantage in the design of advanced multi-stage heat pump cycles. An appropriate turbocompressor for driving domestic heat pumps with a high temperature lift requires the ability to operate on a wide range of pressure ratios and mass flows, confronting the designer with the necessity of a compromise between range and efficiency. The present publication shows a possible way to deal with that difficulty, by coupling an appropriate modeling tool to a multi-objective optimizer. The optimizer manages to fit the compressor design into the possible specifications field while keeping the high efficiency on a wide operational range. The 1D-tool used for the compressor stage modeling has been validated by experimentally testing an initial impeller design. The excellent experimental results, the agreement with the model and the linking of the model to a multi-objective optimizer will allow to design radial compressor stages managing to fit the wide operational range of domestic heat pumps while keeping the high efficiency level. (author)

  7. Time Pressure and Creativity in Industrial Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Shih-Wen; Wang, Ming-Feng; Chen, Chien-Wie

    2017-01-01

    Creativity is a critical aspect of competitiveness in all trades and professions. In the case of designers, creativity is of the utmost importance. Based on the perspective of industrial design, the relationship between creativity and time pressure was investigated in this study using control and experimental groups. In the first part of the…

  8. Aligning experimental design with bioinformatics analysis to meet discovery research objectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Michael D

    2002-01-01

    The utility of genomic technology and bioinformatic analytical support to provide new and needed insight into the molecular basis of disease, development, and diversity continues to grow as more research model systems and populations are investigated. Yet deriving results that meet a specific set of research objectives requires aligning or coordinating the design of the experiment, the laboratory techniques, and the data analysis. The following paragraphs describe several important interdependent factors that need to be considered to generate high quality data from the microarray platform. These factors include aligning oligonucleotide probe design with the sample labeling strategy if oligonucleotide probes are employed, recognizing that compromises are inherent in different sample procurement methods, normalizing 2-color microarray raw data, and distinguishing the difference between gene clustering and sample clustering. These factors do not represent an exhaustive list of technical variables in microarray-based research, but this list highlights those variables that span both experimental execution and data analysis. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  9. Tribological evaluation for experimental design Al_2O_3 obtained via low pressure injection moulding (LPIM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dotta, A.L.B.; Costa, C.A.; Farias, M.C.M.; Cunha, M.A da

    2016-01-01

    This work represents the tribological study of Al_2O_3 obtained by LPIM using the experimental design technique to evaluate the interaction of the tribological parameters with the friction and wear. The LPIM process was performed at 90 °C for 24 h. The average friction coefficient for the factorial experimental design varied significantly with the load and the speed when Al_2O_3 was tested with the steel counter body. In general, the wear coefficient was lower for the tribological pair Al_2O_3-steel, in which occurred the formation of an iron oxide tribofilm on the surface. As for the Al_2O_3-Al_2O_3 pair, an intergranular fracture of the surface occurred, in addition to the presence of material adhered on the tracks. (author)

  10. Physics design of experimental metal fuelled fast reactor cores for full scale demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devan, K.; Bachchan, Abhitab; Riyas, A.; Sathiyasheela, T.; Mohanakrishnan, P.; Chetal, S.C.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → In this study we made physics designs of experimental metal fast reactor cores. → Aim is for full-scale demonstration of fuel assemblies in a commercial power reactor. → Minimum power with adequate safety is considered. → In addition, fuel sustainability is also considered in the design. → Sodium bonded U-Pu-6%Zr and mechanically bonded U-Pu alloys are used. - Abstract: Fast breeder reactors based on metal fuel are planned to be in operation for the year beyond 2025 to meet the growing energy demand in India. A road map is laid towards the development of technologies required for launching 1000 MWe commercial metal breeder reactors with closed fuel cycle. Construction of a test reactor with metallic fuel is also envisaged to provide full-scale testing of fuel sub-assemblies planned for a commercial power reactor. Physics design studies have been carried out to arrive at a core configuration for this experimental facility. The aim of this study is to find out minimum power of the core to meet the requirements of safety as well as full-scale demonstration. In addition, fuel sustainability is also a consideration in the design. Two types of metallic fuel pins, viz. a sodium bonded ternary (U-Pu-6% Zr) alloy and a mechanically bonded binary (U-Pu) alloy with 125 μm thickness zirconium liner, are considered for this study. Using the European fast reactor neutronics code system, ERANOS 2.1, four metallic fast reactor cores are optimized and estimated their important steady state parameters. The ABBN-93 system is also used for estimating the important safety parameters. Minimum achievable power from the converter metallic core is 220 MWt. A 320 MWt self-sustaining breeder metal core is recommended for the test facility.

  11. Adolescent substance use groups: antecedent and concurrent personality differences in a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliva, Elizabeth M; Keyes, Margaret; Iacono, William G; McGue, Matt

    2012-06-01

    This study attempted to extend Shedler and Block's (1990) influential study, which found that adolescent drug experimenters had the healthiest personality functioning compared to abstainers and frequent users. Using a prospective design, we examined the relationship between antecedent and concurrent personality and age-18 substance use in a community sample of 1,298 twins (96% Caucasian, 49% male). Personality measures at ages 11 and 18 assessed positive emotionality (agentic and communal), negative emotionality, and constraint. Substance use groups-abstainers, experimenters, and problem users-were created at age 18. Age-18 substance use groups differed in age-11 and age-18 constraint such that problem users were lower than experimenters, who were lower than abstainers. Age-18 substance use groups did not differ in age-18 positive emotionality. However, abstainers were significantly lower than experimenters in communal positive emotionality, whereas female abstainers scored higher in agentic positive emotionality than female experimenters, who scored higher than female problem users. Experimenters were significantly lower in negative emotionality than problem users. Our findings are inconsistent with the notion that experimenters had the healthiest personality functioning and instead suggest different strengths and weaknesses for each group. Future studies should examine agentic and communal positive emotionality separately. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Personality © 2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Experimental Verification of Current Shear Design Equations for HSRC Beams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Attaullah Shah

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Experimental research on the shear capacity of HSRC (High Strength Reinforced Concrete beams is relatively very limited as compared to the NSRC (Normal Strength Reinforced Concrete beams. Most of the Building Codes determine the shear strength of HSRC with the help of empirical equations based on experimental work of NSRC beams and hence these equations are generally regarded as un-conservative for HSRC beams particularly at low level of longitudinal reinforcement. In this paper, 42 beams have been tested in two sets, such that in 21 beams no transverse reinforcement has been used, whereas in the remaining 21 beams, minimum transverse reinforcement has been used as per ACI-318 (American Concrete Institute provisions. Two values of compressive strength 52 and 61 MPa, three values of longitudinal steel ratio and seven values of shear span to depth ratio have been have been used. The beams were tested under concentrated load at the mid span. The results are compared with the equations proposed by different international building codes like ACI, AASHTO LRFD, EC (Euro Code, Canadian Code and Japanese Code for shear strength of HSRC beams.From comparison, it has been observed that some codes are less conservative for shear design of HSRC beams and further research is required to rationalize these equations.

  13. The effects of a walking program on older Chinese American immigrants with hypertension: a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Chun-Ying; Sun, Fan-Ko

    2009-01-01

    Hypertension is known to have high rates among Chinese Americans. Identifying culturally specific interventions to reduce sedentary behavior may be effective in reducing hypertension. This study examines the effects of an 8-week walking program with and without cultural modification. The study used a 2-group, pretest and posttest, quasi-experimental design. A total sample of 128 Chinese American immigrants with hypertension were assigned to walking groups. The results showed that the walking program had no significant effects upon participant blood pressure or walking endurance. The results also revealed that individuals in the maintenance stage walked longer than those in the preparation stage. A comparison of demographic data showed that subjects with a lower level of education walked more minutes per week, which contributed to lower systolic blood pressures among this group as compared with those with a higher level of education. These results suggest that this walking protocol, when translated into Chinese and when accompanied by a weekly telephone reminder and other interactions with a Chinese-speaking nurse, is appropriate to use without additional cultural modification. Future research should examine other components of Chinese culture or should apply this protocol for a longer period of time.

  14. Evaluating the Impact of an Accountable Care Organization on Population Health: The Quasi-Experimental Design of the German Gesundes Kinzigtal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimperl, Alexander; Schulte, Timo; Mühlbacher, Axel; Rosenmöller, Magdalena; Busse, Reinhard; Groene, Oliver; Rodriguez, Hector P; Hildebrandt, Helmut

    2017-06-01

    A central goal of accountable care organizations (ACOs) is to improve the health of their accountable population. No evidence currently links ACO development to improved population health. A major challenge to establishing the evidence base for the impact of ACOs on population health is the absence of a theoretically grounded, robust, operationally feasible, and meaningful research design. The authors present an evaluation study design, provide an empirical example, and discuss considerations for generating the evidence base for ACO implementation. A quasi-experimental study design using propensity score matching in combination with small-scale exact matching is implemented. Outcome indicators based on claims data were constructed and analyzed. Population health is measured by using a range of mortality indicators: mortality ratio, age at time of death, years of potential life lost/gained, and survival time. The application is assessed using longitudinal data from Gesundes Kinzigtal, one of the leading population-based ACOs in Germany. The proposed matching approach resulted in a balanced control of observable differences between the intervention (ACO) and control groups. The mortality indicators used indicate positive results. For example, 635.6 fewer years of potential life lost (2005.8 vs. 2641.4; t-test: sig. P < 0.05*) in the ACO intervention group (n = 5411) attributable to the ACO, also after controlling for a potential (indirect) immortal time bias by excluding the first half year after enrollment from the outcome measurement. This empirical example of the impact of a German ACO on population health can be extended to the evaluation of ACOs and other integrated delivery models of care.

  15. Design of an experimental model to study the behavior of unsaturated fats in the preparation of meat emulsions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier F. Rey

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available The essence of a good experimental position consists on projecting an experiment so that him it is able to in fact give therefore the type of information that is looked for, by means of the development of the present work it is looked for to determine which the quality of the meat products will be elaborated with unsaturated vegetable fats, which its yield will be and for ende its cost regarding the traditional products, in and of itself the present investigation outlines an experimental design by means of the control of such variables as type of fat, use temperature and time of cutteado, keeping in mind the physiochemical and biochemical phenomena that happen beginning the control from the composition of the meat and fat during the trial, as raw materials dedicated to this end, for he/she thought about it the experimental design using a statistical model of complete factorial planning with 3 variables and 2 levels for a number of 15 rehearsals with a replica. Identified the variables to control as type of fat, temperature of use of the fats and the time of cutteado, the outlined experimental design is applied and you ends up obtaining the equation that gives solution to the identified problem that facilitates to use the unsaturated fats inside a process of elaboration of meat emulsions.

  16. From Cookbook to Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flannagan, Jenny Sue; McMillan, Rachel

    2009-01-01

    Developing expertise, whether from cook to chef or from student to scientist, occurs over time and requires encouragement, guidance, and support. One key goal of an elementary science program should be to move students toward expertise in their ability to design investigative questions. The ability to design a testable question is difficult for…

  17. Active SAmpling Protocol (ASAP) to Optimize Individual Neurocognitive Hypothesis Testing: A BCI-Inspired Dynamic Experimental Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, Gaëtan; Lecaignard, Françoise; Otman, Anatole; Maby, Emmanuel; Mattout, Jérémie

    2016-01-01

    The relatively young field of Brain-Computer Interfaces has promoted the use of electrophysiology and neuroimaging in real-time. In the meantime, cognitive neuroscience studies, which make extensive use of functional exploration techniques, have evolved toward model-based experiments and fine hypothesis testing protocols. Although these two developments are mostly unrelated, we argue that, brought together, they may trigger an important shift in the way experimental paradigms are being designed, which should prove fruitful to both endeavors. This change simply consists in using real-time neuroimaging in order to optimize advanced neurocognitive hypothesis testing. We refer to this new approach as the instantiation of an Active SAmpling Protocol (ASAP). As opposed to classical (static) experimental protocols, ASAP implements online model comparison, enabling the optimization of design parameters (e.g., stimuli) during the course of data acquisition. This follows the well-known principle of sequential hypothesis testing. What is radically new, however, is our ability to perform online processing of the huge amount of complex data that brain imaging techniques provide. This is all the more relevant at a time when physiological and psychological processes are beginning to be approached using more realistic, generative models which may be difficult to tease apart empirically. Based upon Bayesian inference, ASAP proposes a generic and principled way to optimize experimental design adaptively. In this perspective paper, we summarize the main steps in ASAP. Using synthetic data we illustrate its superiority in selecting the right perceptual model compared to a classical design. Finally, we briefly discuss its future potential for basic and clinical neuroscience as well as some remaining challenges.

  18. Design considerations for ITER [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor] magnet systems: Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henning, C.D.; Miller, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is now completing a definition phase as a beginning of a three-year design effort. Preliminary parameters for the superconducting magnet system have been established to guide further and more detailed design work. Radiation tolerance of the superconductors and insulators has been of prime importance, since it sets requirements for the neutron-shield dimension and sensitively influences reactor size. The major levels of mechanical stress in the structure appear in the cases of the inboard legs of the toroidal-field (TF) coils. The cases of the poloidal-field (PF) coils must be made thin or segmented to minimize eddy current heating during inductive plasma operation. As a result, the winding packs of both the TF and PF coils includes significant fractions of steel. The TF winding pack provides support against in-plane separating loads but offers little support against out-of-plane loads, unless shear-bonding of the conductors can be maintained. The removal of heat due to nuclear and ac loads has not been a fundamental limit to design, but certainly has non-negligible economic consequences. We present here preliminary ITER magnet systems design parameters taken from trade studies, designs, and analyses performed by the Home Teams of the four ITER participants, by the ITER Magnet Design Unit in Garching, and by other participants at workshops organized by the Magnet Design Unit. The work presented here reflects the efforts of many, but the responsibility for the opinions expressed is the authors'. 4 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

  19. Report of the radiation group on radiation backgrounds and damage in the ISABELLE intersection regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ludlam, T.; Kistiakowsky, V.; Toohig, T.E.

    1976-01-01

    The Radiation Group was charged to examine radiation aspects of the current ISABELLE design and the projected experimental arrangements. Some samples of questions to be addressed were: (1) how does the overall shielding design impact the experimental design, (2) what backgrounds might be expected from the proposed beam scraping, shaving, etc. schemes, (3) what are the radiation damage considerations for experimental electronics near the beam, and (4) what backgrounds might be expected in an experiment from operation of another experiment in the same or the adjacent intersection region. A review is given based on the ISABELLE Proposal, The Proceedings of the 1975 ISABELLE Summer Study, and the estimate of ISABELLE shielding requirements by Stevens and Thorndike

  20. Diverse Effects of a Seven-Year Experimental Grassland Fragmentation on Major Invertebrate Groups.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brigitte Braschler

    Full Text Available Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of biodiversity loss, but observed effects vary and may depend on the group examined. Time since fragmentation may explain some differences between taxonomical groups, as some species and thus species composition respond with a delay to changes in their environment. Impacts of drivers of global change may thus be underestimated in short-term studies. In our study we experimentally fragmented nutrient-poor dry calcareous grasslands and studied the response of species richness, individual density and species composition of various groups of invertebrates (gastropods, ants, ground beetles, rove beetles, orthoptera, spiders, woodlice in 12 small (1.5 m * 1.5 m and 12 large (4.5 m * 4.5 m fragments and their corresponding control plots after 7 years. We further examined responses to fragmentation in relation to body size and habitat preferences. Responses to fragmentation varied between taxonomical groups. While spider species richness and individual density were lower in fragments, the opposite was true for an orthopteran species and woodlice. Species composition and β-diversity differed between fragments and control plots for some groups. However, the interaction treatment*plot size was rarely significant. Species with high occupancy rates in undisturbed control plots responded more negatively to the fragmentation, while species with large body size were relatively more abundant in fragments in some groups. No effect of the fragmentation was found for ants, which may have the longest lag times because of long-lived colonies. However, relationships between abundance and the species' preferences for environmental factors affected by edge effects indicate that ant diversity too may be affected in the longer-term. Our results show the importance of considering different groups in conservation management in times of widespread fragmentation of landscapes. While species richness may respond slowly, changes in