Nucleon-deuteron breakup quantities calculated with separable interactions including tensor forces and P-wave interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruinsma, J.; Wageningen, R. van

1977-01-01

Nucleon-deuteron breakup calculations at a nucleon bombarding energy of 22.7 MeV have been performed with separable interactions including a tensor force and P-wave interactions. Differential cross sections and a selection of polarization quantities have been computed for special regions of the phase space. The influence of a tensor force and P-wave interactions on the differential cross section is of the order of 20%. Large discrepancies between theory and experiment occur for the vector analyzing powers, both for the kinematically complete and for the incomplete situation. The calculations show that there are kinematical situations in which the differential cross sections and the tensor analyzing powers are sufficiently large to make measurements feasible. (Auth.)

Spatiotemporal, kinematic, force and muscle activation outcomes during gait and functional exercise in water compared to on land: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Heywood, Sophie; McClelland, Jodie; Geigle, Paula; Rahmann, Ann; Clark, Ross

2016-07-01

Exercises replicating functional activities are commonly used in aquatic rehabilitation although it is not clear how the movement characteristics differ between the two environments. A systematic review was completed in order to compare the biomechanics of gait, closed kinetic chain and plyometric exercise when performed in water and on land. Databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Embase and the Cochrane library were searched. Studies were included where a functional lower limb activity was performed in water and on land with the same instructions. Standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for spatiotemporal, kinematic, force and muscle activation outcomes. 28 studies included walking or running (19 studies), stationary running (three), closed kinetic chain exercise (two), plyometric exercise (three) and timed-up and go (one). Very large effect sizes showed self-selected speed of walking (SMD >4.66) and vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF) (SMD >1.91) in water were less than on land, however, lower limb range of movement and muscle activity were similar. VGRF in plyometric exercise was lower in water when landing but more similar between the two environments in propulsion. Maximal speed of movement for walking and stationary running was lower in water compared to on land (SMD>3.05), however was similar in propulsion in plyometric exercise. Drag forces may contribute to lower self-selected speed of walking. Monitoring speed of movement in water assists in determining the potential advantages or limitations of aquatic exercise and the task specificity to land-based function. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new force field including charge directionality for TMAO in aqueous solution

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Usui, Kota; Nagata, Yuki, E-mail: sulpizi@uni-mainz.de, E-mail: nagata@mpip-mainz.mpg.de; Hunger, Johannes; Bonn, Mischa [Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Sulpizi, Marialore, E-mail: sulpizi@uni-mainz.de, E-mail: nagata@mpip-mainz.mpg.de [Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55099 Mainz (Germany)

2016-08-14

We propose a new force field for trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which is designed to reproduce the long-lived and highly directional hydrogen bond between the TMAO oxygen (O{sub TMAO}) atom and surrounding water molecules. Based on the data obtained by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we introduce three dummy sites around O{sub TMAO} to mimic the O{sub TMAO} lone pairs and we migrate the negative charge on the O{sub TMAO} to the dummy sites. The force field model developed here improves both structural and dynamical properties of aqueous TMAO solutions. Moreover, it reproduces the experimentally observed dependence of viscosity upon increasing TMAO concentration quantitatively. The simple procedure of the force field construction makes it easy to implement in molecular dynamics simulation packages and makes it compatible with the existing biomolecular force fields. This paves the path for further investigation of protein-TMAO interaction in aqueous solutions.

A new force field including charge directionality for TMAO in aqueous solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usui, Kota; Nagata, Yuki; Hunger, Johannes; Bonn, Mischa; Sulpizi, Marialore

2016-01-01

We propose a new force field for trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which is designed to reproduce the long-lived and highly directional hydrogen bond between the TMAO oxygen (O TMAO ) atom and surrounding water molecules. Based on the data obtained by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we introduce three dummy sites around O TMAO to mimic the O TMAO lone pairs and we migrate the negative charge on the O TMAO to the dummy sites. The force field model developed here improves both structural and dynamical properties of aqueous TMAO solutions. Moreover, it reproduces the experimentally observed dependence of viscosity upon increasing TMAO concentration quantitatively. The simple procedure of the force field construction makes it easy to implement in molecular dynamics simulation packages and makes it compatible with the existing biomolecular force fields. This paves the path for further investigation of protein-TMAO interaction in aqueous solutions.

4He binding energy calculation including full tensor-force effects

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, A. C.

1989-09-01

The four-body equations of Alt, Grassberger, and Sandhas are solved in the version where the (2)+(2) subamplitudes are treated exactly by convolution, using one-term separable Yamaguchy nucleon-nucleon potentials in the 1S0 and 3S1-3D1 channels. The resulting jp=1/2+ and (3/2+ three-body subamplitudes are represented in a separable form using the energy-dependent pole expansion. Converged bound-state results are calculated for the first time using the full interaction, and are compared with those obtained from a simplified treatment of the tensor force. The Tjon line that correlates three-nucleon and four-nucleon binding energies is shown using different nucleon-nucleon potentials. In all calculations the Coulomb force has been neglected.

Effects of supplemental vibrational force on space closure, treatment duration, and occlusal outcome: A multicenter randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

DiBiase, Andrew T; Woodhouse, Neil R; Papageorgiou, Spyridon N; Johnson, Nicola; Slipper, Carmel; Grant, James; Alsaleh, Maryam; Khaja, Yousef; Cobourne, Martyn T

2018-04-01

A multicenter parallel 3-arm randomized clinical trial was carried out in 3 university hospitals in the United Kingdom to investigate the effect of supplemental vibratory force on space closure and treatment outcome with fixed appliances. Eighty-one subjects less than 20 years of age with mandibular incisor irregularity undergoing extraction-based fixed appliance treatment were randomly allocated to supplementary (20 minutes/day) use of an intraoral vibrational device (AcceleDent; OrthoAccel Technologies, Houston, Tex) (n = 29), an identical nonfunctional (sham) device (n = 25), or fixed-appliance only (n = 27). Space closure in the mandibular arch was measured from dental study casts taken at the start of space closure, at the next appointment, and at completion of space closure. Final records were taken at completion of treatment. Data were analyzed blindly on a per-protocol basis with descriptive statistics, 1-way analysis of variance, and linear regression modeling with 95% confidence intervals. Sixty-one subjects remained in the trial at start of space closure, with all 3 groups comparable for baseline characteristics. The overall median rate of initial mandibular arch space closure (primary outcome) was 0.89 mm per month with no difference for either the AcceleDent group (difference, -0.09 mm/month; 95% CI, -0.39 to 0.22 mm/month; P = 0.57) or the sham group (difference, -0.02 mm/month; 95% CI, -0.32 to 0.29 mm/month; P = 0.91) compared with the fixed only group. Similarly, no significant differences were identified between groups for secondary outcomes, including overall treatment duration (median, 18.6 months; P >0.05), number of visits (median, 12; P >0.05), and percentage of improvement in the Peer Assessment Rating (median, 90.0%; P >0.05). Supplemental vibratory force during orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances does not affect space closure, treatment duration, total number of visits, or final occlusal outcome. NCT02314975

Preliminary Evaluation of Outcomes of Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy for Armed Forces Veterans presenting with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Harford

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This brief outline presents some initial findings from a pilot project conducted within a charity settingin the UK, examining clinical outcomes for a cohort of armed forces veterans presenting with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD. Outcomes were measuredusing CORE-OM (Evans et al 2000, PHQ-9 (Kroenke et al 2001 and GAD-7 (Spitzer et al 2006. Preliminary findings show that positive Reliable Change on global distress and anxiety had taken place within 16 sessions. These results suggest that transactional analysis psychotherapy has promise for treatment of PTSD with this client group and that further research is warranted.

AFM-based nanolithography : manipulating poly(dimethylsiloxane) : loading force, scan speed and image resolution dependence on stick-slip outcomes in the slow and fast scan directions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, J.A.; Brown, C.L.; Myhra, S.; Watson, G.S.

2005-01-01

The various properties of a polymer will affect its functionality in a wide range of applications including biosensors, tissue engineering and biomaterials technology. Some of those require precise manipulation of laterally differentiated regions, currently taking place on the μm-scale. It is now apparent that this need must now be driven into the nm-regime. Using the AFM, the principal objective is to explore and investigate lithographic outcomes during tip-induced manipulation with the aid of work on poly(dimethylsiloxane), (PDMS). The frictional effects (including any in-plane relaxation), and their dependence on the loading force, scan speed and image resolution are examined. (author). 3 refs., 5 figs

Patient-Reported Outcome and Observer-Reported Outcome Assessment in Rare Disease Clinical Trials: An ISPOR COA Emerging Good Practices Task Force Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Benjamin, Katy; Vernon, Margaret K; Patrick, Donald L; Perfetto, Eleanor; Nestler-Parr, Sandra; Burke, Laurie

Rare diseases (RDs) affect a small number of people within a population. About 5000 to 8000 distinct RDs have been identified, with an estimated 6% to 8% of people worldwide suffering from an RD. Approximately 75% of RDs affect children. Frequently, these conditions are heterogeneous; many are progressive. Regulatory incentives have increased orphan drug designations and approvals. To develop emerging good practices for RD outcomes research addressing the challenges inherent in identifying, selecting, developing, adapting, and implementing patient-reported outcome (PRO) and observer-reported outcome (ObsRO) assessments for use in RD clinical trials. This report outlines the challenges and potential solutions in determining clinical outcomes for RD trials. It follows the US Food and Drug Administration Roadmap to Patient-Focused Outcome Measurement in Clinical Trials. The Roadmap consists of three columns: 1) Understanding the Disease or Condition, 2) Conceptualizing Treatment Benefit, and 3) Selecting/Developing the Outcome Measure. Challenges in column 1 include factors such as incomplete natural history data and heterogeneity of disease presentation and patient experience. Solutions include using several information sources, for example, clinical experts and patient advocacy groups, to construct the condition's natural history and understand treatment patterns. Challenges in column 2 include understanding and measuring treatment benefit from the patient's perspective, especially given challenges in defining the context of use such as variations in age or disease severity/progression. Solutions include focusing on common symptoms across patient subgroups, identifying short-term outcomes, and using multiple types of COA instruments to measure the same constructs. Challenges in column 3 center around the small patient population and heterogeneity of the condition or study sample. Few disease-specific instruments for RDs exist. Strategies include adapting existing

Including Emotional Intelligence in Pharmacy Curricula to Help Achieve CAPE Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Michael H; Fierke, Kerry K; Sucher, Brandon J; Janke, Kristin K

2015-05-25

The importance of emotional intelligence (EI) for effective teamwork and leadership within the workplace is increasingly apparent. As suggested by the 2013 CAPE Outcomes, we recommend that colleges and schools of pharmacy consider EI-related competencies to build self-awareness and professionalism among students. In this Statement, we provide two examples of the introduction of EI into pharmacy curricula. In addition, we provide a 4-phase process based on recommendations developed by EI experts for structuring and planning EI development. Finally, we make 9 recommendations' to inform the process of including EI in pharmacy curricula.

Statistical methods for including two-body forces in large system calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimes, S.M.

1980-07-01

Large systems of interacting particles are often treated by assuming that the effect on any one particle of the remaining N-1 may be approximated by an average potential. This approach reduces the problem to that of finding the bound-state solutions for a particle in a potential; statistical mechanics is then used to obtain the properties of the many-body system. In some physical systems this approach may not be acceptable, because the two-body force component cannot be treated in this one-body limit. A technique for incorporating two-body forces in such calculations in a more realistic fashion is described. 1 figure

Good research practices for comparative effectiveness research: approaches to mitigate bias and confounding in the design of nonrandomized studies of treatment effects using secondary data sources: the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Good Research Practices for Retrospective Database Analysis Task Force Report--Part II.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Emily; Martin, Bradley C; Van Staa, Tjeerd; Garbe, Edeltraut; Siebert, Uwe; Johnson, Michael L

2009-01-01

The goal of comparative effectiveness analysis is to examine the relationship between two variables, treatment, or exposure and effectiveness or outcome. Unlike data obtained through randomized controlled trials, researchers face greater challenges with causal inference with observational studies. Recognizing these challenges, a task force was formed to develop a guidance document on methodological approaches to addresses these biases. The task force was commissioned and a Chair was selected by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Board of Directors in October 2007. This report, the second of three reported in this issue of the Journal, discusses the inherent biases when using secondary data sources for comparative effectiveness analysis and provides methodological recommendations to help mitigate these biases. The task force report provides recommendations and tools for researchers to mitigate threats to validity from bias and confounding in measurement of exposure and outcome. Recommendations on design of study included: the need for data analysis plan with causal diagrams; detailed attention to classification bias in definition of exposure and clinical outcome; careful and appropriate use of restriction; extreme care to identify and control for confounding factors, including time-dependent confounding. Design of nonrandomized studies of comparative effectiveness face several daunting issues, including measurement of exposure and outcome challenged by misclassification and confounding. Use of causal diagrams and restriction are two techniques that can improve the theoretical basis for analyzing treatment effects in study populations of more homogeneity, with reduced loss of generalizability.

Experience of using an interdisciplinary task force to develop a culturally sensitive multipronged tool to improve stroke outcomes in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oyedunni S. Arulogun

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The burden of stroke is on the rise in Nigeria. A multi-faceted strategy is essential for reducing this growing burden and includes promoting medication adherence, optimizing traditional biomarker risk targets (blood pressure, cholesterol and encouraging beneficial lifestyle practices. Successful implementation of this strategy is challenged by inadequate patient health literacy, limited patient/medical system resources, and lack of a coordinated interdisciplinary treatment approach. Moreover, the few interventions developed to improve medical care in Nigeria have generally been aimed at physicians (primarily and nurses (secondarily with minimal input from other key health care providers, and limited contributions from patients, caregivers, and the community itself. The Tailored Hospital-based Risk Reduction to Impede Vascular Events after Stroke (THRIVES study is assessing the efficacy of a culturally sensitive multidimensional intervention for controlling blood pressure in recent stroke survivors. A key component of the intervention development process was the constitution of a project task force comprising various healthcare providers and administrators. This paper describes the unique experience in Sub-Saharan Africa of utilizing of an interdisciplinary Task force to facilitate the development of the multipronged behavioral intervention aimed at enhancing stroke outcomes in a low-middle income country.

Individual and work factors related to perceived work ability and labor force outcomes.

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McGonagle, Alyssa K; Fisher, Gwenith G; Barnes-Farrell, Janet L; Grosch, James W

2015-03-01

Perceived work ability refers to a worker's assessment of his or her ability to continue working in his or her job, given characteristics of the job along with his or her resources. Perceived work ability is a critical variable to study in the United States, given an aging workforce, trends to delay retirement, and U.S. policy considerations to delay the age at which full Social Security retirement benefits may be obtained. Based on the job demands-resources model, cognitive appraisal theory of stress, and push/pull factors related to retirement, we proposed and tested a conceptual model of antecedents and outcomes of perceived work ability using 3 independent samples of U.S. working adults. Data regarding workers' job characteristics were from self-report and Occupational Information Network measures. Results from relative importance analysis indicated that health and sense of control were consistently and most strongly related to work ability perceptions relative to other job demands and job and personal resources when perceived work ability was measured concurrently or 2 weeks later in samples with varying occupations. Job demands (along with health and sense of control) were most strongly related to work ability perceptions when perceived work ability was measured in a manufacturing worker sample 1.6 years later. Perceived work ability also predicted lagged labor force outcomes (absence, retirement, and disability leave) while controlling for other known predictors of each. Consistent indirect effects were observed from health status and sense of control to all 3 of these outcomes via perceived work ability. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Labour Market Outcomes of Vocational Education in Europe: Evidence from the European Union Labour Force Survey. Research Paper No 32

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Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2013

2013-01-01

This report focuses on the outcomes of vocational education and, in particular, on the transition from education to work in the current employment situation for young adults in the European Union. Using anonymised microdata from the EU labour force survey 2009 ad hoc module, this is one of the first studies to undertake a large cross-country…

Theoretical Framework to Extend Adverse Outcome Pathways to Include Pharmacokinetic Considerations

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Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) have generated intense interest for their utility in linking known population outcomes to a molecular initiating event (MIE) that can be quantified using in vitro methods. While there are tens of thousands of chemicals in commercial use, biology h...

Adding Value to Force Diagrams: Representing Relative Force Magnitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Wendel, Paul

2011-05-01

Nearly all physics instructors recognize the instructional value of force diagrams, and this journal has published several collections of exercises to improve student skill in this area.1-4 Yet some instructors worry that too few students perceive the conceptual and problem-solving utility of force diagrams,4-6 and over recent years a rich variety of approaches has been proposed to add value to force diagrams. Suggestions include strategies for identifying candidate forces,6,7 emphasizing the distinction between "contact" and "noncontact" forces,5,8 and the use of computer-based tutorials.9,10 Instructors have suggested a variety of conventions for constructing force diagrams, including approaches to arrow placement and orientation2,11-13 and proposed notations for locating forces or marking action-reaction force pairs.8,11,14,15

Development of Constraint Force Equation Methodology for Application to Multi-Body Dynamics Including Launch Vehicle Stage Seperation

Science.gov (United States)

Pamadi, Bandu N.; Toniolo, Matthew D.; Tartabini, Paul V.; Roithmayr, Carlos M.; Albertson, Cindy W.; Karlgaard, Christopher D.

2016-01-01

The objective of this report is to develop and implement a physics based method for analysis and simulation of multi-body dynamics including launch vehicle stage separation. The constraint force equation (CFE) methodology discussed in this report provides such a framework for modeling constraint forces and moments acting at joints when the vehicles are still connected. Several stand-alone test cases involving various types of joints were developed to validate the CFE methodology. The results were compared with ADAMS(Registered Trademark) and Autolev, two different industry standard benchmark codes for multi-body dynamic analysis and simulations. However, these two codes are not designed for aerospace flight trajectory simulations. After this validation exercise, the CFE algorithm was implemented in Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2) to provide a capability to simulate end-to-end trajectories of launch vehicles including stage separation. The POST2/CFE methodology was applied to the STS-1 Space Shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB) separation and Hyper-X Research Vehicle (HXRV) separation from the Pegasus booster as a further test and validation for its application to launch vehicle stage separation problems. Finally, to demonstrate end-to-end simulation capability, POST2/CFE was applied to the ascent, orbit insertion, and booster return of a reusable two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle concept. With these validation exercises, POST2/CFE software can be used for performing conceptual level end-to-end simulations, including launch vehicle stage separation, for problems similar to those discussed in this report.

The Air Force Deployment Transition Center: Assessment of Program Structure, Process, and Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

lodging and ample recreational activities (tourist waterfront or sightseeing locations). Many allied countries—including Canada , the Netherlands...to the research team because our data use permissions were from the Air Force. Figure 4.1 Sample Accounting for DTC Attendees and Controls NOTE: SSN ...Social Security number. a A match based on having the same SSN and being the first PDHA completed after a date 30 days prior to the DTC attendance

[Outcome Quality in Medical Rehabilitation: Relationship Between "Patient-Reported Outcomes" (PROs) and Social Security Contributions].

Science.gov (United States)

Nübling, R; Kaluscha, R; Krischak, G; Kriz, D; Martin, H; Müller, G; Renzland, J; Reuss-Borst, M; Schmidt, J; Kaiser, U; Toepler, E

2017-02-01

Aim of the Study The outcome quality of medical rehabilitation is evaluated often by "Patient Reported Outcomes" (PROs). It is examined to what extent these PROs are corresponding with "hard" or "objective" outcomes such as payments of contributions to social insurance. Methods The "rehabilitation QM outcome study" includes self-reports of patients as well as data from the Rehabilitation Statistics Database (RSD) of the German pension insurance Baden-Wurttemberg. The sample for the question posed includes N=2 947 insured who were treated in 2011 in 21 clinics of the "health quality network" and who were either employed or unemployed at the time of the rehabilitation application (e. g. the workforce or labour force group, response rate: 55%). The sample turned out widely representative for the population of the insured persons. Results PROs and payment of contributions to pension insurance clearly correspond. In the year after the rehabilitation improved vs. not improved rehabilitees differed clearly with regard to their payments of contributions. Conclusions The results support the validity of PROs. For a comprehensive depiction of the outcome quality of rehabilitation PROs and payments of contributions should be considered supplementary. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Outcome analysis of liver stiffness by ARFI (acoustic radiation force impulse) elastometry in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goertz, R.S.; Sturm, J.; Zopf, S.; Wildner, D.; Neurath, M.F.; Strobel, D.

2014-01-01

Aim: To evaluate the association between liver stiffness measured by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastometry and the outcome of antiviral treatment in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C. Materials and methods: Thirty-eight patients with chronic viral hepatitis B (n = 16) or hepatitis C (n = 22) underwent liver biopsy and ARFI elastometry of the right hepatic lobe. A follow-up assessment using ARFI was performed a mean of 2.3 years after the baseline evaluation. The patients with favourable outcome were classified in group S and those receiving no treatment, showing no response to treatment, or experiencing a relapse were classified in group N. Results: The 38 patients had an initial mean ARFI value of 1.56 ± 0.62 m/s as compared with 1.54 ± 0.64 m/s in the follow-up evaluation. Group S showed a significant decline in ARFI values (1.55 ± 0.60 m/s versus 1.34 ± 0.47 m/s; p < 0.05) and included 16 (64%) patients with lower shear wave velocities at follow-up. In group N, liver stiffness values showed a slight but not significant increase (1.57 ± 0.70 m/s versus 1.93 ± 0.77 m/s). Conclusion: Changes in liver stiffness during antiviral therapy can be assessed by ARFI reflecting response or no response. ARFI elastometry is an additional, useful tool for the follow-up assessment of treatment outcome in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B or C infection

Pediatric patient-reported outcome instruments for research to support medical product labeling: report of the ISPOR PRO good research practices for the assessment of children and adolescents task force.

Science.gov (United States)

Matza, Louis S; Patrick, Donald L; Riley, Anne W; Alexander, John J; Rajmil, Luis; Pleil, Andreas M; Bullinger, Monika

2013-06-01

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments for children and adolescents are often included in clinical trials with the intention of collecting data to support claims in a medical product label. The purpose of the current task force report is to recommend good practices for pediatric PRO research that is conducted to inform regulatory decision making and support claims made in medical product labeling. The recommendations are based on the consensus of an interdisciplinary group of researchers who were assembled for a task force associated with the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). In those areas in which supporting evidence is limited or in which general principles may not apply to every situation, this task force report identifies factors to consider when making decisions about the design and use of pediatric PRO instruments, while highlighting issues that require further research. Five good research practices are discussed: 1) Consider developmental differences and determine age-based criteria for PRO administration: Four age groups are discussed on the basis of previous research (<5 years old, 5-7 years, 8-11 years, and 12-18 years). These age groups are recommended as a starting point when making decisions, but they will not fit all PRO instruments or the developmental stage of every child. Specific age ranges should be determined individually for each population and PRO instrument. 2) Establish content validity of pediatric PRO instruments: This section discusses the advantages of using children as content experts, as well as strategies for concept elicitation and cognitive interviews with children. 3) Determine whether an informant-reported outcome instrument is necessary: The distinction between two types of informant-reported measures (proxy vs. observational) is discussed, and recommendations are provided. 4) Ensure that the instrument is designed and formatted appropriately for the target age group. Factors to

Simulation of a force on force exercise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terhune, R.; Van Slyke, D.; Sheppard, T.; Brandrup, M.

1988-01-01

The Security Exercise Evaluation System (SEES) is under development for use in planning Force on Force exercises and as an aid in post-exercise evaluation. This study is part of the development cycle where the simulation results are compared to field data to provide guidance for further development of the model. SEES is an event-driven stochastic computer program simulating individual movement and combat within an urban terrain environment. The simulator models the physics of movement, line of sight, and weapon effects. It relies on the controllers to provide all knowledge of security tactics, which are entered by the controllers during the simulation using interactive color graphic workstations. They are able to develop, modify and implement plans promptly as the simulator maintains real time. This paper reports on how SEES will be used to develop an intrusion plan, test the security response tactics and develop observer logistics. A Force on Force field exercise will then be executed to follow the plan with observations recorded. An analysis is made by first comparing the plan and events of the simulation with the field exercise, modifying the simulation plan to match the actual field exercise, and then running the simulation to develop a distribution of possible outcomes

Influence of post-stroke spasticity on EMG-force coupling and force steadiness in biceps brachii.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlyle, Jennilee K; Mochizuki, George

2018-02-01

Individuals with spasticity after stroke experience a decrease in force steadiness which can impact function. Alterations in the strength of EMG-force coupling may contribute to the reduction in force steadiness observed in spasticity. The aim was to determine the extent to which force steadiness and EMG-force coupling is affected by post-stroke spasticity. This cross-sectional study involved individuals with upper limb spasticity after stroke. Participants were required to generate and maintain isometric contractions of the elbow flexors at varying force levels. Coefficient of variation of force, absolute force, EMG-force cross-correlation function peak and peak latency was measured from both limbs with surface electromyography and isometric dynamometry. Statistically significant differences were observed between the affected and less affected limbs for all outcome measures. Significant main effects of force level were also observed. Force steadiness was not statistically significantly correlated with EMG-force coupling; however, both force steadiness and absolute force were associated with the level of impairment as measured by the Chedoke McMaster Stroke Assessment Scale. Spasticity after stroke uncouples the relationship between EMG and force and is associated with reduced force steadiness during isometric contractions; however, these features of control are not associated in individuals with spasticity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conducting Accessible Research: Including People With Disabilities in Public Health, Epidemiological, and Outcomes Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, Dianne; Magasi, Susan; Novak, Catherine; Harniss, Mark

2016-12-01

People with disabilities are largely absent from mainstream health research. Exclusion of people with disabilities may be explicit, attributable to poorly justified exclusion criteria, or implicit, attributable to inaccessible study documents, interventions, or research measures. Meanwhile, people with disabilities experience poorer health, greater incidence of chronic conditions, and higher health care expenditure than people without disabilities. We outline our approach to "accessible research design"-research accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. We describe a model that includes 3 tiers: universal design, accommodations, and modifications. Through our work on several large-scale research studies, we provide pragmatic examples of accessible research design. Making efforts to include people with disabilities in public health, epidemiological, and outcomes studies will enhance the interpretability of findings for a significant patient population.

Methodological recommendations for cognition trials in bipolar disorder by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Targeting Cognition Task Force

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miskowiak, K W; Burdick, K E; Martinez-Aran, A

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To aid the development of treatment for cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder, the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) convened a task force to create a consensus-based guidance paper for the methodology and design of cognition trials in bipolar disorder. METHODS...... symptoms and concomitant medication. Task force recommendations are to: (i) enrich trials with objectively measured cognitively impaired patients; (ii) generally select a broad cognitive composite score as the primary outcome and a functional measure as a key secondary outcome; and (iii) include remitted...... of treatments to illness stage and using a multimodal approach. CONCLUSIONS: This ISBD task force guidance paper provides the first consensus-based recommendations for cognition trials in bipolar disorder. Adherence to these recommendations will likely improve the sensitivity in detecting treatment efficacy...

Critical Care Delivery: The Importance of Process of Care and ICU Structure to Improved Outcomes: An Update From the American College of Critical Care Medicine Task Force on Models of Critical Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Weled, Barry J; Adzhigirey, Lana A; Hodgman, Tudy M; Brilli, Richard J; Spevetz, Antoinette; Kline, Andrea M; Montgomery, Vicki L; Puri, Nitin; Tisherman, Samuel A; Vespa, Paul M; Pronovost, Peter J; Rainey, Thomas G; Patterson, Andrew J; Wheeler, Derek S

2015-07-01

In 2001, the Society of Critical Care Medicine published practice model guidelines that focused on the delivery of critical care and the roles of different ICU team members. An exhaustive review of the additional literature published since the last guideline has demonstrated that both the structure and process of care in the ICU are important for achieving optimal patient outcomes. Since the publication of the original guideline, several authorities have recognized that improvements in the processes of care, ICU structure, and the use of quality improvement science methodologies can beneficially impact patient outcomes and reduce costs. Herein, we summarize findings of the American College of Critical Care Medicine Task Force on Models of Critical Care: 1) An intensivist-led, high-performing, multidisciplinary team dedicated to the ICU is an integral part of effective care delivery; 2) Process improvement is the backbone of achieving high-quality ICU outcomes; 3) Standardized protocols including care bundles and order sets to facilitate measurable processes and outcomes should be used and further developed in the ICU setting; and 4) Institutional support for comprehensive quality improvement programs as well as tele-ICU programs should be provided.

Labor Force

Science.gov (United States)

Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 2012

2012-01-01

The labor force is the number of people ages 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or the institutionalized population, such as prison inmates. Determining the size of the labor force is a way of determining how big the economy can get. The size of the labor force depends on two…

The Relationship between Work-Life Conflict/Work-Life Balance and Operational Effectiveness in the Canadian Forces

Science.gov (United States)

2006-12-01

pertain to the issue of work-family imbalance. That is, despite the high rate of female participation in the paid labour force, women still have...variety of work-related outcomes, including reduced job performance. Work interference with family, on the other hand, was related to absenteeism and

Discrete Lattice effect of various forcing methods of body force on immersed Boundary-Lattice Boltzmann method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Son, Sung Wan; Ha, Man Yeong; Yoon, Hyun Sik [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Hae Kwon [POSCO, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Balachandar, S. [University of Florida, Florida (United States)

2013-02-15

We investigate the discrete lattice effect of various forcing methods in the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to include the body force obtained from the immersed boundary method (IBM). In the immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM), the LBM needs a forcing method to involve the body force on a forcing point near the immersed boundary that is calculated by IBM. The proper forcing method in LBM is derived to include the body force, which appears to resolve problems such as multiphase flow, non-ideal gas behavior, etc. Many researchers have adopted different forcing methods in LBM to involve the body force from IBM, even when they solved similar problems. However, it is necessary to evaluate the discrete lattice effect, which originates from different forcing methods in LBM, to include the effect of the body force from IBM on the results. Consequently, in this study, a rigorous analysis of the discrete lattice effect for different forcing methods in IB-LBM is performed by solving various problems.

Discrete Lattice effect of various forcing methods of body force on immersed Boundary-Lattice Boltzmann method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Sung Wan; Ha, Man Yeong; Yoon, Hyun Sik; Jeong, Hae Kwon; Balachandar, S.

2013-01-01

We investigate the discrete lattice effect of various forcing methods in the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to include the body force obtained from the immersed boundary method (IBM). In the immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM), the LBM needs a forcing method to involve the body force on a forcing point near the immersed boundary that is calculated by IBM. The proper forcing method in LBM is derived to include the body force, which appears to resolve problems such as multiphase flow, non-ideal gas behavior, etc. Many researchers have adopted different forcing methods in LBM to involve the body force from IBM, even when they solved similar problems. However, it is necessary to evaluate the discrete lattice effect, which originates from different forcing methods in LBM, to include the effect of the body force from IBM on the results. Consequently, in this study, a rigorous analysis of the discrete lattice effect for different forcing methods in IB-LBM is performed by solving various problems.

Muscle Force-Velocity Relationships Observed in Four Different Functional Tests.

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Zivkovic, Milena Z; Djuric, Sasa; Cuk, Ivan; Suzovic, Dejan; Jaric, Slobodan

2017-02-01

The aims of the present study were to investigate the shape and strength of the force-velocity relationships observed in different functional movement tests and explore the parameters depicting force, velocity and power producing capacities of the tested muscles. Twelve subjects were tested on maximum performance in vertical jumps, cycling, bench press throws, and bench pulls performed against different loads. Thereafter, both the averaged and maximum force and velocity variables recorded from individual trials were used for force-velocity relationship modeling. The observed individual force-velocity relationships were exceptionally strong (median correlation coefficients ranged from r = 0.930 to r = 0.995) and approximately linear independently of the test and variable type. Most of the relationship parameters observed from the averaged and maximum force and velocity variable types were strongly related in all tests (r = 0.789-0.991), except for those in vertical jumps (r = 0.485-0.930). However, the generalizability of the force-velocity relationship parameters depicting maximum force, velocity and power of the tested muscles across different tests was inconsistent and on average moderate. We concluded that the linear force-velocity relationship model based on either maximum or averaged force-velocity data could provide the outcomes depicting force, velocity and power generating capacity of the tested muscles, although such outcomes can only be partially generalized across different muscles.

Transformational leadership: application of magnet's new empiric outcomes.

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Meredith, Erin K; Cohen, Elaine; Raia, Lucille V

2010-03-01

The many benefits to hospitals throughout the world that achieved Magnet designation is well documented. This status of recognition demands the support of leadership during the Magnet journey. In 2008, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) announced a new model for the Magnet Recognition Program that translates the original 14 Forces of Magnetism into Five Model Components. Specifically, this new model includes sources of evidence and empiric outcomes that by definition accentuates transformational nursing leadership. The day-to-day impact of this change places an even greater emphasis on demonstrated outcomes and innovation that may potentially transform nursing practice, quality and safety of care, and the population served. This article provides tangible examples and outcomes for reaching nursing excellence through leadership support and engagement. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Satisfactory patient-based outcomes after surgical treatment for idiopathic clubfoot: includes surgeon's individualized technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahan, Susan T; Spencer, Samantha A; Kasser, James R

2014-09-01

Treatment of idiopathic clubfoot has shifted towards Ponseti technique, but previously surgical management was standard. Outcomes of surgery have varied, with many authors reporting discouraging results. Our purpose was to evaluate a single surgeon's series of children with idiopathic clubfoot treated with a la carte posteromedial and lateral releases using the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) with a minimum of 2-year follow-up. A total of 148 patients with idiopathic clubfoot treated surgically by a single surgeon over 15 years were identified, and mailed PODCI questionnaires. Fifty percent of the patients were located and responded, resulting in 74 complete questionnaires. Median age at surgery was 10 months (range, 5.3 to 84.7 mo), male sex 53/74 (71.6%), bilateral surgery 31/74 (41.9%), and average follow-up of 9.7 years. PODCI responses were compared with previously published normal healthy controls using t test for each separate category. Included in the methods is the individual surgeon's operative technique. In PODCIs where a parent reports for their child or adolescent, there was no difference between our data and the healthy controls in any of the 5 categories. In PODCI where an adolescent self-reports, there was no difference in 4 of 5 categories; significant difference was only found between our data (mean = 95.2; SD = 7.427) and normal controls (mean = 86.3; SD = 12.5) in Happiness Scale (P = 0.0031). In this group of idiopathic clubfoot patients, treated with judicious posteromedial release by a single surgeon, primarily when surgery was treatment of choice for clubfoot, patient-based outcomes are not different from their normal healthy peers through childhood and adolescence. While Ponseti treatment has since become the treatment of choice for clubfoot, surgical treatment, in some hands, has led to satisfactory results. Level III.

Attentional Focusing Instructions and Force Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David C Marchant

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Research progress assessing the role of attentional focusing instructions on skill acquisition and performance has lead researchers to apply this approach to force production tasks. Initial converging evidence indicates that force production tasks are sensitive to verbal instruction; externally focused instructions (onto movement outcomes, or onto the object force is being exerted against are shown to be more beneficial than internally focused instructions (focusing attention onto the movements being executed. These benefits are observed for maximal and accurate force production, as well as the maintenance of force production in prolonged tasks. A range of mechanisms are identified supporting the proposal that an external focus promotes movement efficiency in line with energy and effort conservation. Future research is required to assess how this developing body of work interacts with the broader understanding of psychological and physiological factors implicated in the effective production, maintenance and limitation of maximal or sub-maximal forces.

The baryonic spectrum in a constituent quark model including a three-body force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desplanques, B.; Gignoux, C.; Silvestre-Brac, B.; Gonzalez, P.; Navarro, J.; Noguera, S.

1992-01-01

We analyze, within a non-relativistic quark model, the low energy part of the baryonic spectrum in the octet and decuplet flavour representations. The relevance of a strong Coulomb potential is emphasized in order to explain its general features. The addition of a three-body force allows to solve the 'Roper puzzle', giving a consistent explanation to its relative position in the spectrum. (orig.)

Reducing Trunk Compensation in Stroke Survivors: A Randomized Crossover Trial Comparing Visual and Force Feedback Modalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Valdés, Bulmaro Adolfo; Schneider, Andrea Nicole; Van der Loos, H F Machiel

2017-10-01

To investigate whether the compensatory trunk movements of stroke survivors observed during reaching tasks can be decreased by force and visual feedback, and to examine whether one of these feedback modalities is more efficacious than the other in reducing this compensatory tendency. Randomized crossover trial. University research laboratory. Community-dwelling older adults (N=15; 5 women; mean age, 64±11y) with hemiplegia from nontraumatic hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke (>3mo poststroke), recruited from stroke recovery groups, the research group's website, and the community. In a single session, participants received augmented feedback about their trunk compensation during a bimanual reaching task. Visual feedback (60 trials) was delivered through a computer monitor, and force feedback (60 trials) was delivered through 2 robotic devices. Primary outcome measure included change in anterior trunk displacement measured by motion tracking camera. Secondary outcomes included trunk rotation, index of curvature (measure of straightness of hands' path toward target), root mean square error of hands' movement (differences between hand position on every iteration of the program), completion time for each trial, and posttest questionnaire to evaluate users' experience and system's usability. Both visual (-45.6% [45.8 SD] change from baseline, P=.004) and force (-41.1% [46.1 SD], P=.004) feedback were effective in reducing trunk compensation. Scores on secondary outcome measures did not improve with either feedback modality. Neither feedback condition was superior. Visual and force feedback show promise as 2 modalities that could be used to decrease trunk compensation in stroke survivors during reaching tasks. It remains to be established which one of these 2 feedback modalities is more efficacious than the other as a cue to reduce compensatory trunk movement. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application of the nuclear field theory to monopole interactions which include all the vertices of a general force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bes, D.R.; Dussel, G.G.; Liotta, R.J.; Sofia, H.M.; Broglia, R.A.

1976-01-01

The field treatment is applied to the monopole pairing and monopole particle-hole interactions in a two-level model. All the vertices of realistic interactions appear, and the problems treated here have most of the complexities of real nuclei. Yet, the model remains sufficiently simple, so that a close comparison with the results of a (conventional) treatment in which only the fermion degrees of freedom are considered is possible. The applicability to actual physical situations appears to be feasible, both for schematic or realistic forces. The advantage of including the exchange components of the interaction in the construction of the phonon is discussed. (Auth.)

Concurrent Modeling of Hydrodynamics and Interaction Forces Improves Particle Deposition Predictions.

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Jin, Chao; Ren, Carolyn L; Emelko, Monica B

2016-04-19

It is widely believed that media surface roughness enhances particle deposition-numerous, but inconsistent, examples of this effect have been reported. Here, a new mathematical framework describing the effects of hydrodynamics and interaction forces on particle deposition on rough spherical collectors in absence of an energy barrier was developed and validated. In addition to quantifying DLVO force, the model includes improved descriptions of flow field profiles and hydrodynamic retardation functions. This work demonstrates that hydrodynamic effects can significantly alter particle deposition relative to expectations when only the DLVO force is considered. Moreover, the combined effects of hydrodynamics and interaction forces on particle deposition on rough, spherical media are not additive, but synergistic. Notably, the developed model's particle deposition predictions are in closer agreement with experimental observations than those from current models, demonstrating the importance of inclusion of roughness impacts in particle deposition description/simulation. Consideration of hydrodynamic contributions to particle deposition may help to explain discrepancies between model-based expectations and experimental outcomes and improve descriptions of particle deposition during physicochemical filtration in systems with nonsmooth collector surfaces.

Sensitivity of regional climate to global temperature and forcing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tebaldi, Claudia; O’Neill, Brian; Lamarque, Jean-François

2015-01-01

The sensitivity of regional climate to global average radiative forcing and temperature change is important for setting global climate policy targets and designing scenarios. Setting effective policy targets requires an understanding of the consequences exceeding them, even by small amounts, and the effective design of sets of scenarios requires the knowledge of how different emissions, concentrations, or forcing need to be in order to produce substantial differences in climate outcomes. Using an extensive database of climate model simulations, we quantify how differences in global average quantities relate to differences in both the spatial extent and magnitude of climate outcomes at regional (250–1250 km) scales. We show that differences of about 0.3 °C in global average temperature are required to generate statistically significant changes in regional annual average temperature over more than half of the Earth’s land surface. A global difference of 0.8 °C is necessary to produce regional warming over half the land surface that is not only significant but reaches at least 1 °C. As much as 2.5 to 3 °C is required for a statistically significant change in regional annual average precipitation that is equally pervasive. Global average temperature change provides a better metric than radiative forcing for indicating differences in regional climate outcomes due to the path dependency of the effects of radiative forcing. For example, a difference in radiative forcing of 0.5 W m −2 can produce statistically significant differences in regional temperature over an area that ranges between 30% and 85% of the land surface, depending on the forcing pathway. (letter)

Multistage Force Amplification of Piezoelectric Stacks

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Tian-Bing (Inventor); Siochi, Emilie J. (Inventor); Zuo, Lei (Inventor); Jiang, Xiaoning (Inventor); Kang, Jin Ho (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Embodiments of the disclosure include an apparatus and methods for using a piezoelectric device, that includes an outer flextensional casing, a first cell and a last cell serially coupled to each other and coupled to the outer flextensional casing such that each cell having a flextensional cell structure and each cell receives an input force and provides an output force that is amplified based on the input force. The apparatus further includes a piezoelectric stack coupled to each cell such that the piezoelectric stack of each cell provides piezoelectric energy based on the output force for each cell. Further, the last cell receives an input force that is the output force from the first cell and the last cell provides an output apparatus force In addition, the piezoelectric energy harvested is based on the output apparatus force. Moreover, the apparatus provides displacement based on the output apparatus force.

Joint Force Quarterly. Number 4, Spring 1994

Science.gov (United States)

1994-05-01

Martin J. Peters, Jr. Calvin B. Kelley Art Direction Typography and Design Division Government Printing Office Joint Force Quarterly is published by...within larger organizations. For example, the concept 6 JFQ / Spring 1994 of the combined joint task force for Europe is designed to provide just such...or financial, may be the shared outcome for all parties to future conflicts. The image of war, shaped over centuries, is precise, graphic , and

Comprehensive Performance Nutrition for Special Operations Forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Daigle, Karen A; Logan, Christi M; Kotwal, Russ S

2015-01-01

Special Operations Forces (SOF) training, combat, and contingency operations are unique and demanding. Performance nutrition within the Department of Defense has emphasized that nutrition is relative to factors related to the desired outcome, which includes successful performance of mentally and physically demanding operations and missions of tactical and strategic importance, as well as nonoperational assignments. Discussed are operational, nonoperational, and patient categories that require different nutrition strategies to facilitate category-specific performance outcomes. Also presented are 10 major guidelines for a SOF comprehensive performance nutrition program, practical nutrition recommendations for Special Operators and medical providers, as well as resources for dietary supplement evaluation. Foundational health concepts, medical treatment, and task-specific performance factors should be considered when developing and systematically implementing a comprehensive SOF performance nutrition program. When tailored to organizational requirements, SOF unit- and culture-specific nutrition education and services can optimize individual Special Operator performance, overall unit readiness, and ultimately, mission success. 2015.

Attainment and retention of force moderation following laparoscopic resection training with visual force feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, Rafael; Onar-Thomas, Arzu; Travascio, Francesco; Asfour, Shihab

2017-11-01

Laparoscopic training with visual force feedback can lead to immediate improvements in force moderation. However, the long-term retention of this kind of learning and its potential decay are yet unclear. A laparoscopic resection task and force sensing apparatus were designed to assess the benefits of visual force feedback training. Twenty-two male university students with no previous experience in laparoscopy underwent relevant FLS proficiency training. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control or treatment group. Both groups trained on the task for 2 weeks as follows: initial baseline, sixteen training trials, and post-test immediately after. The treatment group had visual force feedback during training, whereas the control group did not. Participants then performed four weekly test trials to assess long-term retention of training. Outcomes recorded were maximum pulling and pushing forces, completion time, and rated task difficulty. Extreme maximum pulling force values were tapered throughout both the training and retention periods. Average maximum pushing forces were significantly lowered towards the end of training and during retention period. No significant decay of applied force learning was found during the 4-week retention period. Completion time and rated task difficulty were higher during training, but results indicate that the difference eventually fades during the retention period. Significant differences in aptitude across participants were found. Visual force feedback training improves on certain aspects of force moderation in a laparoscopic resection task. Results suggest that with enough training there is no significant decay of learning within the first month of the retention period. It is essential to account for differences in aptitude between individuals in this type of longitudinal research. This study shows how an inexpensive force measuring system can be used with an FLS Trainer System after some retrofitting. Surgical

Long-term functional outcome after surgical repair of cranial cruciate ligament disease in dogs.

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Mölsä, Sari H; Hyytiäinen, Heli K; Hielm-Björkman, Anna K; Laitinen-Vapaavuori, Outi M

2014-11-19

Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture is a very common cause of pelvic limb lameness in dogs. Few studies, using objective and validated outcome evaluation methods, have been published to evaluate long-term (>1 year) outcome after CCL repair. A group of 47 dogs with CCL rupture treated with intracapsular, extracapsular, and osteotomy techniques, and 21 healthy control dogs were enrolled in this study. To evaluate long-term surgical outcome, at a minimum of 1.5 years after unilateral CCL surgery, force plate, orthopedic, radiographic, and physiotherapeutic examinations, including evaluation of active range of motion (AROM), symmetry of thrust from the ground, symmetry of muscle mass, and static weight bearing (SWB) of pelvic limbs, and goniometry of the stifle and tarsal joints, were done. At a mean of 2.8 ± 0.9 years after surgery, no significant differences were found in average ground reaction forces or SWB between the surgically treated and control dog limbs, when dogs with no other orthopedic findings were included (n = 21). However, in surgically treated limbs, approximately 30% of the dogs had decreased static or dynamic weight bearing when symmetry of weight bearing was evaluated, 40-50% of dogs showed limitations of AROM in sitting position, and two-thirds of dogs had weakness in thrust from the ground. The stifle joint extension angles were lower (P <0.001) and flexion angles higher (P <0.001) in surgically treated than in contralateral joints, when dogs with no contralateral stifle problems were included (n = 33). In dogs treated using the intracapsular technique, the distribution percentage per limb of peak vertical force (DPVF) in surgically treated limbs was significantly lower than in dogs treated with osteotomy techniques (P =0.044). The average long-term dynamic and static weight bearing of the surgically treated limbs returned to the level of healthy limbs. However, extension and flexion angles of the surgically treated stifles

Stability enhancement of an atomic force microscope for long-term force measurement including cantilever modification for whole cell deformation

Science.gov (United States)

Weafer, P. P.; McGarry, J. P.; van Es, M. H.; Kilpatrick, J. I.; Ronan, W.; Nolan, D. R.; Jarvis, S. P.

2012-09-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is widely used in the study of both morphology and mechanical properties of living cells under physiologically relevant conditions. However, quantitative experiments on timescales of minutes to hours are generally limited by thermal drift in the instrument, particularly in the vertical (z) direction. In addition, we demonstrate the necessity to remove all air-liquid interfaces within the system for measurements in liquid environments, which may otherwise result in perturbations in the measured deflection. These effects severely limit the use of AFM as a practical tool for the study of long-term cell behavior, where precise knowledge of the tip-sample distance is a crucial requirement. Here we present a readily implementable, cost effective method of minimizing z-drift and liquid instabilities by utilizing active temperature control combined with a customized fluid cell system. Long-term whole cell mechanical measurements were performed using this stabilized AFM by attaching a large sphere to a cantilever in order to approximate a parallel plate system. An extensive examination of the effects of sphere attachment on AFM data is presented. Profiling of cantilever bending during substrate indentation revealed that the optical lever assumption of free ended cantilevering is inappropriate when sphere constraining occurs, which applies an additional torque to the cantilevers "free" end. Here we present the steps required to accurately determine force-indentation measurements for such a scenario. Combining these readily implementable modifications, we demonstrate the ability to investigate long-term whole cell mechanics by performing strain controlled cyclic deformation of single osteoblasts.

Labor Force

Science.gov (United States)

Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 2010

2010-01-01

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly…

Retinal Changes Induced by Epiretinal Tangential Forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario R. Romano

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Two kinds of forces are active in vitreoretinal traction diseases: tangential and anterior-posterior forces. However, tangential forces are less characterized and classified in literature compared to the anterior-posterior ones. Tangential epiretinal forces are mainly due to anomalous posterior vitreous detachment (PVD, vitreoschisis, vitreopapillary adhesion (VPA, and epiretinal membranes (ERMs. Anomalous PVD plays a key role in the formation of the tangential vectorial forces on the retinal surface as consequence of gel liquefaction (synchysis without sufficient and fast vitreous dehiscence at the vitreoretinal interface. The anomalous and persistent adherence of the posterior hyaloid to the retina can lead to vitreomacular/vitreopapillary adhesion or to a formation of avascular fibrocellular tissue (ERM resulting from the proliferation and transdifferentiation of hyalocytes resident in the cortical vitreous remnants after vitreoschisis. The right interpretation of the forces involved in the epiretinal tangential tractions helps in a better definition of diagnosis, progression, prognosis, and surgical outcomes of vitreomacular interfaces.

Rigorous force field optimization principles based on statistical distance minimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vlcek, Lukas, E-mail: vlcekl1@ornl.gov [Chemical Sciences Division, Geochemistry & Interfacial Sciences Group, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6110 (United States); Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6173 (United States); Chialvo, Ariel A. [Chemical Sciences Division, Geochemistry & Interfacial Sciences Group, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6110 (United States)

2015-10-14

We use the concept of statistical distance to define a measure of distinguishability between a pair of statistical mechanical systems, i.e., a model and its target, and show that its minimization leads to general convergence of the model’s static measurable properties to those of the target. We exploit this feature to define a rigorous basis for the development of accurate and robust effective molecular force fields that are inherently compatible with coarse-grained experimental data. The new model optimization principles and their efficient implementation are illustrated through selected examples, whose outcome demonstrates the higher robustness and predictive accuracy of the approach compared to other currently used methods, such as force matching and relative entropy minimization. We also discuss relations between the newly developed principles and established thermodynamic concepts, which include the Gibbs-Bogoliubov inequality and the thermodynamic length.

DelPhiForce web server: electrostatic forces and energy calculations and visualization.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lin; Jia, Zhe; Peng, Yunhui; Chakravorty, Arghya; Sun, Lexuan; Alexov, Emil

2017-11-15

Electrostatic force is an essential component of the total force acting between atoms and macromolecules. Therefore, accurate calculations of electrostatic forces are crucial for revealing the mechanisms of many biological processes. We developed a DelPhiForce web server to calculate and visualize the electrostatic forces at molecular level. DelPhiForce web server enables modeling of electrostatic forces on individual atoms, residues, domains and molecules, and generates an output that can be visualized by VMD software. Here we demonstrate the usage of the server for various biological problems including protein-cofactor, domain-domain, protein-protein, protein-DNA and protein-RNA interactions. The DelPhiForce web server is available at: http://compbio.clemson.edu/delphi-force. delphi@clemson.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Security force-adversary engagement simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, H.A.

1975-01-01

A dynamic simulation of a security force-adversary engagement has been developed to obtain a better understanding of the complexities involved in security systems. Factors affecting engagement outcomes were identified and interrelated to represent an ambush of an escorted nuclear fuel truck convoy by an adversary group. Other forms of engagement such as assault and skirmish also can be simulated through suitable parameter changes. The dynamic model can provide a relative evaluation of changes in security force levels, equipment, training, and tactics. Continued application and subsequent refinements of the model are expected to augment the understanding of component interaction within a guard-based security system

Short-range fundamental forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antoniadis, I.; Baessler, S.; Buchner, M.; Fedorov, V.V.; Hoedl, S.; Nesvizhevsky, V.V.; Pignol, G.; Protasov, K.V.; Lambrecht, A.; Reynaud, S.; Sobolev, Y.

2010-01-01

We consider theoretical motivations to search for extra short-range fundamental forces as well as experiments constraining their parameters. The forces could be of two types: 1) spin-independent forces; 2) spin-dependent axion-like forces. Different experimental techniques are sensitive in respective ranges of characteristic distances. The techniques include measurements of gravity at short distances, searches for extra interactions on top of the Casimir force, precision atomic and neutron experiments. We focus on neutron constraints, thus the range of characteristic distances considered here corresponds to the range accessible for neutron experiments

United States Air Force Academy Educational Outcomes Assessment Working Group. Phase 2

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Porter, David

1997-01-01

This publication provides an account of educational outcomes assessment activity undertaken by seven assessment teams under the Phase II Charter of the Dean of the Faculty's Educational Outcomes Assessment Working Group...

The rank-heat plot is a novel way to present the results from a network meta-analysis including multiple outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Veroniki, Areti Angeliki; Straus, Sharon E; Fyraridis, Alexandros; Tricco, Andrea C

2016-08-01

To present a novel and simple graphical approach to improve the presentation of the treatment ranking in a network meta-analysis (NMA) including multiple outcomes. NMA simultaneously compares many relevant interventions for a clinical condition from a network of trials, and allows ranking of the effectiveness and/or safety of each intervention. There are numerous ways to present the NMA results, which can challenge their interpretation by research users. The rank-heat plot is a novel graph that can be used to quickly recognize which interventions are most likely the best or worst interventions with respect to their effectiveness and/or safety for a single or multiple outcome(s) and may increase interpretability. Using empirical NMAs, we show that the need for a concise and informative presentation of results is imperative, particularly as the number of competing treatments and outcomes in an NMA increases. The rank-heat plot is an efficient way to present the results of ranking statistics, particularly when a large amount of data is available, and it is targeted to users from various backgrounds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Collecting outcomes data in schools : Needs and challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallagher, TM; Swigert, NB; Baum, HM

1998-01-01

The definition of treatment outcomes, its interpretive limitations, and the need for this type of information are discussed. The activities of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA's) Task Force on Treatment Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness and the development of the National

A randomized controlled trial of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy for perfectionism including an investigation of outcome predictors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozental, Alexander; Shafran, Roz; Wade, Tracey; Egan, Sarah; Nordgren, Lise Bergman; Carlbring, Per; Landström, Andreas; Roos, Stina; Skoglund, Malin; Thelander, Elisabet; Trosell, Linnéa; Örtenholm, Alexander; Andersson, Gerhard

2017-08-01

Being highly attentive to details can be a positive feature. However, for some individuals, perfectionism can lead to distress and is associated with many psychiatric disorders. Cognitive behavior therapy has been shown to yield many benefits for those experiencing problems with perfectionism, but the access to evidence-based care is limited. The current study investigated the efficacy of guided Internet-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy (ICBT) and predictors of treatment outcome. In total, 156 individuals were included and randomized to an eight-week treatment or wait-list control. Self-report measures of perfectionism, depression, anxiety, self-criticism, self-compassion, and quality of life were distributed during screening and at post-treatment. Intention-to-treat were used for all statistical analyses. Moderate to large between-group effect sizes were obtained for the primary outcome measures, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, subscales Concerns over Mistakes and Personal Standards, Cohen's d = 0.68-1.00, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [0.36-1.33], with 35 (44.9%) of the patients in treatment being improved. Predictors were also explored, but none were related to treatment outcome. In sum, guided ICBT can be helpful for addressing problems with clinical perfectionism, but research of its long-term benefits is warranted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The original Ampere force and Biot-Savart and Lorentz forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pappas, P.T.

1983-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a very simple experiment, which favours the original Ampere force and unambiguously disproves the Biot-Savart force of relativity, or its approximation in a covariant relativistic form, namely the Lorentz force. This experiment with its extra degree of freedom has the advantage over the many other similar ones, including Ampere's original experiment, which have been performed in the past and recently by Graneau, of giving results which are both qualitative and quantitative, as well as unambiguous. Due to the strong association of the Biot-Savart and Lorentz force to relativistic theories, the experiment can be also considered as limiting the generality of these theories

Adverse outcomes of poor micronutrient status in childhood and adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Viteri, Fernando E; Gonzalez, Horacio

2002-05-01

The adverse effects of micronutrient deficiencies and excesses in children up to reproductive age are presented. A summary of risks and adverse functional and health outcomes associated with deficient and excessive intakes and nutrition status of iron, iodine, zinc, vitamins A and D, folate, vitamin B12, and riboflavin is presented. Nutrient-nutrient interactions of micronutrients, age, gender, and other host and environmental conditions, such as pregnancy, genetic conditions, overall nutrition, force of infection, and social conditions are considered as covariates in trying to define causation and outcomes due to specific micronutrients. The outcomes analyzed focus on growth and development, mental and neuromotor performance, immunocompetence, physical working capacity, morbidity, and in the case of pregnancy, overall reproductive performance. The results presented include responses to specific and multiple "experimental" interventions. A brief analysis of possible public health programs is presented, with emphasis on prevention.

Including Emotional Intelligence in Pharmacy Curricula to Help Achieve CAPE Outcomes

OpenAIRE

Nelson, Michael H.; Fierke, Kerry K.; Sucher, Brandon J.; Janke, Kristin K.

2015-01-01

The importance of emotional intelligence (EI) for effective teamwork and leadership within the workplace is increasingly apparent. As suggested by the 2013 CAPE Outcomes, we recommend that colleges and schools of pharmacy consider EI-related competencies to build self-awareness and professionalism among students. In this Statement, we provide two examples of the introduction of EI into pharmacy curricula. In addition, we provide a 4-phase process based on recommendations developed by EI exper...

Global mega forces: Implications for the future of natural resources

Science.gov (United States)

George H. Kubik

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of leading global mega forces and their importance to the future of natural resource decisionmaking, policy development, and operation. Global mega forces are defined as a combination of major trends, preferences, and probabilities that come together to produce the potential for future high-impact outcomes. These...

Forced magnetic reconnection

Science.gov (United States)

Vekstein, G.

2017-10-01

This is a tutorial-style selective review explaining basic concepts of forced magnetic reconnection. It is based on a celebrated model of forced reconnection suggested by J. B. Taylor. The standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory of this process has been pioneered by Hahm & Kulsrud (Phys. Fluids, vol. 28, 1985, p. 2412). Here we also discuss several more recent developments related to this problem. These include energetics of forced reconnection, its Hall-mediated regime, and nonlinear effects with the associated onset of the secondary tearing (plasmoid) instability.

Psychological interventions for the treatment of depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse or anger in armed forces veterans and their families: systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Shea, Luke; Watkins, Ed; Farrand, Paul

2017-06-15

Evidence highlights a high prevalence of common mental health disorders in armed forces veterans and their families, with depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse and anger being more common than PTSD. This paper presents a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify existing randomised controlled trial (RCT) research testing the effectiveness of psychological interventions for these difficulties in armed forces veterans and their family members. Electronic databases (CENTRAL, PsycInfo, MEDLINE, CINAHL, The Cochrane Register of Clinical Trials, EMBASE and ASSIA) will be searched to identify suitable studies for inclusion in the review supplemented by forward and backward reference checking, grey literature searches and contact with subject authors. Research including armed forces veterans and their family members will be included in the review with research including serving personnel or individuals under the age of 18 being excluded. Few RCTs examining the treatment of depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse or anger exist in armed forces veterans to date. The primary outcome will be symptomatic change following intervention for these difficulties. The secondary outcomes will include methodological aspects of interest such as discharge type and recruitment setting if data permits. In the event that the number of studies identified is too low to undertake a meta-analysis, a narrative review will be conducted. Quality assessment will be undertaken using the Cochrane Collaboration Tool and Cochran's Q statistic calculated to test for heterogeneity as suggested by the Cochrane handbook. The review will examine the findings of existing intervention research for depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse or anger in armed forces veterans and their families, along with any effect sizes that may exist. PROSPERO CRD42016036676.

Air Force Space Situational Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

2018-03-13

time sensitivity and CyberWorx capacity. One method, which maximizes solution agility and the educational benefit to warfighters and industry...how the Air Force might best exploit commercial, academic, and foreign SSA data to improve space outcomes. Question Background & Participants Modern ...in industry and even in their personal lives. CyberWorx was asked to address the challenges of incorporating non- traditional (open source, academic

Direct measurements of intermolecular forces by chemical force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Vezenov, Dmitri Vitalievich

1999-12-01

Detailed description of intermolecular forces is key to understanding a wide range of phenomena from molecular recognition to materials failure. The unique features of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to make point contact force measurements with ultra high sensitivity and to generate spatial maps of surface topography and forces have been extended to include measurements between well-defined organic molecular groups. Chemical modification of AFM probes with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) was used to make them sensitive to specific molecular interactions. This novel chemical force microscopy (CFM) technique was used to probe forces between different molecular groups in a range of environments (vacuum, organic liquids and aqueous solutions); measure surface energetics on a nanometer scale; determine pK values of the surface acid and base groups; measure forces to stretch and unbind a short synthetic DNA duplex and map the spatial distribution of specific functional groups and their ionization state. Studies of adhesion forces demonstrated the important contribution of hydrogen bonding to interactions between simple organic functionalities. The chemical identity of the tip and substrate surfaces as well as the medium had a dramatic effect on adhesion between model monolayers. A direct correlation between surface free energy and adhesion forces was established. The adhesion between epoxy polymer and model mixed SAMs varied with the amount of hydrogen bonding component in the monolayers. A consistent interpretation of CFM measurements in polar solvents was provided by contact mechanics models and intermolecular force components theory. Forces between tips and surfaces functionalized with SAMs terminating in acid or base groups depended on their ionization state. A novel method of force titration was introduced for highly local characterization of the pK's of surface functional groups. The pH-dependent changes in friction forces were exploited to map spatially the

Surgical Outcomes of Urinary Tract Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Darwish, Basma; Stochino-Loi, Emanuela; Pasquier, Geoffroy; Dugardin, Fabrice; Defortescu, Guillaume; Abo, Carole; Roman, Horace

To report the outcomes of surgical management of urinary tract endometriosis. Retrospective study based on prospectively recorded data (NCT02294825) (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). University tertiary referral center. Eighty-one women treated for urinary tract endometriosis between July 2009 and December 2015 were included, including 39 with bladder endometriosis, 31 with ureteral endometriosis, and 11 with both ureteral and bladder endometriosis. Owing to bilateral ureteral localization in 8 women, 50 different ureteral procedures were recorded. Procedures performed included resection of bladder endometriosis nodules, advanced ureterolysis, ureteral resection followed by end-to-end anastomosis, and ureteroneocystostomy. The main outcome measure was the outcome of the surgical management of urinary tract endometriosis. Fifty women presented with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) of the bladder and underwent either full-thickness excision of the nodule (70%) or excision of the bladder wall without opening of the bladder (30%). Ureteral lesions were treated by ureterolysis in 78% of the patients and by primary segmental resection in 22%. No patient required nephrectomy. Histological analysis revealed intrinsic ureteral endometriosis in 54.5% of cases. Clavien-Dindo grade III complications were present in 16% of the patients who underwent surgery for ureteral nodules and in 8% of those who underwent surgery for bladder endometriosis. Overall delayed postoperative outcomes were favorable regarding urinary symptoms and fertility. Patients were followed up for a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 7 years postoperatively, with no recorded recurrences. Surgical outcomes of urinary tract endometriosis are generally satisfactory; however, the risk of postoperative complications should be taken into consideration. Therefore, all such procedures should be managed by an experienced multidisciplinary team. Copyright © 2017 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc

Measuring Outcomes in Adult Weight Loss Studies That Include Diet and Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel A. Millstein

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Measuring success of obesity interventions is critical. Several methods measure weight loss outcomes but there is no consensus on best practices. This systematic review evaluates relevant outcomes (weight loss, BMI, % body fat, and fat mass to determine which might be the best indicator(s of success. Methods. Eligible articles described adult weight loss interventions that included diet and physical activity and a measure of weight or BMI change and body composition change. Results. 28 full-text articles met inclusion criteria. Subjects, settings, intervention lengths, and intensities varied. All studies measured body weight (−2.9 to −17.3 kg, 9 studies measured BMI (−1.1 to −5.1 kg/m2, 20 studies measured % body fat (−0.7 to −10.2%, and 22 studies measured fat mass (−0.9 to −14.9 kg. All studies found agreement between weight or BMI and body fat mass or body fat % decreases, though there were discrepancies in degree of significance between measures. Conclusions. Nearly all weight or BMI and body composition measures agreed. Since body fat is the most metabolically harmful tissue type, it may be a more meaningful measure of health change. Future studies should consider primarily measuring % body fat, rather than or in addition to weight or BMI.

Comparison of elective lumbar discectomy outcomes between civilians and military personnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farzanegan, G.; Mohebbi, H.A.; Moharamzad, Y.

2007-01-01

To determine the results of discectomy surgery for lumbar disc herniation in military personnel and compare it with civilians. One-hundred and seventeen military patients (54 subjects as combat forces and 63 as office personnel) and 115 civilians, who underwent discectomy surgery were included. In a mean duration of 50.8 months, the ability to return to full duty and resolution of complaints were assessed and satisfaction was measured using a Visual Analog Scale. Inability to return to previous duty was significantly higher in military personnel compared to civilians (p = 0.002); and in combat forces compared to office personnel (p 0.05). Surgical intervention had relatively poor outcomes in military personnel, specifically in combat forces. Prevention of injury to back region should be considered in military training programs and in case of presence of disc herniation related symptoms, efforts should be made to save patients effective function by conservation and medical therapies. (author)

The American Psychological Association Task Force assessment of violent video games: Science in the service of public interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Calvert, Sandra L; Appelbaum, Mark; Dodge, Kenneth A; Graham, Sandra; Nagayama Hall, Gordon C; Hamby, Sherry; Fasig-Caldwell, Lauren G; Citkowicz, Martyna; Galloway, Daniel P; Hedges, Larry V

2017-01-01

A task force of experts was convened by the American Psychological Association (APA) to update the knowledge and policy about the impact of violent video game use on potential adverse outcomes. This APA Task Force on Media Violence examined the existing literature, including the meta-analyses in the field, since the last APA report on media violence in 2005. Because the most recent meta-analyses were published in 2010 and reflected work through 2009, the task force conducted a search of the published studies from 2009-2013. These recently published articles were scored and assessed by a systematic evidentiary review, followed by a meta-analysis of the high utility studies, as documented in the evidentiary review. Consistent with the literature that we reviewed, we found that violent video game exposure was associated with: an increased composite aggression score; increased aggressive behavior; increased aggressive cognitions; increased aggressive affect, increased desensitization, and decreased empathy; and increased physiological arousal. The size of the effects was similar to that in prior meta-analyses, suggesting a stable result. Our task force concluded that violent video game use is a risk factor for adverse outcomes, but found insufficient studies to examine any potential link between violent video game use and delinquency or criminal behavior. Our technical report is the basis of this article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations of muscle force, power, cross-sectional muscle area and bone geometry in older UK men.

Science.gov (United States)

Zengin, Ayse; Pye, Stephen R; Cook, Michael J; Adams, Judith E; Rawer, Rainer; Wu, Frederick C W; O'Neill, Terence W; Ward, Kate A

2017-08-01

Ageing is associated with sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and increased fall risk, all of which contribute to increased fracture risk. Mechanically, bone strength adapts in response to forces created by muscle contractions. Adaptations can be through changes in bone size, geometry, and bending strength. Muscle mass is often used as a surrogate for muscle force; however, force can be increased without changes in muscle mass. Increased fall risk with ageing has been associated with a decline in muscle power-which is a measure of mobility. The aims of this study were as follows: (i) to investigate the relationship between muscle parameters in the upper and lower limbs with age in UK men and the influence of ethnicity on these relationships; (ii) to examine the relationships between jump force/grip strength/cross-sectional muscle area (CSMA) with bone outcomes at the radius and tibia. White European, Black Afro-Caribbean, and South Asian men aged 40-79 years were recruited from Manchester, UK. Cortical bone mineral content, cross-sectional area, cortical area, cross-sectional moment of inertia, and CSMA were measured at the diaphysis of the radius and tibia using peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Lower limb jump force and power were measured from a single two-legged jump performed on a ground-reaction force platform. Grip strength was measured using a dynamometer. Associations between muscle and bone outcomes was determined using linear regression with adjustments for age, height, weight, and ethnicity. Three hundred and one men were recruited. Jump force was negatively associated with age; for every 10 year increase in age, there was a 4% reduction in jump force (P force was positively associated with tibial bone outcomes: a 1 standard deviation greater jump force was associated with significantly higher cortical bone mineral content 3.1%, cross-sectional area 4.2%, cortical area 3.4%, and cross-sectional moment of inertia 6.8% (all P force and power are

Incarceration as forced migration: effects on selected community health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, James C; Torrone, Elizabeth

2008-09-01

We estimated the effects of high incarceration rates on rates of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies. We calculated correlations between rates of incarceration in state prisons and county jails and rates of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies for each of the 100 counties in North Carolina during 1995 to 2002. We also estimated increases in negative health outcomes associated with increases in incarceration rates using negative binomial regression analyses. Rates of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies, adjusted for age, race, and poverty distributions by county, consistently increased with increasing incarceration rates. In the most extreme case, teenage pregnancies exhibited an increase of 71.61 per 100000 population (95% confidence interval [CI]=41.88, 101.35) in 1996 after an increase in the prison population rate from 223.31 to 468.58 per 100000 population in 1995. High rates of incarceration can have the unintended consequence of destabilizing communities and contributing to adverse health outcomes.

Labour force participation among patients with rheumatoid arthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chorus, A.M.J.; Miedema, H.S.; Wevers, C.J.; Linden, S. van der

2000-01-01

Objectives - To assess work history and labour force participation among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (IRA) in the Netherlands, Method - A random sample of 1056 patients with RA aged 16-59 years from 17 rheumatology practices in the Netherlands was examined. Data on disease status and outcome

Force platform measurements as predictors of falls among older people - a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Piirtola, Maarit; Era, Pertti

2006-01-01

Poor postural balance is one of the major risk factors for falling. A great number of reports have analyzed the risk factors and predictors of falls but the results have for the most part been unclear and partly contradictory. Objective data on these matters are thus urgently needed. The force platform technique has widely been used as a tool to assess balance. However, the ability of force platform measures to predict falls remains unknown. The purpose of this systematic review was to extract and critically review the findings of prospective studies where force platform measurements have been used as predictors of falls among elderly populations. The study was done as a systematic literature review. PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL databases from 1950 to April 2005 were used. The review includes prospective follow-up studies using the force platform as a tool to measure postural balance. Nine original prospective studies were included in the final analyses. In five studies fall-related outcomes were associated with some force platform measures and in the remaining four studies associations were not found. For the various parameters derived on the basis of the force platform data, the mean speed of the mediolateral (ML) movement of the center of pressure (COP) during normal standing with the eyes open and closed, the mean amplitude of the ML movement of the COP with the eyes open and closed, and the root-mean-square value of the ML displacement of COP were the indicators that showed significant associations with future falls. Measures related to dynamic posturography (moving platforms) were not predictive of falls. Despite a wide search only a few prospective follow-up studies using the force platform technique to measure postural balance and a reliable registration of subsequent falls were found. The results suggest that certain aspects of force platform data may have predictive value for subsequent falls, especially various

Force sharing and other collaborative strategies in a dyadic force perception task.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatti, Fabio; Baud-Bovy, Gabriel

2018-01-01

When several persons perform a physical task jointly, such as transporting an object together, the interaction force that each person experiences is the sum of the forces applied by all other persons on the same object. Therefore, there is a fundamental ambiguity about the origin of the force that each person experiences. This study investigated the ability of a dyad (two persons) to identify the direction of a small force produced by a haptic device and applied to a jointly held object. In this particular task, the dyad might split the force produced by the haptic device (the external force) in an infinite number of ways, depending on how the two partners interacted physically. A major objective of this study was to understand how the two partners coordinated their action to perceive the direction of the third force that was applied to the jointly held object. This study included a condition where each participant responded independently and another one where the two participants had to agree upon a single negotiated response. The results showed a broad range of behaviors. In general, the external force was not split in a way that would maximize the joint performance. In fact, the external force was often split very unequally, leaving one person without information about the external force. However, the performance was better than expected in this case, which led to the discovery of an unanticipated strategy whereby the person who took all the force transmitted this information to the partner by moving the jointly held object. When the dyad could negotiate the response, we found that the participant with less force information tended to switch his or her response more often.

Sparse regularization for force identification using dictionaries

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Baijie; Zhang, Xingwu; Wang, Chenxi; Zhang, Hang; Chen, Xuefeng

2016-04-01

The classical function expansion method based on minimizing l2-norm of the response residual employs various basis functions to represent the unknown force. Its difficulty lies in determining the optimum number of basis functions. Considering the sparsity of force in the time domain or in other basis space, we develop a general sparse regularization method based on minimizing l1-norm of the coefficient vector of basis functions. The number of basis functions is adaptively determined by minimizing the number of nonzero components in the coefficient vector during the sparse regularization process. First, according to the profile of the unknown force, the dictionary composed of basis functions is determined. Second, a sparsity convex optimization model for force identification is constructed. Third, given the transfer function and the operational response, Sparse reconstruction by separable approximation (SpaRSA) is developed to solve the sparse regularization problem of force identification. Finally, experiments including identification of impact and harmonic forces are conducted on a cantilever thin plate structure to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability of SpaRSA. Besides the Dirac dictionary, other three sparse dictionaries including Db6 wavelets, Sym4 wavelets and cubic B-spline functions can also accurately identify both the single and double impact forces from highly noisy responses in a sparse representation frame. The discrete cosine functions can also successfully reconstruct the harmonic forces including the sinusoidal, square and triangular forces. Conversely, the traditional Tikhonov regularization method with the L-curve criterion fails to identify both the impact and harmonic forces in these cases.

Influence of comorbidities in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus — research and clinical care. A report of the ISHCSF task force on comorbidities in INPH

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is a syndrome of ventriculomegaly, gait impairment, cognitive decline and incontinence that occurs in an elderly population prone to many types of comorbidities. Identification of the comorbidities is thus an important part of the clinical management of INPH patients. In 2011, a task force was appointed by the International Society for Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders (ISHCSF) with the objective to compile an evidence-based expert analysis of what we know and what we need to know regarding comorbidities in INPH. This article is the final report of the task force. The expert panel conducted a comprehensive review of the literature. After weighing the evidence, the various proposals were discussed and the final document was approved by all the task force members and represents a consensus of expert opinions. Recommendations regarding the following topics are given: I. Musculoskeletal conditions; II. Urinary problems; III. Vascular disease including risk factors, Binswanger disease, and white matter hyperintensities; IV. Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease including biopsies; V. Other dementias (frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body, Parkinson); VI. Psychiatric and behavioral disorders; VII. Brain imaging; VIII. How to investigate and quantify. The task force concluded that comorbidity can be an important predictor of prognosis and post-operative outcome in INPH. Reported differences in outcomes among various INPH cohorts may be partly explained by variation in the rate and types of comorbidities at different hydrocephalus centers. Identification of comorbidities should thus be a central part of the clinical management of INPH where a detailed history, physical examination, and targeted investigations are the basis for diagnosis and grading. Future INPH research should focus on the contribution of comorbidity to overall morbidity, mortality and long-term outcomes. PMID:23758953

Functional Outcome in Bipolar Disorder: The Big Picture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boaz Levy

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Previous research on functional outcome in bipolar disorder (BD has uncovered various factors that exacerbate psychosocial disability over the course of illness, including genetics, illness severity, stress, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. This paper presents an integrated view of these findings that accounts for the precipitous decline in psychosocial functioning after illness onset. The proposed model highlights a number of reciprocal pathways among previously studied factors that trap people in a powerful cycle of ailing forces. The paper discusses implications to patient care as well as the larger social changes required for shifting the functional trajectory of people with BD from psychosocial decline to growth.

Measurement of tool forces in diamond turning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drescher, J.; Dow, T.A.

1988-12-01

A dynamometer has been designed and built to measure forces in diamond turning. The design includes a 3-component, piezoelectric transducer. Initial experiments with this dynamometer system included verification of its predicted dynamic characteristics as well as a detailed study of cutting parameters. Many cutting experiments have been conducted on OFHC Copper and 6061-T6 Aluminum. Tests have involved investigation of velocity effects, and the effects of depth and feedrate on tool forces. Velocity has been determined to have negligible effects between 4 and 21 m/s. Forces generally increase with increasing depth of cut. Increasing feedrate does not necessarily lead to higher forces. Results suggest that a simple model may not be sufficient to describe the forces produced in the diamond turning process.

Modelling of a linear PM machine including magnetic saturation and end effects : maximum force to current ratio

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Polinder, H.; Slootweg, J.G.; Hoeijmakers, M.J.; Compter, J.C.

2003-01-01

The use of linear permanent-magnet (PM) actuators increases in a wide variety of applications because of their high force density, robustness and accuracy. These linear PM motors are often heavily loaded during short intervals of high acceleration, so that magnetic saturation occurs. This paper

Variant mannose-binding lectin alleles are not associated with susceptibility to or outcome of invasive pneumococcal infection in randomly included patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kronborg, Gitte; Weis, Nina; Madsen, Hans O

2002-01-01

for pneumococcal infections. To assess the influence of MBL genotypes on the course and outcome of invasive pneumococcal disease, clinical data for 141 adult patients were collected prospectively and their genotypes were determined. All patients included had positive blood cultures for Streptococcus pneumoniae....... The distribution of variant MBL alleles related to low MBL serum concentrations was similar among the patients and healthy individuals, and MBL genotype was not associated with infection outcome. Thus, in a random adult population with invasive pneumococcal infection, MBL does not seem to play a role......Invasive pneumococcal disease is a serious infection that primarily affects very young children and elderly or immunocompromised individuals but also affects previously healthy people. Variant mannose-binding lectin (MBL) alleles are associated with recurrent infections and may be a risk factor...

Structure and agency in development-induced forced migration: the case of Brazil's Belo Monte Dam.

Science.gov (United States)

Randell, Heather

2016-03-01

This paper examines how structure and agency interact to shape forced migration outcomes. Specifically, I ask how structural factors such as compensation policies as well as social, financial, and human capital may either foster or constrain migration aspirations and capabilities. I use longitudinal, semi-structured interview data to study forced migration among farmers displaced by the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Results from baseline interviews indicate that nearly all community members aspired to purchase rural land in the region and maintain livelihoods as cacao farmers or cattle ranchers. Constraints limiting the ability to attain aspirations included strict requirements on land titles for properties, delays in receiving compensation, rising land prices, and the lack of power to negotiate for better compensation. Despite these constraints, most migrants succeeded in attaining aspirations, as they were able to mobilize resources such as social networks, financial capital, skills, and knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between structure and agency within forced migration research. I conclude by discussing how the findings may inform resettlement policies for future cases of development- or environment-induced forced migration.

Fiber Optic Force Sensors for MRI-Guided Interventions and Rehabilitation: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Iordachita, Iulian I.; Tokuda, Junichi; Hata, Nobuhiko; Liu, Xuan; Seifabadi, Reza; Xu, Sheng; Wood, Bradford; Fischer, Gregory S.

2017-01-01

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides both anatomical imaging with excellent soft tissue contrast and functional MRI imaging (fMRI) of physiological parameters. The last two decades have witnessed the manifestation of increased interest in MRI-guided minimally invasive intervention procedures and fMRI for rehabilitation and neuroscience research. Accompanying the aspiration to utilize MRI to provide imaging feedback during interventions and brain activity for neuroscience study, there is an accumulated effort to utilize force sensors compatible with the MRI environment to meet the growing demand of these procedures, with the goal of enhanced interventional safety and accuracy, improved efficacy and rehabilitation outcome. This paper summarizes the fundamental principles, the state of the art development and challenges of fiber optic force sensors for MRI-guided interventions and rehabilitation. It provides an overview of MRI-compatible fiber optic force sensors based on different sensing principles, including light intensity modulation, wavelength modulation, and phase modulation. Extensive design prototypes are reviewed to illustrate the detailed implementation of these principles. Advantages and disadvantages of the sensor designs are compared and analyzed. A perspective on the future development of fiber optic sensors is also presented which may have additional broad clinical applications. Future surgical interventions or rehabilitation will rely on intelligent force sensors to provide situational awareness to augment or complement human perception in these procedures. PMID:28652857

Fiber Optic Force Sensors for MRI-Guided Interventions and Rehabilitation: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Hao; Iordachita, Iulian I; Tokuda, Junichi; Hata, Nobuhiko; Liu, Xuan; Seifabadi, Reza; Xu, Sheng; Wood, Bradford; Fischer, Gregory S

2017-04-01

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides both anatomical imaging with excellent soft tissue contrast and functional MRI imaging (fMRI) of physiological parameters. The last two decades have witnessed the manifestation of increased interest in MRI-guided minimally invasive intervention procedures and fMRI for rehabilitation and neuroscience research. Accompanying the aspiration to utilize MRI to provide imaging feedback during interventions and brain activity for neuroscience study, there is an accumulated effort to utilize force sensors compatible with the MRI environment to meet the growing demand of these procedures, with the goal of enhanced interventional safety and accuracy, improved efficacy and rehabilitation outcome. This paper summarizes the fundamental principles, the state of the art development and challenges of fiber optic force sensors for MRI-guided interventions and rehabilitation. It provides an overview of MRI-compatible fiber optic force sensors based on different sensing principles, including light intensity modulation, wavelength modulation, and phase modulation. Extensive design prototypes are reviewed to illustrate the detailed implementation of these principles. Advantages and disadvantages of the sensor designs are compared and analyzed. A perspective on the future development of fiber optic sensors is also presented which may have additional broad clinical applications. Future surgical interventions or rehabilitation will rely on intelligent force sensors to provide situational awareness to augment or complement human perception in these procedures.

Force sharing and other collaborative strategies in a dyadic force perception task

Science.gov (United States)

Tatti, Fabio

2018-01-01

When several persons perform a physical task jointly, such as transporting an object together, the interaction force that each person experiences is the sum of the forces applied by all other persons on the same object. Therefore, there is a fundamental ambiguity about the origin of the force that each person experiences. This study investigated the ability of a dyad (two persons) to identify the direction of a small force produced by a haptic device and applied to a jointly held object. In this particular task, the dyad might split the force produced by the haptic device (the external force) in an infinite number of ways, depending on how the two partners interacted physically. A major objective of this study was to understand how the two partners coordinated their action to perceive the direction of the third force that was applied to the jointly held object. This study included a condition where each participant responded independently and another one where the two participants had to agree upon a single negotiated response. The results showed a broad range of behaviors. In general, the external force was not split in a way that would maximize the joint performance. In fact, the external force was often split very unequally, leaving one person without information about the external force. However, the performance was better than expected in this case, which led to the discovery of an unanticipated strategy whereby the person who took all the force transmitted this information to the partner by moving the jointly held object. When the dyad could negotiate the response, we found that the participant with less force information tended to switch his or her response more often. PMID:29474433

Recommendations on evidence needed to support measurement equivalence between electronic and paper-based patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures: ISPOR ePRO Good Research Practices Task Force report.

Science.gov (United States)

Coons, Stephen Joel; Gwaltney, Chad J; Hays, Ron D; Lundy, J Jason; Sloan, Jeff A; Revicki, Dennis A; Lenderking, William R; Cella, David; Basch, Ethan

2009-06-01

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are the consequences of disease and/or its treatment as reported by the patient. The importance of PRO measures in clinical trials for new drugs, biological agents, and devices was underscored by the release of the US Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance for industry titled "Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: Use in Medical Product Development to Support Labeling Claims." The intent of the guidance was to describe how the FDA will evaluate the appropriateness and adequacy of PRO measures used as effectiveness end points in clinical trials. In response to the expressed need of ISPOR members for further clarification of several aspects of the draft guidance, ISPOR's Health Science Policy Council created three task forces, one of which was charged with addressing the implications of the draft guidance for the collection of PRO data using electronic data capture modes of administration (ePRO). The objective of this report is to present recommendations from ISPOR's ePRO Good Research Practices Task Force regarding the evidence necessary to support the comparability, or measurement equivalence, of ePROs to the paper-based PRO measures from which they were adapted. The task force was composed of the leadership team of ISPOR's ePRO Working Group and members of another group (i.e., ePRO Consensus Development Working Group) that had already begun to develop recommendations regarding ePRO good research practices. The resulting task force membership reflected a broad array of backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise that enriched the development of this report. The prior work became the starting point for the Task Force report. A subset of the task force members became the writing team that prepared subsequent iterations of the report that were distributed to the full task force for review and feedback. In addition, review beyond the task force was sought and obtained. Along with a presentation and discussion period at an ISPOR meeting

Maternal and fetal outcome in pregnant and parturient women with cardiac disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arif, S.; Baqar, S.; Arif, A.

2013-01-01

Objective: To study the maternal and fetal outcome in pregnant and parturient women with cardiac disease admitted in Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology Rawalpindi. Type of Study: Cross sectional descriptive study. Place and Duration: Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology Rawalpindi Jan 2008 to June 2008. Patients and Methods: All pregnant patients beyond 28 weeks gestation with cardiac disease diagnosed before pregnancy or during the index pregnancy admitted for delivery or with cardiac complications were included in the study. All neonates less than 2.5 kg were taken as low birth weight and deliveries between 28 and 37 weeks were considered preterm. Cardiac patients with pregnancy less than 28 weeks were excluded from the study. Results: Maternal mortality was 5% with 31% mortality in NYHA Class III and IV. Perinatal mortality was 9% and low birth weight babies were 17%.Perinatal mortality was 0% in NYHA Class I and II and 60% in NYHA class III and IV. There was no maternal mortality in booked patients. All patients who expired were unbooked. Conclusion: Functional cardiac status is the most important factor affecting maternal and perinatal outcome. Antenatal booking status of the patient is the next important factor. (author)

NASA's Big Data Task Force

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, C. P.; Kinter, J. L.; Beebe, R. F.; Feigelson, E.; Hurlburt, N. E.; Mentzel, C.; Smith, G.; Tino, C.; Walker, R. J.

2017-12-01

Two years ago NASA established the Ad Hoc Big Data Task Force (BDTF - https://science.nasa.gov/science-committee/subcommittees/big-data-task-force), an advisory working group with the NASA Advisory Council system. The scope of the Task Force included all NASA Big Data programs, projects, missions, and activities. The Task Force focused on such topics as exploring the existing and planned evolution of NASA's science data cyber-infrastructure that supports broad access to data repositories for NASA Science Mission Directorate missions; best practices within NASA, other Federal agencies, private industry and research institutions; and Federal initiatives related to big data and data access. The BDTF has completed its two-year term and produced several recommendations plus four white papers for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. This presentation will discuss the activities and results of the TF including summaries of key points from its focused study topics. The paper serves as an introduction to the papers following in this ESSI session.

Isotonic force modulates force redevelopment rate of intact frog muscle fibres: evidence for cross-bridge induced thin filament activation

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenboom, Rene; Hannon, James D; Sieck, Gary C

2002-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that force-velocity history modulates thin filament activation, as assessed by the rate of force redevelopment after shortening (+dF/dtR). The influence of isotonic force on +dF/dtR was assessed by imposing uniform amplitude (2.55 to 2.15 μm sarcomere−1) but different speed releases to intact frog muscle fibres during fused tetani. Each release consisted of a contiguous ramp- and step-change in length. Ramp speed was changed from release to release to vary fibre shortening speed from 1.00 (2.76 ± 0.11 μm half-sarcomere−1 s−1) to 0.30 of maximum unloaded shortening velocity (Vu), thereby modulating isotonic force from 0 to 0.34 Fo, respectively. The step zeroed force and allowed the fibre to shorten unloaded for a brief period of time prior to force redevelopment. Although peak force redevelopment after different releases was similar, +dF/dtR increased by 81 ± 6% (P < 0.05) as fibre shortening speed was reduced from 1.00 Vu. The +dF/dtR after different releases was strongly correlated with the preceding isotonic force (r = 0.99, P < 0.001). Results from additional experiments showed that the slope of slack test plots produced by systematically increasing the step size that followed each ramp were similar. Thus, isotonic force did not influence Vu (mean: 2.84 ± 0.10 μm half-sarcomere−1 s−1, P < 0.05). We conclude that isotonic force modulates +dF/dtR independent of change in Vu, an outcome consistent with a cooperative influence of attached cross-bridges on thin filament activation that increases cross-bridge attachment rate without alteration to cross-bridge detachment rate. PMID:12205189

Pulmonary function tests as outcomes for systemic sclerosis interstitial lung disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Caron, Melissa; Hoa, Sabrina; Hudson, Marie; Schwartzman, Kevin; Steele, Russell

2018-06-30

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We performed a systematic review to characterise the use and validation of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) as surrogate markers for systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) progression.Five electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant studies. Included studies either used at least one PFT measure as a longitudinal outcome for SSc-ILD progression ( i.e. outcome studies) and/or reported at least one classical measure of validity for the PFTs in SSc-ILD ( i.e. validation studies).This systematic review included 169 outcome studies and 50 validation studies. Diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide ( D LCO ) was cumulatively the most commonly used outcome until 2010 when it was surpassed by forced vital capacity (FVC). FVC (% predicted) was the primary endpoint in 70.4% of studies, compared to 11.3% for % predicted D LCO Only five studies specifically aimed to validate the PFTs: two concluded that D LCO was the best measure of SSc-ILD extent, while the others did not favour any PFT. These studies also showed respectable validity measures for total lung capacity (TLC).Despite the current preference for FVC, available evidence suggests that D LCO and TLC should not yet be discounted as potential surrogate markers for SSc-ILD progression. Copyright ©ERS 2018.

Comparison of resistive heating and forced-air warming to prevent inadvertent perioperative hypothermia.

Science.gov (United States)

John, M; Crook, D; Dasari, K; Eljelani, F; El-Haboby, A; Harper, C M

2016-02-01

Forced-air warming is a commonly used warming modality, which has been shown to reduce the incidence of inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (heating mattresses offer a potentially cheaper alternative, however, and one of the research recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence was to evaluate such devices formally. We conducted a randomized single-blinded study comparing perioperative hypothermia in patients receiving resistive heating or forced-air warming. A total of 160 patients undergoing non-emergency surgery were recruited and randomly allocated to receive either forced-air warming (n=78) or resistive heating (n=82) in the perioperative period. Patient core temperatures were monitored after induction of anaesthesia until the end of surgery and in the recovery room. Our primary outcome measures included the final intraoperative temperature and incidence of hypothermia at the end of surgery. There was a significantly higher rate of hypothermia at the end of surgery in the resistive heating group compared with the forced-air warming group (P=0.017). Final intraoperative temperatures were also significantly lower in the resistive heating group (35.9 compared with 36.1°C, P=0.029). Hypothermia at the end of surgery in both warming groups was common (36% forced air warming, 54% resistive heating). Our results suggest that forced-air warming is more effective than resistive heating in preventing postoperative hypothermia. NCT01056991. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Modeling forces in high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, L. R.; Foster, M. W.

1997-01-01

We have developed a simple model that uses computed shielding currents to determine the forces acting on a high-temperature superconductor (HTS). The model has been applied to measurements of the force between HTS and permanent magnets (PM). Results show the expected hysteretic variation of force as the HTS moves first toward and then away from a permanent magnet, including the reversal of the sign of the force. Optimization of the shielding currents is carried out through a simulated annealing algorithm in a C++ program that repeatedly calls a commercial electromagnetic software code. Agreement with measured forces is encouraging

Consequence Management: A Disconnect Between National Security Policy and Force Structure?

Science.gov (United States)

2001-03-15

effects or the consequences of a detonated and/or released weapon(s) has only recently been given much attention. Despite several warnings of the...with the exposure ? Second, the time required to establish and field a regional JTF would prevent the force from having a strong positive effect on the... outcome of the situation. One of the critical missions of a successful consequence management force is its ability to provide a strong deterrent

Force Drawdowns and Demographic Diversity: Investigating the Impact of Force Reductions on the Demographic Diversity of the U.S. Military

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

and After 2000s Drawdown: Air Force Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 D.1. Sample Legal Authorities and DoD...identify additional sources (i.e., snowball method). We also asked colleagues and interviewees if they could recommend other reports, articles, or...strategies, programs, and outcomes. We supplemented our electronic searches with snowball methods; we read reference lists of reports to identify other

Seven Important Labor Force Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, John A.

1982-01-01

Presents statistics on the changing human resources mix in the labor force, which vocational counselors should be aware of. Trends include higher percentages of women working, and older men and married men leaving the work force. One result is an increasing number of persons are able to retire earlier. (JAC)

Sensing And Force-Reflecting Exoskeleton

Science.gov (United States)

Eberman, Brian; Fontana, Richard; Marcus, Beth

1993-01-01

Sensing and force-reflecting exoskeleton (SAFiRE) provides control signals to robot hand and force feedback from robot hand to human operator. Operator makes robot hand touch objects gently and manipulates them finely without exerting excessive forces. Device attaches to operator's hand; comfortable and lightweight. Includes finger exoskeleton, cable mechanical transmission, two dc servomotors, partial thumb exoskeleton, harness, amplifier box, two computer circuit boards, and software. Transduces motion of index finger and thumb. Video monitor of associated computer displays image corresponding to motion.

The Five Immune Forces Impacting DNA-Based Cancer Immunotherapeutic Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suneetha Amara

2017-03-01

Full Text Available DNA-based vaccine strategy is increasingly realized as a viable cancer treatment approach. Strategies to enhance immunogenicity utilizing tumor associated antigens have been investigated in several pre-clinical and clinical studies. The promising outcomes of these studies have suggested that DNA-based vaccines induce potent T-cell effector responses and at the same time cause only minimal side-effects to cancer patients. However, the immune evasive tumor microenvironment is still an important hindrance to a long-term vaccine success. Several options are currently under various stages of study to overcome immune inhibitory effect in tumor microenvironment. Some of these approaches include, but are not limited to, identification of neoantigens, mutanome studies, designing fusion plasmids, vaccine adjuvant modifications, and co-treatment with immune-checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we follow a Porter’s analysis analogy, otherwise commonly used in business models, to analyze various immune-forces that determine the potential success and sustainable positive outcomes following DNA vaccination using non-viral tumor associated antigens in treatment against cancer.

Comparing Outcomes and Cost of 3 Surgical Treatments for Sagittal Synostosis: A Retrospective Study Including Procedure-Related Cost Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Garber, Sarah T; Karsy, Michael; Kestle, John R W; Siddiqi, Faizi; Spanos, Stephen P; Riva-Cambrin, Jay

2017-10-01

Neurosurgical techniques for repair of sagittal synostosis include total cranial vault (TCV) reconstruction, open sagittal strip (OSS) craniectomy, and endoscopic strip (ES) craniectomy. To evaluate outcomes and cost associated with these 3 techniques. Via retrospective chart review with waiver of informed consent, the last consecutive 100 patients with sagittal synostosis who underwent each of the 3 surgical correction techniques before June 30, 2013, were identified. Clinical, operative, and process of care variables and their associated specific charges were analyzed along with overall charge. The study included 300 total patients. ES patients had fewer transfusion requirements (13% vs 83%, P cost savings compared with the TCV reconstruction. The charges were similar to those incurred with OSS craniectomy, but patients had a shorter length of stay and fewer revisions. Copyright © 2017 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons

Structure and agency in development-induced forced migration: the case of Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

This paper examines how structure and agency interact to shape forced migration outcomes. Specifically, I ask how structural factors such as compensation policies as well as social, financial, and human capital may either foster or constrain migration aspirations and capabilities. I use longitudinal, semi-structured interview data to study forced migration among farmers displaced by the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Results from baseline interviews indicate that nearly all community members aspired to purchase rural land in the region and maintain livelihoods as cacao farmers or cattle ranchers. Constraints limiting the ability to attain aspirations included strict requirements on land titles for properties, delays in receiving compensation, rising land prices, and the lack of power to negotiate for better compensation. Despite these constraints, most migrants succeeded in attaining aspirations, as they were able to mobilize resources such as social networks, financial capital, skills, and knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between structure and agency within forced migration research. I conclude by discussing how the findings may inform resettlement policies for future cases of development- or environment-induced forced migration. PMID:28298745

Relativistic bound state approach to fundamental forces including gravitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morsch H.P.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available To describe the structure of particle bound states of nature, a relativistic bound state formalism is presented, which requires a Lagrangian including scalar coupling of two boson fields. The underlying mechanisms are quite complex and require an interplay of overlapping boson fields and fermion-antifermion production. This gives rise to two potentials, a boson-exchange potential and one identified with the long sought confinement potential in hadrons. With minimal requirements, two elementary massless fermions (quantons - with and without charge - and one gauge boson, hadrons and leptons but also atoms and gravitational systems are described by bound states with electric and magnetic coupling between the charges and spins of quantons. No need is found for colour, Higgs-coupling and supersymmetry.

Quantitative modeling assesses the contribution of bond strengthening, rebinding and force sharing to the avidity of biomolecule interactions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina Lo Schiavo

Full Text Available Cell adhesion is mediated by numerous membrane receptors. It is desirable to derive the outcome of a cell-surface encounter from the molecular properties of interacting receptors and ligands. However, conventional parameters such as affinity or kinetic constants are often insufficient to account for receptor efficiency. Avidity is a qualitative concept frequently used to describe biomolecule interactions: this includes incompletely defined properties such as the capacity to form multivalent attachments. The aim of this study is to produce a working description of monovalent attachments formed by a model system, then to measure and interpret the behavior of divalent attachments under force. We investigated attachments between antibody-coated microspheres and surfaces coated with sparse monomeric or dimeric ligands. When bonds were subjected to a pulling force, they exhibited both a force-dependent dissociation consistent with Bell's empirical formula and a force- and time-dependent strengthening well described by a single parameter. Divalent attachments were stronger and less dependent on forces than monovalent ones. The proportion of divalent attachments resisting a force of 30 piconewtons for at least 5 s was 3.7 fold higher than that of monovalent attachments. Quantitative modeling showed that this required rebinding, i.e. additional bond formation between surfaces linked by divalent receptors forming only one bond. Further, experimental data were compatible with but did not require stress sharing between bonds within divalent attachments. Thus many ligand-receptor interactions do not behave as single-step reactions in the millisecond to second timescale. Rather, they exhibit progressive stabilization. This explains the high efficiency of multimerized or clustered receptors even when bonds are only subjected to moderate forces. Our approach provides a quantitative way of relating binding avidity to measurable parameters including bond

Quantitative Modeling Assesses the Contribution of Bond Strengthening, Rebinding and Force Sharing to the Avidity of Biomolecule Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lo Schiavo, Valentina; Robert, Philippe; Limozin, Laurent; Bongrand, Pierre

2012-01-01

Cell adhesion is mediated by numerous membrane receptors. It is desirable to derive the outcome of a cell-surface encounter from the molecular properties of interacting receptors and ligands. However, conventional parameters such as affinity or kinetic constants are often insufficient to account for receptor efficiency. Avidity is a qualitative concept frequently used to describe biomolecule interactions: this includes incompletely defined properties such as the capacity to form multivalent attachments. The aim of this study is to produce a working description of monovalent attachments formed by a model system, then to measure and interpret the behavior of divalent attachments under force. We investigated attachments between antibody-coated microspheres and surfaces coated with sparse monomeric or dimeric ligands. When bonds were subjected to a pulling force, they exhibited both a force-dependent dissociation consistent with Bell’s empirical formula and a force- and time-dependent strengthening well described by a single parameter. Divalent attachments were stronger and less dependent on forces than monovalent ones. The proportion of divalent attachments resisting a force of 30 piconewtons for at least 5 s was 3.7 fold higher than that of monovalent attachments. Quantitative modeling showed that this required rebinding, i.e. additional bond formation between surfaces linked by divalent receptors forming only one bond. Further, experimental data were compatible with but did not require stress sharing between bonds within divalent attachments. Thus many ligand-receptor interactions do not behave as single-step reactions in the millisecond to second timescale. Rather, they exhibit progressive stabilization. This explains the high efficiency of multimerized or clustered receptors even when bonds are only subjected to moderate forces. Our approach provides a quantitative way of relating binding avidity to measurable parameters including bond maturation, rebinding and

International confederation for cleft lip and palate and related craniofacial anomalies task force report: beyond eurocleft.

Science.gov (United States)

Semb, Gunvor

2014-11-01

The assigned objective for the Task Force Beyond Eurocleft was "to make recommendations for initiations of local and/or participation in multi-national cleft outcome studies and consist of individuals from the European experience with cleft outcome studies (Scandcleft, Eurocleft) and those who have initiated, or intend to initiate, similar studies in other geographical areas." By May 2013 the Task Force (TF) consisted of 183 members from 59 countries. It was agreed that this initiative should be truly global and include all cleft specialties as well as representatives from cleft support groups in recognition of the huge commitment for improving cleft care worldwide. The vision for this group is to build a dynamic, well-functioning TF that will work globally and be multidisciplinary with inclusive and respectful behavior to improve care for all individuals born with cleft lip and/or palate. As there is a large diversity in needs and interest in the group a range of parallel approaches would be required depending on the experience, resources, and challenges of regions, teams, and individuals. Important ideas for future work were: (1) Work on a global survey of access, existing outcome studies, current collaborations, and lessons learned. (2) Work towards the creation of a lasting, living resource for newcomers to intercenter collaboration that is kept fresh with new reports, copies of relevant publications, model grant applications, and a list of volunteers with the right experience to provide support and guidance for new initiatives. (3) Develop simple online training modules to provide information about the benefits and principles of multidisciplinary care, collaborative data collection and auditing short and longer-term outcomes. (4) Establish subgroups that will work within all regions of the world with regional and national leaders identified. An evaluation of current standards of care should be undertaken and country/region specific remedies to optimize

Measurement-only topological quantum computation without forced measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Huaixiu; Dua, Arpit; Jiang, Liang

2016-01-01

We investigate the measurement-only topological quantum computation (MOTQC) approach proposed by Bonderson et al (2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 010501) where the braiding operation is shown to be equivalent to a series of topological charge ‘forced measurements’ of anyons. In a forced measurement, the charge measurement is forced to yield the desired outcome (e.g. charge 0) via repeatedly measuring charges in different bases. This is a probabilistic process with a certain success probability for each trial. In practice, the number of measurements needed will vary from run to run. We show that such an uncertainty associated with forced measurements can be removed by simulating the braiding operation using a fixed number of three measurements supplemented by a correction operator. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in practice we can avoid applying the correction operator in hardware by implementing it in software. Our findings greatly simplify the MOTQC proposal and only require the capability of performing charge measurements to implement topologically protected transformations generated by braiding exchanges without physically moving anyons. (paper)

Does political ideology moderate stress: the special case of soldiers conducting forced evacuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shechner, Tomer; Slone, Michelle; Bialik, Gadi

2007-04-01

This study examined the moderating role of political ideology on psychological outcomes for Israeli soldiers participating in the forced evacuation of Jewish settlements from Gaza. Change in psychopathology and well-being was assessed for 3 concurrent mission groups differing in their political ideological contentiousness--forced evacuation, Gaza security, and Northern border security. After soldiers in each mission group were classified on the basis of relatively left- or right-wing political ideological tendencies, the authors examined differential impact of each mission on soldiers of differing political ideology. Results confirmed strong moderation effects of political ideology on psychological outcomes in these extreme contexts. Implications for research, prevention, and treatment are discussed. 2007 APA, all rights reserved

War-related stressors as predictors of post-deployment health of Air Force women.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Penny F; Lewandowski-Romps, Lisa; Silverschanz, Perry

2011-01-01

Little is known about the effects of combat exposure on women's health after service in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Our purpose was to describe the incidence and nature of physical heath symptoms reported by deployed women to identify problematic areas where early intervention or better surveillance might be directed. Using a random, stratified sample (theater vs. non-theater; parent vs. non-parent; and military component including active, guard, and reserve members) of 1,114 Air Force women, we provide descriptive statistics, group comparisons, and multiple regression models to identify health concerns and potential predictors of physical health outcomes. Findings revealed that those in the reserve/guard forces (vs. active duty) and those in the theater of operations (vs. elsewhere during the same time period) reported greater physical health problems (β = -0.07, p social functioning (β = 0.08, p war-related predictors of health among women serving in deployed locations around the world. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Workspace Safe Operation of a Force- or Impedance-Controlled Robot

Science.gov (United States)

Abdallah, Muhammad E. (Inventor); Hargrave, Brian (Inventor); Yamokoski, John D. (Inventor); Strawser, Philip A. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A method of controlling a robotic manipulator of a force- or impedance-controlled robot within an unstructured workspace includes imposing a saturation limit on a static force applied by the manipulator to its surrounding environment, and may include determining a contact force between the manipulator and an object in the unstructured workspace, and executing a dynamic reflex when the contact force exceeds a threshold to thereby alleviate an inertial impulse not addressed by the saturation limited static force. The method may include calculating a required reflex torque to be imparted by a joint actuator to a robotic joint. A robotic system includes a robotic manipulator having an unstructured workspace and a controller that is electrically connected to the manipulator, and which controls the manipulator using force- or impedance-based commands. The controller, which is also disclosed herein, automatically imposes the saturation limit and may execute the dynamic reflex noted above.

Report of the NIH Task Force on Research Standards for Chronic Low Back Pain†

Science.gov (United States)

Deyo, Richard A.; Dworkin, Samuel F.; Amtmann, Dagmar; Andersson, Gunnar; Borenstein, David; Carragee, Eugene; Carrino, John; Chou, Roger; Cook, Karon; DeLitto, Anthony; Goertz, Christine; Khalsa, Partap; Loeser, John; Mackey, Sean; Panagis, James; Rainville, James; Tosteson, Tor; Turk, Dennis; Von Korff, Michael; Weiner, Debra K.

2015-01-01

Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients’ lives. Such cLBP is often termed non-specific, and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The NIH Pain Consortium therefore charged a Research Task Force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the PROMIS methodology); reporting “responder analyses” in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The RTF believes these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of chronic low back pain. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document, and undergo continual improvement. Perspective A Task Force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium, with the goal of developing research standards for chronic low back pain. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimal dataset, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes. PMID:26388962

REPORT OF THE NIH TASK FORCE ON RESEARCH STANDARDS FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN

Science.gov (United States)

Deyo, Richard A.; Dworkin, Samuel F.; Amtmann, Dagmar; Andersson, Gunnar; Borenstein, David; Carragee, Eugene; Carrino, John; Chou, Roger; Cook, Karon; DeLitto, Anthony; Goertz, Christine; Khalsa, Partap; Loeser, John; Mackey, Sean; Panagis, James; Rainville, James; Tosteson, Tor; Turk, Dennis; Von Korff, Michael; Weiner, Debra K.

2014-01-01

Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients’ lives. Such cLBP is often termed non-specific, and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The NIH Pain Consortium therefore charged a Research Task Force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the PROMIS methodology); reporting “responder analyses” in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The RTF believes these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of chronic low back pain. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document, and undergo continual improvement. Perspective A Task Force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium, with the goal of developing research standards for chronic low back pain. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimal dataset, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes. PMID:24787228

Diversity in the Danish Armed Forces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schaub Jr, Gary John; Pradhan-Blach, Flemming; Larsen, Esben Salling

The Danish Armed Forces face the functional imperative of becoming a smaller, professional expeditionary force and the societal imperative of including women and ethnic minorities. It currently lags behind its NATO partners in gender and ethnic diversity. Lessons to be learned from NATO members...... and realistic goals, systematically developing recruitment, development, and retention policies, and the superiority of an all-volunteer force over conscription in fulfilling this societal imperative....

Quantification of intrusive/retraction force and moment generated during en-masse retraction of maxillary anterior teeth using mini-implants: A conceptual approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Sumathi Felicita

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study was to clarify the biomechanics of en-masse retraction of the upper anterior teeth and attempt to quantify the different forces and moments generated using mini-implants and to calculate the amount of applied force optimal for en-masse intrusion and retraction using mini-implants. Methods: The optimum force required for en-masse intrusion and retraction can be calculated by using simple mathematical formulae. Depending on the position of the mini-implant and the relationship of the attachment to the center of resistance of the anterior segment, different clinical outcomes are encountered. Using certain mathematical formulae, accurate measurements of the magnitude of force and moment generated on the teeth can be calculated for each clinical outcome. Results: Optimum force for en-masse intrusion and retraction of maxillary anterior teeth is 212 grams per side. Force applied at an angle of 5o to 16o from the occlusal plane produce intrusive and retraction force components that are within the physiologic limit. Conclusion: Different clinical outcomes are encountered depending on the position of the mini-implant and the length of the attachment. It is possible to calculate the forces and moments generated for any given magnitude of applied force. The orthodontist can apply the basic biomechanical principles mentioned in this study to calculate the forces and moments for different hypothetical clinical scenarios.

Long-term outcomes of anterior spinal fusion for treating thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis curves: average 15-year follow-up analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sudo, Hideki; Ito, Manabu; Kaneda, Kiyoshi; Shono, Yasuhiro; Takahata, Masahiko; Abumi, Kuniyoshi

2013-05-01

Retrospective review. To assess the long-term outcomes of anterior spinal fusion (ASF) for treating thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Although ASF is reported to provide good coronal and sagittal correction of the main thoracic (MT) AIS curves, the long-term outcomes of ASF is unknown. A consecutive series of 25 patients with Lenke 1 MT AIS were included. Outcome measures comprised radiographical measurements, pulmonary function, and Scoliosis Research Society outcome instrument (SRS-30) scores (preoperative SRS-30 scores were not documented). Postoperative surgical revisions and complications were recorded. Twenty-five patients were followed-up for 12 to 18 years (average, 15.2 yr). The average MT Cobb angle correction rate and the correction loss at the final follow-up were 56.7% and 9.2°, respectively. The average preoperative instrumented level of kyphosis was 8.3°, which significantly improved to 18.6° (P = 0.0003) at the final follow-up. The average percent-predicted forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 second were significantly decreased during long-term follow-up measurements (73% and 69%; P = 0.0004 and 0.0016, respectively). However, no patient had complaints related to pulmonary function. The average total SRS-30 score was 4.0. Implant breakage was not observed. All patients, except 1 who required revision surgery, demonstrated solid fusion. Late instrumentation-related bronchial problems were observed in 1 patient who required implant removal and bronchial tube repair, 13 years after the initial surgery. Overall radiographical findings and patient outcome measures of ASF for Lenke 1 MT AIS were satisfactory at an average follow-up of 15 years. ASF provides significant sagittal correction of the main thoracic curve with long-term maintenance of sagittal profiles. Percent-predicted values of forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 second were decreased in this cohort; however, no patient had complaints

Nanoconfined ionic liquids: Disentangling electrostatic and viscous forces

Science.gov (United States)

Lhermerout, Romain; Perkin, Susan

2018-01-01

Recent reports of surface forces across nanoconfined ionic liquids have revealed the existence of an anomalously long-ranged interaction apparently of electrostatic origin. Ionic liquids are viscous, and therefore it is important to inspect rigorously whether the observed repulsive forces are indeed equilibrium forces or, rather, arise from the viscous force during drainage of the fluid between two confining surfaces. In this paper we present our direct measurements of surface forces between mica sheets approaching in the ionic liquid [C2C1Im ] [NTf2] , exploring three orders of magnitude in approach velocity. Trajectories are systematically fitted by solving the equation of motion, allowing us to disentangle the viscous and equilibrium contributions. First, we find that the drainage obeys classical hydrodynamics with a negative slip boundary condition in the range of the structural force, implying that a nanometer -thick portion of the liquid in the vicinity of the solid surface is composed of ordered molecules that do not contribute to the flow. Second, we show that a long-range static force must indeed be invoked, in addition to the viscous force, in order to describe the data quantitatively. This equilibrium interaction decays exponentially and with decay length in agreement with the screening length reported for the same system in previous studies. In those studies the decay was simply checked to be independent of velocity and measured at a low approach rate, rather than explicitly taking account of viscous effects: we explain why this gives indistinguishable outcomes for the screening length by noting that the viscous force is linear to very good approximation over a wide range of distances.

Drafting force majeure clauses in natural gas purchase/sale contracts -- the practicalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reschke, D. N.; Campbell, L. M.

1999-01-01

The place of 'force majeure' provisions, in gas purchase/sale contracts is discussed. This issue, not normally considered to be significant in gas purchase/sale contracts, became a matter of intense interest in the aftermath of the Atcor Ltd v. Continental Energy Marketing case when the trial court, as well as the Alberta Court of Appeals, strongly criticized the wording of the force majeure clause in the contract as containing a 'choice of words that assured litigation'. Force majeure, simply stated, refers to acts of God, (lightning, earthquakes, storms, floods, etc) and acts of war. It is inserted in contracts to limit the liability of parties to the contract in the event of inability to perform due to any of the above acts of God, or acts of war. In this particular case, the force majeure cause included, in addition to the above, a long list of other causes such as strikes, lockouts or other industrial disturbances, insurrections, riots, epidemics, landslides, fires, washouts, explosions of or accidents to plant, machinery or lines of pipe, well blowouts, and pipeline repairs and reconditioning. The trial court found the drafting of the clause archaic, circumventing clarity, and drearily lengthy. In view of the court's decision it is clear that more thought has to go into drafting force majeure decisions in the future. Accordingly, this paper attempts to discuss practical issues of drafting force majeure clauses that clearly reflect the parties' intentions and expectations so that costly litigations might be avoided, or if litigation is unavoidable, to at least have the outcome of such litigation be more predictable. The focus of the discussion is on legal interpretation issues, forms of gas contract force majeure provisions- events and consequences, and standardization of force majeure provisions. It is recommended that the drafter of such clauses should always keep in mind the potential impact that the strict construction and commercial reasonability concepts

77 FR 23667 - Department of Defense Task Force on the Care, Management, and Transition of Recovering Wounded...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-20

... Recommendation Development Review of Services for PTSD TBI. 2-2:15 p.m. Break. 2:15-4 p.m. Task Force...-3:15 p.m. Break. 3:15-5 p.m. Task Force Recommendation Development Review of Transition Outcomes, Do...: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 8-8:30 a.m. Public Forum. 8:30-9:30 a.m. Task Force Recommendation Development...

Modeling good research practices--overview: a report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force--1.

Science.gov (United States)

Caro, J Jaime; Briggs, Andrew H; Siebert, Uwe; Kuntz, Karen M

2012-01-01

Models--mathematical frameworks that facilitate estimation of the consequences of health care decisions--have become essential tools for health technology assessment. Evolution of the methods since the first ISPOR Modeling Task Force reported in 2003 has led to a new Task Force, jointly convened with the Society for Medical Decision Making, and this series of seven articles presents the updated recommendations for best practices in conceptualizing models; implementing state-transition approaches, discrete event simulations, or dynamic transmission models; and dealing with uncertainty and validating and reporting models transparently. This overview article introduces the work of the Task Force, provides all the recommendations, and discusses some quandaries that require further elucidation. The audience for these articles includes those who build models, stakeholders who utilize their results, and, indeed, anyone concerned with the use of models to support decision making. Copyright © 2012 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pilot investigation - Nominal crew induced forces in zero-g

Science.gov (United States)

Klute, Glenn K.

1992-01-01

This report presents pilot-study data of test subject forces induced by intravehicular activities such as push-offs and landings with both hands and feet. Five subjects participated in this investigation. Three orthogonal force axes were measured in the NASA KC-135 research aircraft's 'zero-g' environment. The largest forces were induced during vertical foot push-offs, including one of 534 newtons (120 lbs). The mean vertical foot push-off was 311 newtons (70 lbs). The vertical hand push-off forces were also relatively large, including one of 267 newtons (60 lbs) with a mean of 151 newtons (34 lbs). These force magnitudes of these forces would result in a Shuttle gravity environment of about 1 x exp 10 -4 g's.

Research of the master-slave robot surgical system with the function of force feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yunyong; Zhou, Chaozheng; Xie, Le; Chen, Yongjun; Jiang, Jun; Zhang, Zhenfeng; Deng, Ze

2017-12-01

Surgical robots lack force feedback, which may lead to operation errors. In order to improve surgical outcomes, this research developed a new master-slave surgical robot, which was designed with an integrated force sensor. The new structure designed for the master-slave robot employs a force feedback mechanism. A six-dimensional force sensor was mounted on the tip of the slave robot's actuator. Sliding model control was adopted to control the slave robot. According to the movement of the master system manipulated by the surgeon, the slave's movement and the force feedback function were validated. The motion was completed, the standard deviation was calculated, and the force data were detected. Hence, force feedback was realized in the experiment. The surgical robot can help surgeons to complete trajectory motions with haptic sensation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Transition States from Empirical Force Fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Frank; Norrby, Per-Ola

2003-01-01

This is an overview of the use of empirical force fields in the study of reaction mechanisms. EVB-type methods (including RFF and MCMM) produce full reaction surfaces by mixing, in the simplest case, known force fields describing reactants and products. The SEAM method instead locates approximate...

Characteristics of Bone Injuries Resulting from Knife Wounds Incised with Different Forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrey, Caitlin; Kumaratilake, Jaliya; Henneberg, Maciej

2017-11-01

The aim of this research was to experimentally determine the characteristics of incised bone wounds, which are commonly found in defense injuries. A specially constructed pivoting arm device was used to inflict wounds with controlled forces and direction. Five knives were selected to inflict the wounds on porcine forelimbs. Eight incised wounds were made per knife per force. A larger knife and a greater force caused longer and wider bone wounds. Comparisons of individual knives at the two forces produced varying results in the bone wounds. A correlation was seen between the force and the length (r = 0.69), width (r = 0.63), and depth (r = 0.57) of bone wounds. Serrated-edge and nonserrated knives can be distinguished from the appearance of the wound. The outcomes may be applicable in forensic investigations to ascertain the forces associated with incised wounds and identify the specific knife used. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Corrected direct force balance method for atomic force microscopy lateral force calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asay, David B.; Hsiao, Erik; Kim, Seong H.

2009-01-01

This paper reports corrections and improvements of the previously reported direct force balance method (DFBM) developed for lateral calibration of atomic force microscopy. The DFBM method employs the lateral force signal obtained during a force-distance measurement on a sloped surface and relates this signal to the applied load and the slope of the surface to determine the lateral calibration factor. In the original publication [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 043903 (2006)], the tip-substrate contact was assumed to be pinned at the point of contact, i.e., no slip along the slope. In control experiments, the tip was found to slide along the slope during force-distance curve measurement. This paper presents the correct force balance for lateral force calibration.

Health and Occupational Outcomes Among Injured, Nonstandard Shift Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Imelda S; Smith, Peter M; Mustard, Cameron A; Gignac, Monique A M

2015-11-01

This study compares health and occupational outcomes following a work-related injury for nonstandard and day-shift workers. National Population Health Survey data were used to explore outcomes 2 years post-work injury. Retrospective-matched cohort analyses examined main effects and interactions of shift schedule and work injury with changes in health, shift schedule, and labor force status. Models were adjusted for respondent characteristics, baseline health status, and occupational strength requirements. Injured nonstandard shift workers reported lower health utility index scores, compared with uninjured and injured daytime workers and uninjured nonstandard-shift workers. No significant interactions between shift and injury were found with schedule change and leaving the labor force. Injured nonstandard-shift workers are as likely to remain employed as other groups, but may be vulnerable in terms of diminished health.

Measuring Population Health Outcomes

OpenAIRE

Parrish, R. Gibson

2010-01-01

An ideal population health outcome metric should reflect a population's dynamic state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Positive health outcomes include being alive; functioning well mentally, physically, and socially; and having a sense of well-being. Negative outcomes include death, loss of function, and lack of well-being. In contrast to these health outcomes, diseases and injuries are intermediate factors that influence the likelihood of achieving a state of health. On the basis...

Do psychopathic traits assessed in mid-adolescence predict mental health, psychosocial, and antisocial, including criminal outcomes, over the subsequent 5 years?

Science.gov (United States)

Hemphälä, Malin; Hodgins, Sheilagh

2014-01-01

To determine whether psychopathic traits assessed in mid-adolescence predicted mental health, psychosocial, and antisocial (including criminal) outcomes 5 years later and would thereby provide advantages over diagnosing conduct disorder (CD). Eighty-six women and 61 men were assessed in mid-adolescence when they first contacted a clinic for substance misuse and were reassessed 5 years later. Assessments in adolescence include the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV), and depending on their age, either the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children or the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (SCID). Assessments in early adulthood included the SCID, self-reports of psychosocial functioning, aggressive behaviour, and criminality and official criminal records. The antisocial facet score positively predicted the number of anxiety symptoms and likelihood of receiving treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). Lifestyle and antisocial facet scores negatively predicted Global Assessment of Functioning scores. By contrast, the interpersonal score and male sex independently and positively predicted the number of months worked or studied, as did the interaction of Lifestyle × Sex indicating that among men, but not women, an increase in lifestyle facet score was associated with less time worked or studied. Interpersonal and antisocial scores positively predicted school drop-out. Antisocial facet scores predicted the number of symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, alcohol and SUDs, and violent and nonviolent criminality but much more strongly among males than females. Predictions from numbers of CD symptoms were similar. Psychopathic traits among adolescents who misuse substances predict an array of outcomes over the subsequent 5 years. Information on the levels of these traits may be useful for planning treatment.

Health outcomes are about choices and values: an economic perspective on the health outcomes movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiell, A

1997-01-01

The aim of the health outcomes movement is to reorientate health services so that the spotlight shines less on what is done and more on what is achieved. The health outcomes movement, thus far, has been most successful in addressing what appear to be technical questions relating to the measurement and analysis of health outcomes and in placing their routine use on the agenda of clinical practice and health services planning. If there is one lesson to be drawn from an economic perspective, however, it is that health outcomes are about values and not just technicalities. The need to make choices forces one to consider whether what is achieved is also what is most valued. The success of health service delivery, be it at a clinical, planning or systems level, must therefore be measured against agreed objectives. It follows that time must be taken to establish what patients and the community want from their health services and what each is prepared to give up to achieve its ends. Value judgements are unavoidable. The challenge lies not in measuring the outcomes of health interventions but in deciding what the objectives of the health system ought to be.

A Simple Model of Fields Including the Strong or Nuclear Force and a Cosmological Speculation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David L. Spencer

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Reexamining the assumptions underlying the General Theory of Relativity and calling an object's gravitational field its inertia, and acceleration simply resistance to that inertia, yields a simple field model where the potential (kinetic energy of a particle at rest is its capacity to move itself when its inertial field becomes imbalanced. The model then attributes electromagnetic and strong forces to the effects of changes in basic particle shape. Following up on the model's assumption that the relative intensity of a particle's gravitational field is always inversely related to its perceived volume and assuming that all black holes spin, may create the possibility of a cosmic rebound where a final spinning black hole ends with a new Big Bang.

Maternal and fetal outcomes of intimate partner violence associated with pregnancy in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Alice; Stewart, Donna E

2014-01-01

Very high rates of intimate partner violence during pregnancy (IPV-P) are reported in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) but data on prevalence and obstetric-related outcomes are limited. To conduct a literature review on risk factors, prevalence, and adverse obstetric-related outcomes of IPV-P in LAC. Systematic review of studies in MEDLINE (1946-2012) and LILACS (1982-2012), and hand searching of reference lists of included studies. Search terms were variations of partner abuse and pregnancy in LAC. Studies were excluded if they did not include IPV-P prevalence or if the perpetrator was not an intimate partner. Study quality was assessed via US Preventive Services Task Force criteria. In the 31 studies included, prevalence rates ranged from 3% to 44%. IPV-P was significantly associated with unintended pregnancies and adverse maternal (depression, pregnancy-related symptom distress, inadequate prenatal care, vaginal bleeding, spontaneous abortion, gestational weight gain, high maternal cortisol, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, STIs) and infant (prematurity, low birth weight, neonatal complications, stillbirth) outcomes (grade II-2 and 3 evidence). IPV-P is highly prevalent in LAC, with poor obstetric-related outcomes. Clinicians must identify women experiencing IPV-P and institute appropriate interventions and referrals to avoid its deleterious consequences. © 2013.

Investigation of Calibrating Force Transducer Using Sinusoidal Force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Li; Wang Yu; Zhang Lizhe

2010-01-01

Sinusoidal force calibration method was studied several years before at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). A similar dynamic force calibration system is developed at Changcheng Institute of Metrology and Measurement (CIMM). It uses electro-dynamic shakers to generate dynamic force in the range from 1 N to 20 kN, and heterodyne laser interferometers are used for acceleration measurement. The force transducer to be calibrated is mounted on the shaker, and a mass block is screwed on the top of force transducer, the sinusoidal forces realized by accelerated load masses are traceable to acceleration and mass according to the force definition. The methods of determining Spatial-dependent acceleration on mass block and measuring the end mass of force transducer in dynamic force calibration are discussed in this paper.

Mechanism of force mode dip-pen nanolithography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Haijun, E-mail: yanghaijun@sinap.ac.cn, E-mail: swguo@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: wanghuabin@cigit.ac.cn [Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Research Institute of Micro/Nano Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Interfacial Water Division and Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, CAS, Shanghai 201800 (China); Xie, Hui; Rong, Weibin; Sun, Lining [State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080 (China); Wu, Haixia; Guo, Shouwu, E-mail: yanghaijun@sinap.ac.cn, E-mail: swguo@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: wanghuabin@cigit.ac.cn [Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Research Institute of Micro/Nano Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Wang, Huabin, E-mail: yanghaijun@sinap.ac.cn, E-mail: swguo@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: wanghuabin@cigit.ac.cn [Centre for Tetrahertz Research, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714 (China)

2014-05-07

In this work, the underlying mechanism of the force mode dip-pen nanolithography (FMDPN) is investigated in depth by analyzing force curves, tapping mode deflection signals, and “Z-scan” voltage variations during the FMDPN. The operation parameters including the relative “trigger threshold” and “surface delay” parameters are vital to control the loading force and dwell time for ink deposition during FMDPN. A model is also developed to simulate the interactions between the atomic force microscope tip and soft substrate during FMDPN, and verified by its good performance in fitting our experimental data.

Saskatchewan resources. [including uranium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-09-01

The production of chemicals and minerals for the chemical industry in Saskatchewan are featured, with some discussion of resource taxation. The commodities mentioned include potash, fatty amines, uranium, heavy oil, sodium sulfate, chlorine, sodium hydroxide, sodium chlorate and bentonite. Following the successful outcome of the Cluff Lake inquiry, the uranium industry is booming. Some developments and production figures for Gulf Minerals, Amok, Cenex and Eldorado are mentioned.

Labor force activity after 60

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Peder J.; Larsen, Mona

2015-01-01

of reference. Main emphasis is given to the development in two distint age groups, i.e. people in the first half of the 60s of which many are eligible for early retirement programs and people older than 65 mostly eligible for social security retirement programs. For these two age groups the actual development...... in labor force participation is described based on register data and on labor force surveys along with indicators of cohort relevant changes in education and health. Focus in the paper includes also the gender aspect to accommodate stronger cohort effects for women than for men. The impact on labor force...

"It Really Makes Good Sense": The Role of Outcome Evaluation in Aphasia Therapy in Denmark

Science.gov (United States)

Isaksen, Jytte Kjaergaard

2014-01-01

Background: Measuring or evaluating outcomes is a common activity for many speech-language therapists (SLTs). A major focus has been on external forces claiming outcome evaluation to optimize quality and the use of resources without integrating the viewpoints of SLTs. Aims: To identify the purpose of outcome evaluation by letting SLTs identify not…

The need and approach for characterization - U.S. air force perspectives on materials state awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Aldrin, John C.; Lindgren, Eric A.

2018-04-01

This paper expands on the objective and motivation for NDE-based characterization and includes a discussion of the current approach using model-assisted inversion being pursued within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). This includes a discussion of the multiple model-based methods that can be used, including physics-based models, deep machine learning, and heuristic approaches. The benefits and drawbacks of each method is reviewed and the potential to integrate multiple methods is discussed. Initial successes are included to highlight the ability to obtain quantitative values of damage. Additional steps remaining to realize this capability with statistical metrics of accuracy are discussed, and how these results can be used to enable probabilistic life management are addressed. The outcome of this initiative will realize the long-term desired capability of NDE methods to provide quantitative characterization to accelerate certification of new materials and enhance life management of engineered systems.

An interdisciplinary treatment approach combining orthodontic forced eruption with immediate implant placement to achieve a satisfactory treatment outcome: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Yu-Hsiang; Du, Je-Kang; Chou, Szu-Ting; Hu, Kai-Fang; Tsai, Chi-Cheng; Ho, Kun-Yen; Wu, Yi-Min; Ho, Ya-Ping

2013-02-01

Periodontal disease often results in severely bony defects around the teeth and leads to eventual extraction. Remaining bone morphology often compromises ideally restoration-driven positions and deteriorates the success rates for dental implants. The present investigation illustrates the clinical outcome of immediately installing an implant following orthodontic forced eruption and atraumatic extraction. The subject of this study is a 40-year-old Asian female with a right mandibular first molar that had a deep probing depth on the mesial side and mobility. Via the aid of radiographic examination, the tooth that had an angular bony defect and apical lesion was diagnosed as having deep caries and chronic periodontitis with a poor prognosis. After consultation with the patient, we developed a treatment plan incorporating a forced eruption with immediate implantation, intended to augment the alveolar bone volume and increase the width of keratinized gingivae, in a nonsurgical manner. Following 12 months of orthodontic treatment, the tooth was successfully moved occlusally in conjunction with an 8 mm vertical interdental bone augmentation. Because of sufficient volume of bone and satisfactory gingival dimensions, the implant showed adequate initial stability in the correct position to facilitate physiological and aesthetic prerequisites. After 6 months of osteointegration, a customized impression coping was utilized to transfer the established emergence profile to a definitive cast for the fabrication of a customized abutment. The final prosthesis was made using a customized metal abutment and ceramometal crown. In the face of difficult clinical challenges, meticulous inspection and a comprehensive treatment plan were crucial. Interdisciplinary treatment through the careful integration of multiple specialists suggests the possibility of optimal results with high predictability. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Including a range of outcome targets offers a broader view of fibromyalgia treatment outcome: results from a retrospective review of multidisciplinary treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Dawn A; Bernstein, Cheryl D; Haq, Adeel; Breuer, Paula

2014-06-01

Fibromyalgia is associated with substantial functional disability. Current drug and non-drug treatments result in statistically significant but numerically small improvements in typical numeric measures of pain severity and fibromyalgia impact. The aim of the present study was to evaluate additional measures of pain severity and functional outcome that might be affected by fibromyalgia treatment. This retrospective review evaluated outcomes from 274 adults with fibromyalgia who participated in a six-week, multidisciplinary treatment programme. Pain and function were evaluated on the first and final treatment visit. Pain was evaluated using an 11-point numerical scale to determine clinically meaningful pain reduction (decrease ≥ 2 points) and from a pain drawing. Function was evaluated by measuring active range of motion (ROM), walking distance and speed, upper extremity exercise repetitions, and self-reports of daily activities. Numerical rating scores for pain decreased by 10-13% (p Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) scores decreased by 20% (p fibromyalgia treatment effectiveness. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cutaneous mechanisms of isometric ankle force control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Choi, Julia T; Jensen, Jesper Lundbye; Leukel, Christian

2013-01-01

The sense of force is critical in the control of movement and posture. Multiple factors influence our perception of exerted force, including inputs from cutaneous afferents, muscle afferents and central commands. Here, we studied the influence of cutaneous feedback on the control of ankle force...... of transient stimulation on force error were greater when compared to continuous stimulation and lidocaine injection. Position-matching performance was unaffected by peroneal nerve or plantar nerve stimulation. Our results show that cutaneous feedback plays a role in the control of force output at the ankle...... joint. Understanding how the nervous system normally uses cutaneous feedback in motor control will help us identify which functional aspects are impaired in aging and neurological diseases....

The geometry of generalized force matching and related information metrics in coarse-graining of molecular systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Harmandaris, Vagelis; Katsoulakis, Markos A.; Plecháč, Petr

2015-01-01

Using the probabilistic language of conditional expectations, we reformulate the force matching method for coarse-graining of molecular systems as a projection onto spaces of coarse observables. A practical outcome of this probabilistic description is the link of the force matching method with thermodynamic integration. This connection provides a way to systematically construct a local mean force and to optimally approximate the potential of mean force through force matching. We introduce a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse graining mappings (e.g., reaction coordinates, end-to-end length of chains). Furthermore, we study the equivalence of force matching with relative entropy minimization which we derive for general non-linear coarse graining maps. We present in detail the generalized force matching condition through applications to specific examples in molecular systems

The geometry of generalized force matching and related information metrics in coarse-graining of molecular systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia, E-mail: ekalligian@tem.uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion (Greece); Harmandaris, Vagelis, E-mail: harman@uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion (Greece); Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion (Greece); Katsoulakis, Markos A., E-mail: markos@math.umass.edu [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 (United States); Plecháč, Petr, E-mail: plechac@math.udel.edu [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716 (United States)

2015-08-28

Using the probabilistic language of conditional expectations, we reformulate the force matching method for coarse-graining of molecular systems as a projection onto spaces of coarse observables. A practical outcome of this probabilistic description is the link of the force matching method with thermodynamic integration. This connection provides a way to systematically construct a local mean force and to optimally approximate the potential of mean force through force matching. We introduce a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse graining mappings (e.g., reaction coordinates, end-to-end length of chains). Furthermore, we study the equivalence of force matching with relative entropy minimization which we derive for general non-linear coarse graining maps. We present in detail the generalized force matching condition through applications to specific examples in molecular systems.

Principles for assessing disease management outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzner, Karen; Sidorov, Jaan; Fetterolf, Don; Wennberg, David; Eisenberg, Edward; Cousins, Michael; Hoffman, Joel; Haughton, John; Charlton, Warwick; Krause, David; Woolf, Allen; Mcdonough, Kenneth; Todd, Warren; Fox, Kathe; Plocher, David; Juster, Iver; Stiefel, Matt; Villagra, Victor; Duncan, Ian

2004-01-01

Disease management (DM) is rapidly becoming an important force in the late 20th and early 21st century as a strategy for managing the chronic illness of large populations. Given the increasing visibility of DM programs, the clinical, economic and financial impact of this support are vital to DM program accountability and its acceptance as a solution to the twin challenges of achieving affordable, quality health care. Measuring and reporting outcomes in DM is difficult. DM programs must adapt to local market conditions and customer desires, which in turn limits generalizability, and still account for the overlapping/interlocking/multifaceted nature of the interventions included in any DM program. The Disease Management Association of America convened a Steering Committee to suggest a preferred approach, not a mandated or standardized approach for DM program evaluation. This paper presents the Steering Committee's "Consensus Statement" and "Guiding Principles" for robust evaluation.

The OMERACT ultrasound task force--status and perspectives.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Naredo, Esperanza

2011-09-01

This article reports the most recent work of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Ultrasound Task Force, and highlights the future research priorities discussed at the OMERACT 10 meeting. Results of the following studies were presented: (1) intra- and interobserver reliability of ultrasound detecting and scoring synovitis in different joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); (2) systematic review of previous ultrasound scoring systems of synovitis in RA; (3) enthesitis systematic review and Delphi definition exercise in spondyloarthritis enthesitis; (4) enthesitis intra- and interobserver reliability exercise; and (5) Delphi definition exercise in hand osteoarthritis, and reliability exercises. Study conclusions were discussed, and a future research agenda was approved, notably further validation of an OMERACT ultrasound global synovitis score (GLOSS) in RA, emphasizing the importance of testing feasibility, predictive value, and added value over standard clinical variables. Future research areas will include validating scoring systems for enthesitis and osteoarthritis, and testing the metric qualities of ultrasound for evaluating tenosynovitis and structural damage in RA.

Automated computer-based CT stratification as a predictor of outcome in hypersensitivity pneumonitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacob, Joseph; Mak, S.M.; Mok, W.; Hansell, D.M.; Bartholmai, B.J.; Rajagopalan, S.; Karwoski, R.; Della Casa, G.; Sugino, K.; Walsh, S.L.F.; Wells, A.U.

2017-01-01

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) has a variable clinical course. Modelling of quantitative CALIPER-derived CT data can identify distinct disease phenotypes. Mortality prediction using CALIPER analysis was compared to the interstitial lung disease gender, age, physiology (ILD-GAP) outcome model. CALIPER CT analysis of parenchymal patterns in 98 consecutive HP patients was compared to visual CT scoring by two radiologists. Functional indices including forced vital capacity (FVC) and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco) in univariate and multivariate Cox mortality models. Automated stratification of CALIPER scores was evaluated against outcome models. Univariate predictors of mortality included visual and CALIPER CT fibrotic patterns, and all functional indices. Multivariate analyses identified only two independent predictors of mortality: CALIPER reticular pattern (p = 0.001) and DLco (p < 0.0001). Automated stratification distinguished three distinct HP groups (log-rank test p < 0.0001). Substitution of automated stratified groups for FVC and DLco in the ILD-GAP model demonstrated no loss of model strength (C-Index = 0.73 for both models). Model strength improved when automated stratified groups were combined with the ILD-GAP model (C-Index = 0.77). CALIPER-derived variables are the strongest CT predictors of mortality in HP. Automated CT stratification is equivalent to functional indices in the ILD-GAP model for predicting outcome in HP. (orig.)

Automated computer-based CT stratification as a predictor of outcome in hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacob, Joseph; Mak, S.M.; Mok, W.; Hansell, D.M. [Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Radiology, Royal Brompton Hospital, London (United Kingdom); Bartholmai, B.J. [Mayo Clinic Rochester, Division of Radiology, Rochester, MN (United States); Rajagopalan, S.; Karwoski, R. [Mayo Clinic Rochester, Biomedical Imaging Resource, Rochester, MN (United States); Della Casa, G. [Universita degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Emilia-Romagna (Italy); Sugino, K. [Toho University Omori Medical Centre, Tokyo (Japan); Walsh, S.L.F. [Kings College Hospital, London (United Kingdom); Wells, A.U. [Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Interstitial Lung Disease Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, London (United Kingdom)

2017-09-15

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) has a variable clinical course. Modelling of quantitative CALIPER-derived CT data can identify distinct disease phenotypes. Mortality prediction using CALIPER analysis was compared to the interstitial lung disease gender, age, physiology (ILD-GAP) outcome model. CALIPER CT analysis of parenchymal patterns in 98 consecutive HP patients was compared to visual CT scoring by two radiologists. Functional indices including forced vital capacity (FVC) and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco) in univariate and multivariate Cox mortality models. Automated stratification of CALIPER scores was evaluated against outcome models. Univariate predictors of mortality included visual and CALIPER CT fibrotic patterns, and all functional indices. Multivariate analyses identified only two independent predictors of mortality: CALIPER reticular pattern (p = 0.001) and DLco (p < 0.0001). Automated stratification distinguished three distinct HP groups (log-rank test p < 0.0001). Substitution of automated stratified groups for FVC and DLco in the ILD-GAP model demonstrated no loss of model strength (C-Index = 0.73 for both models). Model strength improved when automated stratified groups were combined with the ILD-GAP model (C-Index = 0.77). CALIPER-derived variables are the strongest CT predictors of mortality in HP. Automated CT stratification is equivalent to functional indices in the ILD-GAP model for predicting outcome in HP. (orig.)

Standard practice of calibration of force-measuring instruments for verifying the force indication of testing machines

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2006-01-01

1.1 The purpose of this practice is to specify procedures for the calibration of force-measuring instruments. Procedures are included for the following types of instruments: 1.1.1 Elastic force-measuring instruments, and 1.1.2 Force-multiplying systems, such as balances and small platform scales. Note 1Verification by deadweight loading is also an acceptable method of verifying the force indication of a testing machine. Tolerances for weights for this purpose are given in Practices E 4; methods for calibration of the weights are given in NIST Technical Note 577, Methods of Calibrating Weights for Piston Gages. 1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. Other metric and inch-pound values are regarded as equivalent when required. 1.3 This practice is intended for the calibration of static force measuring instruments. It is not applicable for dynamic or high speed force calibrations, nor can the results of calibrations performed in accordance with this practice be assumed valid for...

Occupational exposure to bloodborne viruses in the Amsterdam police force, 2000-2003

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sonder, Gerard J. B.; Bovée, Lian P. M. J.; Coutinho, Roel A.; Baayen, Dorothé; Spaargaren, Joke; van den Hoek, Anneke

2005-01-01

Objectives: To assess and evaluate the rate and outcome of occupational exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the Amsterdam police force. Methods: Retrospectively, all accidents with risk for viral transmission reported to the

Optimizing Armed Forces Capabilities for Hybrid Warfare – New Challenge for Slovak Armed Forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter PINDJÁK

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the optimization of military capabilities of the Slovak Armed Forces for conducting operations in a hybrid conflict, which represents one of the possible scenarios of irregular warfare. Whereas in the regular warfare adversaries intend to eliminate the centers of gravity of each other, most often command and control structures, in irregular conflicts, the center of gravity shifts towards the will and cognitive perception of the target population. Hybrid warfare comprises a thoroughly planned combination of conventional military approaches and kinetic operations with subversive, irregular activities, including information and cyber operations. These efforts are often accompanied by intensified activities of intelligence services, special operation forces, and even mercenary and other paramilitary groups. The development of irregular warfare capabilities within the Slovak Armed Forces will require a progressive transformation process that may turn the armed forces into a modern and adaptable element of power, capable of deployment in national and international crisis management operations.

Force Modulator System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Redmond Clark

2009-04-30

Many metal parts manufacturers use large metal presses to shape sheet metal into finished products like car body parts, jet wing and fuselage surfaces, etc. These metal presses take sheet metal and - with enormous force - reshape the metal into a fully formed part in a manner of seconds. Although highly efficient, the forces involved in forming metal parts also damage the press itself, limit the metals used in part production, slow press operations and, when not properly controlled, cause the manufacture of large volumes of defective metal parts. To date, the metal-forming industry has not been able to develop a metal-holding technology that allows full control of press forces during the part forming process. This is of particular importance in the automotive lightweighting efforts under way in the US automotive manufacturing marketplace. Metalforming Controls Technology Inc. (MC2) has developed a patented press control system called the Force Modulator that has the ability to control these press forces, allowing a breakthrough in stamping process control. The technology includes a series of hydraulic cylinders that provide controlled tonnage at all points in the forming process. At the same time, the unique cylinder design allows for the generation of very high levels of clamping forces (very high tonnages) in very small spaces; a requirement for forming medium and large panels out of HSS and AHSS. Successful production application of these systems testing at multiple stamping operations - including Ford and Chrysler - has validated the capabilities and economic benefits of the system. Although this technology has been adopted in a number of stamping operations, one of the primary barriers to faster adoption and application of this technology in HSS projects is system cost. The cost issue has surfaced because the systems currently in use are built for each individual die as a custom application, thus driving higher tooling costs. This project proposed to better

Bimanual elbow exoskeleton: Force based protocol and rehabilitation quantification.

Science.gov (United States)

Alavi, N; Herrnstadt, G; Randhawa, B K; Boyd, L A; Menon, C

2015-08-01

An aging population, along with the increase in cardiovascular disease incidence that accompanies this demographic shift, is likely to increase both the economic and medical burden associated with stroke in western societies. Rehabilitation, the standard treatment for stroke, can be expanded and augmented with state of the art technologies, such as robotic therapy. This paper expands upon a recent work involving a force-feedback master-slave bimanual exoskeleton for elbow rehabilitation, named a Bimanual Wearable Robotic Device (BWRD). Elbow force data acquired during the execution of custom tasks is analyzed to demonstrate the feasibility of tracking patient progress. Two training tasks that focus on applied forces are examined. The first is called "slave arm follow", which uses the absolute angular impulse as a metric; the second is called "conditional arm static", which uses the rise time to target as a metric, both presented here. The outcomes of these metrics are observed over three days.

Public Health and Mental Health Implications of Environmentally Induced Forced Migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, James M; Rechkemmer, Andreas; Rai, Abha; McManus, Katherine T

2018-03-28

ABSTRACTClimate change is increasingly forcing population displacement, better described by the phrase environmentally induced forced migration. Rising global temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, and progressive depletion of life-sustaining resources are among the drivers that stimulate population mobility. Projections forecast that current trends will rapidly accelerate. This will lead to an estimated 200 million climate migrants by the year 2050 and create dangerous tipping points for public health and security.Among the public health consequences of climate change, environmentally induced forced migration is one of the harshest and most harmful outcomes, always involving a multiplicity of profound resource and social losses and frequently exposing migrants to trauma and violence. Therefore, one particular aspect of forced migration, the effects of population displacement on mental health and psychosocial functioning, deserves dedicated focus. Multiple case examples are provided to elucidate this theme. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 7).

Protein-Ligand Informatics Force Field (PLIff): Toward a Fully Knowledge Driven "Force Field" for Biomolecular Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Verdonk, Marcel L; Ludlow, R Frederick; Giangreco, Ilenia; Rathi, Prakash Chandra

2016-07-28

The Protein Data Bank (PDB) contains a wealth of data on nonbonded biomolecular interactions. If this information could be distilled down to nonbonded interaction potentials, these would have some key advantages over standard force fields. However, there are some important outstanding issues to address in order to do this successfully. This paper introduces the protein-ligand informatics "force field", PLIff, which begins to address these key challenges ( https://bitbucket.org/AstexUK/pli ). As a result of their knowledge-based nature, the next-generation nonbonded potentials that make up PLIff automatically capture a wide range of interaction types, including special interactions that are often poorly described by standard force fields. We illustrate how PLIff may be used in structure-based design applications, including interaction fields, fragment mapping, and protein-ligand docking. PLIff performs at least as well as state-of-the art scoring functions in terms of pose predictions and ranking compounds in a virtual screening context.

75 FR 62309 - Establishing a Task Force on Skills for America's Future

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-08

... reward excellent outcomes and true innovation that meets the needs of entrepreneurs and other employers... task force to develop skills for America's future by identifying, developing, and increasing the scale... credentials and degrees; (b) identification of opportunities to amplify, accelerate, or increase the scale of...

Tendon surveillance requirements - average tendon force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fulton, J.F.

1982-01-01

Proposed Rev. 3 to USNRC Reg. Guide 1.35 discusses the need for comparing, for individual tendons, the measured and predicted lift-off forces. Such a comparison is intended to detect any abnormal tendon force loss which might occur. Recognizing that there are uncertainties in the prediction of tendon losses, proposed Guide 1.35.1 has allowed specific tolerances on the fundamental losses. Thus, the lift-off force acceptance criteria for individual tendons appearing in Reg. Guide 1.35, Proposed Rev. 3, is stated relative to a lower bound predicted tendon force, which is obtained using the 'plus' tolerances on the fundamental losses. There is an additional acceptance criterion for the lift-off forces which is not specifically addressed in these two Reg. Guides; however, it is included in a proposed Subsection IWX to ASME Code Section XI. This criterion is based on the overriding requirement that the magnitude of prestress in the containment structure be sufficeint to meet the minimum prestress design requirements. This design requirement can be expressed as an average tendon force for each group of vertical hoop, or dome tendons. For the purpose of comparing the actual tendon forces with the required average tendon force, the lift-off forces measured for a sample of tendons within each group can be averaged to construct the average force for the entire group. However, the individual lift-off forces must be 'corrected' (normalized) prior to obtaining the sample average. This paper derives the correction factor to be used for this purpose. (orig./RW)

Subatomic forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutton, C.

1989-01-01

Inside the atom, particles interact through two forces which are never felt in the everyday world. But they may hold the key to the Universe. These ideas on subatomic forces are discussed with respect to the strong force, the electromagnetic force and the electroweak force. (author)

Developing a tool to measure pharmacoeconomic outcomes of post-surgical pain management interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Deborah S; Smalarz, Amy; Haas, Eric M

2016-01-01

Financial pressures have limited the ability of providers to use medication that may improve clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. New interventions are often fraught with resistance from individual cost centers. A value realization tool (VRT) is essential for separate cost centers to communicate and comprehend the overall financial and clinical implications of post-surgical pain management medication interventions (PSMI). The goal was to describe development of a VRT. An evaluation of common in-patient PSMI approaches, impacts, and costs was performed. A multidisciplinary task force guided development of the VRT to ensure appropriate representation and relevance to clinical practice. The main outcome was an Excel-based tool that communicates the overall cost/benefit of PSMI for the post-operative patient encounter. The VRT aggregated input data on costs, clinical impact, and nursing burden of PSMI assessment and monitoring into two high-level outcome reports: Overall Cost Impact and Nurse & Patient Impact. Costs included PSMI specific medication, equipment, professional placement, labor, overall/opioid-related adverse events, re-admissions, and length of stay. Nursing impact included level of practice interference, job satisfaction, and patient care metrics. Patient impact included pain scores, opioid use, PACU time, and satisfaction. Reference data was provided for individual institutions that may not collect all variables included in the VRT. The VRT is a valuable way for administrators to assess PSMI cost/benefits and for individual cost centers to see the overall value of individual interventions. The user-friendly, decision-support tool allows the end-user to use built-in referenced or personalized outcome data, increasing relevance to their institutions. This broad picture could facilitate communication across cost centers and evidence-based decisions for appropriate use and impacts of PSMI.

A "Smart" Force-Limiting Instrument for Microsurgery: Laboratory and In Vivo Validation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hani J Marcus

Full Text Available Residents are required to learn a multitude of skills during their microsurgical training. One such skill is the judicious application of force when handling delicate tissue. An instrument has been developed that indicates to the surgeon when a force threshold has been exceeded by providing vibrotactile feedback. The objective of this study was to validate the use of this "smart" force-limiting instrument for microsurgery. A laboratory and an in vivo experiment were performed to evaluate the force-limiting instrument. In the laboratory experiment, twelve novice surgeons were randomly allocated to use either the force-limiting instrument or a standard instrument. Surgeons were then asked to perform microsurgical dissection in a model. In the in vivo experiment, an intermediate surgeon performed microsurgical dissection in a stepwise fashion, alternating every 30 seconds between use of the force-limiting instrument and a standard instrument. The primary outcomes were the forces exerted and the OSATS scores. In the laboratory experiment, the maximal forces exerted by novices using the force-limiting instrument were significantly less than using a standard instrument, and were comparable to intermediate and expert surgeons (0.637N versus 4.576N; p = 0.007. In the in vivo experiment, the maximal forces exerted with the force-limiting instrument were also significantly less than with a standard instrument (0.441N versus 0.742N; p 0.1. In conclusion, the development and use of this force-limiting instrument in a clinical setting may improve patient safety.

A framework for remission in SLE: consensus findings from a large international task force on definitions of remission in SLE (DORIS).

Science.gov (United States)

van Vollenhoven, Ronald; Voskuyl, Alexandre; Bertsias, George; Aranow, Cynthia; Aringer, Martin; Arnaud, Laurent; Askanase, Anca; Balážová, Petra; Bonfa, Eloisa; Bootsma, Hendrika; Boumpas, Dimitrios; Bruce, Ian; Cervera, Ricard; Clarke, Ann; Coney, Cindy; Costedoat-Chalumeau, Nathalie; Czirják, László; Derksen, Ronald; Doria, Andrea; Dörner, Thomas; Fischer-Betz, Rebecca; Fritsch-Stork, Ruth; Gordon, Caroline; Graninger, Winfried; Györi, Noémi; Houssiau, Frédéric; Isenberg, David; Jacobsen, Soren; Jayne, David; Kuhn, Annegret; Le Guern, Veronique; Lerstrøm, Kirsten; Levy, Roger; Machado-Ribeiro, Francinne; Mariette, Xavier; Missaykeh, Jamil; Morand, Eric; Mosca, Marta; Inanc, Murat; Navarra, Sandra; Neumann, Irmgard; Olesinska, Marzena; Petri, Michelle; Rahman, Anisur; Rekvig, Ole Petter; Rovensky, Jozef; Shoenfeld, Yehuda; Smolen, Josef; Tincani, Angela; Urowitz, Murray; van Leeuw, Bernadette; Vasconcelos, Carlos; Voss, Anne; Werth, Victoria P; Zakharova, Helena; Zoma, Asad; Schneider, Matthias; Ward, Michael

2017-03-01

Treat-to-target recommendations have identified 'remission' as a target in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but recognise that there is no universally accepted definition for this. Therefore, we initiated a process to achieve consensus on potential definitions for remission in SLE. An international task force of 60 specialists and patient representatives participated in preparatory exercises, a face-to-face meeting and follow-up electronic voting. The level for agreement was set at 90%. The task force agreed on eight key statements regarding remission in SLE and three principles to guide the further development of remission definitions:1. Definitions of remission will be worded as follows: remission in SLE is a durable state characterised by …………………. (reference to symptoms, signs, routine labs).2. For defining remission, a validated index must be used, for example, clinical systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI)=0, British Isles lupus assessment group (BILAG) 2004 D/E only, clinical European consensus lupus outcome measure (ECLAM)=0; with routine laboratory assessments included, and supplemented with physician's global assessment.3. Distinction is made between remission off and on therapy: remission off therapy requires the patient to be on no other treatment for SLE than maintenance antimalarials; and remission on therapy allows patients to be on stable maintenance antimalarials, low-dose corticosteroids (prednisone ≤5 mg/day), maintenance immunosuppressives and/or maintenance biologics.The task force also agreed that the most appropriate outcomes (dependent variables) for testing the prognostic value (construct validity) of potential remission definitions are: death, damage, flares and measures of health-related quality of life. The work of this international task force provides a framework for testing different definitions of remission against long-term outcomes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For

Quadriceps force and anterior tibial force occur obviously later than vertical ground reaction force: a simulation study

OpenAIRE

Ueno, Ryo; Ishida, Tomoya; Yamanaka, Masanori; Taniguchi, Shohei; Ikuta, Ryohei; Samukawa, Mina; Saito, Hiroshi; Tohyama, Harukazu

2017-01-01

Background: Although it is well known that quadriceps force generates anterior tibial force, it has been unclear whether quadriceps force causes great anterior tibial force during the early phase of a landing task. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the quadriceps force induced great anterior tibial force during the early phase of a landing task. Methods: Fourteen young, healthy, female subjects performed a single-leg landing task. Muscle force and anterior tibial force w...

'It really makes good sense': the role of outcome evaluation in aphasia therapy in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Isaksen, J. K.

2014-01-01

BackgroundMeasuring or evaluating outcomes is a common activity for many speech-language therapists (SLTs). A major focus has been on external forces claiming outcome evaluation to optimize quality and the use of resources without integrating the viewpoints of SLTs. AimsTo identify the purpose...

Network meta-analysis of multiple outcome measures accounting for borrowing of information across outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Achana, Felix A; Cooper, Nicola J; Bujkiewicz, Sylwia; Hubbard, Stephanie J; Kendrick, Denise; Jones, David R; Sutton, Alex J

2014-07-21

Network meta-analysis (NMA) enables simultaneous comparison of multiple treatments while preserving randomisation. When summarising evidence to inform an economic evaluation, it is important that the analysis accurately reflects the dependency structure within the data, as correlations between outcomes may have implication for estimating the net benefit associated with treatment. A multivariate NMA offers a framework for evaluating multiple treatments across multiple outcome measures while accounting for the correlation structure between outcomes. The standard NMA model is extended to multiple outcome settings in two stages. In the first stage, information is borrowed across outcomes as well across studies through modelling the within-study and between-study correlation structure. In the second stage, we make use of the additional assumption that intervention effects are exchangeable between outcomes to predict effect estimates for all outcomes, including effect estimates on outcomes where evidence is either sparse or the treatment had not been considered by any one of the studies included in the analysis. We apply the methods to binary outcome data from a systematic review evaluating the effectiveness of nine home safety interventions on uptake of three poisoning prevention practices (safe storage of medicines, safe storage of other household products, and possession of poison centre control telephone number) in households with children. Analyses are conducted in WinBUGS using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations. Univariate and the first stage multivariate models produced broadly similar point estimates of intervention effects but the uncertainty around the multivariate estimates varied depending on the prior distribution specified for the between-study covariance structure. The second stage multivariate analyses produced more precise effect estimates while enabling intervention effects to be predicted for all outcomes, including intervention effects on

Invited commentary: The long term impact of forced migration during childhood on adult health.

Science.gov (United States)

Santavirta, Torsten

2016-12-01

Saarela and Elo (SSM-Population Health; Volume 2, December 2016, Pages 813-823) provide new evidence of early life forced displacement not being adversely associated with adult health. Their study highlights some of the challenges to identifying a causal effect of childhood exposure on adult health in the context of complex emergencies. Importantly, it opens up for future research that can address commonly recognized sources of bias and identify intervening pathways linking forced migration with adult health outcomes.

Sci—Fri PM: Topics — 03: The Global Task Force on Radiotherapy for Cancer Control: Core Investments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Dyk, J. [Western University, London, Ontario (Canada); Jaffray, D. A.; MacPherson, M. S. [Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

2014-08-15

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) is a membership-based, non-governmental organization with a mandate to “…to unite the cancer community to reduce the global cancer burden, to promote greater equity, and to integrate cancer control into the world health and development agenda.” COMP is an associate member of the UICC. It is well recognized by the UICC that there are major gaps between high, and low and middle income countries, in terms of access to cancer services including access to radiation therapy. In this context, the UICC has developed a Global Task Force on Radiotherapy for Cancer Control with a charge to answer a single question: “What does it cost to close the gap between what exists today and reasonable access to radiotherapy globally?” The Task Force consists of leaders internationally recognized for their radiation treatment related expertise (radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists) as well as those with global health and economics specialization. The Task Force has developed three working groups: (1) to look at the global burden of cancer; (2) to look at the infrastructure requirements (facilities, equipment, personnel); and (3) to consider outcomes in terms of numbers of lives saved and palliated patients. A report is due at the World Cancer Congress in December 2014. This presentation reviews the infrastructure considerations under analysis by the second work group. The infrastructure parameters being addressed include capital costs of buildings and equipment and operating costs, which include human resources, equipment servicing and quality control, and general overhead.

The Air Force and Diversity: The Awkward Embrace

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

diversity across the force. Table. Reasons for leaving the Air Force (2002 data) Reasons for Leaving the Air Force % Critical/Significant Factor % Not a... source in which members pro- vide reasons that women officers leave as well as possible solutions. May–June 2014 Air & Space Power Journal | 122...response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources , gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and

External force/velocity control for an autonomous rehabilitation robot

Science.gov (United States)

Saekow, Peerayuth; Neranon, Paramin; Smithmaitrie, Pruittikorn

2018-01-01

Stroke is a primary cause of death and the leading cause of permanent disability in adults. There are many stroke survivors, who live with a variety of levels of disability and always need rehabilitation activities on daily basis. Several studies have reported that usage of rehabilitation robotic devices shows the better improvement outcomes in upper-limb stroke patients than the conventional therapy-nurses or therapists actively help patients with exercise-based rehabilitation. This research focuses on the development of an autonomous robotic trainer designed to guide a stroke patient through an upper-limb rehabilitation task. The robotic device was designed and developed to automate the reaching exercise as mentioned. The designed robotic system is made up of a four-wheel omni-directional mobile robot, an ATI Gamma multi-axis force/torque sensor used to measure contact force and a microcontroller real-time operating system. Proportional plus Integral control was adapted to control the overall performance and stability of the autonomous assistive robot. External force control was successfully implemented to establish the behavioral control strategy for the robot force and velocity control scheme. In summary, the experimental results indicated satisfactorily stable performance of the robot force and velocity control can be considered acceptable. The gain tuning for proportional integral (PI) velocity control algorithms was suitably estimated using the Ziegler-Nichols method in which the optimized proportional and integral gains are 0.45 and 0.11, respectively. Additionally, the PI external force control gains were experimentally tuned using the trial and error method based on a set of experiments which allow a human participant moves the robot along the constrained circular path whilst attempting to minimize the radial force. The performance was analyzed based on the root mean square error (E_RMS) of the radial forces, in which the lower the variation in radial

Mathematics of flexible risers including pressure and internal flow affects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seyed, F.B. (John Brown Engineers and Constructors Ltd., London (GB)); Patel, M.H. (University Coll., London (GB). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering)

1992-01-01

Derivations are presented for calculation of pressure and internal flow induced forces on flexible risers and other curved pipes using a mathematically rigorous approach. Approximate and exact methods are presented for calculation of pressure forces on straight and curved pipes in two dimensions. The mathematical identity of these equations with those for effective tension is illustrated. The force arising from the flow of an internal fluid of constant density is then calculated and combined with those for pressure forces in derivation of the catenary equations including pressure and internal flow terms. It is shown that internal flow contributes a new term to the expression for effective tension. These governing equations are then reduced for the specific cases of simple catenary, steep-S, lazy-S, steep-wave and lazy-wave risers. In each case, the solution method has been presented and the governing equilibrium and geometric compatability conditions cited. (author).

Optical forces, torques, and force densities calculated at a microscopic level using a self-consistent hydrodynamics method

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Kun; Chan, C. T.

2018-04-01

The calculation of optical force density distribution inside a material is challenging at the nanoscale, where quantum and nonlocal effects emerge and macroscopic parameters such as permittivity become ill-defined. We demonstrate that the microscopic optical force density of nanoplasmonic systems can be defined and calculated using the microscopic fields generated using a self-consistent hydrodynamics model that includes quantum, nonlocal, and retardation effects. We demonstrate this technique by calculating the microscopic optical force density distributions and the optical binding force induced by external light on nanoplasmonic dimers. This approach works even in the limit when the nanoparticles are close enough to each other so that electron tunneling occurs, a regime in which classical electromagnetic approach fails completely. We discover that an uneven distribution of optical force density can lead to a light-induced spinning torque acting on individual particles. The hydrodynamics method offers us an accurate and efficient approach to study optomechanical behavior for plasmonic systems at the nanoscale.

Using optical tweezers for measuring the interaction forces between human bone cells and implant surfaces: System design and force calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, Martin; Madgavkar, Ashwin; Stjerndahl, Maria; Wu, Yanrong; Tan, Weihong; Duran, Randy; Niehren, Stefan; Mustafa, Kamal; Arvidson, Kristina; Wennerberg, Ann

2007-01-01

Optical tweezers were used to study the interaction and attachment of human bone cells to various types of medical implant materials. Ideally, the implant should facilitate cell attachment and promote migration of the progenitor cells in order to decrease the healing time. It is therefore of interest, in a controlled manner, to be able to monitor the cell adhesion process. Results from such studies would help foresee the clinical outcome of integrating medical implants. The interactions between two primary cell culture models, human gingival fibroblasts and bone forming human osteoblast cells, and three different implant materials, glass, titanium, and hydroxyapatite, were studied. A novel type of optical tweezers, which has a newly designed quadrant detector and a powerful 3 W laser was constructed and force calibrated using two different methods: one method in which the stiffness of the optical trap was obtained by monitoring the phase lag between the trap and the moved object when imposing a forced oscillation on the trapped object and another method in which the maximum trapping force was derived from the critical velocity at which the object escapes the trap. Polystyrene beads as well as cells were utilized for the calibrations. This is the first time that cells have been used directly for these types of force calibrations and, hence, direct measurements of forces exerted on cells can be performed, thus avoiding the difficulties often encountered when translating the results obtained from cell measurements to the calibrations obtained with reference materials. This more straightforward approach represents an advantage in comparison to established methods

Modelling a linear PM motor including magnetic saturation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Polinder, H.; Slootweg, J.G.; Compter, J.C.; Hoeijmakers, M.J.

2002-01-01

The use of linear permanent-magnet (PM) actuators increases in a wide variety of applications because of the high force density, robustness and accuracy. The paper describes the modelling of a linear PM motor applied in, for example, wafer steppers, including magnetic saturation. This is important

The relations between de-alerting nuclear force and nuclear strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhimin

2001-01-01

De-alerting nuclear force is a hot-point issue in recent years. The relations between de-alerting and strategy (including nuclear force, target doctrine and use principle et al.), stability, advanced conventional force and NMD of the United States are analyzed, the impact of de-alerting on Chinese nuclear force were discussed and the proposal of de-alerting by stages is presented

Task force report on health effects assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, C.; Hushon, J.

1978-08-01

From April to August, 1978 MITRE supported the Health Effects Assessment Task Force sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for the Environment at DOE. The findings of that Task Force are incorporated in this report and include a detailed definition of health effects assessment, a survey of the mandates for health effects assessments within DOE/EV, a review of current DOE-EV health effects assessment activities, an analysis of the constraints affecting the health effects assessment process and a discussion of the Task Force recommendations. Included as appendices are summaries of two workshops conducted by the Task Force to determine the state-of-the-art of health effects assessment and modeling and a review of risk assessment activities in other federal agencies. The primary recommendation of the panel was that an office be designated or created under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for the Environment to coordinate the Health Effects Risk Assessment effort covering up to 40 program and policy areas; a similar need was expressed for the environmental effects assessment area. 1 tab

Predictability of psychic outcome for exercise training and exercise training including relaxation therapy after myocardial infarction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H.J. Duivenvoorden (Hugo); J. van Dixhoorn (J.)

1991-01-01

markdownabstractAbstract Predictability of the psychic outcome for two cardiac rehabilitation programmes was investigated in 119 myocardial infarction patients. They were randomly assigned to either a five-week daily exercise training or to an identical training in combination with six sessions

The application of force-sensing resistor sensors for measuring forces developed by the human hand.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikonovas, A; Harrison, A J L; Hoult, S; Sammut, D

2004-01-01

Most attempts to measure forces developed by the human hand have been implemented by placing force sensors on the object of interaction. Other researchers have placed sensors just on the subject's fingertips. In this paper, a system is described that measures forces over the entire hand using thin-film sensors and associated electronics. This system was developed by the authors and is able to obtain force readings from up to 60 thin-film sensors at rates of up to 400 samples/s per sensor. The sensors can be placed anywhere on the palm and/or fingers of the hand. The sensor readings, together with a video stream containing information about hand posture, are logged into a portable computer using a multiplexer, analogue-to-digital converter and software developed for the purpose. The system has been successfully used to measure forces involved in a range of everyday tasks such as driving a vehicle, lifting saucepans and hitting a golf ball. In the latter case, results are compared with those from an instrumented golf club. Future applications include the assessment of hand strength following disease, trauma or surgery, and to enable quantitative ergonomic investigations.

The surgery of peripheral nerves (including tumors)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fugleholm, Kåre

2013-01-01

Surgical pathology of the peripheral nervous system includes traumatic injury, entrapment syndromes, and tumors. The recent significant advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology and cellular biology of peripheral nerve degeneration and regeneration has yet to be translated into improved...... surgical techniques and better outcome after peripheral nerve injury. Decision making in peripheral nerve surgery continues to be a complex challenge, where the mechanism of injury, repeated clinical evaluation, neuroradiological and neurophysiological examination, and detailed knowledge of the peripheral...... nervous system response to injury are prerequisite to obtain the best possible outcome. Surgery continues to be the primary treatment modality for peripheral nerve tumors and advances in adjuvant oncological treatment has improved outcome after malignant peripheral nerve tumors. The present chapter...

The Optical Bichromatic Force in Molecular Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Aldridge, Leland; Galica, Scott; Eyler, E. E.

2015-05-01

The optical bichromatic force has been demonstrated to be useful for slowing atomic beams much more rapidly than radiative forces. Through numerical simulations, we examine several aspects of applying the bichromatic force to molecular beams. One is the unavoidable existence of out-of-system radiative decay, requiring one or more repumping beams. We find that the average deceleration varies strongly with the repumping intensity, but when using optimal parameters, the force approaches the limiting value allowed by population statistics. Another consideration is the effect of fine and hyperfine structure. We examine a simplified multlevel model based on the B X transition in calcium monofluoride. To circumvent optical pumping into coherent dark states, we include two possible schemes: (1) a skewed dc magnetic field, and (2) rapid optical polarization switching. Our results indicate that the bichromatic force remains a viable option for creating large forces in molecular beams, with a reduction in the peak force by approximately an order of magnitude compared to a two-level atom, but little effect on the velocity range over which the force is effective. We also describe our progress towards experimental tests of the bichromatic force on a molecular beam of CaF. Supported by the National Science Foundation.

Childhood Obesity Task Forces Established by State Legislatures, 2001-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sonia A.; Sherry, Bettylou; Blanck, Heidi M.

2013-01-01

Introduction States and communities are considering policy and environmental strategies, including enacting legislation, to reduce and prevent childhood obesity. One legislative approach has been to create task forces to understand key issues and develop a course of action. The goal of this study was to describe state-level, childhood obesity task forces in the United States created by legislation from 2001 through 2010. Methods We used the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity database to identify state-level childhood obesity task forces created through legislation from 2001 through 2010. Results We identified 21 states that had enacted legislation creating childhood obesity task forces of which 6 had created more than one task force. Most task forces were charged with both gathering and reviewing information and making recommendations for obesity-prevention actions in the state. Most legislation required that task forces include representation from the state legislature, state agencies, community organizations, and community members. Conclusion Evaluation of the effectiveness of obesity-prevention task forces and the primary components that contribute to their success may help to determine the advantages of the use of such strategies in obesity prevention. PMID:23987250

Particle force model effects in a shock-driven multiphase instability

Science.gov (United States)

Black, W. J.; Denissen, N.; McFarland, J. A.

2018-05-01

This work presents simulations on a shock-driven multiphase instability (SDMI) at an initial particle volume fraction of 1% with the addition of a suite of particle force models applicable in dense flows. These models include pressure-gradient, added-mass, and interparticle force terms in an effort to capture the effects neighboring particles have in non-dilute flow regimes. Two studies are presented here: the first seeks to investigate the individual contributions of the force models, while the second study focuses on examining the effect of these force models on the hydrodynamic evolution of a SDMI with various particle relaxation times (particle sizes). In the force study, it was found that the pressure gradient and interparticle forces have little effect on the instability under the conditions examined, while the added-mass force decreases the vorticity deposition and alters the morphology of the instability. The relaxation-time study likewise showed a decrease in metrics associated with the evolution of the SDMI for all sizes when the particle force models were included. The inclusion of these models showed significant morphological differences in both the particle and carrier species fields, which increased as particle relaxation times increased.

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis for Health Care Decision Making--Emerging Good Practices: Report 2 of the ISPOR MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Kevin; IJzerman, Maarten; Thokala, Praveen; Baltussen, Rob; Boysen, Meindert; Kaló, Zoltán; Lönngren, Thomas; Mussen, Filip; Peacock, Stuart; Watkins, John; Devlin, Nancy

2016-01-01

Health care decisions are complex and involve confronting trade-offs between multiple, often conflicting objectives. Using structured, explicit approaches to decisions involving multiple criteria can improve the quality of decision making. A set of techniques, known under the collective heading, multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), are useful for this purpose. In 2014, ISPOR established an Emerging Good Practices Task Force. The task force's first report defined MCDA, provided examples of its use in health care, described the key steps, and provided an overview of the principal methods of MCDA. This second task force report provides emerging good-practice guidance on the implementation of MCDA to support health care decisions. The report includes: a checklist to support the design, implementation and review of an MCDA; guidance to support the implementation of the checklist; the order in which the steps should be implemented; illustrates how to incorporate budget constraints into an MCDA; provides an overview of the skills and resources, including available software, required to implement MCDA; and future research directions. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The task force process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Applegate, J.S.

1995-01-01

This paper focuses on the unique aspects of the Fernald Citizens Task Force process that have contributed to a largely successful public participation effort at Fernald. The Fernald Citizens Task Force passed quickly by many procedural issues. Instead, the Task Force concentrated on (a) educating itself about the site, its problems, and possible solutions, and (b) choosing a directed way to approach its mandate: To make recommendations on several open-quotes big pictureclose quotes issues, including future use of the site, cleanup levels, waste disposition, and cleanup priorities. This paper presents the approach used at Fernald for establishing and running a focused site-specific advisory board, the key issues that have been faced, and how these issues were resolved. The success of Fernald in establishing a strong and functioning site-specific advisory board serves as a useful model for other DOE facilities, although the Fernald model is just one of many approaches that can be taken. However, the approach presented here has worked extremely well for Fernald

Alternating phase focussing including space charge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, W.H.; Gluckstern, R.L.

1992-01-01

Longitudinal stability can be obtained in a non-relativistic drift tube accelerator by traversing each gap as the rf accelerating field rises. However, the rising accelerating field leads to a transverse defocusing force which is usually overcome by magnetic focussing inside the drift tubes. The radio frequency quadrupole is one way of providing simultaneous longitudinal and transverse focusing without the use of magnets. One can also avoid the use of magnets by traversing alternate gaps between drift tubes as the field is rising and falling, thus providing an alternation of focussing and defocusing forces in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. The stable longitudinal phase space area is quite small, but recent efforts suggest that alternating phase focussing (APF) may permit low velocity acceleration of currents in the 100-300 ma range. This paper presents a study of the parameter space and a test of crude analytic predictions by adapting the code PARMILA, which includes space charge, to APF. 6 refs., 3 figs

Objective Integrated Assessment of Functional Outcomes in Reduction Mammaplasty

Science.gov (United States)

Passaro, Ilaria; Malovini, Alberto; Faga, Angela; Toffola, Elena Dalla

2013-01-01

Background: The aim of our study was an objective integrated assessment of the functional outcomes of reduction mammaplasty. Methods: The study involved 17 women undergoing reduction mammaplasty from March 2009 to June 2011. Each patient was assessed before surgery and 2 months postoperatively with the original association of 4 subjective and objective assessment methods: a physiatric clinical examination, the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, the Berg Balance Scale, and a static force platform analysis. Results: All of the tests proved multiple statistically significant associated outcomes demonstrating a significant improvement in the functional status following reduction mammaplasty. Surgical correction of breast hypertrophy could achieve both spinal pain relief and recovery of performance status in everyday life tasks, owing to a muscular postural functional rearrangement with a consistent antigravity muscle activity sparing. Pain reduction in turn could reduce the antalgic stiffness and improved the spinal range of motion. In our sample, the improvement of the spinal range of motion in flexion matched a similar improvement in extension. Recovery of a more favorable postural pattern with reduction of the anterior imbalance was demonstrated by the static force stabilometry. Therefore, postoperatively, all of our patients narrowed the gap between the actual body barycenter and the ideal one. The static force platform assessment also consistently confirmed the effectiveness of an accurate clinical examination of functional impairment from breast hypertrophy. Conclusions: The static force platform assessment might help the clinician to support the diagnosis of functional impairment from a breast hypertrophy with objectively based data. PMID:25289256

Invited commentary: The long term impact of forced migration during childhood on adult health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torsten Santavirta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Saarela and Elo (SSM-Population Health; Volume 2, December 2016, Pages 813–823 provide new evidence of early life forced displacement not being adversely associated with adult health. Their study highlights some of the challenges to identifying a causal effect of childhood exposure on adult health in the context of complex emergencies. Importantly, it opens up for future research that can address commonly recognized sources of bias and identify intervening pathways linking forced migration with adult health outcomes.

In-depth Study on Cylinder Wake Controlled by Lorentz Force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Hui; Fan Bao-Chun; Chen Zhi-Hua

2011-01-01

The underlying mechanisms of the electromagnetic control of cylinder wake are investigated and discussed. The effects of Lorentz force are found to be composed of two parts, one is its direct action on the cylinder (the wall Lorentz force) and the other is applied to the fluid (called the field Lorentz force) near the cylinder surface. Our results show that the wall Lorentz force can generate thrust and reduce the drag; the field Lorentz force increases the drag. However, the cylinder drag is dominated by the wall Lorentz force. In addition, the field Lorentz force above the upper surface decreases the lift, while the upper wall Lorentz force increases it. The total lift is dominated by the upper wall Lorentz force. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Faith Moves Mountains-Mountains Move Faith: Two Opposite Epidemiological Forces in Research on Religion and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Hvidt, N C; Hvidtjørn, D; Christensen, K; Nielsen, J B; Søndergaard, J

2017-02-01

Research suggests opposite epidemiological forces in religion and health: (1). Faith seems to move mountains in the sense that religion is associated with positive health outcomes. (2). Mountains of bad health seem to move faith. We reflected on these forces in a population of 3000 young Danish twins in which all religiosity measures were associated with severe disease. We believe the reason for this novel finding is that the sample presents as a particularly secular population-based study and that the second epidemiological force has gained the upper hand in this sample. We suggest that all cross-sectional research on religion and health should be interpreted in light of such opposite epidemiological forces potentially diluting each other.

Force and Directional Force Modulation Effects on Accuracy and Variability in Low-Level Pinch Force Tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sangsoo; Spirduso, Waneen; Eakin, Tim; Abraham, Lawrence

2018-01-01

The authors investigated how varying the required low-level forces and the direction of force change affect accuracy and variability of force production in a cyclic isometric pinch force tracking task. Eighteen healthy right-handed adult volunteers performed the tracking task over 3 different force ranges. Root mean square error and coefficient of variation were higher at lower force levels and during minimum reversals compared with maximum reversals. Overall, the thumb showed greater root mean square error and coefficient of variation scores than did the index finger during maximum reversals, but not during minimum reversals. The observed impaired performance during minimum reversals might originate from history-dependent mechanisms of force production and highly coupled 2-digit performance.

Transient filament stretching rheometer I: force balance analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Szabo, Peter

1997-01-01

The filament stretching device which is used increasingly as an apparatus for measuring extensional properties of polymeric liquids isanalysed. A force balance that includes the effects of inertia and surface tension is derived.The force balance may be used to correct for the effects of inertia...

Ball Screw Actuator Including an Axial Soft Stop

Science.gov (United States)

Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Forrest, Steven Talbert (Inventor); Abel, Steve (Inventor); Woessner, George (Inventor); Hanlon, Casey (Inventor)

2016-01-01

An actuator includes an actuator housing, a ball screw, and an axial soft stop assembly. The ball screw extends through the actuator housing and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw is coupled to receive a drive force and is configured, upon receipt of the drive force, to selectively move in a retract direction and an extend direction. The axial soft stop assembly is disposed within the actuator housing. The axial soft stop assembly is configured to be selectively engaged by the ball screw and, upon being engaged thereby, to translate, with compliance, a predetermined distance in the extend direction, and to prevent further movement of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

Quantifying immediate radiative forcing by black carbon and organic matter with the Specific Forcing Pulse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. C. Bond

2011-02-01

12 additional models. We outline a framework for combining a large number of simple models with a smaller number of enhanced models that have greater complexity. Adjustments for black carbon internal mixing and for regional variability are discussed. Emitting regions with more deep convection have greater model diversity. Our best estimate of global-mean SFP is +1.03 ± 0.52 GJ g⁻¹ for direct atmosphere forcing of black carbon, +1.15 ± 0.53 GJ g⁻¹ for black carbon including direct and cryosphere forcing, and −0.064 (−0.02, −0.13 GJ g⁻¹ for organic matter. These values depend on the region and timing of emission. The lowest OM:BC mass ratio required to produce a neutral effect on top-of-atmosphere direct forcing is 15:1 for any region. Any lower ratio results in positive direct forcing. However, important processes, particularly cloud changes that tend toward cooling, have not been included here.

Global-average SFP for energy-related emissions can be converted to a 100-year GWP of about 740 ± 370 for BC without snow forcing, and 830 ± 440 with snow forcing. 100-year GWP for OM is −46 (−18, −92. Best estimates of atmospheric radiative impact (without snow forcing by black and organic matter are +0.47 ± 0.26 W m⁻² and −0.17 (−0.07, −0.35 W m⁻² for BC and OM, respectively, assuming total emission rates of 7.4 and 45 Tg yr⁻¹. Anthropogenic forcing is +0.40 ± 0.18 W m⁻² and −0.13 (−0.05, −0.25 W m⁻² for BC and OM, respectively, assuming anthropogenic emission rates of 6.3 and 32.6 Tg yr⁻¹. Black carbon forcing is only 18% higher than that given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, although the value presented here includes enhanced absorption due to internal mixing.

Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside clinical trials II-An ISPOR Good Research Practices Task Force report.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Scott D; Willke, Richard J; Glick, Henry; Reed, Shelby D; Augustovski, Federico; Jonsson, Bengt; Briggs, Andrew; Sullivan, Sean D

2015-03-01

Clinical trials evaluating medicines, medical devices, and procedures now commonly assess the economic value of these interventions. The growing number of prospective clinical/economic trials reflects both widespread interest in economic information for new technologies and the regulatory and reimbursement requirements of many countries that now consider evidence of economic value along with clinical efficacy. As decision makers increasingly demand evidence of economic value for health care interventions, conducting high-quality economic analyses alongside clinical studies is desirable because they broaden the scope of information available on a particular intervention, and can efficiently provide timely information with high internal and, when designed and analyzed properly, reasonable external validity. In 2005, ISPOR published the Good Research Practices for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Alongside Clinical Trials: The ISPOR RCT-CEA Task Force report. ISPOR initiated an update of the report in 2014 to include the methodological developments over the last 9 years. This report provides updated recommendations reflecting advances in several areas related to trial design, selecting data elements, database design and management, analysis, and reporting of results. Task force members note that trials should be designed to evaluate effectiveness (rather than efficacy) when possible, should include clinical outcome measures, and should obtain health resource use and health state utilities directly from study subjects. Collection of economic data should be fully integrated into the study. An incremental analysis should be conducted with an intention-to-treat approach, complemented by relevant subgroup analyses. Uncertainty should be characterized. Articles should adhere to established standards for reporting results of cost-effectiveness analyses. Economic studies alongside trials are complementary to other evaluations (e.g., modeling studies) as information for decision

A new equation of state for core-collapse supernovae based on realistic nuclear forces and including a full nuclear ensemble

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furusawa, S; Togashi, H; Nagakura, H; Sumiyoshi, K; Yamada, S; Suzuki, H; Takano, M

2017-01-01

We have constructed a nuclear equation of state (EOS) that includes a full nuclear ensemble for use in core-collapse supernova simulations. It is based on the EOS for uniform nuclear matter that two of the authors derived recently, applying a variational method to realistic two- and three-body nuclear forces. We have extended the liquid drop model of heavy nuclei, utilizing the mass formula that accounts for the dependences of bulk, surface, Coulomb and shell energies on density and/or temperature. As for light nuclei, we employ a quantum-theoretical mass evaluation, which incorporates the Pauli- and self-energy shifts. In addition to realistic nuclear forces, the inclusion of in-medium effects on the full ensemble of nuclei makes the new EOS one of the most realistic EOSs, which covers a wide range of density, temperature and proton fraction that supernova simulations normally encounter. We make comparisons with the FYSS EOS, which is based on the same formulation for the nuclear ensemble but adopts the relativistic mean field theory with the TM1 parameter set for uniform nuclear matter. The new EOS is softer than the FYSS EOS around and above nuclear saturation densities. We find that neutron-rich nuclei with small mass numbers are more abundant in the new EOS than in the FYSS EOS because of the larger saturation densities and smaller symmetry energy of nuclei in the former. We apply the two EOSs to 1D supernova simulations and find that the new EOS gives lower electron fractions and higher temperatures in the collapse phase owing to the smaller symmetry energy. As a result, the inner core has smaller masses for the new EOS. It is more compact, on the other hand, due to the softness of the new EOS and bounces at higher densities. It turns out that the shock wave generated by core bounce is a bit stronger initially in the simulation with the new EOS. The ensuing outward propagations of the shock wave in the outer core are very similar in the two simulations, which

Forced vital capacity predicts morbidity and mortality in adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Katie E; Buelow, Matthew W; Dixon, Jennifer; Brazauskas, Ruta; Cohen, Scott B; Earing, Michael G; Ginde, Salil

2017-07-01

Abnormal lung function characterized by a reduced forced vital capacity (FVC) is common in adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and is associated with previous thoracotomies and sternotomies. The impact of abnormal lung function on clinical outcomes in adult patients with repaired TOF is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of abnormal lung function on the outcome of hospitalization and death in adults with repaired TOF when analyzed with other traditional cardiac risk factors. Retrospective study of adults with repaired TOF, who underwent spirometry between 2000 and 2014. FVC < 60% of predicted was categorized as moderate-to-severely reduced lung function. Primary outcome measure was the combined clinical endpoint of death, cardiac transplantation, or nonelective hospitalization for primary cardiac or respiratory indication. A total of 122 patients were included. Average age at spirometry testing was 31 ± 10.1 years. FVC was < 60% predicted in 23 (19%) patients. During a mean follow-up period of 3.97 ± 2.65 years, 23 (19%) patients reached the combined clinical outcome of nonelective hospitalization and/or death. FVC < 60% predicted was independently associated with the risk for the combined clinical outcome (RR 6.68 (95% CI 2.49-17.94), P < .001). Abnormal pulmonary function characterized by reduced FVC is common in adults with repaired TOF. Patients with FVC < 60% predicted had a 6 times higher rate of hospitalization and/or death compared to those with FVC ≥ 60%. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

AtomicJ: An open source software for analysis of force curves

Science.gov (United States)

Hermanowicz, Paweł; Sarna, Michał; Burda, Kvetoslava; Gabryś, Halina

2014-06-01

We present an open source Java application for analysis of force curves and images recorded with the Atomic Force Microscope. AtomicJ supports a wide range of contact mechanics models and implements procedures that reduce the influence of deviations from the contact model. It generates maps of mechanical properties, including maps of Young's modulus, adhesion force, and sample height. It can also calculate stacks, which reveal how sample's response to deformation changes with indentation depth. AtomicJ analyzes force curves concurrently on multiple threads, which allows for high speed of analysis. It runs on all popular operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Macintosh.

AtomicJ: An open source software for analysis of force curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermanowicz, Paweł; Gabryś, Halina; Sarna, Michał; Burda, Kvetoslava

2014-01-01

We present an open source Java application for analysis of force curves and images recorded with the Atomic Force Microscope. AtomicJ supports a wide range of contact mechanics models and implements procedures that reduce the influence of deviations from the contact model. It generates maps of mechanical properties, including maps of Young's modulus, adhesion force, and sample height. It can also calculate stacks, which reveal how sample's response to deformation changes with indentation depth. AtomicJ analyzes force curves concurrently on multiple threads, which allows for high speed of analysis. It runs on all popular operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Macintosh

Gender, renal function, and outcomes on the liver transplant waiting list: assessment of revised MELD including estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Robert P; Shaheen, Abdel Aziz M; Aspinall, Alexander I; Quinn, Robert R; Burak, Kelly W

2011-03-01

The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) allocation system for liver transplantation (LT) may present a disadvantage for women by including serum creatinine, which is typically lower in females. Our objectives were to investigate gender disparities in outcomes among LT candidates and to assess a revised MELD, including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), for predicting waiting list mortality. Adults registered for LT between 2002 and 2007 were identified using the UNOS database. We compared components of MELD, MDRD-derived eGFR, and the 3-month probability of LT and death between genders. Discrimination of MELD, MELDNa, and revised models including eGFR for mortality were compared using c-statistics. A total of 40,393 patients (36% female) met the inclusion criteria; 9% died and 24% underwent LT within 3 months of listing. Compared with men, women had lower median serum creatinine (0.9 vs. 1.0 mg/dl), eGFR (72 vs. 83 ml/min/1.73 m(2)), and mean MELD (16.5 vs. 17.2; all p discrimination for 3-month mortality (c-statistics: MELD 0.896, MELD-eGFR 0.894, MELDNa 0.911, MELDNa-eGFR 0.905). Women are disadvantaged under MELD potentially due to its inclusion of creatinine. However, since including eGFR in MELD does not improve mortality prediction, alternative refinements are necessary. Copyright © 2010 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The multiple roles of titin in muscle contraction and force production.

Science.gov (United States)

Herzog, Walter

2018-01-20

Titin is a filamentous protein spanning the half-sarcomere, with spring-like properties in the I-band region. Various structural, signaling, and mechanical functions have been associated with titin, but not all of these are fully elucidated and accepted in the scientific community. Here, I discuss the primary mechanical functions of titin, including its accepted role in passive force production, stabilization of half-sarcomeres and sarcomeres, and its controversial contribution to residual force enhancement, passive force enhancement, energetics, and work production in shortening muscle. Finally, I provide evidence that titin is a molecular spring whose stiffness changes with muscle activation and actin-myosin-based force production, suggesting a novel model of force production that, aside from actin and myosin, includes titin as a "third contractile" filament. Using this three-filament model of sarcomeres, the stability of (half-) sarcomeres, passive force enhancement, residual force enhancement, and the decrease in metabolic energy during and following eccentric contractions can be explained readily.

The Development of a Scientific Evaluation System of Force-on-Force (FOF) Exercise for Performance-based Regulation in Nuclear Security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koh, Moonsung; Jung, Myungtak [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

A terrorist attack or sabotage at a nuclear facility could lead result in a great amount of loss of life and social chaos, in addition to serious radiological damage. As threats have been evolved more intelligent, divergent, advanced, the international societies including IAEA encourage for all member states to establish the performance-based regulation using Forceon- Force (FOF) exercise, computer simulation. Consequently, the performance evaluation for physical protection at nuclear facilities should focus on properly reacting to threat scenarios. Physical protection should also include detecting, blocking, delaying, interrupting including the human and technical factors the adversary having malicious intention of the realistic main threat element before he accomplishes the goal based on Design Basis Threat (DBT). After the completion of the FOF evaluation system, KINAC will evaluate, and later strengthen its overall security program in response to changes in the threat environment, technological advancements, and lessons learned. As a result, substantial improvements to a nuclear facility security can be predicted. These improvements will focus on a plant security force, physical barriers, intrusion detection systems, surveillance systems, and access controls. Through the building a Force-on-Force scientific evaluation system, KINAC will establish an efficient physical protection implementation system for nuclear energy facilities.

The Development of a Scientific Evaluation System of Force-on-Force (FOF) Exercise for Performance-based Regulation in Nuclear Security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koh, Moonsung; Jung, Myungtak

2015-01-01

A terrorist attack or sabotage at a nuclear facility could lead result in a great amount of loss of life and social chaos, in addition to serious radiological damage. As threats have been evolved more intelligent, divergent, advanced, the international societies including IAEA encourage for all member states to establish the performance-based regulation using Forceon- Force (FOF) exercise, computer simulation. Consequently, the performance evaluation for physical protection at nuclear facilities should focus on properly reacting to threat scenarios. Physical protection should also include detecting, blocking, delaying, interrupting including the human and technical factors the adversary having malicious intention of the realistic main threat element before he accomplishes the goal based on Design Basis Threat (DBT). After the completion of the FOF evaluation system, KINAC will evaluate, and later strengthen its overall security program in response to changes in the threat environment, technological advancements, and lessons learned. As a result, substantial improvements to a nuclear facility security can be predicted. These improvements will focus on a plant security force, physical barriers, intrusion detection systems, surveillance systems, and access controls. Through the building a Force-on-Force scientific evaluation system, KINAC will establish an efficient physical protection implementation system for nuclear energy facilities

MATCH: An Atom- Typing Toolset for Molecular Mechanics Force Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Yesselman, Joseph D.; Price, Daniel J.; Knight, Jennifer L.; Brooks, Charles L.

2011-01-01

We introduce a toolset of program libraries collectively titled MATCH (Multipurpose Atom-Typer for CHARMM) for the automated assignment of atom types and force field parameters for molecular mechanics simulation of organic molecules. The toolset includes utilities for the conversion from multiple chemical structure file formats into a molecular graph. A general chemical pattern-matching engine using this graph has been implemented whereby assignment of molecular mechanics atom types, charges and force field parameters is achieved by comparison against a customizable list of chemical fragments. While initially designed to complement the CHARMM simulation package and force fields by generating the necessary input topology and atom-type data files, MATCH can be expanded to any force field and program, and has core functionality that makes it extendable to other applications such as fragment-based property prediction. In the present work, we demonstrate the accurate construction of atomic parameters of molecules within each force field included in CHARMM36 through exhaustive cross validation studies illustrating that bond increment rules derived from one force field can be transferred to another. In addition, using leave-one-out substitution it is shown that it is also possible to substitute missing intra and intermolecular parameters with ones included in a force field to complete the parameterization of novel molecules. Finally, to demonstrate the robustness of MATCH and the coverage of chemical space offered by the recent CHARMM CGENFF force field (Vanommeslaeghe, et al., JCC., 2010, 31, 671–690), one million molecules from the PubChem database of small molecules are typed, parameterized and minimized. PMID:22042689

Laser radiation forces in laser-produced plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamper, J.A.

1975-01-01

There are two contributions to laser radiation forces acting on the electrons. Transfer of momentum from the fields to the electrons results in a field pressure contribution and occurs whenever there is absorption or reflection. The quiver pressure contribution, associated with electron quiver motion, is due to inhomogeneous fields inducing momentum transfer within the electron system. It is shown that the ponderomotive force with force density, (epsilon-1)/8πdel 2 >, does not include the field contribution and does not lead to a general description of macroscopic processes. A theory is discussed which does give a general macroscopic description (absorption, reflection, refraction, and magnetic field generation) and which reduces to the ponderomotive force for purely sinusoidal fields in a neutral, homogeneous, nonabsorbing plasma

Δ-excitations and the three-nucleon force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Epelbaum, E.; Krebs, H.; Meissner, Ulf-G.

2008-01-01

We study the three-nucleon force in chiral effective field theory with explicit Δ-resonance degrees of freedom. We show that up to next-to-next-to-leading order, the only contribution to the isospin symmetric three-nucleon force involving the spin-3/2 degrees of freedom is given by the two-pion-exchange diagram with an intermediate delta, frequently called the Fujita-Miyazawa force. We also analyze the leading isospin-breaking corrections due to the delta. For that, we give the first quantitative analysis of the delta quartet mass splittings in chiral effective field theory including the leading electromagnetic corrections. The charge-symmetry breaking three-nucleon force due to an intermediate delta excitation is small, of the order of a few keV

Cicada (Tibicen linnei steers by force vectoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samane Zeyghami

2016-03-01

Full Text Available To change flight direction, flying animals modulate aerodynamic force either relative to their bodies to generate torque about the center of mass, or relative to the flight path to produce centripetal force that curves the trajectory. In employing the latter, the direction of aerodynamic force remains fixed in the body frame and rotations of the body redirect the force. While both aforementioned techniques are essential for flight, it is critical to investigate how an animal balances the two to achieve aerial locomotion. Here, we measured wing and body kinematics of cicada (Tibicen linnei in free flight, including flight periods of both little and substantial body reorientations. It is found that cicadas employ a common force vectoring technique to execute all these flights. We show that the direction of the half-stroke averaged aerodynamic force relative to the body is independent of the body orientation, varying in a range of merely 20 deg. Despite directional limitation of the aerodynamic force, pitch and roll torque are generated by altering wing angle of attack and its mean position relative to the center of mass. This results in body rotations which redirect the wing force in the global frame and consequently change the flight trajectory.

Nanoparticle movement: Plasmonic forces and physical constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batson, P.E.; Reyes-Coronado, A.; Barrera, R.G.; Rivacoba, A.; Echenique, P.M.; Aizpurua, J.

2012-01-01

Nanoparticle structures observed in aberration-corrected electron microscopes exhibit many types of behavior, some of which are dominated by intrinsic conditions, unrelated to the microscope environment. Some behaviors are clearly driven by the electron beam, however, and the question arises as to whether these are similar to intrinsic mechanisms, useful for understanding nanoscale behavior, or whether they should be regarded as unwanted modification of as-built specimens. We have studied a particular kind of beam–specimen interaction – plasmon dielectric forces caused by the electric fields imposed by a passing swift electron – identifying four types of forced motion, including both attractive and repulsive forces on single nanoparticles, and coalescent and non-coalescent forces in groups of two or more nanoparticles. We suggest that these forces might be useful for deliberate electron beam guided movement of nanoparticles. -- Highlights: ► We investigate the interaction of metal nanoparticles with a high energy electron beam. ► We find forces ranging from 0.1 to 50 pN forces between the metal particles and the beam. ► At moderate distances, dielectric forces are usually small and attractive. ► At sub-Nm distances the forces become repulsive, pushing nanoparticles away from the electron beam. ► While the repulsive behavior is predicted by electromagnetic theory, the detailed origin of the behavior is not yet understood.

StringForce

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barendregt, Wolmet; Börjesson, Peter; Eriksson, Eva

2017-01-01

In this paper, we present the forced collaborative interaction game StringForce. StringForce is developed for a special education context to support training of collaboration skills, using readily available technologies and avoiding the creation of a "mobile bubble". In order to play String......Force two or four physically collocated tablets are required. These tablets are connected to form one large shared game area. The game can only be played by collaborating. StringForce extends previous work, both technologically and regarding social-emotional training. We believe String......Force to be an interesting demo for the IDC community, as it intertwines several relevant research fields, such as mobile interaction and collaborative gaming in the special education context....

Experimental investigation of turbine blade-tip excitation forces

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez-Sanchez, Manuel; Jaroux, Belgacem; Song, Seung Jin; Yoo, Soom-Yung; Palczynski, Taras

1994-01-01

Results of a program to investigate the magnitude and parametric variations of rotordynamic forces which arise in high power turbines due to blade-tip leakage effects are presented. Five different unshrouded turbine configurations and one configuration shrouded with a labyrinth seal were tested with static offsets of the turbine shaft. The forces along and perpendicular to the offset were measured directly with a rotating dynometer. Exploration of casing pressure and flow velocity distributions was used to investigate the force-generating mechanisms. For unshrouded turbines, the cross-forces originate mainly from the classical Alford mechanisms while the direct forces arise mainly from a slightly skewed pressure pattern. The Alford coefficient for cross-force was found to vary between 2.4 and 4.0, while the similar direct force coefficient varied from 1.5 to 3.5. The cross-forces are found to increase substantially when the gap is reduced from 3.0 to 1.9% of blade height, probably due to viscous blade-tip effects. The forces also increase when the hub gap between stator and rotor decreases. The force coefficient decreased with operating flow coefficient. In the case of the shrouded turbine, most of the forces arise from nonuniform seal pressures. This includes about 80% for the transverse forces. The rest appears to come from uneven work extraction. Their level is about 50% higher in the shrouded case.

Coherent Bichromatic Force Deflection of Molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Kozyryev, Ivan; Baum, Louis; Aldridge, Leland; Yu, Phelan; Eyler, Edward E.; Doyle, John M.

2018-02-01

We demonstrate the effect of the coherent optical bichromatic force on a molecule, the polar free radical strontium monohydroxide (SrOH). A dual-frequency retroreflected laser beam addressing the X˜2Σ+↔A˜2Π1 /2 electronic transition coherently imparts momentum onto a cryogenic beam of SrOH. This directional photon exchange creates a bichromatic force that transversely deflects the molecules. By adjusting the relative phase between the forward and counterpropagating laser beams we reverse the direction of the applied force. A momentum transfer of 70 ℏk is achieved with minimal loss of molecules to dark states. Modeling of the bichromatic force is performed via direct numerical solution of the time-dependent density matrix and is compared with experimental observations. Our results open the door to further coherent manipulation of molecular motion, including the efficient optical deceleration of diatomic and polyatomic molecules with complex level structures.

Participation in Armed Forces, National, and International Sports Activities

Science.gov (United States)

1987-03-09

American Games , Olympic Games , and other authorized national and international sports competitions (to include qualifying and preparatory events) as long...concerning the participation of Armed Forces personnel in Armed Forces, national, and international sports competitions ; establishes a Senior Military Sports ...program is to ensure that the U.S. Armed Forces are appropriately represented in national and international sports competitions . 3. The purpose of this

Self-Reported Health Experiences of Children Living with Congenital Heart Defects: Including Patient-Reported Outcomes in a National Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Knowles, Rachel Louise; Tadic, Valerija; Hogan, Ailbhe; Bull, Catherine; Rahi, Jugnoo Sangeeta; Dezateux, Carol

2016-01-01

Understanding children's views about living with congenital heart defects (CHDs) is fundamental to supporting their successful participation in daily life, school and peer relationships. As an adjunct to a health and quality of life outcomes questionnaire, we asked school-age children who survived infant heart procedures to describe their experiences of living with CHDs. In a UK-wide cohort study, children aged 10 to 14 years with CHDs self-completed postal questionnaires that included an open question about having a 'heart problem'. We compared the characteristics of children with more and less severe cardiac diagnoses and, through collaborative inductive content analysis, investigated the subjective experiences and coping strategies described by children in both clinical severity groups. Text and/or drawings were returned by 436 children (246 boys [56%], mean age 12.1 years [SD 1.0; range 10-14]); 313 had less severe (LS) and 123 more severe (MS) cardiac diagnoses. At the most recent hospital visit, a higher proportion of the MS group were underweight (more than two standard deviations below the mean for age) or cyanosed (underweight: MS 20.0%, LS 9.9%; cyanosed: MS 26.2%, LS 3.5%). Children in the MS group described concerns about social isolation and feeling 'different', whereas children with less severe diagnoses often characterised their CHD as 'not a big thing'. Some coping strategies were common to both severity groups, including managing health information to avoid social exclusion, however only children in the LS group considered their CHD 'in the past' or experienced a sense of survivorship. Children's reported experiences were not dependent on their cardiac diagnosis, although there were clear qualitative differences by clinical severity group. Children's concerns emphasised social participation and our findings imply a need to shift the clinical focus from monitoring cardiac function to optimising participation. We highlight the potential for informing

Quantum mode phonon forces between chainmolecules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bohr, Jakob

2001-01-01

bimolecular interaction is a truly many-body force that is temperature dependent and can be of the order of 1 eV. These phonon forces depend on molecular shape, composition, and density. They may therefore also be important for large molecular conformational changes, including the unfolding of chain molecules....... For the later case, a significant change in zero-point energy is found. This may be the underlying cause for cold denaturation of proteins. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc....

Vortex deformation and reduction of the Lorentz force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuorio, M.

1977-01-01

A vortex of an extreme II-type superconductor is considered in the presence of a transport current. The equivalence of Magnus and Lorentz forces in a static vortex is discussed and the effect of vortex deformation is included in calculating corrections to the conventional expression of the Lorentz force. (author)

Data Driven, Force Based Interaction for Quadrotors

Science.gov (United States)

McKinnon, Christopher D.

Quadrotors are small and agile, and are becoming more capable for their compact size. They are expected perform a wide variety of tasks including inspection, physical interaction, and formation flight. In all of these tasks, the quadrotors can come into close proximity with infrastructure or other quadrotors, and may experience significant external forces and torques. Reacting properly in each case is essential to completing the task safely and effectively. In this thesis, we develop an algorithm, based on the Unscented Kalman Filter, to estimate such forces and torques without making assumptions about the source of the forces and torques. We then show in experiment how the proposed estimation algorithm can be used in conjunction with controls and machine learning to choose the appropriate actions in a wide variety of tasks including detecting downwash, tracking the wind induced by a fan, and detecting proximity to the wall.

Systematic review with meta-analysis: online psychological interventions for mental and physical health outcomes in gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanlon, I; Hewitt, C; Bell, K; Phillips, A; Mikocka-Walus, A

2018-06-14

Online psychotherapy has been successfully used as supportive treatment in many chronic illnesses. However, there is a lack of evidence on its role in the management of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. To examine whether online psychological interventions improve mental and physical outcomes in gastrointestinal diseases. We searched CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Health Management Information Consortium, PsycINFO, British Nursing Index, Cochrane Library, a specialised register of the IBD/FBD Cochrane Group, MEDLINE (PubMed) WHO International Clinical Trial Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov, and reference lists of all papers included in the review. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess internal validity. Where possible, data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. We identified 11 publications (encompassing nine studies) meeting inclusion criteria. One study had a high risk of selection bias (allocation concealment), all studies had a high risk of performance and detection bias. Eight studies were included in the meta-analyses (6 on irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] and two on inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]). Online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was shown to significantly improve gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety (MD: -8.51, 95% CI -12.99 to -4.04, P = 0.0002) and lessen symptom-induced disability (MD: -2.78, 95% CI -5.43 to -0.12, P = 0.04) in IBS post intervention. There was no significant effect of online CBT on any other outcomes in IBS. No significant effect of online psychotherapy was demonstrated in IBD. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of online CBT to manage mental and physical outcomes in gastrointestinal diseases. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dispersion Forces

CERN Document Server

Buhmann, Stefan Yoshi

2012-01-01

In this book, a modern unified theory of dispersion forces on atoms and bodies is presented which covers a broad range of advanced aspects and scenarios. Macroscopic quantum electrodynamics is shown to provide a powerful framework for dispersion forces which allows for discussing general properties like their non-additivity and the relation between microscopic and macroscopic interactions. It is demonstrated how the general results can be used to obtain dispersion forces on atoms in the presence of bodies of various shapes and materials. Starting with a brief recapitulation of volume I, this volume II deals especially with bodies of irregular shapes, universal scaling laws, dynamical forces on excited atoms, enhanced forces in cavity quantum electrodynamics, non-equilibrium forces in thermal environments and quantum friction. The book gives both the specialist and those new to the field a thorough overview over recent results in the field. It provides a toolbox for studying dispersion forces in various contex...

Outcome of the First wwPDB Hybrid/Integrative Methods Task Force Workshop

Science.gov (United States)

Sali, Andrej; Berman, Helen M.; Schwede, Torsten; Trewhella, Jill; Kleywegt, Gerard; Burley, Stephen K.; Markley, John; Nakamura, Haruki; Adams, Paul; Bonvin, Alexandre M.J.J.; Chiu, Wah; Dal Peraro, Matteo; Di Maio, Frank; Ferrin, Thomas E.; Grünewald, Kay; Gutmanas, Aleksandras; Henderson, Richard; Hummer, Gerhard; Iwasaki, Kenji; Johnson, Graham; Lawson, Catherine L.; Meiler, Jens; Marti-Renom, Marc A.; Montelione, Gaetano T.; Nilges, Michael; Nussinov, Ruth; Patwardhan, Ardan; Rappsilber, Juri; Read, Randy J.; Saibil, Helen; Schröder, Gunnar F.; Schwieters, Charles D.; Seidel, Claus A. M.; Svergun, Dmitri; Topf, Maya; Ulrich, Eldon L.; Velankar, Sameer; Westbrook, John D.

2016-01-01

Summary Structures of biomolecular systems are increasingly computed by integrative modeling that relies on varied types of experimental data and theoretical information. We describe here the proceedings and conclusions from the first wwPDB Hybrid/Integrative Methods Task Force Workshop held at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Hinxton, UK, October 6 and 7, 2014. At the workshop, experts in various experimental fields of structural biology, experts in integrative modeling and visualization, and experts in data archiving addressed a series of questions central to the future of structural biology. How should integrative models be represented? How should the data and integrative models be validated? What data should be archived? How should the data and models be archived? What information should accompany the publication of integrative models? PMID:26095030

Conjoint analysis applications in health--a checklist: a report of the ISPOR Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Bridges, John F P; Hauber, A Brett; Marshall, Deborah; Lloyd, Andrew; Prosser, Lisa A; Regier, Dean A; Johnson, F Reed; Mauskopf, Josephine

2011-06-01

The application of conjoint analysis (including discrete-choice experiments and other multiattribute stated-preference methods) in health has increased rapidly over the past decade. A wider acceptance of these methods is limited by an absence of consensus-based methodological standards. The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Good Research Practices for Conjoint Analysis Task Force was established to identify good research practices for conjoint-analysis applications in health. The task force met regularly to identify the important steps in a conjoint analysis, to discuss good research practices for conjoint analysis, and to develop and refine the key criteria for identifying good research practices. ISPOR members contributed to this process through an extensive consultation process. A final consensus meeting was held to revise the article using these comments, and those of a number of international reviewers. Task force findings are presented as a 10-item checklist covering: 1) research question; 2) attributes and levels; 3) construction of tasks; 4) experimental design; 5) preference elicitation; 6) instrument design; 7) data-collection plan; 8) statistical analyses; 9) results and conclusions; and 10) study presentation. A primary question relating to each of the 10 items is posed, and three sub-questions examine finer issues within items. Although the checklist should not be interpreted as endorsing any specific methodological approach to conjoint analysis, it can facilitate future training activities and discussions of good research practices for the application of conjoint-analysis methods in health care studies. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Training Method to Improve Police Use of Force Decision Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Judith P. Andersen

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Police safety and use of force decisions during critical incidents are an ongoing source of concern for both police practitioners and the public. Prior research in the area of police performance reveals that psychological and physiological stress responses during critical incidents can shape the outcome of the incident, either positively or negatively. The goal of this study was to test a training method to improve use of force decision making among police. This randomized controlled pilot study consisted of training officers to apply techniques to enhance psychological and physiological control during stressful critical incidents. Of a pool of 80 police officers, potential participants were invited based on equivalent age, years of experience, physiological characteristics (i.e., body mass index [BMI] and cardiovascular reactivity, and expertise. Results revealed that the intervention group displayed significantly better physiological control, situational awareness, and overall performance, and made a greater number of correct use of force decisions than officers in the control group (all ps < .01. The relevant improvements in use of force decision-making found in this pilot study indicate that this training method warrants further investigation. Improved use of force decision making directly translates into potential lifesaving decisions for police and the civilians they are working with.

Forced migration in childhood: are there long-term health effects?

Science.gov (United States)

Saarela, Jan M; Elo, Irma T

2016-12-01

Studies on the health of migrants have increased considerably in number in recent years, but little is still known about the long-term health effects associated with forced migration, and particularly for people who were forced to migrate as children. Data shortcomings together with the methodological challenges of studying migrant populations limit the ability to disentangle the roles of various factors that influence migrant health outcomes. Finland provides an unusual opportunity to study long-term health consequences associated with forced migration. During World War II, twelve per cent of the Finnish population was forced to leave the region nowadays referred to as Ceded Karelia. After the war, these Karelians could not return home because the area was relinquished to the Soviet Union. Using high quality, linked register-based data for the period 1988-2012, we investigate whether this forced migration had long-term health consequences for those who were forced to migrate as children. Comparison groups are non-displaced persons born on the adjacent side of the new border, and people born elsewhere in Finland. Health at ages 43-65 years is measured by receipt of sickness benefit, which is an indicator of short-term illness, and receipt of disability pension, which reflects long-term illness or permanent disability. All-cause and cause-specific mortality is analysed at ages 43-84 years. We find no support for the hypothesis that the traumatic event of being forced to migrate during childhood has long-term negative health consequences. The forced child migrants have lower odds for receipt of sickness benefit, and women also have lower odds for receipt of disability pension. The mortality results are largely driven by patterns specific for eastern-born populations of Finland. A likely reason behind the absence of negative health consequences is that these migrants seem to have integrated well into post-war Finnish society.

Effect of resistance training on muscle strength and rate of force development in healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Guizelini, Pedrode Camargo; de Aguiar, Rafael Alves; Denadai, Benedito Sérgio; Caputo, Fabrizio; Greco, Camila Coelho

2018-02-01

Rapid force capacity, identified by rate of rise in contractile force at the onset of contraction, i.e., the rate of force development (RFD), has been considered an important neuromuscular parameter of physical fitness in elderly individuals. Randomized control studies conducted in adults have found that resistance training may elicit different outcomes in terms of RFD and muscle strength. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to review systematically the literature for studies regarding the influence of resistance training on muscle strength and RFD in elderly persons. A literature search was performed in major electronic databases from inception to March 2017. Studies including health individuals with a mean age≥60years, describing the effect of resistance training on RFD and muscle strength were found eligible. The outcomes were calculated as the difference in percentage change between control and experimental groups (% change) and data were presented as mean±95% confidence limits. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model and, in addition, simple and multiple meta-regression analyses were used to identify effects of age, training type, sessions per week and training duration on % change in RFD and muscle strength. Thirteen training effects were collected from 10 studies included in the meta-analysis. The resistance training program had a moderate beneficial effect on both muscle strength (% change=18.40%, 95% CL 13.69-23.30, pchange=26.68, 95% CL 14.41-35.52, pchanges in muscle strength and RFD. It can be concluded that explosive training and heavy strength training are effective resistance training methods aiming to improve both muscle strength and RFD after short-to-medium training period. However, muscle strength and RFD seem to adapt differently to resistance training programs, suggesting caution for their interchangeable use in clinical assessments of the elderly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlating changes in lung function with patient outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pooled analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jones Paul W

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Relationships between improvements in lung function and other clinical outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD are not documented extensively. We examined whether changes in trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 are correlated with changes in patient-reported outcomes. Methods Pooled data from three indacaterol studies (n = 3313 were analysed. Means and responder rates for outcomes including change from baseline in Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ scores (at 12, 26 and 52 weeks, and COPD exacerbation frequency (rate/year were tabulated across categories of ΔFEV1. Also, generalised linear modelling was performed adjusting for covariates such as baseline severity and inhaled corticosteroid use. Results With increasing positive ΔFEV1, TDI and ΔSGRQ improved at all timepoints, exacerbation rate over the study duration declined (P 1 was associated with improved TDI (0.46 units, ΔSGRQ (1.3-1.9 points and exacerbation rate (12% decrease. Overall, adjustments for baseline covariates had little impact on the relationship between ΔFEV1 and outcomes. Conclusions These results suggest that larger improvements in FEV1 are likely to be associated with larger patient-reported benefits across a range of clinical outcomes. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00393458, NCT00463567, and NCT00624286

Final Environmental Assessment for the First Air Force Air Operations Center, First Air Force Headquarters/Air Force Forces Center, and Highway 98 Overpass at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

no comments regarding the Draft Environmental Assessment for the First Air Force Operations Center, First Air Force Headquarters/Air Force Forces...COUNCIL ] No Comment BAY - BAY COUNTY No Final Comments Received ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY UNIT - OFFICE OF POLICY AND BUDGET, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY UNIT NO ...CONSERVATION COMMISSION [ NO COMMENT BY BRIAN BARNETT ON 4/12/04. [STATE - FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE [ No Comment [TRANSPORTATION - FLORIDA DEPARTMENT

Reactive Force Field for Liquid Hydrazoic Acid with Applications to Detonation Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Furman, David; Dubnikova, Faina; van Duin, Adri; Zeiri, Yehuda; Kosloff, Ronnie

The development of a reactive force field (ReaxFF formalism) for Hydrazoic acid (HN3), a highly sensitive liquid energetic material, is reported. The force field accurately reproduces results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The quality and performance of the force field are examined by detailed comparison with DFT calculations related to uni, bi and trimolecular thermal decomposition routes. Reactive molecular dynamics (RMD) simulations are performed to reveal the initial chemical events governing the detonation chemistry of liquid HN3. The outcome of these simulations compares very well with recent results of tight-binding DFT molecular dynamics and thermodynamic calculations. Based on our RMD simulations, predictions were made for the activation energies and volumes in a broad range of temperatures and initial material compressions. Work Supported by The Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response, Department of Homeland Security.

Monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting force vibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piao, Chun Guang; Kim, Ju Wan; Kim, Jin Oh; Shin, Yoan [Soongsl University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-09-15

This paper deals with an experimental technique for monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting-force vibration measured at a milling machine. This technique is based on the relationship of the cutting-force vibrations with the feed rate and cutting depth as reported earlier. The measurement system consists of dynamic force transducers and a signal amplifier. The analysis system includes an oscilloscope and a computer with a LabVIEW program. Experiments were carried out at various feed rates and cutting depths, while the rotating speed was kept constant. The magnitude of the cutting force vibration component corresponding to the number of cutting edges multiplied by the frequency of rotation was linearly correlated with the machining conditions. When one condition of machining is known, another condition can be identified by analyzing the cutting-force vibration.

Monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting force vibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piao, Chun Guang; Kim, Ju Wan; Kim, Jin Oh; Shin, Yoan

2015-01-01

This paper deals with an experimental technique for monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting-force vibration measured at a milling machine. This technique is based on the relationship of the cutting-force vibrations with the feed rate and cutting depth as reported earlier. The measurement system consists of dynamic force transducers and a signal amplifier. The analysis system includes an oscilloscope and a computer with a LabVIEW program. Experiments were carried out at various feed rates and cutting depths, while the rotating speed was kept constant. The magnitude of the cutting force vibration component corresponding to the number of cutting edges multiplied by the frequency of rotation was linearly correlated with the machining conditions. When one condition of machining is known, another condition can be identified by analyzing the cutting-force vibration

Automatic HTS force measurement instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, S.T.; Niemann, R.C.

1999-01-01

A device is disclosed for measuring the levitation force of a high temperature superconductor sample with respect to a reference magnet includes a receptacle for holding several high temperature superconductor samples each cooled to superconducting temperature. A rotatable carousel successively locates a selected one of the high temperature superconductor samples in registry with the reference magnet. Mechanism varies the distance between one of the high temperature superconductor samples and the reference magnet, and a sensor measures levitation force of the sample as a function of the distance between the reference magnet and the sample. A method is also disclosed. 3 figs

Physics investigate the forces of nature

CERN Document Server

Gardner, Jane

2014-01-01

Have you ever noticed that the physical world works in certain ways? Skateboarders use force and motion to perform tricks. If you jump up as high as you can, you'll quickly fall back to the ground. Baseball players use gravity to bring the ball back down when they throw it. When you flip a switch, electricity powers your toaster. Rock bands use electricity to put on a show. The fascinating science of physics helps you understand why forces, motion, gravity, electricity, light, and sound work in predictable ways. Combining inquiry-based activities with physics topics, Physics: Investigate the Forces of Nature features graphic novel illustrations, fascinating sidebars, youtube links, and a glossary of important vocabulary to illuminate the complex world of physics and bring it to life. Projects include designing a skateboard park that maps the forces at work on the skateboarder and the skateboard, and creating a stage design for a rock band that places electric current where it is needed. Additional materials i...

Implementations of non-drag interfacial forces into the CUPID code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, I.K.; Cho, H.K.; Kim, J.; Yoon, H.Y.; Jeong, J.J.

2009-01-01

A component-scale thermal-hydraulics analysis module, the CUPID code has been being developed for a transient three-dimensional two-phase flow analysis of nuclear reactor components. The CUPID is based on a two-fluid, three-field model, which is solved by using an unstructured finite volume method. In the two-fluid momentum equation, the most important term to be modeled is the interfacial surface force. The simplest way to model this force is to formulate as the linear combination of various known interfacial forces such as the standard drag force, the virtual mass force, the Basset force, the lift force, the wall lift force, and the turbulent dispersion force. The standard drag force and the virtual mass force, which is essential for two-fluid computational models, are already considered in the CUPID code. In this paper, the wall lubrication force, the lift force, and the turbulent dispersion force including turbulence models, which play an important role on a radial distribution of the void in a two-phase flow, were implemented into the CUPID code, and the effect of these forces were verified qualitatively. (author)

On Numerical Methods for Including the Effect of Capillary Pressure Forces on Two-phase, Immiscible Flow in a Layered Porous Medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ersland, B.G.

1996-05-01

This mathematical doctoral thesis contains the theory, algorithms and numerical simulations for a heterogeneous oil reservoir. It presents the equations, which apply to immiscible and incompressible two-phase fluid flow in the reservoir, including the effect of capillary pressure forces, and emphasises in particular the interior boundary conditions at the interface between two sediments. Two different approaches are discussed. The first approach is to decompose the computational domain along the interior boundary and iterate between the subdomains until mass balance is achieved. The second approach accounts for the interior boundary conditions in the basis in which the solution is expanded, the basis being discontinuous over the interior boundaries. An overview of the construction of iterative solvers for partial differential equations by means of Schwartz methods is given, and the algorithm for local refinement with Schwartz iterations as iterative solver is described. The theory is then applied to a core plug problem in one and two space dimensions and the results of different methods compared. A general description is given of the computer simulation model, which is implemented in C++. 64 refs., 49 figs., 7 tabs.

Depression, social support, and clinical outcomes following lung transplantation: a single-center cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Patrick J; Snyder, Laurie D; Palmer, Scott M; Hoffman, Benson M; Stonerock, Gregory L; Ingle, Krista K; Saulino, Caroline K; Blumenthal, James A

2018-05-01

Depressive symptoms are common among lung transplant candidates and have been associated with poorer clinical outcomes in some studies. Previous studies have been plagued by methodologic problems, including small sample sizes, few clinical events, and uncontrolled confounders, particularly perioperative complications. In addition, few studies have examined social support as a potential protective factor. We therefore examined the association between pretransplant depressive symptoms, social support, and mortality in a large sample of lung transplant recipients. As a secondary aim, we also examined the associations between psychosocial factors, perioperative outcomes [indexed by hospital length of stay (LOS)], and mortality. We hypothesized that depression would be associated with longer LOS and that the association between depression, social support, and mortality would be moderated by LOS. Participants included lung transplant recipients, transplanted at Duke University Medical Center from January 2009 to December 2014. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and social support using the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). Medical risk factors included forced vital capacity (FVC), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO 2 ), donor age, acute rejection, and transplant type. Functional status was assessed using six-minute walk distance (6MWD). We also controlled for demographic factors, including age, gender, and native disease. Transplant hospitalization LOS was examined as a marker of perioperative clinical outcomes. Participants included 273 lung recipients (174 restrictive, 67 obstructive, 26 cystic fibrosis, and six "other"). Pretransplant depressive symptoms were common, with 56 participants (21%) exhibiting clinically elevated levels (BDI-II ≥ 14). Greater depressive symptoms were associated with longer LOS [adjusted b = 0.20 (2 days per 7-point higher BDI-II score), P social support (P social support were

The five competitive forces that shape strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Michael E

2008-01-01

In 1979, a young associate professor at Harvard Business School published his first article for HBR, "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy." In the years that followed, Michael Porter's explication of the five forces that determine the long-run profitability of any industry has shaped a generation of academic research and business practice. In this article, Porter undertakes a thorough reaffirmation and extension of his classic work of strategy formulation, which includes substantial new sections showing how to put the five forces analysis into practice. The five forces govern the profit structure of an industry by determining how the economic value it creates is apportioned. That value may be drained away through the rivalry among existing competitors, of course, but it can also be bargained away through the power of suppliers or the power of customers or be constrained by the threat of new entrants or the threat of substitutes. Strategy can be viewed as building defenses against the competitive forces or as finding a position in an industry where the forces are weaker. Changes in the strength of the forces signal changes in the competitive landscape critical to ongoing strategy formulation. In exploring the implications of the five forces framework, Porter explains why a fast-growing industry is not always a profitable one, how eliminating today's competitors through mergers and acquisitions can reduce an industry's profit potential, how government policies play a role by changing the relative strength of the forces, and how to use the forces to understand complements. He then shows how a company can influence the key forces in its industry to create a more favorable structure for itself or to expand the pie altogether. The five forces reveal why industry profitability is what it is. Only by understanding them can a company incorporate industry conditions into strategy.

Solar forcing for CMIP6 (v3.2)

Science.gov (United States)

Matthes, Katja; Funke, Bernd; Andersson, Monika E.; Barnard, Luke; Beer, Jürg; Charbonneau, Paul; Clilverd, Mark A.; Dudok de Wit, Thierry; Haberreiter, Margit; Hendry, Aaron; Jackman, Charles H.; Kretzschmar, Matthieu; Kruschke, Tim; Kunze, Markus; Langematz, Ulrike; Marsh, Daniel R.; Maycock, Amanda C.; Misios, Stergios; Rodger, Craig J.; Scaife, Adam A.; Seppälä, Annika; Shangguan, Ming; Sinnhuber, Miriam; Tourpali, Kleareti; Usoskin, Ilya; van de Kamp, Max; Verronen, Pekka T.; Versick, Stefan

2017-06-01

This paper describes the recommended solar forcing dataset for CMIP6 and highlights changes with respect to CMIP5. The solar forcing is provided for radiative properties, namely total solar irradiance (TSI), solar spectral irradiance (SSI), and the F10.7 index as well as particle forcing, including geomagnetic indices Ap and Kp, and ionization rates to account for effects of solar protons, electrons, and galactic cosmic rays. This is the first time that a recommendation for solar-driven particle forcing has been provided for a CMIP exercise. The solar forcing datasets are provided at daily and monthly resolution separately for the CMIP6 preindustrial control, historical (1850-2014), and future (2015-2300) simulations. For the preindustrial control simulation, both constant and time-varying solar forcing components are provided, with the latter including variability on 11-year and shorter timescales but no long-term changes. For the future, we provide a realistic scenario of what solar behavior could be, as well as an additional extreme Maunder-minimum-like sensitivity scenario. This paper describes the forcing datasets and also provides detailed recommendations as to their implementation in current climate models.For the historical simulations, the TSI and SSI time series are defined as the average of two solar irradiance models that are adapted to CMIP6 needs: an empirical one (NRLTSI2-NRLSSI2) and a semi-empirical one (SATIRE). A new and lower TSI value is recommended: the contemporary solar-cycle average is now 1361.0 W m-2. The slight negative trend in TSI over the three most recent solar cycles in the CMIP6 dataset leads to only a small global radiative forcing of -0.04 W m-2. In the 200-400 nm wavelength range, which is important for ozone photochemistry, the CMIP6 solar forcing dataset shows a larger solar-cycle variability contribution to TSI than in CMIP5 (50 % compared to 35 %).We compare the climatic effects of the CMIP6 solar forcing dataset to its CMIP

Solar forcing for CMIP6 (v3.2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Matthes

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the recommended solar forcing dataset for CMIP6 and highlights changes with respect to CMIP5. The solar forcing is provided for radiative properties, namely total solar irradiance (TSI, solar spectral irradiance (SSI, and the F10.7 index as well as particle forcing, including geomagnetic indices Ap and Kp, and ionization rates to account for effects of solar protons, electrons, and galactic cosmic rays. This is the first time that a recommendation for solar-driven particle forcing has been provided for a CMIP exercise. The solar forcing datasets are provided at daily and monthly resolution separately for the CMIP6 preindustrial control, historical (1850–2014, and future (2015–2300 simulations. For the preindustrial control simulation, both constant and time-varying solar forcing components are provided, with the latter including variability on 11-year and shorter timescales but no long-term changes. For the future, we provide a realistic scenario of what solar behavior could be, as well as an additional extreme Maunder-minimum-like sensitivity scenario. This paper describes the forcing datasets and also provides detailed recommendations as to their implementation in current climate models.For the historical simulations, the TSI and SSI time series are defined as the average of two solar irradiance models that are adapted to CMIP6 needs: an empirical one (NRLTSI2–NRLSSI2 and a semi-empirical one (SATIRE. A new and lower TSI value is recommended: the contemporary solar-cycle average is now 1361.0 W m−2. The slight negative trend in TSI over the three most recent solar cycles in the CMIP6 dataset leads to only a small global radiative forcing of −0.04 W m−2. In the 200–400 nm wavelength range, which is important for ozone photochemistry, the CMIP6 solar forcing dataset shows a larger solar-cycle variability contribution to TSI than in CMIP5 (50 % compared to 35 %.We compare the climatic effects of

Recent Investments by NASA's National Force Measurement Technology Capability

Science.gov (United States)

Commo, Sean A.; Ponder, Jonathan D.

2016-01-01

The National Force Measurement Technology Capability (NFMTC) is a nationwide partnership established in 2008 and sponsored by NASA's Aeronautics Evaluation and Test Capabilities (AETC) project to maintain and further develop force measurement capabilities. The NFMTC focuses on force measurement in wind tunnels and provides operational support in addition to conducting balance research. Based on force measurement capability challenges, strategic investments into research tasks are designed to meet the experimental requirements of current and future aerospace research programs and projects. This paper highlights recent and force measurement investments into several areas including recapitalizing the strain-gage balance inventory, developing balance best practices, improving calibration and facility capabilities, and researching potential technologies to advance balance capabilities.

Electronic forces as descriptors of nucleophilic and electrophilic regioselectivity and stereoselectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shubin; Rong, Chunying; Lu, Tian

2017-01-04

One of the main tasks of theoretical chemistry is to rationalize computational results with chemical insights. Key concepts of such nature include nucleophilicity, electrophilicity, regioselectivity, and stereoselectivity. While computational tools are available to predict barrier heights and other reactivity properties with acceptable accuracy, a conceptual framework to appreciate above quantities is still lacking. In this work, we introduce the electronic force as the fundamental driving force of chemical processes to understand and predict molecular reactivity. It has three components but only two are independent. These forces, electrostatic and steric, can be employed as reliable descriptors for nucleophilic and electrophilic regioselectivity and stereoselectivity. The advantages of using these forces to evaluate molecular reactivity are that electrophilic and nucleophilic attacks are featured by distinct characteristics in the electrostatic force and no knowledge of quantum effects included in the kinetic and exchange-correlation energies is required. Examples are provided to highlight the validity and general applicability of these reactivity descriptors. Possible applications in ambident reactivity, σ and π holes, frustrated Lewis pairs, and stereoselective reactions are also included in this work.

Origins of hydrodynamic forces on centrifugal pump impellers

Science.gov (United States)

Adkins, Douglas R.; Brennen, Christopher E.

1987-01-01

Hydrodynamic interactions that occur between a centrifugal pump impeller and volute are experimentally and theoretically investigated. The theoretical analysis considers the inability of the blades to perfectly guide the flow through the impeller, and also includes a quasi-one dimensional treatment of the flow in the volute. The disturbance at the impeller discharge and the resulting forces are determined by the theoretical model. The model is then extended to obtain the hydrodynamic force perturbations that are caused by the impeller whirling eccentrically in the volute. Under many operating conditions, these force perturbations were found to be destablizing. Comparisons are made between the theoretical model and the experimental measurements of pressure distributions and radial forces on the impeller. The theoretical model yields fairly accurate predictions of the radial forces caused by the flow through the impeller. However, it was found that the pressure acting on the front shroud of the impeller has a substantial effect on the destablizing hydrodynamic forces.

Rigid two-axis MEMS force plate for measuring cellular traction force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Jung, Uijin G; Shimoyama, Isao; Kan, Tetsuo; Tsukagoshi, Takuya; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi

2016-01-01

Cellular traction force is one of the important factors for understanding cell behaviors, such as spreading, migration and differentiation. Cells are known to change their behavior according to the mechanical stiffness of the environment. However, the measurement of cell traction forces on a rigid environment has remained difficult. This paper reports a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) force plate that provides a cellular traction force measurement on a rigid substrate. Both the high force sensitivity and high stiffness of the substrate were obtained using piezoresistive sensing elements. The proposed force plate consists of a 70 µ m  ×  15 µ m  ×  5 µ m base as the substrate for cultivating a bovine aortic smooth muscle cell, and the supporting beams with piezoresistors on the sidewall and the surface were used to measure the forces in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The spring constant and force resolution of the fabricated force plate in the horizontal direction were 0.2 N m −1 and less than 0.05 µ N, respectively. The cell traction force was measured, and the traction force increased by approximately 1 µ N over 30 min. These results demonstrate that the proposed force plate is applicable as an effective traction force measurement. (paper)

Vertical ground reaction forces in patients after calcaneal trauma surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hoeve, S; Verbruggen, J; Willems, P; Meijer, K; Poeze, M

2017-10-01

Vertical ground reaction forces (VGRFs) are altered in patients after foot trauma. It is not known if this correlates with ankle kinematics. The aim of this study was to analyze VGRFs in patients after calcaneal trauma and correlate them to patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), radiographic findings and kinematic analysis, using a multi-segment foot model. In addition, we determined the predictive value of VGRFs to identify patients with altered foot kinematics. Thirteen patients (13 feet) with displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures, were included an average of two years after trauma surgery. PROMs, radiographic findings on postoperative computed tomography scans, gait analysis using the Oxford foot model and VGRFs were analysed during gait. Results were compared with those of 11 healthy subjects (20 feet). Speed was equal in both groups, with healthy subjects walking at self-selected slow speed (0.94±0.18m/s) and patients after surgery walking at self-selected normal speed (0.94±0.29m/s). ROC curves were used to determine the predictive value. Patients after calcaneal surgery showed a lower minimum force during midstance (p=0.004) and a lower maximum force during toe-off (p=0.011). This parameter correlated significantly with the range of motion in the sagittal plane during the push-off phase (r 0.523, p=0.002), as well as with PROMs and with postoperative residual step-off (r 0.423, p=0.016). Combining these two parameters yielded a cut-off value of 193% (ppush-off correlated significantly with PROMs, range of motion in the sagittal plane during push-off and radiographic postoperative residual step-off in the posterior facet of the calcaneal bone. VGRFs are a valuable screening tool for identifying patients with altered gait patterns. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Force-Field Prediction of Materials Properties in Metal-Organic Frameworks

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

In this work, MOF bulk properties are evaluated and compared using several force fields on several well-studied MOFs, including IRMOF-1 (MOF-5), IRMOF-10, HKUST-1, and UiO-66. It is found that, surprisingly, UFF and DREIDING provide good values for the bulk modulus and linear thermal expansion coefficients for these materials, excluding those that they are not parametrized for. Force fields developed specifically for MOFs including UFF4MOF, BTW-FF, and the DWES force field are also found to provide accurate values for these materials’ properties. While we find that each force field offers a moderately good picture of these properties, noticeable deviations can be observed when looking at properties sensitive to framework vibrational modes. This observation is more pronounced upon the introduction of framework charges. PMID:28008758

Force Limited Random Vibration Test of TESS Camera Mass Model

Science.gov (United States)

Karlicek, Alexandra; Hwang, James Ho-Jin; Rey, Justin J.

2015-01-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a spaceborne instrument consisting of four wide field-of-view-CCD cameras dedicated to the discovery of exoplanets around the brightest stars. As part of the environmental testing campaign, force limiting was used to simulate a realistic random vibration launch environment. While the force limit vibration test method is a standard approach used at multiple institutions including Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), it is still difficult to find an actual implementation process in the literature. This paper describes the step-by-step process on how the force limit method was developed and applied on the TESS camera mass model. The process description includes the design of special fixtures to mount the test article for properly installing force transducers, development of the force spectral density using the semi-empirical method, estimation of the fuzzy factor (C2) based on the mass ratio between the supporting structure and the test article, subsequent validating of the C2 factor during the vibration test, and calculation of the C.G. accelerations using the Root Mean Square (RMS) reaction force in the spectral domain and the peak reaction force in the time domain.

Task Force report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1987-01-01

The International Task Force on Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism was formed in 1985 under the auspices of the Nuclear Control Institute. This report is a consensus report of the 26 task force members - all members not necessarily agreeing on every point and all wordings, but in each case a substantial majority did agree. First, the report defines the threat, then establishes the priorities. Short-term recommendations are presented on: (1) protecting nuclear weapons; (2) protecting nuclear materials; (3) protecting nuclear facilities; (4) intelligence programs; (5) civil liberties concerns; (6) controlling nuclear transfers; (7) US - Soviet cooperation; (8) arms control initiatives; (9) convention of physical protection of nuclear material; (10) role of emergency management programs; and (11) role of the media. Brief long-term recommendations are included on (1) international measures, and (2) emerging nuclear technologies. An Appendix, Production of Nuclear Materials Usable in Weapons is presented for further consideration (without recommendations)

Evaluation of cutting force uncertainty components in turning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Axinte, Dragos Aurelian; Belluco, Walter; De Chiffre, Leonardo

2000-01-01

A procedure is proposed for the evaluation of those uncertainty components of a single cutting force measurement in turning that are related to the contributions of the dynamometer calibration and the cutting process itself. Based on an empirical model including errors form both sources......, the uncertainty for a single measurement of cutting force is presented, and expressions for the expected uncertainty vs. cutting parameters are proposed. This approach gives the possibility of evaluating cutting force uncertainty components in turning, for a defined range of cutting parameters, based on few...

Automated force controller for amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyagi, Atsushi, E-mail: atsushi.miyagi@inserm.fr, E-mail: simon.scheuring@inserm.fr; Scheuring, Simon, E-mail: atsushi.miyagi@inserm.fr, E-mail: simon.scheuring@inserm.fr [U1006 INSERM, Université Aix-Marseille, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13009 Marseille (France)

2016-05-15

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is widely used in physics, chemistry, and biology to analyze the topography of a sample at nanometer resolution. Controlling precisely the force applied by the AFM tip to the sample is a prerequisite for faithful and reproducible imaging. In amplitude modulation (oscillating) mode AFM, the applied force depends on the free and the setpoint amplitudes of the cantilever oscillation. Therefore, for keeping the applied force constant, not only the setpoint amplitude but also the free amplitude must be kept constant. While the AFM user defines the setpoint amplitude, the free amplitude is typically subject to uncontrollable drift, and hence, unfortunately, the real applied force is permanently drifting during an experiment. This is particularly harmful in biological sciences where increased force destroys the soft biological matter. Here, we have developed a strategy and an electronic circuit that analyzes permanently the free amplitude of oscillation and readjusts the excitation to maintain the free amplitude constant. As a consequence, the real applied force is permanently and automatically controlled with picoNewton precision. With this circuit associated to a high-speed AFM, we illustrate the power of the development through imaging over long-duration and at various forces. The development is applicable for all AFMs and will widen the applicability of AFM to a larger range of samples and to a larger range of (non-specialist) users. Furthermore, from controlled force imaging experiments, the interaction strength between biomolecules can be analyzed.

Effect of a new physiotherapy concept on bone mineral density, muscle force and gross motor function in children with bilateral cerebral palsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, C; Nikopoulou-Smyrni, P; Stabrey, A; Semler, O; Schoenau, E

2010-06-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a new physiotherapy concept on bone density, muscle force and motor function in bilateral spastic cerebral palsy children. In a retrospective data analysis 78 children were analysed. The concept included whole body vibration, physiotherapy, resistance training and treadmill training. The concept is structured in two in-patient stays and two periods of three months home-based vibration training. Outcome measures were dual-energy x-ray absorption (DXA), Leonardo Tilt Table and a modified Gross Motor Function Measure before and after six months of training. Percent changes were highly significant for bone mineral density, -content, muscle mass and significant for angle of verticalisation, muscle force and modified Gross Motor Function Measure after six months training. The new physiotherapy concept had a significant effect on bone mineral density, muscle force and gross motor function in bilateral spastic cerebral palsy children. This implicates an amelioration in all International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health levels. The study serves as a basis for future research on evidence based paediatric physiotherapy taking into account developmental implications.

Imaging stability in force-feedback high-speed atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Byung I.; Boehm, Ryan D.

2013-01-01

We studied the stability of force-feedback high-speed atomic force microscopy (HSAFM) by imaging soft, hard, and biological sample surfaces at various applied forces. The HSAFM images showed sudden topographic variations of streaky fringes with a negative applied force when collected on a soft hydrocarbon film grown on a grating sample, whereas they showed stable topographic features with positive applied forces. The instability of HSAFM images with the negative applied force was explained by the transition between contact and noncontact regimes in the force–distance curve. When the grating surface was cleaned, and thus hydrophilic by removing the hydrocarbon film, enhanced imaging stability was observed at both positive and negative applied forces. The higher adhesive interaction between the tip and the surface explains the improved imaging stability. The effects of imaging rate on the imaging stability were tested on an even softer adhesive Escherichia coli biofilm deposited onto the grating structure. The biofilm and planktonic cell structures in HSAFM images were reproducible within the force deviation less than ∼0.5 nN at the imaging rate up to 0.2 s per frame, suggesting that the force-feedback HSAFM was stable for various imaging speeds in imaging softer adhesive biological samples. - Highlights: ► We investigated the imaging stability of force-feedback HSAFM. ► Stable–unstable imaging transitions rely on applied force and sample hydrophilicity. ► The stable–unstable transitions are found to be independent of imaging rate

Chaos as an intermittently forced linear system.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunton, Steven L; Brunton, Bingni W; Proctor, Joshua L; Kaiser, Eurika; Kutz, J Nathan

2017-05-30

Understanding the interplay of order and disorder in chaos is a central challenge in modern quantitative science. Approximate linear representations of nonlinear dynamics have long been sought, driving considerable interest in Koopman theory. We present a universal, data-driven decomposition of chaos as an intermittently forced linear system. This work combines delay embedding and Koopman theory to decompose chaotic dynamics into a linear model in the leading delay coordinates with forcing by low-energy delay coordinates; this is called the Hankel alternative view of Koopman (HAVOK) analysis. This analysis is applied to the Lorenz system and real-world examples including Earth's magnetic field reversal and measles outbreaks. In each case, forcing statistics are non-Gaussian, with long tails corresponding to rare intermittent forcing that precedes switching and bursting phenomena. The forcing activity demarcates coherent phase space regions where the dynamics are approximately linear from those that are strongly nonlinear.The huge amount of data generated in fields like neuroscience or finance calls for effective strategies that mine data to reveal underlying dynamics. Here Brunton et al.develop a data-driven technique to analyze chaotic systems and predict their dynamics in terms of a forced linear model.

Forced migration in childhood: Are there long-term health effects?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan M. Saarela

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Studies on the health of migrants have increased considerably in number in recent years, but little is still known about the long-term health effects associated with forced migration, and particularly for people who were forced to migrate as children. Data shortcomings together with the methodological challenges of studying migrant populations limit the ability to disentangle the roles of various factors that influence migrant health outcomes. Finland provides an unusual opportunity to study long-term health consequences associated with forced migration. During World War II, twelve per cent of the Finnish population was forced to leave the region nowadays referred to as Ceded Karelia. After the war, these Karelians could not return home because the area was relinquished to the Soviet Union. Using high quality, linked register-based data for the period 1988–2012, we investigate whether this forced migration had long-term health consequences for those who were forced to migrate as children. Comparison groups are non-displaced persons born on the adjacent side of the new border, and people born elsewhere in Finland. Health at ages 43–65 years is measured by receipt of sickness benefit, which is an indicator of short-term illness, and receipt of disability pension, which reflects long-term illness or permanent disability. All-cause and cause-specific mortality is analysed at ages 43–84 years. We find no support for the hypothesis that the traumatic event of being forced to migrate during childhood has long-term negative health consequences. The forced child migrants have lower odds for receipt of sickness benefit, and women also have lower odds for receipt of disability pension. The mortality results are largely driven by patterns specific for eastern-born populations of Finland. A likely reason behind the absence of negative health consequences is that these migrants seem to have integrated well into post-war Finnish society. Keywords

Force Factor Modulation in Electro Dynamic Loudspeakers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Risbo, Lars; Agerkvist, Finn T.; Tinggaard, Carsten

2016-01-01

The relationship between the non-linear phenomenon of ’reluctance force’ and the position dependency of the voice coil inductance was established in 1949 by Cunningham, who called it ’magnetic attraction force’. This paper revisits Cunningham’s analysis and expands it into a generalised form...... that includes the frequency dependency and applies to coils with non-inductive (lossy) blocked impedance. The paper also demonstrates that Cunningham’s force can be explained physically as a modulation of the force factor which again is directly linked to modulation of the flux of the coil. A verification based...... on both experiments and simulations is presented along discussions of the impact of force factor modulation for various motor topologies. Finally, it is shown that the popular L2R2 coil impedance model does not correctly predict the force unless the new analysis is applied....

Modifying the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students to include technology use (STEPS-TECH): Intervention effects on objective and subjective sleep outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Larissa K; Cucalon, Maria S

2017-12-01

University students often have sleep issues that arise from poor sleep hygiene practices and technology use patterns. Yet, technology-related behaviors are often neglected in sleep hygiene education. This study examined whether the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students-modified to include information regarding managing technology use (STEPS-TECH)-helps improve both subjective and objective sleep outcomes among university students. Results of an experimental study among 78 university students showed improvements in objective indicators of sleep quantity (total sleep time) and sleep quality (less awakenings) during the subsequent week for students in the STEPS-TECH intervention group compared to a control group. Exploratory analyses indicated that effects were driven by improvements in weekend days immediately following the intervention. There were also no intervention effects on subjective sleep quality or quantity outcomes. In terms of self-reported behavioral responses to educational content in the intervention, there were no group differences in sleep hygiene practices or technology use before bedtime. However, the intervention group reported less technology use during sleep periods than the control group. These preliminary findings suggest that STEPS-TECH may be a useful educational tool to help improve objective sleep and reduce technology use during sleep periods among university students. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Principles and applications of force spectroscopy using atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Kyu; Kim, Woong; Park, Joon Won [Dept. of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

Single-molecule force spectroscopy is a powerful technique for addressing single molecules. Unseen structures and dynamics of molecules have been elucidated using force spectroscopy. Atomic force microscope (AFM)-based force spectroscopy studies have provided picoNewton force resolution, subnanometer spatial resolution, stiffness of substrates, elasticity of polymers, and thermodynamics and kinetics of single-molecular interactions. In addition, AFM has enabled mapping the distribution of individual molecules in situ, and the quantification of single molecules has been made possible without modification or labeling. In this review, we describe the basic principles, sample preparation, data analysis, and applications of AFM-based force spectroscopy and its future.

A constitutive model for the forces of a magnetic bearing including eddy currents

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, D. L.; Hebbale, K. V.

1993-01-01

A multiple magnet bearing can be developed from N individual electromagnets. The constitutive relationships for a single magnet in such a bearing is presented. Analytical expressions are developed for a magnet with poles arranged circumferencially. Maxwell's field equations are used so the model easily includes the effects of induced eddy currents due to the rotation of the journal. Eddy currents must be included in any dynamic model because they are the only speed dependent parameter and may lead to a critical speed for the bearing. The model is applicable to bearings using attraction or repulsion.

The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century: A Case for an International Police Force

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kersten, Jeffrey

2002-01-01

... its traditional logic and employment of military forces for international peacekeeping operations, The benefits of global economic investment and individual liberties should be apparent to all as a positive outcome...

Our health and theirs: forced migration, othering, and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Natalie J; Zwi, Anthony B

2006-04-01

This paper uses 'othering' theory to explore how forced migrants are received in developed countries and considers the implications of this for public health. It identifies a variety of mechanisms by which refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants are positioned as 'the other' and are defined and treated as separate, distant and disconnected from the host communities in receiving countries. The paper examines how this process has the potential to affect health outcomes both for individuals and communities and concludes that public health must engage with and challenge this othering discourse. It argues that public health practitioners have a critical role to play in reframing thinking about health services and health policies for forced migrants, by promoting inclusion and by helping shape a narrative which integrates and values the experiences of this population.

Three-nucleon forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauer, P.U.

2014-01-01

In this paper, the role of three-nucleon forces in ab initio calculations of nuclear systems is investigated. The difference between genuine and induced many-nucleon forces is emphasized. Induced forces arise in the process of solving the nuclear many-body problem as technical intermediaries toward calculationally converged results. Genuine forces make up the Hamiltonian. They represent the chosen underlying dynamics. The hierarchy of contributions arising from genuine two-, three- and many-nucleon forces is discussed. Signals for the need of the inclusion of genuine three-nucleon forces are studied in nuclear systems, technically best under control, especially in three-nucleon and four-nucleon systems. Genuine three-nucleon forces are important for details in the description of some observables. Their contributions to observables are small on the scale set by two-nucleon forces. (author)

Uncertainties in forces extracted from non-contact atomic force microscopy measurements by fitting of long-range background forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Sweetman

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In principle, non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM now readily allows for the measurement of forces with sub-nanonewton precision on the atomic scale. In practice, however, the extraction of the often desired ‘short-range’ force from the experimental observable (frequency shift is often far from trivial. In most cases there is a significant contribution to the total tip–sample force due to non-site-specific van der Waals and electrostatic forces. Typically, the contribution from these forces must be removed before the results of the experiment can be successfully interpreted, often by comparison to density functional theory calculations. In this paper we compare the ‘on-minus-off’ method for extracting site-specific forces to a commonly used extrapolation method modelling the long-range forces using a simple power law. By examining the behaviour of the fitting method in the case of two radically different interaction potentials we show that significant uncertainties in the final extracted forces may result from use of the extrapolation method.

Force sensor using changes in magnetic flux

Science.gov (United States)

Pickens, Herman L. (Inventor); Richard, James A. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A force sensor includes a magnetostrictive material and a magnetic field generator positioned in proximity thereto. A magnetic field is induced in and surrounding the magnetostrictive material such that lines of magnetic flux pass through the magnetostrictive material. A sensor positioned in the vicinity of the magnetostrictive material measures changes in one of flux angle and flux density when the magnetostrictive material experiences an applied force that is aligned with the lines of magnetic flux.

Hydrodynamic Excitation Forces on Floating Structures with Finite Displacements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Morten Thøtt; Nielsen, Søren R. K.

2015-01-01

excitation force is solely a function of time, hence the body is fixed in reference to the wave field. In this paper, the instantaneous position of the body is included in the calculation of the excitation force. Even though the displacement of the structure relative to a characteristic wavelength...

Radiative forcing for changes in tropospheric O3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grossman, A.S.; Wuebbles, D.J.; Grant, K.E.

1994-06-01

We have evaluated the radiative forcing for assumed changes in tropospheric O 3 in the 500-1650 cm -1 wavenumber range. The radiative forcing calculations were performed as a function of latitude as well as for a globally and seasonally averaged model atmosphere, both in a clear sky approximation and in a model containing a representative cloud distribution. The scenarios involved radiative forcing calculations for O 3 at normal atmospheric abundance and at a tropospheric abundance depleted by 25 ppbv, at each altitude, for all northern hemisphere latitudes. Normal abundances of H 2 O, CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O were included in the calculations. The IR radiative forcing was calculated using a correlated k-distribution radiative transfer model. The tropospheric radiative forcing values are compared to the IPCC formulae for ozone tropospheric forcing as well as other published values to determine the validity of the correlated k-distribution approach to the radiative forcing calculations. The results for the global average atmosphere show agreement with previous results to the order of 10 percent. We conclude that the O 3 forcing is linear in the background abundance and that the radiative forcing for ozone for the globally averaged atmosphere and the latitude averaged radiative forcing in the clear sky approximation are in agreement to within 10 percent. For the case of an atmosphere in which the tropospheric ozone has been depleted by 25 ppbv at all altitudes in the northern hemisphere, the mid latitude zone contributes ∼50 percent of the forcing, tropic zone contributes ∼37 percent of the forcing and the polar zone contributes ∼13 percent of the total forcing

Image charge forces inside conducting boundaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tinkle, Mark D.; Barlow, S. E.

2001-01-01

The common description of the electrostatic force, F(x)=-q∇φ(x), provides an incomplete description of the force on the charge q at a point x when the charge itself induces additional fields, e.g., image charges, polarizations, etc. The equation may be corrected through the introduction of a ''pseudopotential'' formalism. Exploration of some of the elementary properties of the pseudopotential demonstrates its essential simplicity. This simplicity allows it to be incorporated directly into dynamics calculations. We explicitly evaluate the pseudopotential in a number of simple but important cases including the sphere, parallel plates, the rectangular prism, and the cylindrical box. The pseudopotential formalism may be expanded to include extended charge distributions; in this latter form we are able to directly apply the results to experimental measurements

Force modulation for improved conductive-mode atomic force microscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koelmans, W.W.; Sebastian, Abu; Despont, Michel; Pozidis, Haris

We present an improved conductive-mode atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) method by modulating the applied loading force on the tip. Unreliable electrical contact and tip wear are the primary challenges for electrical characterization at the nanometer scale. The experiments show that force modulation

Management and Oversight of Services Acquisition Within the United States Air Force

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

Air Mobility Command AFDW Air Force District of Washington AFSPC Air Force Space Command AT&L Acquisition Technologies and Logistics CPM ...were commonly performed in industry. The types of services included advertising for Navy recruitment, custodial services on Air Force bases, and on

Quantum fictitious forces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bialynicki-Birula, I; Cirone, M.A.; Dahl, Jens Peder

2002-01-01

We present Heisenberg's equation of motion for the radial variable of a free non-relativistic particle in D dimensions. The resulting radial force consists of three contributions: (i) the quantum fictitious force which is either attractive or repulsive depending on the number of dimensions, (ii......) a singular quantum force located at the origin, and (iii) the centrifugal force associated with non-vanishing angular momentum. Moreover, we use Heisenberg's uncertainty relation to introduce a lower bound for the kinetic energy of an ensemble of neutral particles. This bound is quadratic in the number...... of atoms and can be traced back to the repulsive quantum fictitious potential. All three forces arise for a free particle: "Force without force"....

Inverse Magnus force in free molecular flow

Science.gov (United States)

Herczynski, A.; Weidman, P.

2003-11-01

The sidewise force on a spinning sphere translating in a rarified gas is calculated assuming that the flow can be treated as a stream of free molecules. This approach was first introduced by Newton in his investigation of the drag force. While it is not fruitful at subsonic flows in normal conditions, it gives remarkably accurate results at hypersonic speeds. Here it is applied to the high Knudsen number flow over spinning spheres, cylinders, cubes and more generally any spinning parallelepiped. In all cases, the force is in the opposite direction to that of the classical Magnus effect in continuum flow. The simple calculation for a sphere reproduces the isothermal result obtained recently by Borg, et al. (Phys. Fluids, 15, 2003) using Maxwellian distribution functions. For any parallelepiped, including the cube, just like for the sphere and the cylinder, the force is shown to be steady. In each of these, the magnitude of the inverse Magnus force is proprtional to the product of the angular speed, translational speed, and the mas of the gas displaced by the object.

Survey indicated that core outcome set development is increasingly including patients, being conducted internationally and using Delphi surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Biggane, Alice M; Brading, Lucy; Ravaud, Philippe; Young, Bridget; Williamson, Paula R

2018-02-17

There are numerous challenges in including patients in a core outcome set (COS) study, these can vary depending on the patient group. This study describes current efforts to include patients in the development of COS, with the aim of identifying areas for further improvement and study. Using the COMET database, corresponding authors of COS projects registered or published from 1 January 2013 to 2 February 2017 were invited via a personalised email to participate in a short online survey. The survey and emails were constructed to maximise the response rate by following the academic literature on enhancing survey responses. Personalised reminder emails were sent to non-responders. This survey explored the frequency of patient input in COS studies, who was involved, what methods were used and whether or not the COS development was international. One hundred and ninety-two COS developers were sent the survey. Responses were collected from 21 February 2017 until 7 May 2017. One hundred and forty-six unique developers responded, yielding a 76% response rate and data in relation to 195 unique COSs (as some developers had worked on multiple COSs). Of focus here are their responses regarding 162 COSs at the published, completed or ongoing stages of development. Inclusion of patient participants was indicated in 87% (141/162) of COSs in the published completed or ongoing stages and over 94% (65/69) of ongoing COS projects. Nearly half (65/135) of COSs included patient participants from two or more countries and 22% (30/135) included patient participants from five or more countries. The Delphi survey was reported as being used singularly or in combination with other methods in 85% (119/140) of projects. Almost a quarter (16/65) of ongoing studies reported using a combination of qualitative interviews, Delphi survey and consensus meeting. These findings indicated that the Delphi survey is the most popular method of facilitating patient participation, while the combination of

Centripetal and centrifugal forces in the moral circle: Competing constraints on moral learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Jesse; Waytz, Adam; Meindl, Peter; Iyer, Ravi; Young, Liane

2017-10-01

The idea of the moral circle pictures the self in the center, surrounded by concentric circles encompassing increasingly distant possible targets of moral concern, including family, local community, nation, all humans, all mammals, all living things including plants, and all things including inanimate objects. The authors develop the idea of two opposing forces in people's moral circles, with centripetal forces pulling inward, urging greater concern for close others than for distant others, and centrifugal forces pushing outward, resisting "drawing the line" anywhere as a form of prejudice and urging egalitarian concern for all regardless of social distance. Review of the developmental literature shows very early emergence of both moral forces, suggesting at least partly intuitive bases for each. Moral education approaches favoring one force over the other are compared, to show how these forces can provide constraints on moral learning. Finally, the centripetal/centrifugal forces view is applied to current moral debates about empathy and about politics. The authors argue that this view helps us see how intercultural and interpersonal disagreements about morality are based in intrapersonal conflicts shared by all people. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2017 to 2026

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-01

amounts at roughly the same rates that costs for similar programs have grown in the past. Nuclear forces account for roughly 6 percent of the total 10...nuclear forces, some published estimates of the total costs of nuclear weapons account for the costs of several related activities. Examples include...based its estimate on historical costs of analogous programs. b. This category includes nuclear-related research and operations support activities by

Panel Flutter Emulation Using a Few Concentrated Forces

Science.gov (United States)

Dhital, Kailash; Han, Jae-Hung

2018-04-01

The objective of this paper is to study the feasibility of panel flutter emulation using a few concentrated forces. The concentrated forces are considered to be equivalent to aerodynamic forces. The equivalence is carried out using surface spline method and principle of virtual work. The structural modeling of the plate is based on the classical plate theory and the aerodynamic modeling is based on the piston theory. The present approach differs from the linear panel flutter analysis in scheming the modal aerodynamics forces with unchanged structural properties. The solutions for the flutter problem are obtained numerically using the standard eigenvalue procedure. A few concentrated forces were considered with an optimization effort to decide their optimal locations. The optimization process is based on minimizing the error between the flutter bounds from emulated and linear flutter analysis method. The emulated flutter results for the square plate of four different boundary conditions using six concentrated forces are obtained with minimal error to the reference value. The results demonstrated the workability and viability of using concentrated forces in emulating real panel flutter. In addition, the paper includes the parametric studies of linear panel flutter whose proper literatures are not available.

Salticid predation as one potential driving force of ant mimicry in jumping spiders

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jin-Nan; Cheng, Ren-Chung; Li, Daiqin; Tso, I-Min

2011-01-01

Many spiders possess myrmecomorphy, and species of the jumping spider genus Myrmarachne exhibit nearly perfect ant mimicry. Most salticids are diurnal predators with unusually high visual acuity that prey on various arthropods, including conspecifics. In this study, we tested whether predation pressure from large jumping spiders is one possible driving force of perfect ant mimicry in jumping spiders. The results showed that small non-ant-mimicking jumping spiders were readily treated as prey by large ones (no matter whether heterospecific or conspecific) and suffered high attack and mortality rates. The size difference between small and large jumping spiders significantly affected the outcomes of predatory interactions between them: the smaller the juvenile jumping spiders, the higher the predation risk from large ones. The attack and mortality rates of ant-mimicking jumping spiders were significantly lower than those of non-ant-mimicking jumping spiders, indicating that a resemblance to ants could provide protection against salticid predation. However, results of multivariate behavioural analyses showed that the responses of large jumping spiders to ants and ant-mimicking salticids differed significantly. Results of this study indicate that predation pressure from large jumping spiders might be one selection force driving the evolution of nearly perfect myrmecomorphy in spiders and other arthropods. PMID:20961898

Ball Screw Actuator Including a Stop with an Integral Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Perek, John (Inventor); Geck, Kellan (Inventor)

2015-01-01

An actuator includes a housing assembly, a ball nut, a ball screw, and a ball screw stop. The ball nut is rotationally mounted in the housing assembly, is adapted to receive an input torque, and is configured, upon receipt thereof, to rotate and supply a drive force. The ball screw is mounted within the housing assembly and extends through the ball nut. The ball screw has a first end and a second end, and is coupled to receive the drive force from the ball nut. The ball screw is configured, upon receipt of the drive force, to selectively translate between a stow position and a deploy position. The ball screw stop is mounted on the ball screw to translate therewith and is configured to at selectively engage the housing assembly while the ball screw is translating, and engage the ball nut when the ball screw is in the deploy position.

Nuclear Forces from Effective Field Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krebs, H.

2011-01-01

Chiral effective field theory allows for a systematic and model-independent derivation of the forces between nucleons in harmony with the symmetries of the quantum chromodynamics. After a brief review on the current status in the development of the chiral nuclear forces I will focus on the role of the Δ-resonance contributions in the nuclear dynamics.We find improvement in the convergence of the chiral expansion of the nuclear forces if we explicitly take into account the Δ-resonance degrees of freedom. The overall results for two-nucleon forces with and without explicit Δ-resonance degrees of freedom are remarkably similar. We discussed the long- and shorter-range N 3 LO contributions to chiral three-nucleon forces. No additional free parameters appear at this order. There are five different topology classes which contribute to the forces. Three of them describe long-range contributions which constitute the first systematic corrections to the leading 2π exchange that appear at N 2 LO. Another two contributions are of a shorter range and include, additionally to an exchange of pions, also one short-range contact interaction and all corresponding 1/m corrections. The requirement of renormalizability leads to unique expressions for N 3 LO contributions to the three-nucleon force (except for 1/m-corrections). We presented the complete N 2 LO analysis of the nuclear forces with explicit Δ-isobar degrees of freedom. Although the overall results in the isospin-conserving case are very similar in the Δ-less and Δ-full theories, we found a much better convergence in all peripheral partial waves once Δ-resonance is explicitly taken into account. The leading CSB contributions to nuclear forces are proportional to nucleon- and Δ-mass splittings. There appear strong cancellations between the two contributions which at leading order yield weaker V III potentials. This effect is, however, entirely compensated at subleading order such that the results in the theories

Retrospective analysis of factors associated with outcome of proximal interphalangeal joint arthrodesis in 82 horses including Warmblood and Thoroughbred sport horses and Quarter Horses (1992-2014).

Science.gov (United States)

Herthel, T D; Rick, M C; Judy, C E; Cohen, N D; Herthel, D J

2016-09-01

Outcomes associated with arthrodesis of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint in Quarter Horses used for Western performance activities are well documented but little is known regarding outcomes for other types of horses. To identify factors associated with outcomes, including breed and activity, after arthrodesis of the PIP joint in Warmbloods, Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. Retrospective case series. Surgical case records of 82 Quarter Horses principally engaged in Western performance and Thoroughbred or Warmblood breeds principally engaged in showing, showjumping and dressage, with arthrodesis of the PIP joint were reviewed. Arthrodesis was performed with either 3 transarticular cortex bone screws placed in lag fashion, a dynamic compression plate (DCP) with 2 transarticular cortex bone screws placed in lag fashion, or a locking compression plate (LCP) with 2 transarticular cortex bone screws placed in lag fashion. Demographic data, clinical presentation, radiographic findings, surgical technique, post operative treatment and complications were recorded. Long-term follow-up was obtained for all 82 horses. Osteoarthritis of the PIP joint was the most common presenting condition requiring arthrodesis, which was performed with either the 3 screw technique (n = 41), DCP fixation (n = 22), or LCP fixation (n = 19). Post operatively, 23/31 (74%) Warmbloods/Thoroughbreds and 44/51 (87%) Quarter Horses achieved successful outcomes. Thirteen of 23 (57%) Warmbloods/Thoroughbreds and 24 of 38 (63%) Quarter Horses, used for athletic performance, returned to successful competition. Within this subgroup of horses engaged in high-level activity, regardless of breed type, horses undergoing hindlimb arthrodesis were significantly more likely to return to successful competition (73%; 33/45) than those with forelimb arthrodesis (25%; 4/16, P = 0.002). Arthrodesis of the PIP joint in Warmbloods/Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses results in a favourable outcome for return to

Six axis force feedback input device

Science.gov (United States)

Ohm, Timothy (Inventor)

1998-01-01

The present invention is a low friction, low inertia, six-axis force feedback input device comprising an arm with double-jointed, tendon-driven revolute joints, a decoupled tendon-driven wrist, and a base with encoders and motors. The input device functions as a master robot manipulator of a microsurgical teleoperated robot system including a slave robot manipulator coupled to an amplifier chassis, which is coupled to a control chassis, which is coupled to a workstation with a graphical user interface. The amplifier chassis is coupled to the motors of the master robot manipulator and the control chassis is coupled to the encoders of the master robot manipulator. A force feedback can be applied to the input device and can be generated from the slave robot to enable a user to operate the slave robot via the input device without physically viewing the slave robot. Also, the force feedback can be generated from the workstation to represent fictitious forces to constrain the input device's control of the slave robot to be within imaginary predetermined boundaries.

Measuring Air Force Contracting Customer Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT MEASURING AIR FORCE CONTRACTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ...... satisfaction elements should be included in a standardized tool that measures the level of customer satisfaction for AF Contracting’s external and

Air Force standards for nickel hydrogen battery

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Warren; Milden, Martin

1994-01-01

The topics discussed are presented in viewgraph form and include Air Force nickel hydrogen standardization goals, philosophy, project outline, cell level standardization, battery level standardization, and schedule.

Isospin nonconservation in nucleon-nucleon scattering by a color force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braeuer, K.; Henley, E.M.; Miller, G.A.

1986-01-01

A recently performed high accuracy measurement indicates the existence of a spin and isospin nonconserving force in neutron-proton scattering. One origin of this effect can be the influence of the up and down quark mass difference on the one gluon exchange spin-orbit force. We include this effect in a resonating group calculation, and find that its contribution is very small compared to that conventional meson-exchange forces

History of Turkish Air Force Aviation School and the Process of Transition to Air Force Academy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osman YALÇIN

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Turkish aviation has started as a military entity. The foundation of ‘’Tayyare Komisyonu’’ (Airplane Comission in June 1, 1911 has been accepted as the official starting point. The organization of aviation includes pilot training, airplane supply, fondation of aviation school, establishment of combatant units, and building the air vehicles with local and national endeavour. Later, air defense systems, meteorology, training observers, machine specialist and technicians has gained importance as well. Turkish aviation has been built upon the ruins of the last wars of Ottoman Empire. After the invasion of the British and the French, Ottoman aviators moved to Maltepe and then to various parts of Anatolia eventually. During the Independence War, aviation school was founded in Eskişehir, moved to Adana, Konya, and came back to Adana again. After the Greek forces were expelled from Anatolia via İzmir, aviation school was moved to İzmir. In 1925, it was brought back to Eskişehir on October 1, 1951. After WWII, the duration of training in order to be a pilot was six years. In 1929, aviation school turned out to be an academic institution as well. On October 1, 1951, Air Force Academy was established in Eskişehir. Due to high sound of jet air planes, the academy was moved to İzmir in 1954. Education and training were restructured there and the quality was raised. In 1967, Air Force Academy was moved back to Yeşilköy where Turkish aviation was born some 47 years ago. Due to academic diversity and rich culture heritage, a productive period has started in Istanbul. Air Force Academy has been an institution offering BA level education since 2001 whose process goes back to 1990s. Around 90 civilian and 50 military academicians conduct education and research per year. Military training including Yalova encampment site, affective domain training, and sports activities are also conducted as well. With a 103 years history and around 16.000 graduates

How to measure load-dependent kinetics of individual motor molecules without a force clamp

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sung, J.; Mortensen, Kim; Spudich, J.A.

2017-01-01

Single-molecule force spectroscopy techniques, including optical trapping, magnetic trapping, and atomic force microscopy, have provided unprecedented opportunities to understand biological processes at the smallest biological length scales. For example, they have been used to elucidate the molec......Single-molecule force spectroscopy techniques, including optical trapping, magnetic trapping, and atomic force microscopy, have provided unprecedented opportunities to understand biological processes at the smallest biological length scales. For example, they have been used to elucidate...... functions at the single molecule level, such as conformational changes and force-generation of individual motor proteins or force-dependent kinetics in molecular interactions. Here, we describe a new method, “Harmonic Force Spectroscopy (HFS).” With a conventional dual-beam optical trap and a simple...... concepts, experimental setup, step-by-step experimental protocol, theory, data analysis, and results....

Wave Forces on Crown Walls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jan; Burcharth, H. F.

1993-01-01

This paper presents some of the results from a large parametric laboratory study including more than 200 long-duration model tests. The study addresses both the wave forces imposed on the breakwater crown wall as well as the performance of the structure in reducing the wave overtopping. The testing...

Modeling and boundary force control of microcantilevers utilized in atomic force microscopy for cellular imaging and characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Eslami, Sohrab

the proposed Euler-Bernoulli model, a more comprehensive model is developed by modeling the probe dynamics and including the effects of the rotary inertia and shear deformation under the same proposed tip-sample interaction force. An extensive comparative study between the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam assumptions is conducted for different conditions including different base-excitation amplitudes and higher modes. The results underline that the comprehensive Timoshenko model unveils the effects of the nonlinear interaction force better than the Euler-Bernoulli beam model. In addition to extensive modeling efforts on the microcantilever and its interaction with sample, an adaptive control framework is developed in order to make the microcantilever's tip follow a desired trajectory. This trajectory can further be considered as an important path acquired by the path planning techniques to manipulate the nanoparticles. There is a base excitation considered for this model and can be considered as an input force control to excite the probe by taking advantage of flexibility of the cantilever despite its complexity and under existence of the external nonlinear interaction forces between the tip and sample's surface. When building such complicated controller on top of the proposed comprehensive model, the results could be extended to study a macro-micro hybrid rigid-flexible model of a microrobot to mimic the realistic behavior of the MM3ARTM microrobot. The MM3ARTM microrobot is equipped with a piezoresistive layer which functions as a force sensor and is capable of measuring very slight forces as small as micro to nano-Newton. Two types of controllers are investigated for the case of the tip force control. Lyapunov-based PD and robust adaptive controllers are developed for this purpose and their performances and stabilities are compared. In the experimental part, a platform for performing the automated nanomanipulation and real-time cellular imaging is developed by

Interfacial force measurements using atomic force microscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chu, L.

2018-01-01

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) can not only image the topography of surfaces at atomic resolution, but can also measure accurately the different interaction forces, like repulsive, adhesive and lateral existing between an AFM tip and the sample surface. Based on AFM, various extended techniques have

An Approach for Simulation of the Muscle Force Modeling It by Summation of Motor Unit Contraction Forces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rositsa Raikova

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Muscle force is due to the cumulative effect of repetitively contracting motor units (MUs. To simulate the contribution of each MU to whole muscle force, an approach implemented in a novel computer program is proposed. The individual contraction of an MU (the twitch is modeled by a 6-parameter analytical function previously proposed; the force of one MU is a sum of its contractions due to an applied stimulation pattern, and the muscle force is the sum of the active MUs. The number of MUs, the number of slow, fast-fatigue-resistant, and fast-fatigable MUs, and their six parameters as well as a file with stimulation patterns for each MU are inputs for the developed software. Different muscles and different firing patterns can be simulated changing the input data. The functionality of the program is illustrated with a model consisting of 30 MUs of rat medial gastrocnemius muscle. The twitches of these MUs were experimentally measured and modeled. The forces of the MUs and of the whole muscle were simulated using different stimulation patterns that included different regular, irregular, synchronous, and asynchronous firing patterns of MUs. The size principle of MUs for recruitment and derecruitment was also demonstrated using different stimulation paradigms.

U.S. Special Forces: Culture Warriors

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-01

definitions include:  “ culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, morals , custom, and any other capabilities and habits...perceptions towards others, such as ethnocentrism, cultural relativism , stereotypes, biases and worldview. Readings: ARSOF 2022, Special Warfare, Vol. 26...FORCES: CULTURE WARRIORS by Joshua L. Hill December 2014 Thesis Advisor: Heather S. Gregg Second Reader: Robert Burks THIS PAGE

A Phenomenological Model and Validation of Shortening Induced Force Depression during Muscle Contractions

Science.gov (United States)

McGowan, C.P.; Neptune, R.R.; Herzog, W.

2009-01-01

History dependent effects on muscle force development following active changes in length have been measured in a number of experimental studies. However, few muscle models have included these properties or examined their impact on force and power output in dynamic cyclic movements. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a modified Hill-type muscle model that includes shortening induced force depression and assess its influence on locomotor performance. The magnitude of force depression was defined by empirical relationships based on muscle mechanical work. To validate the model, simulations incorporating force depression were developed to emulate single muscle in situ and whole muscle group leg extension experiments. There was excellent agreement between simulation and experimental values, with in situ force patterns closely matching the experimental data (average RMS error pedaling with and without force depression were generated. Force depression decreased maximum crank power by 20% – 40%, depending on the relationship between force depression and muscle work used. These results indicate that force depression has the potential to substantially influence muscle power output in dynamic cyclic movements. However, to fully understand the impact of this phenomenon on human movement, more research is needed to characterize the relationship between force depression and mechanical work in large muscles with different morphologies. PMID:19879585

Force Measurement with a Piezoelectric Cantilever in a Scanning Force Microscope

OpenAIRE

Tansock, J.; Williams, C. C.

1992-01-01

Detection of surface forces between a tip and sample has been demonstrated with a piezoelectric cantilever in a scanning force microscope (SFM). The use of piezoelectric force sensing is particularly advantageous in semiconductor applications where stray light from conventional optical force-sensing methods can significantly modify the local carrier density. Additionally, the piezoelectric sensors are simple, provide good sensitivity to force, and can be batch fabricated. Our piezoelectric fo...

Is forced migration a barrier to treatment success? Similar HIV treatment outcomes among refugees and a surrounding host community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendelsohn, Joshua B; Schilperoord, Marian; Spiegel, Paul; Balasundaram, Susheela; Radhakrishnan, Anuradha; Lee, Christopher K C; Larke, Natasha; Grant, Alison D; Sondorp, Egbert; Ross, David A

2014-02-01

In response to an absence of studies among refugees and host communities accessing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in urban settings, our objective was to compare adherence and virological outcomes among clients attending a public clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult clients (≥18 years). Data sources included a structured questionnaire that measured self-reported adherence, a pharmacy-based measure of HAART prescription refills over the previous 24 months, and HIV viral loads. The primary outcome was unsuppressed viral load (≥40 copies/mL). Among a sample of 153 refugees and 148 host community clients, refugees were younger (median age 35 [interquartile range, IQR 31, 39] vs 40 years [IQR 35, 48], p < 0.001), more likely to be female (36 vs 21 %, p = 0.004), and to have been on HAART for less time (61 [IQR 35, 108] vs 153 weeks [IQR 63, 298]; p < 0.001). Among all clients, similar proportions of refugee and host clients were <95 % adherent to pharmacy refills (26 vs 34 %, p = 0.15). When restricting to clients on treatment for ≥25 weeks, similar proportions from each group were not virologically suppressed (19 % of refugees vs 16 % of host clients, p = 0.54). Refugee status was not independently associated with the outcome (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 1.28, 95 % CI 0.52, 3.14). Overall, the proportions of refugee and host community clients with unsuppressed viral loads and sub-optimal adherence were similar, supporting the idea that refugees in protracted asylum situations are able to sustain good treatment outcomes and should explicitly be included in the HIV strategic plans of host countries with a view to expanding access in accordance with national guidelines for HAART.

The Role of Mechanical Force in Molecular and Cellular during Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ida Bagus Narmada

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Application of mechanical force on abnormally positioned tooth, cause changes in tooth location and transmitted to the bone ia the periodontal ligament (PDL produce orthodontic tooth movement. This force application is further way that remodeling in the area occurs. In order to develop biological strategies for enhancing this movement of teeth in bone, the underlying mechanisms of bone resorption and apposition should be understood in detail. Analysis of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF may be a good means of examining the on going molecular and cellular process associated with gingival and bone turnover during orthodontic tooth movement. If it could be possible to biologically monitor and predict the outcome of orthodontic force, then the appliance management could be based on dividual tissue response and the effectiveness of the treatment could be improved and understanding their biology is critical to finding ways to modify bone biology to move teeth faster. The present article reviewed a short introduction to some mayors advanced mechanical force in molecular and cellular biology during orthodontic tooth movement.DOI: 10.14693/jdi.v15i3.30

Force reconstruction from tapping mode force microscopy experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payam, Amir F; Martin-Jimenez, Daniel; Garcia, Ricardo

2015-01-01

Fast, accurate, and robust nanomechanical measurements are intensely studied in materials science, applied physics, and molecular biology. Amplitude modulation force microscopy (tapping mode) is the most established nanoscale characterization technique of surfaces for air and liquid environments. However, its quantitative capabilities lag behind its high spatial resolution and robustness. We develop a general method to transform the observables into quantitative force measurements. The force reconstruction algorithm has been deduced on the assumption that the observables (amplitude and phase shift) are slowly varying functions of the tip–surface separation. The accuracy and applicability of the method is validated by numerical simulations and experiments. The method is valid for liquid and air environments, small and large free amplitudes, compliant and rigid materials, and conservative and non-conservative forces. (paper)

Surface contact potential patches and Casimir force measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, W. J.; Sushkov, A. O.; Lamoreaux, S. K.; Dalvit, D. A. R.

2010-01-01

We present calculations of contact potential surface patch effects that simplify previous treatments. It is shown that, because of the linearity of Laplace's equation, the presence of patch potentials does not affect an electrostatic calibration of a two-plate Casimir measurement apparatus. Using models that include long-range variations in the contact potential across the plate surfaces, a number of experimental observations can be reproduced and explained. For these models, numerical calculations show that if a voltage is applied between the plates which minimizes the force, a residual electrostatic force persists, and that the minimizing potential varies with distance. The residual force can be described by a fit to a simple two-parameter function involving the minimizing potential and its variation with distance. We show the origin of this residual force by use of a simple parallel capacitor model. Finally, the implications of a residual force that varies in a manner different from 1/d on the accuracy of previous Casimir measurements is discussed.

A force measurement system based on an electrostatic sensing and actuating technique for calibrating force in a micronewton range with a resolution of nanonewton scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Sheng-Jui; Pan, Sheau-Shi

2011-01-01

This paper introduces a force measurement system recently established at the Center for Measurement Standards, Industrial Technology Research Institute for calibrating forces in a micronewton range with a resolution of a few nanonewtons. The force balance consists of a monolithic flexure stage and a specially made capacitor for electrostatic sensing and actuating. The capacitor is formed by three electrodes which can be utilized as a capacitive position sensor and an electrostatic force actuator at the same time. Force balance control is implemented with a digital controller by which the signal of the stage deflection is acquired, filtered and fed back to the electrostatic force driver to bring the flexure stage to the null position. The detailed description of the apparatus including the design of a monolithic flexure stage, principle of capacitive position sensing/electrostatic actuation and the force balance control is given in the paper. Finally, we present the results of electrostatic force calibration and the weighing of a 1 mg wire weight

Three-Dimensional Force Measurements During Rapid Palatal Expansion in Sus scrofa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly Goeckner

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Rapid palatal expansion is an orthodontic procedure widely used to correct the maxillary arch. However, its outcome is significantly influenced by factors that show a high degree of variability amongst patients. The traditional treatment methodology is based on an intuitive and heuristic treatment approach because the forces applied in the three dimensions are indeterminate. To enable optimal and individualized treatment, it is essential to measure the three-dimensional (3D forces and displacements created by the expander. This paper proposes a method for performing these 3D measurements using a single embedded strain sensor, combining experimental measurements of strain in the palatal expander with 3D finite element analysis (FEA. The method is demonstrated using the maxillary jaw from a freshly euthanized pig (Sus scrofa and a hyrax-design rapid palatal expander (RPE appliance with integrated strain gage. The strain gage measurements are recorded using a computer interface, following which the expansion forces and extent of expansion are estimated by FEA. A total activation of 2.0 mm results in peak total force of about 100 N—almost entirely along the direction of expansion. The results also indicate that more than 85% of the input activation is immediately transferred to the palate and/or teeth. These studies demonstrate a method for assessing and individualizing expansion magnitudes and forces during orthopedic expansion of the maxilla. This provides the basis for further development of smart orthodontic appliances that provide real-time readouts of forces and movements, which will allow personalized, optimal treatment.

Cervical spine mobilisation forces applied by physiotherapy students.

Science.gov (United States)

Snodgrass, Suzanne J; Rivett, Darren A; Robertson, Val J; Stojanovski, Elizabeth

2010-06-01

Postero-anterior (PA) mobilisation is commonly used in cervical spine treatment and included in physiotherapy curricula. The manual forces that students apply while learning cervical mobilisation are not known. Quantifying these forces informs the development of strategies for learning to apply cervical mobilisation effectively and safely. This study describes the mechanical properties of cervical PA mobilisation techniques applied by students, and investigates factors associated with force application. Physiotherapy students (n=120) mobilised one of 32 asymptomatic subjects. Students applied Grades I to IV central and unilateral PA mobilisation to C2 and C7 of one asymptomatic subject. Manual forces were measured in three directions using an instrumented treatment table. Spinal stiffness of mobilised subjects was measured at C2 and C7 using a device that applied a standard oscillating force while measuring this force and its concurrent displacement. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences between techniques and grades, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to calculate the inter- and intrastudent repeatability of forces, and linear regression was used to determine the associations between applied forces and characteristics of students and mobilised subjects. Mobilisation forces increased from Grades I to IV (highest mean peak force, Grade IV C7 central PA technique: 63.7N). Interstudent reliability was poor [ICC(2,1)=0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14 to 0.43], but intrastudent repeatability of forces was somewhat better (0.83, 95% CI 0.81 to 0.86). Higher applied force was associated with greater C7 stiffness, increased frequency of thumb pain, male gender of the student or mobilised subject, and a student being earlier in their learning process. Lower forces were associated with greater C2 stiffness. This study describes the cervical mobilisation forces applied by students, and the characteristics of the student and mobilised

Membrane actuation by Casimir force manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinto, Fabrizio

2008-01-01

In our laboratory, we have been developing a practical demonstration of actuation by means of the Casimir force inspired by the capacitive detection approach originally described by Arnold, Hunklinger and Dransfeld (1972 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 43 584-7). In this paper, we first describe the mathematical challenges pertaining to the electrostatic calibration of our measuring device, which has been enhanced by our recently published results regarding the computation of electrostatic fields in axial systems, such as the long-standing classical circular capacitor problem. We also discuss our computational approach to the calculation of the Casimir force in our system, including our adoption of analytical descriptions of the dielectric functions of semiconductors extended to the case of axial geometries. We will illustrate how the original AHD apparatus has been drastically improved upon, for instance by means of modern nanopositioner technology, and we shall discuss our published experimental results on the dynamics of a vibrating membrane with a central disc, which have provided the first direct verification of the mechanical resonances of such a system. The emphasis of our effort is not exclusively directed to fundamental physics research but is focused on, and ultimately motivated by, our goal of identifying viable industrial applications leading to commercially marketable products based on Casimir force actuation. Therefore we conclude this paper by briefly discussing the contribution we believe these results will offer to some current technological problems, in particular in nanotechnology, including some thoughts on the possibility that dispersion forces may enable a new and rapidly expanding industry to develop in the near future

Models and control for force/torque sensors in robotics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansson, Gert.

1992-01-01

One of the important problems in automatic assembly is the relative positioning accuracy between the parts in the assembly process. Inaccurate positions cause large insertion forces, wear and might damage the parts. They can also completely disable the assembly process. A solution to this problem is to detect the positioning error and to make a relevant adjustment of the position or path. This thesis presents a solution based on active feedback of force/torque data from a wrist mounted sensor. A task independent control algorithm has been realized through a sensor model concept. The sensor model includes an algorithm that transforms force/torque input to relevant motion of the end effector. The transformation is specified by a set of parameters e.g. desired forces, compliance and stopping criteria. The problem with gravity forces for varying end effector orientation is compensated by an algorithm, divided into three complexity levels. The compensation method includes a calibration sequence to ensure valid end effector properties to be used in the algorithm. A problem with available robot technology is bad integration possibilities for external sensors. To allow necessary modifications and expansions, an open and general control system architecture is proposed. The architecture is based in a computer workstation and transputers in pipeline for the robot specific operations. (au)

Inferring Interaction Force from Visual Information without Using Physical Force Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Wonjun; Lim, Soo-Chul

2017-10-26

In this paper, we present an interaction force estimation method that uses visual information rather than that of a force sensor. Specifically, we propose a novel deep learning-based method utilizing only sequential images for estimating the interaction force against a target object, where the shape of the object is changed by an external force. The force applied to the target can be estimated by means of the visual shape changes. However, the shape differences in the images are not very clear. To address this problem, we formulate a recurrent neural network-based deep model with fully-connected layers, which models complex temporal dynamics from the visual representations. Extensive evaluations show that the proposed learning models successfully estimate the interaction forces using only the corresponding sequential images, in particular in the case of three objects made of different materials, a sponge, a PET bottle, a human arm, and a tube. The forces predicted by the proposed method are very similar to those measured by force sensors.

Force measurements on a shielded coreless linear permanent magnet motor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pluk, K.J.W.; Jansen, J.W.; Lomonova, E.A.

2014-01-01

This paper compares force measurements on a shielded coreless linear permanent magnet motor with 2-D models. A 2-D semianalytical modeling method is applied, which is based on Fourier modeling and includes force calculations. The semianalytical modeling correctly predicts the behavior found in the

Learning Process and Learning Outcomes of Video Podcasts Including the Instructor and PPT Slides: A Chinese Case

Science.gov (United States)

Pi, Zhongling; Hong, Jianzhong

2016-01-01

Video podcasts have become one of the fastest developing trends in learning and teaching. The study explored the effect of the presenting mode of educational video podcasts on the learning process and learning outcomes. Prior to viewing a video podcast, the 94 Chinese undergraduates participating in the study completed a demographic questionnaire…

Report of an ESC-EAPCI Task Force on the evaluation and use of bioresorbable scaffolds for percutaneous coronary intervention: executive summary.

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Robert A; Stefanini, Giulio G; Capodanno, Davide; Onuma, Yoshinobu; Baumbach, Andreas; Escaned, Javier; Haude, Michael; James, Stefan; Joner, Michael; Jüni, Peter; Kastrati, Adnan; Oktay, Semih; Wijns, William; Serruys, Patrick W; Windecker, Stephan

2018-05-07

A previous Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) provided a report on recommendations for the non-clinical and clinical evaluation of coronary stents. Following dialogue with the European Commission, the Task Force was asked to prepare an additional report on the class of devices known as bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS). Five BRS have CE-mark approval for use in Europe. Only one device-the Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold-has published randomized clinical trial data and this data show inferior outcomes to conventional drug-eluting stents (DES) at 2-3 years. For this reason, at present BRS should not be preferred to conventional DES in clinical practice. The Task Force recommends that new BRS devices should undergo systematic non-clinical testing according to standardized criteria prior to evaluation in clinical studies. A clinical evaluation plan should include data from a medium sized, randomized trial against DES powered for a surrogate end point of clinical efficacy. Manufacturers of successful devices receive CE-mark approval for use and must have an approved plan for a large-scale randomized clinical trial with planned long-term follow-up.

Female labor force participation in developing countries

OpenAIRE

Verick, Sher

2014-01-01

While women’s labor force participation tends to increase with economic development, the relationship is not straightforward or consistent at the country level. There is considerably more variation across developing countries in labor force participation by women than by men. This variation is driven by a wide variety of economic and social factors, which include economic growth, education, and social norms. Looking more broadly at improving women’s access to quality employment, a critica...

Unconventional Military Advising Mission Conducted by Conventional US Military Forces

OpenAIRE

Hajjar, Remi M.

2016-01-01

This article examines how and why many contemporary US mainstream military advisors—as compared to Special Forces advisors—often work from a position of disadvantage when conducting unconventional advising missions. Post-9/11 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have caused the US military to adapt to myriad complexities, including a renewed need for the widespread execution of the unconventional military advising mission by the Special Forces and conventional units. Although Special Forces ty...

Effects of bruxism on the maximum bite force

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todić Jelena T.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. Bruxism is a parafunctional activity of the masticatory system, which is characterized by clenching or grinding of teeth. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the presence of bruxism has impact on maximum bite force, with particular reference to the potential impact of gender on bite force values. Methods. This study included two groups of subjects: without and with bruxism. The presence of bruxism in the subjects was registered using a specific clinical questionnaire on bruxism and physical examination. The subjects from both groups were submitted to the procedure of measuring the maximum bite pressure and occlusal contact area using a single-sheet pressure-sensitive films (Fuji Prescale MS and HS Film. Maximal bite force was obtained by multiplying maximal bite pressure and occlusal contact area values. Results. The average values of maximal bite force were significantly higher in the subjects with bruxism compared to those without bruxism (p 0.01. Maximal bite force was significantly higher in the males compared to the females in all segments of the research. Conclusion. The presence of bruxism influences the increase in the maximum bite force as shown in this study. Gender is a significant determinant of bite force. Registration of maximum bite force can be used in diagnosing and analysing pathophysiological events during bruxism.

Linear-hall sensor based force detecting unit for lower limb exoskeleton

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongwu; Zhu, Yanhe; Zhao, Jie; Wang, Tianshuo; Zhang, Zongwei

2018-04-01

This paper describes a knee-joint human-machine interaction force sensor for lower-limb force-assistance exoskeleton. The structure is designed based on hall sensor and series elastic actuator (SEA) structure. The work we have done includes the structure design, the parameter determination and dynamic simulation. By converting the force signal into macro displacement and output voltage, we completed the measurement of man-machine interaction force. And it is proved by experiments that the design is simple, stable and low-cost.

Digital force-feedback for protein unfolding experiments using atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Bippes, Christian A.; Janovjak, Harald; Kedrov, Alexej; Muller, Daniel J.

2007-01-01

Since its invention in the 1990s single-molecule force spectroscopy has been increasingly applied to study protein (un-)folding, cell adhesion, and ligand-receptor interactions. In most force spectroscopy studies, the cantilever of an atomic force microscope (AFM) is separated from a surface at a constant velocity, thus applying an increasing force to folded bio-molecules or bio-molecular bonds. Recently, Fernandez and co-workers introduced the so-called force-clamp technique. Single proteins were subjected to a defined constant force allowing their life times and life time distributions to be directly measured. Up to now, the force-clamping was performed by analogue PID controllers, which require complex additional hardware and might make it difficult to combine the force-feedback with other modes such as constant velocity. These points may be limiting the applicability and versatility of this technique. Here we present a simple, fast, and all-digital (software-based) PID controller that yields response times of a few milliseconds in combination with a commercial AFM. We demonstrate the performance of our feedback loop by force-clamp unfolding of single Ig27 domains of titin and the membrane proteins bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and the sodium/proton antiporter NhaA.

Digital force-feedback for protein unfolding experiments using atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bippes, Christian A; Janovjak, Harald; Kedrov, Alexej; Muller, Daniel J

2007-01-01

Since its invention in the 1990s single-molecule force spectroscopy has been increasingly applied to study protein (un-)folding, cell adhesion, and ligand-receptor interactions. In most force spectroscopy studies, the cantilever of an atomic force microscope (AFM) is separated from a surface at a constant velocity, thus applying an increasing force to folded bio-molecules or bio-molecular bonds. Recently, Fernandez and co-workers introduced the so-called force-clamp technique. Single proteins were subjected to a defined constant force allowing their life times and life time distributions to be directly measured. Up to now, the force-clamping was performed by analogue PID controllers, which require complex additional hardware and might make it difficult to combine the force-feedback with other modes such as constant velocity. These points may be limiting the applicability and versatility of this technique. Here we present a simple, fast, and all-digital (software-based) PID controller that yields response times of a few milliseconds in combination with a commercial AFM. We demonstrate the performance of our feedback loop by force-clamp unfolding of single Ig27 domains of titin and the membrane proteins bacteriorhodopsin (BR) and the sodium/proton antiporter NhaA

Quantum anticentrifugal force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cirone, M.A.; Schleich, W.P.; Straub, F.; Rzazewski, K.; Wheeler, J.A.

2002-01-01

In a two-dimensional world, a free quantum particle of vanishing angular momentum experiences an attractive force. This force originates from a modification of the classical centrifugal force due to the wave nature of the particle. For positive energies the quantum anticentrifugal force manifests itself in a bunching of the nodes of the energy wave functions towards the origin. For negative energies this force is sufficient to create a bound state in a two-dimensional δ-function potential. In a counterintuitive way, the attractive force pushes the particle away from the location of the δ-function potential. As a consequence, the particle is localized in a band-shaped domain around the origin

How weather impacts the forced climate response

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirtman, Ben P. [University of Miami, Division of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, Rosenstiel School for Atmospheric and Marine Science, Miami, FL (United States); Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States); Schneider, Edwin K.; Straus, David M. [George Mason University, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences, Fairfax, VA (United States); Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States); Min, Dughong; Burgman, Robert [University of Miami, Division of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, Rosenstiel School for Atmospheric and Marine Science, Miami, FL (United States)

2011-12-15

The new interactive ensemble modeling strategy is used to diagnose how noise due to internal atmospheric dynamics impacts the forced climate response during the twentieth century (i.e., 1870-1999). The interactive ensemble uses multiple realizations of the atmospheric component model coupled to a single realization of the land, ocean and ice component models in order to reduce the noise due to internal atmospheric dynamics in the flux exchange at the interface of the component models. A control ensemble of so-called climate of the twentieth century simulations of the Community Climate Simulation Model version 3 (CCSM3) are compared with a similar simulation with the interactive ensemble version of CCSM3. Despite substantial differences in the overall mean climate, the global mean trends in surface temperature, 500 mb geopotential and precipitation are largely indistinguishable between the control ensemble and the interactive ensemble. Large differences in the forced response; however, are detected particularly in the surface temperature of the North Atlantic. Associated with the forced North Atlantic surface temperature differences are local differences in the forced precipitation and a substantial remote rainfall response in the deep tropical Pacific. We also introduce a simple variance analysis to separately compare the variance due to noise and the forced response. We find that the noise variance is decreased when external forcing is included. In terms of the forced variance, we find that the interactive ensemble increases this variance relative to the control. (orig.)

A systematic review of health promotion intervention studies in the police force: study characteristics, intervention design and impacts on health.

Science.gov (United States)

MacMillan, Freya; Karamacoska, Diana; El Masri, Aymen; McBride, Kate A; Steiner, Genevieve Z; Cook, Amelia; Kolt, Gregory S; Klupp, Nerida; George, Emma S

2017-12-01

To systematically review studies of health promotion intervention in the police force. Four databases were searched for articles reporting on prepost single and multigroup studies in police officers and trainees. Data were extracted and bias assessed to evaluate study characteristics, intervention design and the impact of interventions on health. Database searching identified 25 articles reporting on 21 studies relevant to the aims of this review. Few studies (n=3) were of long duration (≥6 months). Nine of 21 studies evaluated structured physical activity and/or diet programmes only, 5 studies used education and behaviour change support-only interventions, 5 combined structured programmes with education and behaviour change support, and 2 studies used computer prompts to minimise sedentary behaviour. A wide array of lifestyle behaviour and health outcomes was measured, with 11/13 multigroup and 8/8 single-group studies reporting beneficial impacts on outcomes. High risk of bias was evident across most studies. In those with the lowest risk of bias (n=2), a large effect on blood pressure and small effects on diet, sleep quality, stress and tobacco use, were reported. Health promotion interventions can impact beneficially on health of the police force, particularly blood pressure, diet, sleep, stress and tobacco use. Limited reporting made comparison of findings challenging. Combined structured programmes with education and behaviour change support and programmes including peer support resulted in the most impact on health-related outcomes. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Evidence-based review of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer: An ASTRO outcomes initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, David E.; Emami, Bahman; Mauch, Peter M.; Konski, Andre A.; Tao, May L.; Ng, Andrea K.; Klein, Eric A.; Mohideen, Najeeb; Hurwitz, Mark D.; Fraas, Bendick A.; Roach, Mack; Gore, Elizabeth M.; Tepper, Joel E.

2005-01-01

Purpose: To perform a systematic review of the evidence to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for localized prostate cancer; provide a clear presentation of the key clinical outcome questions related to the use of 3D-CRT in the treatment of localized prostate cancer that may be answered by a formal literature review; and provide concise information on whether 3D-CRT improves the clinical outcomes in the treatment of localized prostate cancer compared with conventional RT. Methods and Materials: We performed a systematic review of the literature through a structured process developed by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's Outcomes Committee that involved the creation of a multidisciplinary task force, development of clinical outcome questions, a formal literature review and data abstraction, data review, and outside peer review. Results: Seven key clinical questions were identified. The results and task force conclusions of the literature review for each question are reported. Conclusion: The technological goals of reducing morbidity with 3D-CRT have been achieved. Randomized trials and follow-up of completed trials remain necessary to address these clinical outcomes specifically with regard to patient subsets and the use of hormonal therapy

Possible influence of anthropogenic aerosols on cirrus clouds and anthropogenic forcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. E. Penner

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Cirrus clouds have a net warming effect on the atmosphere and cover about 30% of the Earth's area. Aerosol particles initiate ice formation in the upper troposphere through modes of action that include homogeneous freezing of solution droplets, heterogeneous nucleation on solid particles immersed in a solution, and deposition nucleation of vapor onto solid particles. Here, we examine the possible change in ice number concentration from anthropogenic soot originating from surface sources of fossil fuel and biomass burning, from anthropogenic sulfate aerosols, and from aircraft that deposit their aerosols directly in the upper troposphere. We use a version of the aerosol model that predicts sulfate number and mass concentrations in 3-modes and includes the formation of sulfate aerosol through homogeneous binary nucleation as well as a version that only predicts sulfate mass. The 3-mode version best represents the Aitken aerosol nuclei number concentrations in the upper troposphere which dominated ice crystal residues in the upper troposphere. Fossil fuel and biomass burning soot aerosols with this version exert a radiative forcing of −0.3 to −0.4 Wm⁻² while anthropogenic sulfate aerosols and aircraft aerosols exert a forcing of −0.01 to 0.04 Wm⁻² and −0.16 to −0.12 Wm⁻², respectively, where the range represents the forcing from two parameterizations for ice nucleation. The sign of the forcing in the mass-only version of the model depends on which ice nucleation parameterization is used and can be either positive or negative. The magnitude of the forcing in cirrus clouds can be comparable to the forcing exerted by anthropogenic aerosols on warm clouds, but this forcing has not been included in past assessments of the total anthropogenic radiative forcing of climate.

Force analysis of linear induction motor for magnetic levitation system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuijpers, A.A.; Nemlioglu, C.; Sahin, F.; Verdel, A.J.D.; Compter, J.C.; Lomonova, E.

2010-01-01

This paper presents the analyses of thrust and normal forces of linear induction motor (LIM) segments which are implemented in a rotating ring system. To obtain magnetic levitation in a cost effective and sustainable way, decoupled control of thrust and normal forces is required. This study includes

The effect of force feedback delay on stiffness perception and grip force modulation during tool-mediated interaction with elastic force fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Leib, Raz; Karniel, Amir; Nisky, Ilana

2015-05-01

During interaction with objects, we form an internal representation of their mechanical properties. This representation is used for perception and for guiding actions, such as in precision grip, where grip force is modulated with the predicted load forces. In this study, we explored the relationship between grip force adjustment and perception of stiffness during interaction with linear elastic force fields. In a forced-choice paradigm, participants probed pairs of virtual force fields while grasping a force sensor that was attached to a haptic device. For each pair, they were asked which field had higher level of stiffness. In half of the pairs, the force feedback of one of the fields was delayed. Participants underestimated the stiffness of the delayed field relatively to the nondelayed, but their grip force characteristics were similar in both conditions. We analyzed the magnitude of the grip force and the lag between the grip force and the load force in the exploratory probing movements within each trial. Right before answering which force field had higher level of stiffness, both magnitude and lag were similar between delayed and nondelayed force fields. These results suggest that an accurate internal representation of environment stiffness and time delay was used for adjusting the grip force. However, this representation did not help in eliminating the bias in stiffness perception. We argue that during performance of a perceptual task that is based on proprioceptive feedback, separate neural mechanisms are responsible for perception and action-related computations in the brain. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Approximate photochemical dynamics of azobenzene with reactive force fields

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Hartke, Bernd

2013-12-01

We have fitted reactive force fields of the ReaxFF type to the ground and first excited electronic states of azobenzene, using global parameter optimization by genetic algorithms. Upon coupling with a simple energy-gap transition probability model, this setup allows for completely force-field-based simulations of photochemical cis→trans- and trans→cis-isomerizations of azobenzene, with qualitatively acceptable quantum yields. This paves the way towards large-scale dynamics simulations of molecular machines, including bond breaking and formation (via the reactive force field) as well as photochemical engines (presented in this work).

Factors Affecting Aerosol Radiative Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Lin, J.; Ni, R.

2016-12-01

Rapid industrial and economic growth has meant large amount of aerosols in the atmosphere with strong radiative forcing (RF) upon the climate system. Over parts of the globe, the negative forcing of aerosols has overcompensated for the positive forcing of greenhouse gases. Aerosol RF is determined by emissions and various chemical-transport-radiative processes in the atmosphere, a multi-factor problem whose individual contributors have not been well quantified. In this study, we analyze the major factors affecting RF of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIOAs, including sulfate, nitrate and ammonium), primary organic aerosol (POA), and black carbon (BC). We analyze the RFof aerosols produced by 11 major regions across the globe, including but not limited to East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, North America, and Western Europe. Factors analyzed include population size, per capita gross domestic production (GDP), emission intensity (i.e., emissionsper unit GDP), chemical efficiency (i.e., mass per unit emissions) and radiative efficiency (i.e., RF per unit mass). We find that among the 11 regions, East Asia produces the largest emissions and aerosol RF, due to relatively high emission intensity and a tremendous population size.South Asia produce the second largest RF of SIOA and BC and the highest RF of POA, in part due to its highest chemical efficiency among all regions. Although Southeast Asia also has large emissions,its aerosol RF is alleviated by its lowest chemical efficiency.The chemical efficiency and radiative efficiency of BC produced by the Middle East-North Africa are the highest across the regions, whereas its RF is loweredbyasmall per capita GDP.Both North America and Western Europe have low emission intensity, compensating for the effects on RF of large population sizes and per capita GDP. There has been a momentum to transfer industries to Southeast Asia and South Asia, and such transition is expected to continue in the coming years. The resulting

78 FR 2996 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-15

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

77 FR 56845 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-14

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

78 FR 27969 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-13

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Services Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force is independent and nonfederal. Its members are nationally.... The Task Force was convened in 1996 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess the...

Serial forced displacement in American cities, 1916-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Fullilove, Mindy Thompson; Wallace, Rodrick

2011-06-01

Serial forced displacement has been defined as the repetitive, coercive upheaval of groups. In this essay, we examine the history of serial forced displacement in American cities due to federal, state, and local government policies. We propose that serial forced displacement sets up a dynamic process that includes an increase in interpersonal and structural violence, an inability to react in a timely fashion to patterns of threat or opportunity, and a cycle of fragmentation as a result of the first two. We present the history of the policies as they affected one urban neighborhood, Pittsburgh's Hill District. We conclude by examining ways in which this problematic process might be addressed.

Dynamics of cell area and force during spreading.

Science.gov (United States)

Brill-Karniely, Yifat; Nisenholz, Noam; Rajendran, Kavitha; Dang, Quynh; Krishnan, Ramaswamy; Zemel, Assaf

2014-12-16

Experiments on human pulmonary artery endothelial cells are presented to show that cell area and the force exerted on a substrate increase simultaneously, but with different rates during spreading; rapid-force increase systematically occurred several minutes past initial spreading. We examine this theoretically and present three complementary mechanisms that may accompany the development of lamellar stress during spreading and underlie the observed behavior. These include: 1), the dynamics of cytoskeleton assembly at the cell basis; 2), the strengthening of acto-myosin forces in response to the generated lamellar stresses; and 3), the passive strain-stiffening of the cytoskeleton. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Full scale test results for ship ice impact forces and pressures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghoneim, G.A.

1993-01-01

A set of full scale impact tests were carried out for the icebreakers Canmar Kigoriak and Robert LeMeur in first and multi-year ice conditions in the southern Beaufort Sea. Preliminary results of the testing program were published in Ghoneim et al. (1984). This paper presents some salient results of further analysis of the data. This includes a description of the different types of ice ramming mechanisms and the corresponding ice force time histories and ship response. A comparison between the bow force peak values for the kigoriak and the Robert LeMeur is made and the reasons for the difference are evaluated. The question of dynamic magnification of the response is investigated. The relationship between the peak impact force and the ramming velocity is evaluated for both ships and compared with theoretical and empirical formulations. Other parametric relationships are presented, including such parameters as force duration and relative magnitude of the impact and beaching bow forces. The added mass is evaluated from measured accelerations and calculated bow forces and are shown to be time dependent. The relationship between ice pressure and corresponding contact area is discussed. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are presented

Center-size as a predictor of weight-loss outcome in multicenter trials including a low-calorie diet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gasteyger, Christoph Rolf; Christensen, Robin; Larsen, Thomas Meinert

2010-01-01

weight loss. This is a post hoc analysis of an existing database: 701 obese subjects (77% women, 23% men, mean BMI: 38.9 kg/m(2)) were enrolled at 22 sites (4-85 subjects/site) in five countries to follow a LCD providing 800-1,000 kcal/day during 8 weeks. The main outcome measure was the percentage...

Exotic Nuclei and Yukawa's Forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otsuka, Takaharu; Suzuki, Toshio; Utsuno, Yutaka

2008-01-01

In this plenary talk, we will overview the evolution of the shell structure in stable and exotic nuclei as a new paradigm of nuclear structure physics. This shell evolution is primarily due to the tensor force. The robust mechanism and some examples will be presented. Such examples include the disappearance of existing magic numbers and the appearance of new ones. The nuclear magic numbers have been believed, since Mayer and Jensen, to be constants as 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, ... This turned out to be changed, once we entered the regime of exotic nuclei. This shell evolution develops at many places on the nuclear chart in various forms. For example, superheavy magic numbers may be altered. Thus, we are led to a new paradigm as to how and where the nuclear shell evolves, and what consequences arise. The evolution of the shell affects weak process transitions, and plays a crucial role in deformation. The π and ρ mesons generate tensor forces, and are the fundamental elements of such intriguing phenomena. Thus, physics of exotic nuclei arises as a manifestation of Yukawa's forces

The contribution of the electrostatic proximity force to atomic force microscopy with insulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanley Czarnecki, W.; Schein, L.B.

2005-01-01

Measurements, using atomic force microscopy, of the force and force derivative on a charged insulating micron sized sphere as a function of gap between the sphere and a conductive plane have revealed attractive forces at finite gaps that are larger than predicted by either van der Waals or conventional electrostatic forces. We suggest that these observations may be due to an electrostatic force that we have identified theoretically and call the proximity force. This proximity force is due to the discrete charges on the surface of the sphere in close proximity to the plane

The contribution of the electrostatic proximity force to atomic force microscopy with insulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stanley Czarnecki, W. [Aetas Technology Corporation, P.O. Box 53398, Irvine, CA 92619-3398 (United States); IBM Corporation, 5600 Cottle Rd., Building 13, San Jose, CA 95193 (United States); Schein, L.B. [Aetas Technology Corporation, P.O. Box 53398, Irvine, CA 92619-3398 (United States)]. E-mail: schein@prodigy.net

2005-05-16

Measurements, using atomic force microscopy, of the force and force derivative on a charged insulating micron sized sphere as a function of gap between the sphere and a conductive plane have revealed attractive forces at finite gaps that are larger than predicted by either van der Waals or conventional electrostatic forces. We suggest that these observations may be due to an electrostatic force that we have identified theoretically and call the proximity force. This proximity force is due to the discrete charges on the surface of the sphere in close proximity to the plane.

Validity and reproducibility of crutch force and heart rate measurements to assess energy expenditure of paraplegic gait

NARCIS (Netherlands)

IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Baardman, Gert; van 't Hof, Martin A.; Boom, H.B.K.; Hermens, Hermanus J.; Veltink, Petrus H.

1999-01-01

Objective: To determine the validity and reproducibility of heart rate (HR) and crutch force measurements to estimate energy expenditure during paraplegic walking. Usefulness of these outcome measures in comparative trials was assessed in terms of responsiveness. Design: Cross-sectional validity was

Minimizing tip-sample forces in jumping mode atomic force microscopy in liquid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega-Esteban, A. [Departamento de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, C-3, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Horcas, I. [Nanotec Electronica S.L., Centro Empresarial Euronova 3, Ronda de Poniente 12, 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid (Spain); Hernando-Perez, M. [Departamento de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, C-3, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Ares, P. [Nanotec Electronica S.L., Centro Empresarial Euronova 3, Ronda de Poniente 12, 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid (Spain); Perez-Berna, A.J.; San Martin, C.; Carrascosa, J.L. [Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC), Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Pablo, P.J. de [Departamento de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, C-3, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Gomez-Herrero, J., E-mail: julio.gomez@uam.es [Departamento de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, C-3, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain)

2012-03-15

Control and minimization of tip-sample interaction forces are imperative tasks to maximize the performance of atomic force microscopy. In particular, when imaging soft biological matter in liquids, the cantilever dragging force prevents identification of the tip-sample mechanical contact, resulting in deleterious interaction with the specimen. In this work we present an improved jumping mode procedure that allows detecting the tip-sample contact with high accuracy, thus minimizing the scanning forces ({approx}100 pN) during the approach cycles. To illustrate this method we report images of human adenovirus and T7 bacteriophage particles which are prone to uncontrolled modifications when using conventional jumping mode. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Improvement in atomic force microscopy in buffer solution. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Peak force detection. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Subtracting the cantilever dragging force. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Forces in the 100 pN range. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Imaging of delicate viruses with atomic force microscopy.

Guidelines for the treatment of hypothyroidism: prepared by the american thyroid association task force on thyroid hormone replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonklaas, Jacqueline; Bianco, Antonio C; Bauer, Andrew J; Burman, Kenneth D; Cappola, Anne R; Celi, Francesco S; Cooper, David S; Kim, Brian W; Peeters, Robin P; Rosenthal, M Sara; Sawka, Anna M

2014-12-01

categories: (i) levothyroxine therapy, (ii) non-levothyroxine-based thyroid hormone therapies, and (iii) use of thyroid hormone analogs. The second category included thyroid extracts, synthetic combination therapy, triiodothyronine therapy, and compounded thyroid hormones. We concluded that levothyroxine should remain the standard of care for treating hypothyroidism. We found no consistently strong evidence for the superiority of alternative preparations (e.g., levothyroxine-liothyronine combination therapy, or thyroid extract therapy, or others) over monotherapy with levothyroxine, in improving health outcomes. Some examples of future research needs include the development of superior biomarkers of euthyroidism to supplement thyrotropin measurements, mechanistic research on serum triiodothyronine levels (including effects of age and disease status, relationship with tissue concentrations, as well as potential therapeutic targeting), and long-term outcome clinical trials testing combination therapy or thyroid extracts (including subgroup effects). Additional research is also needed to develop thyroid hormone analogs with a favorable benefit to risk profile.

Force-activatable biosensor enables single platelet force mapping directly by fluorescence imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yongliang; LeVine, Dana N; Gannon, Margaret; Zhao, Yuanchang; Sarkar, Anwesha; Hoch, Bailey; Wang, Xuefeng

2018-02-15

Integrin-transmitted cellular forces are critical for platelet adhesion, activation, aggregation and contraction during hemostasis and thrombosis. Measuring and mapping single platelet forces are desired in both research and clinical applications. Conventional force-to-strain based cell traction force microscopies have low resolution which is not ideal for cellular force mapping in small platelets. To enable platelet force mapping with submicron resolution, we developed a force-activatable biosensor named integrative tension sensor (ITS) which directly converts molecular tensions to fluorescent signals, therefore enabling cellular force mapping directly by fluorescence imaging. With ITS, we mapped cellular forces in single platelets at 0.4µm resolution. We found that platelet force distribution has strong polarization which is sensitive to treatment with the anti-platelet drug tirofiban, suggesting that the ITS force map can report anti-platelet drug efficacy. The ITS also calibrated integrin molecular tensions in platelets and revealed two distinct tension levels: 12-54 piconewton (nominal values) tensions generated during platelet adhesion and tensions above 54 piconewton generated during platelet contraction. Overall, the ITS is a powerful biosensor for the study of platelet mechanobiology, and holds great potential in antithrombotic drug development and assessing platelet activity in health and disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concurrent Validity of a Portable Force Plate Using Vertical Jump Force-Time Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lake, Jason; Mundy, Peter; Comfort, Paul; McMahon, John J; Suchomel, Timothy J; Carden, Patrick

2018-05-29

This study examined concurrent validity of countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) reactive strength index modified and force-time characteristics recorded using a one dimensional portable and laboratory force plate system. Twenty-eight men performed bilateral CMJs on two portable force plates placed on top of two in-ground force plates, both recording vertical ground reaction force at 1000 Hz. Time to take-off, jump height, reactive strength index modified, braking and propulsion impulse, mean net force, and duration were calculated from the vertical force from both force plate systems. Results from both systems were highly correlated (r≥.99). There were small (dbraking impulse, braking mean net force, propulsion impulse, and propulsion mean net force (psystem (95% CL: .9% to 2.5%), indicating very good agreement across all of the dependent variables. The largest limits of agreement belonged to jump height (2.1%), time to take-off (3.4%), and reactive strength index modified (3.8%). The portable force plate system provides a valid method of obtaining reactive strength measures, and several underpinning force-time variables, from unloaded CMJ and practitioners can use both force plates interchangeably.

The Combined Arms Maneuver-Force and the Stability and Support-Force: A Dual Force Concept to Meet the Challenges of Future Operations

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-13

Horizons” in El Salvador , the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. A critical part of these missions was the medical readiness training exercises...Sudan, rescued flood victims in Bangladesh, rushed pharmaceuticals to earthquake sites, and delivered medical teams to hundreds of major and minor...allowing rapid response to unforeseen crises. This includes sending forces to assist in the disaster relief operations after the October 2005 earthquake

Labor Force Participation and Gender Inequalities: Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Najeebullah Khan; Adnan Hussein; Qamar Afaq; Zahid Awan

2012-01-01

In this study we analyzed gender inequalities in labour force participation of the two Asian Countries namely Pakistan and Malaysia. Gender inequalities in labour market are analyzed and updated using recent time series data of 2005 to 2009. The data are drawn from different sources including various Integrated Household Surveys, Labour Force Surveys, Economic Surveys and Labour Force Survey Reports of the two countries. The results indicate significant gender differences in the labour force ...

Sensitivity analysis with regard to variations of physical forcing including two possible future hydrographic regimes for the Oeregrundsgrepen. A follow-up baroclinic 3D-model study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engqvist, A.; Andrejev, O.

2000-02-01

A sensitivity analysis with regard to variations of physical forcing has been performed using a 3D baroclinic model of the Oeregrundsgrepen area for a whole-year period with data pertaining to 1992. The results of these variations are compared to a nominal run with unaltered physical forcing. This nominal simulation is based on the experience gained in an earlier whole-year modelling of the same area; the difference is mainly that the present nominal simulation is run with identical parameters for the whole year. From a computational economy point of view it has been necessary to vary the time step between the month-long simulation periods. For all simulations with varied forcing, the same time step as for the nominal run has been used. The analysis also comprises the water turnover of a hypsographically defined subsection, the Bio Model area, located above the SFR depository. The external forcing factors that have been varied are the following (with their found relative impact on the volume average of the retention time of the Bio Model area over one year given within parentheses): atmospheric temperature increased/reduced by 2.5 deg C (-0.1% resp. +0.6%), local freshwater discharge rate doubled/halved (-1.6% resp. +0.01%), salinity range at the border increased/reduced a factor 2 (-0.84% resp. 0.00%), wind speed forcing reduced 10% (+8.6%). The results of these simulations, at least the yearly averages, permit a reasonably direct physical explanation, while the detailed dynamics is for natural reasons more intricate. Two additional full-year simulations of possible future hydrographic regimes have also been performed. The first mimics a hypothetical situation with permanent ice cover, which increases the average retention time 87%. The second regime entails the future hypsography with its anticipated shoreline displacement by an 11 m land-rise in the year 4000 AD, which also considerably increases the average retention times for the two remaining layers of the

Bite Forces and Their Measurement in Dogs and Cats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Se Eun Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Bite force is generated by the interaction of the masticatory muscles, the mandibles and maxillae, the temporomandibular joints (TMJs, and the teeth. Several methods to measure bite forces in dogs and cats have been described. Direct in vivo measurement of a bite in dogs has been done; however, bite forces were highly variable due to animal volition, situation, or specific measurement technique. Bite force has been measured in vivo from anesthetized dogs by electrical stimulation of jaw adductor muscles, but this may not be reflective of volitional bite force during natural activity. In vitro bite forces have been estimated by calculation of the force produced using mechanical equations representing the jaw adductor muscles and of the mandible and skull structure Bite force can be estimated in silico using finite element analysis (FEA of the computed model of the anatomical structures. FEA can estimate bite force in extinct species; however, estimates may be lower than the measurements in live animals and would have to be validated specifically in domestic dogs and cats to be reliable. The main factors affecting the bite forces in dogs and cats are body weight and the skull’s morphology and size. Other factors such as oral pain, TMJ disorders, masticatory muscle atrophy, and malocclusion may also affect bite force. Knowledge of bite forces in dogs and cats is essential for various clinical and research fields such as the development of implants, materials, and surgical techniques as well as for forensic medicine. This paper is a summary of current knowledge of bite forces in dogs and cats, including the effect of measurement methods and of other factors.

Bite Forces and Their Measurement in Dogs and Cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Se Eun; Arzi, Boaz; Garcia, Tanya C; Verstraete, Frank J M

2018-01-01

Bite force is generated by the interaction of the masticatory muscles, the mandibles and maxillae, the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), and the teeth. Several methods to measure bite forces in dogs and cats have been described. Direct in vivo measurement of a bite in dogs has been done; however, bite forces were highly variable due to animal volition, situation, or specific measurement technique. Bite force has been measured in vivo from anesthetized dogs by electrical stimulation of jaw adductor muscles, but this may not be reflective of volitional bite force during natural activity. In vitro bite forces have been estimated by calculation of the force produced using mechanical equations representing the jaw adductor muscles and of the mandible and skull structure Bite force can be estimated in silico using finite element analysis (FEA) of the computed model of the anatomical structures. FEA can estimate bite force in extinct species; however, estimates may be lower than the measurements in live animals and would have to be validated specifically in domestic dogs and cats to be reliable. The main factors affecting the bite forces in dogs and cats are body weight and the skull's morphology and size. Other factors such as oral pain, TMJ disorders, masticatory muscle atrophy, and malocclusion may also affect bite force. Knowledge of bite forces in dogs and cats is essential for various clinical and research fields such as the development of implants, materials, and surgical techniques as well as for forensic medicine. This paper is a summary of current knowledge of bite forces in dogs and cats, including the effect of measurement methods and of other factors.

Nonuniform charging effects on ion drag force in drifting dusty plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Dong-Man; Chang, Won-Seok; Jung, Young-Dae

2006-01-01

The nonuniform polarization charging effects on the ion drag force are investigated in drifting dusty plasmas. The ion drag force due to the ion-dust grain interaction is obtained as a function of the dust charge, ion charge, plasma temperature, Mach number, Debye length, and collision energy. The result shows that the nonuniform charging effects enhance the momentum transfer cross section as well as the ion drag force. It is found that the momentum transfer cross section and the ion drag force including nonuniform polarization charging effects increase with increasing the Mach number and also the ion drag force increases with increasing the temperature. In addition, it is found that the ion drag force is slightly decreasing with an increase of the Debye length

Percutaneous Image-Guided Screw Fixation of Bone Lesions in Cancer Patients: Double-Centre Analysis of Outcomes including Local Evolution of the Treated Focus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cazzato, Roberto Luigi, E-mail: gigicazzato@hotmail.it; Koch, Guillaume, E-mail: guillaume.koch@chru-strasbourg.fr [Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, HUS, Department of Interventional Radiology, Nouvel Hôpital Civil (France); Buy, Xavier, E-mail: x.buy@bordeaux.unicancer.fr [Institut Bergonié, Department of Radiology (France); Ramamurthy, Nitin, E-mail: nitin-ramamurthy@hotmail.com [Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom); Tsoumakidou, Georgia, E-mail: georgia.tsoumakidou@chru-strasbourg.fr; Caudrelier, Jean, E-mail: jean.caudrelier@chru-strasbourg.fr [Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, HUS, Department of Interventional Radiology, Nouvel Hôpital Civil (France); Catena, Vittorio, E-mail: v.catena@bordeaux.unicancer.fr [Institut Bergonié, Department of Radiology (France); Garnon, Julien, E-mail: juleiengarnon@gmail.com [Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, HUS, Department of Interventional Radiology, Nouvel Hôpital Civil (France); Palussiere, Jean, E-mail: j.palussiere@bordeaux.unicancer.fr [Institut Bergonié, Department of Radiology (France); Gangi, Afshin, E-mail: gangi@unistra.fr [Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, HUS, Department of Interventional Radiology, Nouvel Hôpital Civil (France)

2016-10-15

AimTo review outcomes and local evolution of treated lesions following percutaneous image-guided screw fixation (PIGSF) of pathological/insufficiency fractures (PF/InF) and impeding fractures (ImF) in cancer patients at two tertiary centres.Materials and methodsThirty-two consecutive patients (mean age 67.5 years; range 33–86 years) with a range of tumours and prognoses underwent PIGSF for non/minimally displaced PF/InF and ImF. Screws were placed under CT/fluoroscopy or cone-beam CT guidance, with or without cementoplasty. Clinical outcomes were assessed using a simple 4-point scale (1 = worse; 2 = stable; 3 = improved; 4 = significantly improved). Local evolution was reviewed on most recent follow-up imaging. Technical success, complications, and overall survival were evaluated.ResultsThirty-six lesions were treated with 74 screws mainly in the pelvis and femoral neck (58.2 %); including 47.2 % PF, 13.9 % InF, and 38.9 % ImF. Cementoplasty was performed in 63.9 % of the cases. Technical success was 91.6 %. Hospital stay was ≤3 days; 87.1 % of lesions were improved at 1-month follow-up; three major complications (early screw-impingement radiculopathy; accelerated coxarthrosis; late coxofemoral septic arthritis) and one minor complication were observed. Unfavourable local evolution at imaging occurred in 3/24 lesions (12.5 %) at mean 8.7-month follow-up, including poor consolidation (one case) and screw loosening (two cases, at least 1 symptomatic). There were no cases of secondary fractures.ConclusionsPIGSF is feasible for a wide range of oncologic patients, offering good short-term efficacy, acceptable complication rates, and rapid recovery. Unfavourable local evolution at imaging may be relatively frequent, and requires close clinico-radiological surveillance.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Air Force Foundational Cyberspace Training

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-14

projected and actual USAFA and AFROTC officer accessions [15]. The Basic Officer Training syllabus for academic year 2010-2011 included a lesson...Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which covers four areas: arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, and mathematics ...http://afrotc.com/ college -life/courses/descriptions/ (accessed 25 May 2012). [12] United States Air Force Holm Center, "Cyberspace Lesson Plan

Health systems performance in sub-Saharan Africa: governance, outcome and equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Olafsdottir, Anna E; Reidpath, Daniel D; Pokhrel, Subhash; Allotey, Pascale

2011-04-16

The literature on health systems focuses largely on the performance of healthcare systems operationalised around indicators such as hospital beds, maternity care and immunisation coverage. A broader definition of health systems however, needs to include the wider determinants of health including, possibly, governance and its relationship to health and health equity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between health systems outcomes and equity, and governance as a part of a process to extend the range of indicators used to assess health systems performance. Using cross sectional data from 46 countries in the African region of the World Health Organization, an ecological analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between governance and health systems performance. The data were analysed using multiple linear regression and a standard progressive modelling procedure. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) was used as the health outcome measure and the ratio of U5MR in the wealthiest and poorest quintiles was used as the measure of health equity. Governance was measured using two contextually relevant indices developed by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Governance was strongly associated with U5MR and moderately associated with the U5MR quintile ratio. After controlling for possible confounding by healthcare, finance, education, and water and sanitation, governance remained significantly associated with U5MR. Governance was not, however, significantly associated with equity in U5MR outcomes. This study suggests that the quality of governance may be an important structural determinant of health systems performance, and could be an indicator to be monitored. The association suggests there might be a causal relationship. However, the cross-sectional design, the level of missing data, and the small sample size, forces tentative conclusions. Further research will be needed to assess the causal relationship, and its generalizability beyond U5MR as a health

Health systems performance in sub-Saharan Africa: governance, outcome and equity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pokhrel Subhash

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The literature on health systems focuses largely on the performance of healthcare systems operationalised around indicators such as hospital beds, maternity care and immunisation coverage. A broader definition of health systems however, needs to include the wider determinants of health including, possibly, governance and its relationship to health and health equity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between health systems outcomes and equity, and governance as a part of a process to extend the range of indicators used to assess health systems performance. Methods Using cross sectional data from 46 countries in the African region of the World Health Organization, an ecological analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between governance and health systems performance. The data were analysed using multiple linear regression and a standard progressive modelling procedure. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR was used as the health outcome measure and the ratio of U5MR in the wealthiest and poorest quintiles was used as the measure of health equity. Governance was measured using two contextually relevant indices developed by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Results Governance was strongly associated with U5MR and moderately associated with the U5MR quintile ratio. After controlling for possible confounding by healthcare, finance, education, and water and sanitation, governance remained significantly associated with U5MR. Governance was not, however, significantly associated with equity in U5MR outcomes. Conclusion This study suggests that the quality of governance may be an important structural determinant of health systems performance, and could be an indicator to be monitored. The association suggests there might be a causal relationship. However, the cross-sectional design, the level of missing data, and the small sample size, forces tentative conclusions. Further research will be needed to assess the

Using patient reported outcome measures in health services: A qualitative study on including people with low literacy skills and learning disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jahagirdar Deepa

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs are self-report measures of health status increasingly promoted for use in healthcare quality improvement. However people with low literacy skills or learning disabilities may find PROMs hard to complete. Our study investigated stakeholder views on the accessibility and use of PROMs to develop suggestions for more inclusive practice. Methods Taking PROMs recommended for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD as an example, we conducted 8 interviews with people with low literacy skills and/or learning disabilities, and 4 focus groups with 20 health professionals and people with COPD. Discussions covered the format and delivery of PROMs using the EQ-5D and St George Respiratory Questionnaire as prompts. Thematic framework analysis focused on three main themes: Accessibility, Ease of Use, and Contextual factors. Results Accessibility included issues concerning the questionnaire format, and suggestions for improvement included larger font sizes and more white space. Ease of Use included discussion about PROMs’ administration. While health professionals suggested PROMs could be completed in waiting rooms, patients preferred settings with more privacy and where they could access help from people they know. Contextual Factors included other challenges and wider issues associated with completing PROMs. While health professionals highlighted difficulties created by the system in managing patients with low literacy/learning disabilities, patient participants stressed that understanding the purpose of PROMs was important to reduce intimidation. Conclusions Adjusting PROMs’ format, giving an explicit choice of where patients can complete them, and clearly conveying PROMs’ purpose and benefit to patients may help to prevent inequality when using PROMs in health services.

Forces in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridgely, Charles T

2010-01-01

Many textbooks dealing with general relativity do not demonstrate the derivation of forces in enough detail. The analyses presented herein demonstrate straightforward methods for computing forces by way of general relativity. Covariant divergence of the stress-energy-momentum tensor is used to derive a general expression of the force experienced by an observer in general coordinates. The general force is then applied to the local co-moving coordinate system of a uniformly accelerating observer, leading to an expression of the inertial force experienced by the observer. Next, applying the general force in Schwarzschild coordinates is shown to lead to familiar expressions of the gravitational force. As a more complex demonstration, the general force is applied to an observer in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates near a rotating, Kerr black hole. It is then shown that when the angular momentum of the black hole goes to zero, the force on the observer reduces to the force on an observer held stationary in Schwarzschild coordinates. As a final consideration, the force on an observer moving in rotating coordinates is derived. Expressing the force in terms of Christoffel symbols in rotating coordinates leads to familiar expressions of the centrifugal and Coriolis forces on the observer. It is envisioned that the techniques presented herein will be most useful to graduate level students, as well as those undergraduate students having experience with general relativity and tensor analysis.

Budget impact analysis-principles of good practice: report of the ISPOR 2012 Budget Impact Analysis Good Practice II Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Sean D; Mauskopf, Josephine A; Augustovski, Federico; Jaime Caro, J; Lee, Karen M; Minchin, Mark; Orlewska, Ewa; Penna, Pete; Rodriguez Barrios, Jose-Manuel; Shau, Wen-Yi

2014-01-01

Budget impact analyses (BIAs) are an essential part of a comprehensive economic assessment of a health care intervention and are increasingly required by reimbursement authorities as part of a listing or reimbursement submission. The objective of this report was to present updated guidance on methods for those undertaking such analyses or for those reviewing the results of such analyses. This update was needed, in part, because of developments in BIA methods as well as a growing interest, particularly in emerging markets, in matters related to affordability and population health impacts of health care interventions. The Task Force was approved by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Health Sciences Policy Council and appointed by its Board of Directors. Members were experienced developers or users of BIAs; worked in academia and industry and as advisors to governments; and came from several countries in North America and South America, Oceania, Asia, and Europe. The Task Force solicited comments on the drafts from a core group of external reviewers and, more broadly, from the membership of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. The Task Force recommends that the design of a BIA for a new health care intervention should take into account relevant features of the health care system, possible access restrictions, the anticipated uptake of the new intervention, and the use and effects of the current and new interventions. The key elements of a BIA include estimating the size of the eligible population, the current mix of treatments and the expected mix after the introduction of the new intervention, the cost of the treatment mixes, and any changes expected in condition-related costs. Where possible, the BIA calculations should be performed by using a simple cost calculator approach because of its ease of use for budget holders. In instances, however, in which the changes in eligible population size

Random forcing of geostrophic motion in rotating stratified turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Waite, Michael L.

2017-12-01

Random forcing of geostrophic motion is a common approach in idealized simulations of rotating stratified turbulence. Such forcing represents the injection of energy into large-scale balanced motion, and the resulting breakdown of quasi-geostrophic turbulence into inertia-gravity waves and stratified turbulence can shed light on the turbulent cascade processes of the atmospheric mesoscale. White noise forcing is commonly employed, which excites all frequencies equally, including frequencies much higher than the natural frequencies of large-scale vortices. In this paper, the effects of these high frequencies in the forcing are investigated. Geostrophic motion is randomly forced with red noise over a range of decorrelation time scales τ, from a few time steps to twice the large-scale vortex time scale. It is found that short τ (i.e., nearly white noise) results in about 46% more gravity wave energy than longer τ, despite the fact that waves are not directly forced. We argue that this effect is due to wave-vortex interactions, through which the high frequencies in the forcing are able to excite waves at their natural frequencies. It is concluded that white noise forcing should be avoided, even if it is only applied to the geostrophic motion, when a careful investigation of spontaneous wave generation is needed.

Do pigeons prefer alternatives that include near-hit outcomes?

Science.gov (United States)

Stagner, Jessica P; Case, Jacob P; Sticklen, Mary F; Duncan, Amanda K; Zentall, Thomas R

2015-07-01

Pigeons show suboptimal choice on a gambling-like task similar to that shown by humans. Humans also show a preference for gambles in which there are near hits (losses that come close to winning). In the present research, we asked if pigeons would show a preference for alternatives with near-hit-like trials. In Experiment 1, we included an alternative that presented a near hit, in which a stimulus associated with reinforcement (a presumed conditioned reinforcer) changed to a stimulus associated with the absence of reinforcement (a presumed conditioned inhibitor). The pigeons tended to avoid this alternative. In Experiment 2, we varied the duration of the presumed conditioned reinforcer (2 vs. 8 s) that changed to a presumed conditioned inhibitor (8 vs. 2 s) and found that the longer the conditioned reinforcer was presented, the more the pigeons avoided it. In Experiment 3, the near-hit alternative involved an ambiguous stimulus for 8 s that changed to a presumed conditioned reinforcer (or a presumed conditioned inhibitor) for 2 s, but the pigeons still avoided it. In Experiment 4, we controlled for the duration of the conditioned reinforcer by presenting it first for 2 s followed by the ambiguous stimulus for 8 s. Once again, the pigeons avoided the alternative with the near-hit trials. In all 4 experiments, the pigeons tended to avoid alternatives that provided near-hit-like trials. We concluded that humans may be attracted to near-hit trials because near-hit trials give them the illusion of control, whereas this does not appear to be a factor for pigeons. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Research of a New 6-Dof Force Feedback Hand Controller System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Gao

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The field of teleoperation with force telepresence has expanded its scope to include manipulation at different scales and in virtual worlds, and the key component of which is force feedback hand controller. This paper presents a novel force feedback hand controller system, including a 3-dof translational and 3-dof rotational hand controllers, respectively, to implement position and posture teleoperation of the robot end effector. The 3-dof translational hand controller adopts innovative three-axes decoupling structure based on the linear motor; the 3-dof rotational hand controller adopts serial mechanism based on three-axes intersecting at one point, improving its overall stiffness. Based on the kinematics, statics, and dynamics analyses for two platforms separately, the system applies big closed-loop force control method based on the zero force/torque, improving the feedback force/torque accuracy effectively. Experimental results show that self-developed 6-dof force feedback hand controller has good mechanical properties. The translational hand controller has the following advantages: simple kinematics solver, fast dynamic response, and better than 0.05 mm accuracy of three-axis end positioning, while the advantages of the rotational hand controller are wide turning space, larger than 1 Nm feedback, greater than 180 degrees of operating space of three axes, respectively, and high operation precision.

Changing Structures and Women’s Role as Labor Force

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lena Gonäs

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to analyze changes in the development of women’s role as labor force over a 40-year period. This is done by presenting research results that concern the restructuring of the labor market over different time periods. The empirical material is from the 1960s, the heyday of the Swedish model; from the 1980s, the period that economic historians label the third industrial revolution; and from the 1990s, a period labeled the new working life that is covering the reorganization of the public sector. For the first period results from restructuring in the shipyard industry are presented as well as employment outcomes for single individuals. This industry was male dominated with very few women employed, but regional policy measures were implemented to reach a latent female labor force. The second period is covered by a study of closures and cutbacks in different industries in Sweden during 1982–1983. The proportion of women employed in the industries studied was around one third and employment outcomes had a specific gendered pattern. Women did to a lower extent than men get new permanent jobs. Permanent temporariness was introduced as a concept to describe their labor market situation. The recession that one decade later hit both female- and male-dominated sectors is illustrated by a study of the relations between labor market attachment, working life, and family conditions. The material comes from a regional research program based on a questionnaire and on register data on incomes from 1990 to 1999. The paper analyzes several areas related to work and outside of work that indicate a gendered pattern of multidimensional subordination and an increased polarization in terms of both gender and class. In conclusion, the 40 years has been a period of dramatic change in women’s situation as labor force. In times of restructuring they often entered into precarious job situations or unemployment. Women’s double burden

78 FR 59939 - Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-30

... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... September 17, 2013, announcing the next meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force... the Task Force to consider the findings of systematic reviews and issue findings and recommendations...

Queen Margarethe II Wants You! Diversity in the Danish Armed Forces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schaub Jr, Gary John

The Danish Armed Forces face the functional imperative of becoming a smaller, professional expeditionary force and the societal imperative of including women and ethnic minorities. It currently lags behind its NATO partners in gender and ethnic diversity. Lessons to be learned from NATO members...... and realistic goals, systematically developing recruitment, development, and retention policies, and the superiority of an all-volunteer force over conscription in fulfilling this societal imperative....

Hydrodynamic Forces on Composite Structures

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited HYDRODYNAMIC ...Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES ON COMPOSITE STRUCTURES 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Scott C. Millhouse 7. PERFORMING...angles yields different free surface effects including vortices and the onset of cavitation . 14. SUBJECT TERMS Fluid structure interaction, FSI, finite

Three-body forces: a status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coon, S.A.

1976-01-01

Real three-body forces due to meson exchange are distinguished from effective three-body interactions of a nuclear Hamiltonian. The long-range part of the real three-body force is proportional to the off-mass-shell sup(PI)N scattering amplitude. Its contribution to the binding energy of nuclear matter is quite dependent upon the treatment of correlations (due to the two-body potential) in the three-body wave function. A recent improvemrnt in the amplitude implies a very small contribution. But, a recent improvement in the treatment of correlations implies a large contribution. Work towards including both these improvements in a single calculation is in progress. (author)

Olfactory neuroblastoma: the long-term outcome and late toxicity of multimodal therapy including radiotherapy based on treatment planning using computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Takashi; Onimaru, Rikiya; Onodera, Shunsuke; Tsuchiya, Kazuhiko; Yasuda, Koichi; Hatakeyama, Hiromitsu; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki; Terasaka, Shunsuke; Homma, Akihiro; Shirato, Hiroki

2015-01-01

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare tumor originating from olfactory epithelium. Here we retrospectively analyzed the long-term treatment outcomes and toxicity of radiotherapy for ONB patients for whom computed tomography (CT) and three-dimensional treatment planning was conducted to reappraise the role of radiotherapy in the light of recent advanced technology and chemotherapy. Seventeen patients with ONB treated between July 1992 and June 2013 were included. Three patients were Kadish stage B and 14 were stage C. All patients were treated with radiotherapy with or without surgery or chemotherapy. The radiation dose was distributed from 50 Gy to 66 Gy except for one patient who received 40 Gy preoperatively. The median follow-up time was 95 months (range 8–173 months). The 5-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were estimated at 88% and 74%, respectively. Five patients with stage C disease had recurrence with the median time to recurrence of 59 months (range 7–115 months). Late adverse events equal to or above Grade 2 in CTCAE v4.03 were observed in three patients. Multimodal therapy including radiotherapy with precise treatment planning based on CT simulation achieved an excellent local control rate with acceptable toxicity and reasonable overall survival for patients with ONB

Contact force sensing for ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation: A randomized, multicenter trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Conti, Sergio; Weerasooriya, Rukshen; Novak, Paul; Champagne, Jean; Lim, Hong Euy; Macle, Laurent; Khaykin, Yaariv; Pantano, Alfredo; Verma, Atul

2018-02-01

Impact of contact force sensing (CFS) on ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF) is unknown. The purpose of the TOUCH AF (Therapeutic Outcomes Using Contact force Handling during Ablation of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation) randomized trial was to compare CFS-guided ablation to a CFS-blinded strategy. Patients (n = 128) undergoing first-time ablation for persistent AF were randomized to a CFS-guided vs CFS-blinded strategy. In the CFS-guided procedure, operators visualized real-time force data. In the blinded procedure, force data were hidden. Wide antral pulmonary vein isolation plus a roof line were performed. Patients were followed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months with clinical visit, ECG, and 48-hour Holter monitoring. The primary endpoint was cumulative radiofrequency (RF) time for all procedures. Atrial arrhythmia >30 seconds after 3 months was a recurrence. PeAF was continuous for 26 weeks (interquartile range [IQR] 13-52), and left atrial size was 45 ± 5 mm. Force in the CFS-blinded and CFS-guided arms was 12 g [IQR 6-20] and 14 g [IQR 9-20] (P = .10), respectively. Total RF time did not differ between CFS-guided and CFS-blinded groups (49 ± 14 min vs 50 ± 20 min, respectively; P = .70). Single procedure freedom from atrial arrhythmia was 60% in the CFS-guided arm and 63% in the CFS-blinded arm off drugs. Lesions with gaps were associated with significantly less force (11.4 g [IQR 6-19] vs 13.2 g [IQR 8-20], respectively; P = .0007) and less force-time integral (174 gs [IQR 91-330] vs 210 gs [IQR 113-388], respectively; P force/force-time integral was associated with significantly more gaps. Copyright © 2017 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acoustic force spectroscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sitters, G.; Kamsma, D.; Thalhammer, G.; Ritsch-Marte, M.; Peterman, E.J.G.; Wuite, G.J.L.

2015-01-01

Force spectroscopy has become an indispensable tool to unravel the structural and mechanochemical properties of biomolecules. Here we extend the force spectroscopy toolbox with an acoustic manipulation device that can exert forces from subpiconewtons to hundreds of piconewtons on thousands of

Exploration of Two Training Paradigms Using Forced Induced Weight Shifting With the Tethered Pelvic Assist Device to Reduce Asymmetry in Individuals After Stroke: Case Reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Lauri; Khan, Moiz; Martelli, Dario; Quinn, Lori; Stein, Joel; Agrawal, Sunil

2017-10-01

Many robotic devices in rehabilitation incorporate an assist-as-needed haptic guidance paradigm to promote training. This error reduction model, while beneficial for skill acquisition, could be detrimental for long-term retention. Error augmentation (EA) models have been explored as alternatives. A robotic Tethered Pelvic Assist Device has been developed to study force application to the pelvis on gait and was used here to induce weight shift onto the paretic (error reduction) or nonparetic (error augmentation) limb during treadmill training. The purpose of these case reports is to examine effects of training with these two paradigms to reduce load force asymmetry during gait in two individuals after stroke (>6 mos). Participants presented with baseline gait asymmetry, although independent community ambulators. Participants underwent 1-hr trainings for 3 days using either the error reduction or error augmentation model. Outcomes included the Borg rating of perceived exertion scale for treatment tolerance and measures of force and stance symmetry. Both participants tolerated training. Force symmetry (measured on treadmill) improved from pretraining to posttraining (36.58% and 14.64% gains), however, with limited transfer to overground gait measures (stance symmetry gains of 9.74% and 16.21%). Training with the Tethered Pelvic Assist Device device proved feasible to improve force symmetry on the treadmill irrespective of training model. Future work should consider methods to increase transfer to overground gait.

Handbook of force transducers

CERN Document Server

Stefanescu, Dan Mihai

2011-01-01

Part I introduces the basic ""Principles and Methods of Force Measurement"" acording to a classification into a dozen of force transducers types: resistive, inductive, capacitive, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, electrodynamic, magnetoelastic, galvanomagnetic (Hall-effect), vibrating wires, (micro)resonators, acoustic and gyroscopic. Two special chapters refer to force balance techniques and to combined methods in force measurement. Part II discusses the ""(Strain Gauge) Force Transducers Components"", evolving from the classical force transducer to the digital / intelligent one, with the inco

12th Air Force > Home

Science.gov (United States)

Force AOR Travel Info News prevnext Slide show 76,410 pounds of food delivered to Haiti 12th Air Force the French Air Force, Colombian Air Force, Pakistan Air Force, Belgian Air Force, Brazilian Air Force

Asylum, Immigration Restrictions and Exploitation: Hyper-precarity as a lens for understanding and tackling forced labour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah Lewis

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The topic of forced labour is receiving a growing amount of political and policy attention across the globe. This paper makes two clear contributions to emerging debates. First, we focus on a group who are seldom explicitly considered in forced labour debates: forced migrants who interact with the asylum system. We build an argument of the production of susceptibility to forced labour through the United Kingdom’s (UK asylum system, discussing the roles of compromised socio-legal status resulting from restrictive immigration policy, neoliberal labour market characteristics and migrants’ own trajectories. Second, we argue that forced labour needs to be understood as part of, and an outcome of, widespread normalised precarious work. Precarity is a concept used to describe the rise of insecure, casualised and sub-contracted work and is useful in explaining labour market processes that are conducive to the production of forced labour. Using precarity as a lens to examine forced labour encourages the recognition of extreme forms of exploitation as part of a wider picture of systematic exploitation of migrants in the labour market. To understand the reasons why forced migrants might be drawn into severe labour exploitation in the UK, we introduce the concept of hyper-precarity to explain how multidimensional insecurities contribute to forced labour experiences, particularly among forced migrants in the global north. Viewing forced labour as connected to precarity also suggests that avenues and tools for tackling severe labour exploitation need to form part of the wider struggle for migrant labour rights.

Development of a commercially viable piezoelectric force sensor system for static force measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jun; Luo, Xinwei; Liu, Jingcheng; Li, Min; Qin, Lan

2017-09-01

A compensation method for measuring static force with a commercial piezoelectric force sensor is proposed to disprove the theory that piezoelectric sensors and generators can only operate under dynamic force. After studying the model of the piezoelectric force sensor measurement system, the principle of static force measurement using a piezoelectric material or piezoelectric force sensor is analyzed. Then, the distribution law of the decay time constant of the measurement system and the variation law of the measurement system’s output are studied, and a compensation method based on the time interval threshold Δ t and attenuation threshold Δ {{u}th} is proposed. By calibrating the system and considering the influences of the environment and the hardware, a suitable Δ {{u}th} value is determined, and the system’s output attenuation is compensated based on the Δ {{u}th} value to realize the measurement. Finally, a static force measurement system with a piezoelectric force sensor is developed based on the compensation method. The experimental results confirm the successful development of a simple compensation method for static force measurement with a commercial piezoelectric force sensor. In addition, it is established that, contrary to the current perception, a piezoelectric force sensor system can be used to measure static force through further calibration.

Minimizing pulling geometry errors in atomic force microscope single molecule force spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, Monica; Lee, Whasil; Ke, Changhong; Marszalek, Piotr E; Cole, Daniel G; Clark, Robert L

2008-10-01

In atomic force microscopy-based single molecule force spectroscopy (AFM-SMFS), it is assumed that the pulling angle is negligible and that the force applied to the molecule is equivalent to the force measured by the instrument. Recent studies, however, have indicated that the pulling geometry errors can drastically alter the measured force-extension relationship of molecules. Here we describe a software-based alignment method that repositions the cantilever such that it is located directly above the molecule's substrate attachment site. By aligning the applied force with the measurement axis, the molecule is no longer undergoing combined loading, and the full force can be measured by the cantilever. Simulations and experimental results verify the ability of the alignment program to minimize pulling geometry errors in AFM-SMFS studies.

Stable dynamics in forced systems with sufficiently high/low forcing frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartuccelli, M; Gentile, G; Wright, J A

2016-08-01

We consider parametrically forced Hamiltonian systems with one-and-a-half degrees of freedom and study the stability of the dynamics when the frequency of the forcing is relatively high or low. We show that, provided the frequency is sufficiently high, Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theorem may be applied even when the forcing amplitude is far away from the perturbation regime. A similar result is obtained for sufficiently low frequency, but in that case we need the amplitude of the forcing to be not too large; however, we are still able to consider amplitudes which are outside of the perturbation regime. In addition, we find numerically that the dynamics may be stable even when the forcing amplitude is very large, well beyond the range of validity of the analytical results, provided the frequency of the forcing is taken correspondingly low.

High Cable Forces Deteriorate Pinch Force Control in Voluntary-Closing Body-Powered Prostheses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mona Hichert

Full Text Available It is generally asserted that reliable and intuitive control of upper-limb prostheses requires adequate feedback of prosthetic finger positions and pinch forces applied to objects. Body-powered prostheses (BPPs provide the user with direct proprioceptive feedback. Currently available BPPs often require high cable operation forces, which complicates control of the forces at the terminal device. The aim of this study is to quantify the influence of high cable forces on object manipulation with voluntary-closing prostheses.Able-bodied male subjects were fitted with a bypass-prosthesis with low and high cable force settings for the prehensor. Subjects were requested to grasp and transfer a collapsible object as fast as they could without dropping or breaking it. The object had a low and a high breaking force setting.Subjects conducted significantly more successful manipulations with the low cable force setting, both for the low (33% more and high (50% object's breaking force. The time to complete the task was not different between settings during successful manipulation trials.High cable forces lead to reduced pinch force control during object manipulation. This implies that low cable operation forces should be a key design requirement for voluntary-closing BPPs.

Incorporating outcome uncertainty and prior outcome beliefs in stated preferences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundhede, Thomas; Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl; Hanley, Nick

2015-01-01

Stated preference studies tell respondents that policies create environmental changes with varying levels of uncertainty. However, respondents may include their own a priori assessments of uncertainty when making choices among policy options. Using a choice experiment eliciting respondents......’ preferences for conservation policies under climate change, we find that higher outcome uncertainty reduces utility. When accounting for endogeneity, we find that prior beliefs play a significant role in this cost of uncertainty. Thus, merely stating “objective” levels of outcome uncertainty...

Malaysia and forced migration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arzura Idris

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the phenomenon of “forced migration” in Malaysia. It examines the nature of forced migration, the challenges faced by Malaysia, the policy responses and their impact on the country and upon the forced migrants. It considers forced migration as an event hosting multifaceted issues related and relevant to forced migrants and suggests that Malaysia has been preoccupied with the issue of forced migration movements. This is largely seen in various responses invoked from Malaysia due to “south-south forced migration movements.” These responses are, however, inadequate in terms of commitment to the international refugee regime. While Malaysia did respond to economic and migration challenges, the paper asserts that such efforts are futile if she ignores issues critical to forced migrants.

The Pharmaceutical Capping Process-Correlation between Residual Seal Force, Torque Moment, and Flip-off Removal Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathaes, Roman; Mahler, Hanns-Christian; Vorgrimler, Lothar; Steinberg, Henrik; Dreher, Sascha; Roggo, Yves; Nieto, Alejandra; Brown, Helen; Roehl, Holger; Adler, Michael; Luemkemann, Joerg; Huwyler, Joerg; Lam, Philippe; Stauch, Oliver; Mohl, Silke; Streubel, Alexander

2016-01-01

The majority of parenteral drug products are manufactured in glass vials with an elastomeric rubber stopper and a crimp cap. The vial sealing process is a critical process step during fill-and-finish operations, as it defines the seal quality of the final product. Different critical capping process parameters can affect rubber stopper defects, rubber stopper compression, container closure integrity, and also crimp cap quality. A sufficiently high force to remove the flip-off button prior to usage is required to ensure quality of the drug product unit by the flip-off button during storage, transportation, and until opening and use. Therefore, the final product is 100% visually inspected for lose or defective crimp caps, which is subjective as well as time- and labor-intensive. In this study, we sealed several container closure system configurations with different capping equipment settings (with corresponding residual seal force values) to investigate the torque moment required to turn the crimp cap. A correlation between torque moment and residual seal force has been established. The torque moment was found to be influenced by several parameters, including diameter of the vial head, type of rubber stopper (serum or lyophilized) and type of crimp cap (West(®) or Datwyler(®)). In addition, we measured the force required to remove the flip-off button of a sealed container closure system. The capping process had no influence on measured forces; however, it was possible to detect partially crimped vials. In conclusion, a controlled capping process with a defined target residual seal force range leads to a tight crimp cap on a sealed container closure system and can ensure product quality. The majority of parenteral drug products are manufactured in a glass vials with an elastomeric rubber stopper and a crimp cap. The vial sealing process is a critical process step during fill-and-finish operations, as it defines the seal quality of the final product. An adequate force

Comparative Effects of Different Balance-Training–Progression Styles on Postural Control and Ankle Force Production: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Cuğ, Mutlu; Duncan, Ashley; Wikstrom, Erik

2016-01-01

Context:  Despite the effectiveness of balance training, the exact parameters needed to maximize the benefits of such programs remain unknown. One such factor is how individuals should progress to higher levels of task difficulty within a balance-training program. Yet no investigators have directly compared different balance-training–progression styles. Objective:  To compare an error-based progression (ie, advance when proficient at a task) with a repetition-based progression (ie, advance after a set amount of repetitions) style during a balance-training program in healthy individuals. Design:  Randomized controlled trial. Setting:  Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants:  A total of 28 (16 women, 12 men) physically healthy young adults (age = 21.57 ± 3.95 years, height = 171.60 ± 11.03 cm, weight = 72.96 ± 16.18 kg, body mass index = 24.53 ± 3.7). Intervention(s):  All participants completed 12 supervised balance-training sessions over 4 weeks. Each session consisted of a combination of dynamic unstable-surface tasks that incorporated a BOSU ball and lasted about 30 minutes. Main Outcome Measure(s):  Static balance from an instrumented force plate, dynamic balance as measured via the Star Excursion Balance Test, and ankle force production in all 4 cardinal planes of motion as measured with a handheld dynamometer before and after the intervention. Results:  Selected static postural-control outcomes, dynamic postural control, and ankle force production in all planes of motion improved (P .05) for any of the outcome measures. Conclusions:  A 4-week balance-training program consisting of dynamic unstable-surface exercises on a BOSU ball improved dynamic postural control and ankle force production in healthy young adults. These results suggest that an error-based balance-training program is comparable with but not superior to a repetition-based balance-training program in improving postural control and ankle force production in

Non-linear vibrations induced by fluidelastic forces in tube bundles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langre, E. de; Hadj-Sadok, C.; Beaufils, B.

1992-01-01

We present in this paper computations of the response of a loosely supported tube to fluid elastic forces. Several models of forces are considered, including negative damping, coupling forces and Price and Paidoussis' model. Unidirectional and bidirectional motions are studied, special attention being paid to the evolution of dynamic parameters influencing wear and to the changes in the dynamic regimes. The influence of the coefficient of friction is also analysed. A corrective methodology is proposed for the use of the negative damping model in non-linear computations

Functional outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a multivariate analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipe T. S. Athayde

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Multiple factors can influence the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD and the functioning of patients with COPD, such as personal characteristics and systemic manifestations. Objective: To evaluate the different factors that can influence the activity and psychosocial impact domains of the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ in COPD patients. Method: Participants, recruited in a university-based hospital, responded to the SGRQ, and in addition, personal, anthropometric, and clinical data were collected. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression models, with the SGRQ activity and psychosocial impact scores as outcome variables, and 10 explanatory variables (age, gender, forced expiratory volume in the first second - FEV1, smoking load, body mass index, oxygen therapy, associated diseases, regular physical activity, participation in a formal rehabilitation program, and SGRQ symptoms score were considered. Results: The best regression model for predicting the SGRQ activity score (r2=0.477 included gender, FEV1, and SGRQ symptoms. In contrast, the predictive model with the highest proportion of explained variance in psychosocial impact score (r2=0.426 included the variables gender, oxygen therapy, and SGRQ symptoms. Conclusions: The results indicate that the outcomes, while based on functioning parameters in COPD patients, could be partly explained by the personal and clinical factors analyzed, especially by the symptoms assessed by the SGRQ. Thus, it appears that the health conditions of these patients cannot be described by isolated variables, including pulmonary function parameters.

Design Principles for Rapid Prototyping Forces Sensors using 3D Printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kesner, Samuel B; Howe, Robert D

2011-07-21

Force sensors provide critical information for robot manipulators, manufacturing processes, and haptic interfaces. Commercial force sensors, however, are generally not adapted to specific system requirements, resulting in sensors with excess size, cost, and fragility. To overcome these issues, 3D printers can be used to create components for the quick and inexpensive development of force sensors. Limitations of this rapid prototyping technology, however, require specialized design principles. In this paper, we discuss techniques for rapidly developing simple force sensors, including selecting and attaching metal flexures, using inexpensive and simple displacement transducers, and 3D printing features to aid in assembly. These design methods are illustrated through the design and fabrication of a miniature force sensor for the tip of a robotic catheter system. The resulting force sensor prototype can measure forces with an accuracy of as low as 2% of the 10 N measurement range.

Single-molecule force spectroscopy: optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Neuman, Keir C.; Nagy, Attila

2012-01-01

Single-molecule force spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool to investigate the forces and motions associated with biological molecules and enzymatic activity. The most common force spectroscopy techniques are optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy. These techniques are described and illustrated with examples highlighting current capabilities and limitations. PMID:18511917

Design rules for biomolecular adhesion: lessons from force measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Leckband, Deborah

2010-01-01

Cell adhesion to matrix, other cells, or pathogens plays a pivotal role in many processes in biomolecular engineering. Early macroscopic methods of quantifying adhesion led to the development of quantitative models of cell adhesion and migration. The more recent use of sensitive probes to quantify the forces that alter or manipulate adhesion proteins has revealed much greater functional diversity than was apparent from population average measurements of cell adhesion. This review highlights theoretical and experimental methods that identified force-dependent molecular properties that are central to the biological activity of adhesion proteins. Experimental and theoretical methods emphasized in this review include the surface force apparatus, atomic force microscopy, and vesicle-based probes. Specific examples given illustrate how these tools have revealed unique properties of adhesion proteins and their structural origins.

Ball Screw Actuator Including a Compliant Ball Screw Stop

Science.gov (United States)

Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Hanlon, Casey (Inventor)

2017-01-01

An actuator includes a ball nut, a ball screw, and a ball screw stop. The ball nut is adapted to receive an input torque and in response rotates and supplies a drive force. The ball screw extends through the ball nut and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw receives the drive force from the ball nut and in response selectively translates between a retract position and a extend position. The ball screw stop is mounted on the ball screw proximate the first end to translate therewith. The ball screw stop engages the ball nut when the ball screw is in the extend position, translates, with compliance, a predetermined distance toward the first end upon engaging the ball nut, and prevents further rotation of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

Precision measurement of the Casimir-Lifshitz force in a fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munday, J. N.; Capasso, Federico

2007-01-01

The Casimir force, which results from the confinement of the quantum-mechanical zero-point fluctuations of electromagnetic fields, has received significant attention in recent years for its effect on micro- and nanoscale mechanical systems. With few exceptions, experimental observations have been limited to interacting conductive bodies separated by vacuum or air. However, interesting phenomena, including repulsive forces, are expected to exist in certain circumstances between metals and dielectrics when the intervening medium is not vacuum. In order to better understand the effect of the Casimir force in such situations and to test the robustness of the generalized Casimir-Lifshitz theory, we have performed precision measurements of the Casimir force between two metals immersed in a fluid. For this situation, the measured force is attractive and is approximately 80% smaller than the force predicted by Casimir for ideal metals in vacuum. We present experimental results and find them to be consistent with Lifshitz's theory

Feasibility, Process, and Outcomes of Cardiovascular Clinical Trial Data Sharing: A Reproduction Analysis of the SMART-AF Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Gay, Hawkins C; Baldridge, Abigail S; Huffman, Mark D

2017-12-01

Data sharing is as an expanding initiative for enhancing trust in the clinical research enterprise. To evaluate the feasibility, process, and outcomes of a reproduction analysis of the THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH Catheter for the Treatment of Symptomatic Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (SMART-AF) trial using shared clinical trial data. A reproduction analysis of the SMART-AF trial was performed using the data sets, data dictionary, case report file, and statistical analysis plan from the original trial accessed through the Yale Open Data Access Project using the SAS Clinical Trials Data Transparency platform. SMART-AF was a multicenter, single-arm trial evaluating the effectiveness and safety of an irrigated, contact force-sensing catheter for ablation of drug refractory, symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in 172 participants recruited from 21 sites between June 2011 and December 2011. Analysis of the data was conducted between December 2016 and April 2017. Effectiveness outcomes included freedom from atrial arrhythmias after ablation and proportion of participants without any arrhythmia recurrence over the 12 months of follow-up after a 3-month blanking period. Safety outcomes included major adverse device- or procedure-related events. The SMART AF trial participants' mean age was 58.7 (10.8) years, and 72% were men. The time from initial proposal submission to final analysis was 11 months. Freedom from atrial arrhythmias at 12 months postprocedure was similar compared with the primary study report (74.0%; 95% CI, 66.0-82.0 vs 76.4%; 95% CI, 68.7-84.1). The reproduction analysis success rate was higher than the primary study report (65.8%; 95% CI 56.5-74.2 vs 75.6%; 95% CI, 67.2-82.5). Adverse events were minimal and similar between the 2 analyses, but contact force range or regression models could not be reproduced. The feasibility of a reproduction analysis of the SMART-AF trial was demonstrated through an academic data-sharing platform. Data sharing can be

"The Most Poisonous Force in Technology"

Science.gov (United States)

Carnevale, Dan

2007-01-01

Walt Mossberg, personal-technology columnist for "The Wall Street Journal," highlighted technology trends in his speech to a group of college presidents and other administrators. Mr. Mossberg touched a nerve when he called information-technology departments of large organizations, including colleges, "the most regressive and poisonous force in…

An Engineer's Physics Lab -- using a Large Force Frame

Science.gov (United States)

Heid, Christy; Rampolla, Donald

2009-03-01

We have constructed very economical, easy to assemble force frames that are used by students in our general physics laboratory at Chatham University. The force frame is used at the beginning of the semester to study vector properties of forces. The force frame can be used as a horizontal or vertical force table. Angles of forces are measured using a large movable (rotation and translation) Cartesian coordinate board attached to the frame with large binder clips. The force frame is a versatile device which is used for a number of other experiments, including beam bending and torsion, mechanical resonance, projectile trajectories, torque, mechanical equilibrium, an isolated non-magnetic support for magnetic field experiments, easily adjustable support for inclined plane experiments, support for traveling wave experiments with heavy rope, and support for large scale fluid flow experiments. One advantage to a wood frame is that things can be easily stapled, nailed, screwed or glued just about anywhere on the frame, and damaged frame members can be replaced easily. As one of the few remaining women's undergraduate institutions, we have found the use of these frames to provide an additional advantage in helping women overcome their fear of simple power tools and assembly of mechanical parts as they become comfortable with these through working with the force frames throughout the semester. We intend to describe and model these applications during the session.

Comparing 2 Whiplash Grading Systems to Predict Clinical Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Croft, Arthur C; Bagherian, Alireza; Mickelsen, Patrick K; Wagner, Stephen

2016-06-01

Two whiplash severity grading systems have been developed: Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders (QTF-WAD) and the Croft grading system. The majority of clinical studies to date have used the modified grading system published by the QTF-WAD in 1995 and have demonstrated some ability to predict outcome. But most studies include only injuries of lower severity (grades 1 and 2), preventing a broader interpretation. The purpose of this study was assess the ability of these grading systems to predict clinical outcome within the context of a broader injury spectrum. This study evaluated both grading systems for their ability to predict the bivalent outcome, recovery, within a sample of 118 whiplash patients who were part of a previous case-control designed study. Of these, 36% (controls) had recovered, and 64% (cases) had not recovered. The discrete bivariate distribution between recovery status and whiplash grade was analyzed using the 2-tailed cross-tabulation statistics. Applying the criteria of the original 1993 Croft grading system, the subset comprised 1 grade 1 injury, 32 grade 2 injuries, 53 grade 3 injuries, and 32 grade 4 injuries. Applying the criteria of the modified (QTF-WAD) grading system, there were 1 grade 1 injury, 89 grade 2 injuries, and 28 grade 3 injuries. Both whiplash grading systems correlated negatively with recovery; that is, higher severity grades predicted a lower probability of recovery, and statistically significant correlations were observed in both, but the Croft grading system substantially outperformed the QTF-WAD system on this measure. The Croft grading system for whiplash injury severity showed a better predictive measure for recovery status from whiplash injuries as compared with the QTF-WAD grading system.

Combinatorial set theory with a gentle introduction to forcing

CERN Document Server

Halbeisen, Lorenz J

2017-01-01

This book, now in a thoroughly revised second edition, provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to modern set theory. Following an overview of basic notions in combinatorics and first-order logic, the author outlines the main topics of classical set theory in the second part, including Ramsey theory and the axiom of choice. The revised edition contains new permutation models and recent results in set theory without the axiom of choice. The third part explains the sophisticated technique of forcing in great detail, now including a separate chapter on Suslin’s problem. The technique is used to show that certain statements are neither provable nor disprovable from the axioms of set theory. In the final part, some topics of classical set theory are revisited and further developed in light of forcing, with new chapters on Sacks Forcing and Shelah’s astonishing construction of a model with finitely many Ramsey ultrafilters. Written for graduate students in axiomatic set theory, Combinatorial Set Th...

Multiplexed Force and Deflection Sensing Shell Membranes for Robotic Manipulators

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Yong-Lae; Black, Richard; Moslehi, Behzad; Cutkosky, Mark; Chau, Kelvin

2012-01-01

Force sensing is an essential requirement for dexterous robot manipulation, e.g., for extravehicular robots making vehicle repairs. Although strain gauges have been widely used, a new sensing approach is desirable for applications that require greater robustness, design flexibility including a high degree of multiplexibility, and immunity to electromagnetic noise. This invention is a force and deflection sensor a flexible shell formed with an elastomer having passageways formed by apertures in the shell, with an optical fiber having one or more Bragg gratings positioned in the passageways for the measurement of force and deflection.

Onset patterns in a simple model of localized parametric forcing.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, J; Tinao, I; Laverón-Simavilla, A; Rodríguez, J

2013-10-01

We investigate pattern selection at onset in a parametrically and inhomogeneously forced partial differential equation obtained by generalizing Mathieu's equation to include spatial interactions. No separation of scales is assumed. The proposed model is directly relevant to the case of parametrically forced surface waves, such as cross-waves, excited by the horizontal vibration of a fluid, where the forcing is localized to a finite region near the endwall or wavemaker. The availability of analytical solutions in the limit of piecewise constant forcing allows us investigate in detail the dependence of selected eigenfunctions on spatial detuning, forcing width, damping, boundary conditions, and container size. A wide range of onset patterns are located and described, many of which are rotated, modulated, or both, and deviate far from simple crosswise oriented standing waves. The linear selection mechanisms governing this multiplicity of potential onset patterns are discussed.

Emergence of Multiscaling in a Random-Force Stirred Fluid

Science.gov (United States)

Yakhot, Victor; Donzis, Diego

2017-07-01

We consider the transition to strong turbulence in an infinite fluid stirred by a Gaussian random force. The transition is defined as a first appearance of anomalous scaling of normalized moments of velocity derivatives (dissipation rates) emerging from the low-Reynolds-number Gaussian background. It is shown that, due to multiscaling, strongly intermittent rare events can be quantitatively described in terms of an infinite number of different "Reynolds numbers" reflecting a multitude of anomalous scaling exponents. The theoretically predicted transition disappears at Rλ≤3 . The developed theory is in quantitative agreement with the outcome of large-scale numerical simulations.

Fitts’ Law in the Control of Isometric Grip Force With Naturalistic Targets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zachary C. Thumser

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Fitts’ law models the relationship between amplitude, precision, and speed of rapid movements. It is widely used to quantify performance in pointing tasks, study human-computer interaction, and generally to understand perceptual-motor information processes, including research to model performance in isometric force production tasks. Applying Fitts’ law to an isometric grip force task would allow for quantifying grasp performance in rehabilitative medicine and may aid research on prosthetic control and design. We examined whether Fitts’ law would hold when participants attempted to accurately produce their intended force output while grasping a manipulandum when presented with images of various everyday objects (we termed this the implicit task. Although our main interest was the implicit task, to benchmark it and establish validity, we examined performance against a more standard visual feedback condition via a digital force-feedback meter on a video monitor (explicit task. Next, we progressed from visual force feedback with force meter targets to the same targets without visual force feedback (operating largely on feedforward control with tactile feedback. This provided an opportunity to see if Fitts’ law would hold without vision, and allowed us to progress toward the more naturalistic implicit task (which does not include visual feedback. Finally, we changed the nature of the targets from requiring explicit force values presented as arrows on a force-feedback meter (explicit targets to the more naturalistic and intuitive target forces implied by images of objects (implicit targets. With visual force feedback the relation between task difficulty and the time to produce the target grip force was predicted by Fitts’ law (average r2 = 0.82. Without vision, average grip force scaled accurately although force variability was insensitive to the target presented. In contrast, images of everyday objects generated more reliable grip forces

Fitts' Law in the Control of Isometric Grip Force With Naturalistic Targets.

Science.gov (United States)

Thumser, Zachary C; Slifkin, Andrew B; Beckler, Dylan T; Marasco, Paul D

2018-01-01

Fitts' law models the relationship between amplitude, precision, and speed of rapid movements. It is widely used to quantify performance in pointing tasks, study human-computer interaction, and generally to understand perceptual-motor information processes, including research to model performance in isometric force production tasks. Applying Fitts' law to an isometric grip force task would allow for quantifying grasp performance in rehabilitative medicine and may aid research on prosthetic control and design. We examined whether Fitts' law would hold when participants attempted to accurately produce their intended force output while grasping a manipulandum when presented with images of various everyday objects (we termed this the implicit task). Although our main interest was the implicit task, to benchmark it and establish validity, we examined performance against a more standard visual feedback condition via a digital force-feedback meter on a video monitor (explicit task). Next, we progressed from visual force feedback with force meter targets to the same targets without visual force feedback (operating largely on feedforward control with tactile feedback). This provided an opportunity to see if Fitts' law would hold without vision, and allowed us to progress toward the more naturalistic implicit task (which does not include visual feedback). Finally, we changed the nature of the targets from requiring explicit force values presented as arrows on a force-feedback meter (explicit targets) to the more naturalistic and intuitive target forces implied by images of objects (implicit targets). With visual force feedback the relation between task difficulty and the time to produce the target grip force was predicted by Fitts' law (average r 2 = 0.82). Without vision, average grip force scaled accurately although force variability was insensitive to the target presented. In contrast, images of everyday objects generated more reliable grip forces without the visualized

Hydrostatic force sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, M.S.; Stoughton, R.S.; Kazerooni, H.

1994-08-01

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of a new kind of force sensor which detects forces by measuring an induced pressure change in a material of large Poisson's ratio. In this investigation we develop mathematical expressions for the sensor's sensitivity and bandwidth, and show that its sensitivity can be much larger and its bandwidth is usually smaller than those of existing strain-gage-type sensors. This force sensor is well-suited for measuring large but slowly varying forces. It can be installed in a space smaller than that required by existing sensors

Diet, age, and prior injury status differentially alter behavioral outcomes following concussion in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Mychasiuk, Richelle; Hehar, Harleen; van Waes, Linda; Esser, Michael J

2015-01-01

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion affects a large portion of the population and although many of these individuals recover completely, a small subset of people experience lingering symptomology and poor outcomes. Little is known about the factors that affect individual susceptibility or resilience to poor outcomes after mTBI and there are currently no biomarkers to delineate mTBI diagnosis or prognosis. Based upon the growing literature associated with caloric intake and altered neurological aging and the ambiguous link between repetitive mTBI and progressive neurodegeneration, the current study was designed to examine the effect of a high fat diet (HFD), developmental age, and repetitive mTBI on behavioral outcomes following a mTBI. In addition, telomere length was examined before and after experimental mTBI. Sprague Dawley rats were maintained on a HFD or standard rat chow throughout life (including the prenatal period) and then experienced an mTBI/concussion at P30, P30 and P60, or only at P60. Behavioral outcomes were examined using a test battery that was administered between P61-P80 and included; beam-walking, open field, elevated plus maze, novel context mismatch, Morris water task, and forced swim task. Animals with a P30 mTBI often demonstrated lingering symptomology that was still present during testing at P80. Injuries at P30 and P60 rarely produced cumulative effects, and in some tests (i.e., beam walking), the first injury may have protected the brain from the second injury. Exposure to the high fat diet exacerbated many of the behavioral deficits associated with concussion. Finally, telomere length was shortened following mTBI and was influenced by the animal's dietary intake. Diet, age at the time of injury, and the number of prior concussion incidents differentially contribute to behavioral deficits and may help explain individual variations in susceptibility and resilience to poor outcomes following an mTBI. Copyright © 2014

Tensor force and debye screening in quarkonium-type mesons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, L.B.; Kovacs, T.G.; Lovas, I.

1990-01-01

We use a non-relativistic quantum-mechanical model to investigate the effect of a screening plasma on two quarkonium-type mesons: the charmonium and bottonium. The stability of these mesons in the plasma is estimated in two cases: including the tensor and spin-orbit term in the potential and without these terms. It turns out that while the bottonium is somewhat stabilized by the tensor force, the charmonium becomes less stabil due to this modification of the potential. Thus the charmonium seems to be a more sensitive probe of the quark-gluon plasma formation than it was thought to be without including the tensor force. (Authors)

Optimizing radiofrequency ablation of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation by direct catheter force measurement-a case-matched comparison in 198 patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sigmund, Elisabeth; Puererfellner, Helmut; Derndorfer, Michael; Kollias, Georgios; Winter, Siegmund; Aichinger, Josef; Nesser, Hans-Joachim; Martinek, Martin

2015-02-01

Sufficient electrode-tissue contact is crucial for adequate lesion formation in radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). We assessed the impact of direct catheter force measurement on acute procedural parameters and outcome of RFCA for paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Ninety-nine consecutive patients (70% men) with paroxysmal (63.6%) or persistent AF underwent left atrial RFCA using a 3.5-mm open-irrigated-tip (OIT) catheter with contact force measurement capabilities (group 1). For comparison a case-matched cohort with standard OIT catheters was used (99 patients; group 2). Case matching included gender, type of AF, number or RFCA procedures, and type of procedure. Procedural data showed a significant decline in radiofrequency ablation time from 52 ± 20 to 44 ± 16 minutes (P = 0.003) with a remarkable mean reduction in overall procedure time of 34 minutes (P = 0.0001; 225.8 ± 53.1 vs 191.9 ± 53.3 minutes). In parallel, the total fluoroscopy time could be significantly reduced from 28.5 ± 11.0 to 19.9 ± 9.3 minutes (P = 0.0001) as well as fluoroscopy dose from 74.1 ± 58.0 to 56.7 ± 38.9 Gy/cm(2) (P = 0.016). Periprocedural complications were similar in both groups. The use of contact force sensing technology is able to significantly reduce ablation, procedure, and fluoroscopy times as well as dose in RFCA of AF in a mixed case-matched group of paroxysmal and persistent AF. Energy delivery is substantially reduced by avoiding radiofrequency ablation in positions with insufficient surface contact. Additionally 12-month outcome data showed increased efficacy. Such time saving and equally safe technology may have a relevant impact on laboratory management and increased cost effectiveness. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigation of graphite composite anodes surfaces by atomic force microscopy and related techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirasawa, Karen Akemi; Nishioka, Keiko; Sato, Tomohiro; Yamaguchi, Shoji; Mori, Shoichiro [Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Tsukuba Research Center, Ibaraki (Japan)

1997-11-01

The surface of a synthetic graphite (KS-44) and polyvinylidene difluoride binder (PVDF) anode for lithium-ion secondary batteries is imaged using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and several related scanning probe microscope (SPM) instruments including: dynamic force microscopy (DFM), friction force microscopy (FFM), laterally-modulated friction force microscopy (LM-FFM), visco-elasticity atomic force microscopy (VE-AFM), and AFM/simultaneous current measurement mode (SCM). DFM is found to be an exceptional mode for topographic imaging while FFM results in the clearest contrast distinction between PVDF binder and KS-44 graphite regions. (orig.)

Cancer classification using the Immunoscore: a worldwide task force.

Science.gov (United States)

Galon, Jérôme; Pagès, Franck; Marincola, Francesco M; Angell, Helen K; Thurin, Magdalena; Lugli, Alessandro; Zlobec, Inti; Berger, Anne; Bifulco, Carlo; Botti, Gerardo; Tatangelo, Fabiana; Britten, Cedrik M; Kreiter, Sebastian; Chouchane, Lotfi; Delrio, Paolo; Arndt, Hartmann; Asslaber, Martin; Maio, Michele; Masucci, Giuseppe V; Mihm, Martin; Vidal-Vanaclocha, Fernando; Allison, James P; Gnjatic, Sacha; Hakansson, Leif; Huber, Christoph; Singh-Jasuja, Harpreet; Ottensmeier, Christian; Zwierzina, Heinz; Laghi, Luigi; Grizzi, Fabio; Ohashi, Pamela S; Shaw, Patricia A; Clarke, Blaise A; Wouters, Bradly G; Kawakami, Yutaka; Hazama, Shoichi; Okuno, Kiyotaka; Wang, Ena; O'Donnell-Tormey, Jill; Lagorce, Christine; Pawelec, Graham; Nishimura, Michael I; Hawkins, Robert; Lapointe, Réjean; Lundqvist, Andreas; Khleif, Samir N; Ogino, Shuji; Gibbs, Peter; Waring, Paul; Sato, Noriyuki; Torigoe, Toshihiko; Itoh, Kyogo; Patel, Prabhu S; Shukla, Shilin N; Palmqvist, Richard; Nagtegaal, Iris D; Wang, Yili; D'Arrigo, Corrado; Kopetz, Scott; Sinicrope, Frank A; Trinchieri, Giorgio; Gajewski, Thomas F; Ascierto, Paolo A; Fox, Bernard A

2012-10-03

Prediction of clinical outcome in cancer is usually achieved by histopathological evaluation of tissue samples obtained during surgical resection of the primary tumor. Traditional tumor staging (AJCC/UICC-TNM classification) summarizes data on tumor burden (T), presence of cancer cells in draining and regional lymph nodes (N) and evidence for metastases (M). However, it is now recognized that clinical outcome can significantly vary among patients within the same stage. The current classification provides limited prognostic information, and does not predict response to therapy. Recent literature has alluded to the importance of the host immune system in controlling tumor progression. Thus, evidence supports the notion to include immunological biomarkers, implemented as a tool for the prediction of prognosis and response to therapy. Accumulating data, collected from large cohorts of human cancers, has demonstrated the impact of immune-classification, which has a prognostic value that may add to the significance of the AJCC/UICC TNM-classification. It is therefore imperative to begin to incorporate the 'Immunoscore' into traditional classification, thus providing an essential prognostic and potentially predictive tool. Introduction of this parameter as a biomarker to classify cancers, as part of routine diagnostic and prognostic assessment of tumors, will facilitate clinical decision-making including rational stratification of patient treatment. Equally, the inherent complexity of quantitative immunohistochemistry, in conjunction with protocol variation across laboratories, analysis of different immune cell types, inconsistent region selection criteria, and variable ways to quantify immune infiltration, all underline the urgent requirement to reach assay harmonization. In an effort to promote the Immunoscore in routine clinical settings, an international task force was initiated. This review represents a follow-up of the announcement of this initiative, and of the J

Cancer classification using the Immunoscore: a worldwide task force

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galon Jérôme

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Prediction of clinical outcome in cancer is usually achieved by histopathological evaluation of tissue samples obtained during surgical resection of the primary tumor. Traditional tumor staging (AJCC/UICC-TNM classification summarizes data on tumor burden (T, presence of cancer cells in draining and regional lymph nodes (N and evidence for metastases (M. However, it is now recognized that clinical outcome can significantly vary among patients within the same stage. The current classification provides limited prognostic information, and does not predict response to therapy. Recent literature has alluded to the importance of the host immune system in controlling tumor progression. Thus, evidence supports the notion to include immunological biomarkers, implemented as a tool for the prediction of prognosis and response to therapy. Accumulating data, collected from large cohorts of human cancers, has demonstrated the impact of immune-classification, which has a prognostic value that may add to the significance of the AJCC/UICC TNM-classification. It is therefore imperative to begin to incorporate the ‘Immunoscore’ into traditional classification, thus providing an essential prognostic and potentially predictive tool. Introduction of this parameter as a biomarker to classify cancers, as part of routine diagnostic and prognostic assessment of tumors, will facilitate clinical decision-making including rational stratification of patient treatment. Equally, the inherent complexity of quantitative immunohistochemistry, in conjunction with protocol variation across laboratories, analysis of different immune cell types, inconsistent region selection criteria, and variable ways to quantify immune infiltration, all underline the urgent requirement to reach assay harmonization. In an effort to promote the Immunoscore in routine clinical settings, an international task force was initiated. This review represents a follow-up of the announcement of

Crossflow force transducer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulcahy, T.M.

1982-05-01

A force transducer for measuring lift and drag coefficients for a circular cylinder in turbulent water flow is presented. In addition to describing the actual design and construction of the strain-gauged force- ring based transducer, requirements for obtained valid fluid force test data are discussed, and pertinent flow test experience is related

Different forces

CERN Multimedia

1982-01-01

The different forces, together with a pictorial analogy of how the exchange of particles works. The table lists the relative strength of the couplings, the quanta associated with the force fields and the bodies or phenomena in which they have a dominant role.

Finite element modeling and experimentation of bone drilling forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lughmani, W A; Bouazza-Marouf, K; Ashcroft, I

2013-01-01

Bone drilling is an essential part of many orthopaedic surgery procedures, including those for internal fixation and for attaching prosthetics. Estimation and control of bone drilling forces are critical to prevent drill breakthrough, excessive heat generation, and mechanical damage to the bone. This paper presents a 3D finite element (FE) model for prediction of thrust forces experienced during bone drilling. The model incorporates the dynamic characteristics involved in the process along with the accurate geometrical considerations. The average critical thrust forces and torques obtained using FE analysis, for set of machining parameters are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results

Preface: Special Topic: From Quantum Mechanics to Force Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Piquemal, Jean-Philip; Jordan, Kenneth D.

2017-10-01

This Special Topic issue entitled "From Quantum Mechanics to Force Fields" is dedicated to the ongoing efforts of the theoretical chemistry community to develop a new generation of accurate force fields based on data from high-level electronic structure calculations and to develop faster electronic structure methods for testing and designing force fields as well as for carrying out simulations. This issue includes a collection of 35 original research articles that illustrate recent theoretical advances in the field. It provides a timely snapshot of recent developments in the generation of approaches to enable more accurate molecular simulations of processes important in chemistry, physics, biophysics, and materials science.

Examining the influence of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) program on alcohol-related outcomes in five communities surrounding Air Force bases.

Science.gov (United States)

Spera, Christopher; Barlas, Frances; Szoc, Ronald Z; Prabhakaran, Jyothsna; Cambridge, Milton H

2012-04-01

In 2006, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded discretionary grants to five communities as part of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) initiative to implement an environmental strategy approach to reduce drinking and associated misconducts among Air Force members. The evaluation design was a within-site, pre-test/post-test intervention comparison of baseline data to out-year data. Four of the five communities had significant decreases in one or more of the outcomes of interest from pre-test to post-test. Two communities (Great Falls, MT and Tucson, AZ) had a significant decline in the compliance check failure rate of local establishments that sell alcohol. One community (Great Falls, MT) had a significant decline in arrests for possession of alcohol by a minor. Four communities (Great Falls, MT; Tucson, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; Honolulu, HI) had a significant decline in DUI/DWI arrests. These findings build on results reported in an earlier article which provided evidence to suggest that the EUDL program had an influence on self-reported drinking behaviors in three of the five communities. These two articles, in combination, provide evidence to suggest for the first time that community-level programs using an environmental strategy approach can be successful in targeting military members. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forced vibrations of rotating circular cylindrical shells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igawa, Hirotaka; Maruyama, Yoshiyuki; Endo, Mitsuru

1995-01-01

Forced vibrations of rotating circular cylindrical shells are investigated. Basic equations, including the effect of initial stress due to rotation, are formulated by the finite-element method. The characteristic relations for finite elements are derived from the energy principle by considering the finite strain. The equations of motion can be separated into quasi-static and dynamic ones, i.e., the equations in the steady rotating state and those in the vibration state. Radial concentrated impulses are considered as the external dynamic force. The transient responses of circular cylindrical shells are numerically calculated under various boundary conditions and rotating speeds. (author)

Instructional Technology in the Armed Forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Hitchens, Howard B., Jr.

Broad areas of communications media used in technical training in specific occupational skills within the armed forces are examined in the first part of this report. These areas include: traditional audiovisual media, television, the techniques of programed instruction and instructional systems development, and the use of computers. In the second…

Differences in grip force control between young and late middle-aged adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Lianrong; Li, Kunyang; Wang, Qian; Chen, Wenhui; Song, Rong; Liu, Guanzheng

2017-09-01

Grip force control is a crucial function for human to guarantee the quality of life. To examine the effects of age on grip force control, 10 young adults and 11 late middle-aged adults participated in visually guided tracking tasks using different target force levels (25, 50, and 75% of the subject's maximal grip force). Multiple measures were used to evaluate the tracking performance during force rising phase and force maintenance phase. The measurements include the rise time, fuzzy entropy, mean force percentage, coefficient of variation, and target deviation ratio. The results show that the maximal grip force was significantly lower in the late middle-aged adults than in the young adults. The time of rising phase was systematically longer among late middle-aged adults. The fuzzy entropy is a useful indicator for quantitating the force variability of the grip force signal at higher force levels. These results suggest that the late middle-aged adults applied a compensatory strategy that allow allows for sufficient time to reach the required grip force and reduce the impact of the early and subtle degenerative changes in hand motor function.

Finite difference computation of Casimir forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinto, Fabrizio

2016-01-01

In this Invited paper, we begin by a historical introduction to provide a motivation for the classical problems of interatomic force computation and associated challenges. This analysis will lead us from early theoretical and experimental accomplishments to the integration of these fascinating interactions into the operation of realistic, next-generation micro- and nanodevices both for the advanced metrology of fundamental physical processes and in breakthrough industrial applications. Among several powerful strategies enabling vastly enhanced performance and entirely novel technological capabilities, we shall specifically consider Casimir force time-modulation and the adoption of non-trivial geometries. As to the former, the ability to alter the magnitude and sign of the Casimir force will be recognized as a crucial principle to implement thermodynamical nano-engines. As to the latter, we shall first briefly review various reported computational approaches. We shall then discuss the game-changing discovery, in the last decade, that standard methods of numerical classical electromagnetism can be retooled to formulate the problem of Casimir force computation in arbitrary geometries. This remarkable development will be practically illustrated by showing that such an apparently elementary method as standard finite-differencing can be successfully employed to numerically recover results known from the Lifshitz theory of dispersion forces in the case of interacting parallel-plane slabs. Other geometries will be also be explored and consideration given to the potential of non-standard finite-difference methods. Finally, we shall introduce problems at the computational frontier, such as those including membranes deformed by Casimir forces and the effects of anisotropic materials. Conclusions will highlight the dramatic transition from the enduring perception of this field as an exotic application of quantum electrodynamics to the recent demonstration of a human climbing

Principles for guiding the ONKALO prediction-outcome studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, J.; Hudson, J.A.; Anttila, P.; Koskinen, L.; Pitkaenen, P.; Hautojaervi, A.; Wikstroem, L.

2005-09-01

This document provides the necessary foundation for establishing the strategy for the Prediction-Outcome studies currently being conducted by the ONKALO Modelling Task Force (OMTF) during the construction of the ONKALO ramp. These studies relate to the geology, rock mechanics, hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry. The purpose of the Prediction-Outcome campaign currently underway in the ONKALO ramp tunnel is to optimize Posiva's ability to predict rock conditions ahead of the excavation face. The aim of the work is: to enhance confidence in ability to predict rock conditions in general - and especially for the repository volumes; (later) testing and verification of repository design rules as it would not be possible to make too many additional boreholes in repository volume; and to support the ongoing construction work and make possible the application of the CEIC method. The document also presents current plans for at what stages of the ONKALO construction predictions and outcome assessments will be made as well as current plans for what properties and impacts will be predicted. These plans will evidently be subject to revision during the course of the work. (orig.)

Analysis of Air Force Civil Engineering Strategic Planning

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mondo, Francis

2003-01-01

Several organizations within the Department of Defense, including the Air Force Civil Engineer, are actively engaged in strategic planning in an effort to create a roadmap for future capabilities and performance...

Investigation of specific interactions between T7 promoter and T7 RNA polymerase by force spectroscopy using atomic force microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaojuan; Yao, Zhixuan; Duan, Yanting; Zhang, Xiaomei; Shi, Jinsong; Xu, Zhenghong

2018-01-11

The specific recognition and binding of promoter and RNA polymerase is the first step of transcription initiation in bacteria and largely determines transcription activity. Therefore, direct analysis of the interaction between promoter and RNA polymerase in vitro may be a new strategy for promoter characterization, to avoid interference due to the cell's biophysical condition and other regulatory elements. In the present study, the specific interaction between T7 promoter and T7 RNA polymerase was studied as a model system using force spectroscopy based on atomic force microscope (AFM). The specific interaction between T7 promoter and T7 RNA polymerase was verified by control experiments, and the rupture force in this system was measured as 307.2 ± 6.7 pN. The binding between T7 promoter mutants with various promoter activities and T7 RNA polymerase was analyzed. Interaction information including rupture force, rupture distance and binding percentage were obtained in vitro , and reporter gene expression regulated by these promoters was also measured according to a traditional promoter activity characterization method in vivo Using correlation analysis, it was found that the promoter strength characterized by reporter gene expression was closely correlated with rupture force and the binding percentage by force spectroscopy. These results indicated that the analysis of the interaction between promoter and RNA polymerase using AFM-based force spectroscopy was an effective and valid approach for the quantitative characterization of promoters. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Force Reproduction Error Depends on Force Level, whereas the Position Reproduction Error Does Not

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Onneweer, B.; Mugge, W.; Schouten, Alfred Christiaan

2016-01-01

When reproducing a previously perceived force or position humans make systematic errors. This study determined the effect of force level on force and position reproduction, when both target and reproduction force are self-generated with the same hand. Subjects performed force reproduction tasks at

Bi-Force

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Peng; Speicher, Nora K; Röttger, Richard

2014-01-01

of pairwise similarities. We first evaluated the power of Bi-Force to solve dedicated bicluster editing problems by comparing Bi-Force with two existing algorithms in the BiCluE software package. We then followed a biclustering evaluation protocol in a recent review paper from Eren et al. (2013) (A...... comparative analysis of biclustering algorithms for gene expressiondata. Brief. Bioinform., 14:279-292.) and compared Bi-Force against eight existing tools: FABIA, QUBIC, Cheng and Church, Plaid, BiMax, Spectral, xMOTIFs and ISA. To this end, a suite of synthetic datasets as well as nine large gene expression...

78 FR 63208 - UPDATE-Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-23

... of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force). The in-person Task Force meeting is being replaced by... CDC's ability to complete the necessary scientific and logistical support for the meeting. The Task...

Interrelation between striction forces in dielectrics and optically induced forces in transparent media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torchigin, V P; Torchigin, A V

2012-01-01

Optically induced forces applied to a transparent optical medium, which is inserted in a closed plane optical resonator, are calculated by means of an analysis of the changes in the eigenfrequency and energy stored in the resonator at various positions of the medium. These forces are compared with striction forces applied to the medium considered as a dielectric placed in an alternate electrical field within the resonator. It is shown that the optically induced forces are equal to the striction forces. The results of using the classical formula for striction forces in electrostatics are considered. (paper)

Active design method for the static characteristics of a piezoelectric six-axis force/torque sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jun; Li, Min; Qin, Lan; Liu, Jingcheng

2014-01-02

To address the bottleneck issues of an elastic-style six-axis force/torque sensor (six-axis force sensor), this work proposes a no-elastic piezoelectric six-axis force sensor. The operating principle of the piezoelectric six-axis force sensor is analyzed, and a structural model is constructed. The static-active design theory of the piezoelectric six-axis force sensor is established, including a static analytical/mathematical model and numerical simulation model (finite element model). A piezoelectric six-axis force sensor experimental prototype is developed according to the analytical mathematical model and numerical simulation model, and selected static characteristic parameters (including sensitivity, isotropic degree and cross-coupling) are tested using this model with three approaches. The measured results are in agreement with the analytical results from the static-active design method. Therefore, this study has successfully established a foundation for further research into the piezoelectric multi-axis force sensor and an overall design approach based on static characteristics.

Radiative forcing in the ACCMIP historical and future climate simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. T. Shindell

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP examined the short-lived drivers of climate change in current climate models. Here we evaluate the 10 ACCMIP models that included aerosols, 8 of which also participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5. The models reproduce present-day total aerosol optical depth (AOD relatively well, though many are biased low. Contributions from individual aerosol components are quite different, however, and most models underestimate east Asian AOD. The models capture most 1980–2000 AOD trends well, but underpredict increases over the Yellow/Eastern Sea. They strongly underestimate absorbing AOD in many regions. We examine both the direct radiative forcing (RF and the forcing including rapid adjustments (effective radiative forcing; ERF, including direct and indirect effects. The models' all-sky 1850 to 2000 global mean annual average total aerosol RF is (mean; range −0.26 W m−2; −0.06 to −0.49 W m−2. Screening based on model skill in capturing observed AOD yields a best estimate of −0.42 W m−2; −0.33 to −0.50 W m−2, including adjustment for missing aerosol components in some models. Many ACCMIP and CMIP5 models appear to produce substantially smaller aerosol RF than this best estimate. Climate feedbacks contribute substantially (35 to −58% to modeled historical aerosol RF. The 1850 to 2000 aerosol ERF is −1.17 W m−2; −0.71 to −1.44 W m−2. Thus adjustments, including clouds, typically cause greater forcing than direct RF. Despite this, the multi-model spread relative to the mean is typically the same for ERF as it is for RF, or even smaller, over areas with substantial forcing. The largest 1850 to 2000 negative aerosol RF and ERF values are over and near Europe, south and east Asia and North America. ERF, however, is positive over the Sahara, the Karakoram, high Southern latitudes and especially the Arctic. Global aerosol RF

Radiative forcing in the ACCMIP historical and future climate simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shindell, D. T.; Lamarque, J. -F.; Schulz, M.; Flanner, M.; Jiao, C.; Chin, M.; Young, P. J.; Lee, Y. H.; Rotstayn, L.; Mahowald, N.; Milly, G.; Faluvegi, G.; Balkanski, Y.; Collins, W. J.; Conley, A. J.; Dalsoren, S.; Easter, R.; Ghan, S.; Horowitz, L.; Liu, X.; Myhre, G.; Nagashima, T.; Naik, V.; Rumbold, S. T.; Skeie, R.; Sudo, K.; Szopa, S.; Takemura, T.; Voulgarakis, A.; Yoon, J. -H.; Lo, F.

2013-01-01

The Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP) examined the short-lived drivers of climate change in current climate models. Here we evaluate the 10 ACCMIP models that included aerosols, 8 of which also participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). The models reproduce present-day total aerosol optical depth (AOD) relatively well, though many are biased low. Contributions from individual aerosol components are quite different, however, and most models underestimate east Asian AOD. The models capture most 1980-2000 AOD trends well, but underpredict increases over the Yellow/Eastern Sea. They strongly underestimate absorbing AOD in many regions. We examine both the direct radiative forcing (RF) and the forcing including rapid adjustments (effective radiative forcing; ERF, including direct and indirect effects). The models’ all-sky 1850 to 2000 global mean annual average total aerosol RF is (mean; range) -0.26Wm^-2-2. Screening based on model skill in capturing observed AOD yields a best estimate of -0.42Wm^{-2-2including adjustment for missing aerosol components in some models. Many ACCMIP and CMIP5 models appear to produce substantially smaller aerosol RF than this best estimate. Climate feedbacks contribute substantially (35 to -58 %) to modeled historical aerosol RF. The 1850 to 2000 aerosol ERF is -1.17Wm-2-2including clouds, typically cause greater forcing than direct RF. Despite this, the multi-model spread relative to the mean is typically the same for ERF as it is for RF, or even smaller, over areas with substantial forcing. The largest 1850 to 2000 negative aerosol RF and ERF values are over and near Europe, south and east Asia and North America. ERF, however, is positive over the Sahara, the Karakoram, high Southern latitudes and especially the Arctic. Global}

Shear forces in the contact patch of a braked-racing tyre

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, Patrick; Sharp, Robin S.

2012-12-01

This article identifies tyre modelling features that are fundamental to the accurate simulation of the shear forces in the contact patch of a steady-rolling, slipping and cambered racing tyre. The features investigated include contact patch shape, contact pressure distribution, carcass flexibility, rolling radius (RR) variations and friction coefficient. Using a previously described physical tyre model of modular nature, validated for static conditions, the influence of each feature on the shear forces generated is examined under different running conditions, including normal loads of 1500, 3000 and 4500 N, camber angles of 0° and-3°, and longitudinal slip ratios from 0 to-20%. Special attention is paid to heavy braking, in which context the aligning moment is of great interest in terms of its connection with the limit-handling feel. The results of the simulations reveal that true representations of the contact patch shape, carcass flexibility and lateral RR variation are essential for an accurate prediction of the distribution and the magnitude of the shear forces generated at the tread-road interface of the cambered tyre. Independent of the camber angle, the contact pressure distribution primarily influences the shear force distribution and the slip characteristics around the peak longitudinal force. At low brake-slip ratios, the friction coefficient affects the shear forces in terms of their distribution, while, at medium to high-slip ratios, the force magnitude is significantly affected. On the one hand, these findings help in the creation of efficient yet accurate tyre models. On the other hand, the research results allow improved understanding of how individual tyre components affect the generation of shear forces in the contact patch of a rolling and slipping tyre.

The Past, Present, and Future of the Air Force's Future Total Force

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Duffy, Dennis P

2004-01-01

This project examines the history of the Total Force policy since its inception in 1970 through its implementation today in an effort to determine a future direction for the Air Force's Future Total Force initiative...

Support force measures of midsized men in seated positions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Tamara Reid; Hubbard, Robert P

2007-02-01

Two areas not well researched in the field of seating mechanics are the distribution of normal and shear forces, and how those forces change with seat position. The availability of these data would be beneficial for the design and development of office, automotive and medical seats. To increase our knowledge in the area of seating mechanics, this study sought to measure the normal and shear loads applied to segmental supports in 12 seated positions, utilizing three inclination angles and four levels of seat back articulation that were associated with automotive driving positions. Force data from six regions, including the thorax, sacral region, buttocks, thighs, feet, and hand support were gathered using multi-axis load cells. The sample contained 23 midsized subjects with an average weight of 76.7 kg and a standard deviation of 4.2 kg, and an average height of 1745 mm with a standard deviation of 19 mm. Results were examined in terms of seat back inclination and in terms of torso articulation for relationships between seat positions and support forces. Using a repeated measures analysis, significant differences (p<0.05) were identified for normal forces relative to all inclination angles except for forces occurring at the hand support. Other significant differences were observed between normal forces behind the buttocks, pelvis, and feet for torso articulations. Significant differences in the shear forces occurred under the buttocks and posterior pelvis during changes in seat back inclination. Significant differences in shear forces were also identified for torso articulations. These data suggest that as seat back inclination or torso articulation change, significant shifts in force distribution occur.

Enhanced quality factors and force sensitivity by attaching magnetic beads to cantilevers for atomic force microscopy in liquid

Science.gov (United States)

Hoof, Sebastian; Nand Gosvami, Nitya; Hoogenboom, Bart W.

2012-12-01

Dynamic-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in liquid remains complicated due to the strong viscous damping of the cantilever resonance. Here, we show that a high-quality resonance (Q >20) can be achieved in aqueous solution by attaching a microgram-bead at the end of the nanogram-cantilever. The resulting increase in cantilever mass causes the resonance frequency to drop significantly. However, the force sensitivity—as expressed via the minimum detectable force gradient—is hardly affected, because of the enhanced quality factor. Through the enhancement of the quality factor, the attached bead also reduces the relative importance of noise in the deflection detector. It can thus yield an improved signal-to-noise ratio when this detector noise is significant. We describe and analyze these effects for a set-up that includes magnetic actuation of the cantilevers and that can be easily implemented in any AFM system that is compatible with an inverted optical microscope.

J-pouch vs. side-to-end anastomosis after hand-assisted laparoscopic low anterior resection for rectal cancer: A prospective randomized trial on short and long term outcomes including life quality and functional results.

Science.gov (United States)

Okkabaz, Nuri; Haksal, Mustafa; Atici, Ali Emre; Altuntas, Yunus Emre; Gundogan, Ersin; Gezen, Fazli Cem; Oncel, Mustafa

2017-11-01

To analyze the outcomes of j-pouch and side-to-end anastomosis in rectal cancer patients treated with laparoscopic hand-assisted low anterior resection. Prospective trial on cases randomized to have a colonic j-pouch or a side-to-end anastomosis after low anterior resection. Demographics, characteristics of disease and treatment, perioperative results, and functional outcomes and life quality were compared between the groups. Seventy four patients were randomized. Reservoir creation was withdrawn in 17 (23%) patients, mostly related to reach problem (n = 11, 64.7%). Anastomotic leakage rate was significantly higher in j-pouch group (8 [27.6%] vs. 0, p = 0.004). Stoma closure could not be achieved in 16 (28.1%) patients. Life quality and functional outcomes, measured 4, 8 and 12 months after the stoma reversal, were similar. Colonic j-pouch and side-to-end anastomosis are similar regarding perioperative measures including operation time, rates of postoperative complications, reoperation and 30-day mortality, and hospitalization period except anastomotic leak rate, which is higher in j-pouch group. Postoperative aspects are not different in patients receiving either technique including functional outcomes and life quality for the first year after stoma closure. In our opinion, both techniques may be preferred during the daily practice while performing laparoscopic surgery; but surgeons may be aware of a possibly higher anastomotic leak rate in case of a j-pouch. Copyright © 2017 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Physics Force presents The Physics Circus

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlberg, E. Dan

2015-03-01

The Physics Force of the University of Minnesota is an outreach program developed with the goal to show students and the public Science is Fun, Science is Interesting, and Science is Understandable. The program grew from a rather small effort by three high school physics teachers and two University of Minnesota staff members. In the almost three decades since its humble beginnings of 100 attendees in a year, it has grown to an average attendance of over 36,000 annually. In the last three years alone, about 110,000 Minnesotans have seen a performance of The Physics Circus which is roughly 2% of the population of the state. In addition to the performances in Minnesota, The Force performed two years at Disney's Epcot Center, was featured on Newton's Apple, and made appearances on the very successful German TV science show, the Knoff-Hoff Show. I will begin the talk with some of our motivation to develop The Physics Force arising from the current ``scientific state'' of our society and then provide more information on The Force including both some history and examples taken from our Physics Circus.

Exploring the outcomes in studies of primary frozen shoulder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodgers, Sara; Brealey, Stephen; Jefferson, Laura

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: In our study we explored the need to define a core outcome set for primary frozen shoulder. METHODS: We investigated the outcomes used by studies included in a systematic review of the management of primary frozen shoulder; surveyed which primary outcome measures health care professionals...... and 104 respondents, respectively) were most often cited by health care professionals as the primary outcome measure that should be used. Searches identified one paper that included patients' views. Outcomes of importance to patients were pain at night, general pain, reduced mobility (resulting...

Defect forces, defect couples and path integrals in fracture mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roche, R.L.

1979-07-01

In this work, it is shown that the path integrals can be introduced without any reference to the material behavior. The method is based on the definition in a continuous medium of a set of vectors and couples having the dimension of a force or a moment. More precisely, definitions are given of volume defect forces, surface defect forces, volume defect couples, and surface defect couples. This is done with the help of the stress working variation of a particule moving through the solid. The most important result is: the resultant of all the defect forces included in a volume V is the J integral on the surface surrounding V and the moment resultant is the L integral. So these integrals are defined without any assumption on the material constitutive equation. Another result is the material form of the virtual work principle - defect forces are acting like conventional forces in the conventional principles of virtual work. This lead to the introduction of the energy momentum tensor and of the associated couple stress. Application of this method is made to fracture mechanics in studying the defect forces distribution around a crack [fr

Role of attractive forces in tapping tip force microscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kyhle, Anders; Sørensen, Alexis Hammer; Bohr, Jakob

1997-01-01

We present experimental and numerical results demonstrating the drastic influence of attractive forces on the behaviour of the atomic force microscope when operated in the resonant tapping tip mode in an ambient environment. It is often assumed that tapping is related to repulsive interaction...

Surface forces studied with colloidal probe atomic force microscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giesbers, M.

2001-01-01

Forces between surfaces are a determining factor for the performance of natural as well as synthetic colloidal systems, and play a crucial role in industrial production processes. Measuring these forces is a scientific and experimental challenge and over the years several techniques have

A force-sensing surgical tool with a proximally located force/torque sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalb, W; Shirinzadeh, B; Smith, J

2017-03-01

Robotic surgery has seen a rapid increase in popularity in the last few decades because advantages such as increased accuracy and dexterity can be realized. These systems still lack force-feedback, where such a capability is believed to be beneficial to the surgeon and can improve safety. In this paper a force-feedback enabled surgical robotic system is described in which the developed force-sensing surgical tool is discussed in detail. The developed surgical tool makes use of a proximally located force/torque sensor, which, in contrast to a distally located sensor, requires no miniaturization or sterilizability. Experimental results are presented, and indicate high force sensing accuracies with errors <0.09 N. It is shown that developing a force-sensing surgical tool utilizing a proximally located force/torque sensor is feasible, where a tool outer diameter of 12 mm can be achieved. For future work it is desired to decrease the current tool outer diameter to 10 mm. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

32 CFR 37.620 - What financial management standards do I include for nonprofit participants?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What financial management standards do I include... financial management standards do I include for nonprofit participants? So as not to force system changes..., your expenditure-based TIA's requirements for the financial management system of any nonprofit...

Bayesian calibration of coarse-grained forces: Efficiently addressing transferability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patrone, Paul N.; Rosch, Thomas W.; Phelan, Frederick R.

2016-01-01

Generating and calibrating forces that are transferable across a range of state-points remains a challenging task in coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics. In this work, we present a coarse-graining workflow, inspired by ideas from uncertainty quantification and numerical analysis, to address this problem. The key idea behind our approach is to introduce a Bayesian correction algorithm that uses functional derivatives of CG simulations to rapidly and inexpensively recalibrate initial estimates f 0 of forces anchored by standard methods such as force-matching. Taking density-temperature relationships as a running example, we demonstrate that this algorithm, in concert with various interpolation schemes, can be used to efficiently compute physically reasonable force curves on a fine grid of state-points. Importantly, we show that our workflow is robust to several choices available to the modeler, including the interpolation schemes and tools used to construct f 0 . In a related vein, we also demonstrate that our approach can speed up coarse-graining by reducing the number of atomistic simulations needed as inputs to standard methods for generating CG forces.

Bayesian calibration of coarse-grained forces: Efficiently addressing transferability

Science.gov (United States)

Patrone, Paul N.; Rosch, Thomas W.; Phelan, Frederick R.

2016-04-01

Generating and calibrating forces that are transferable across a range of state-points remains a challenging task in coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics. In this work, we present a coarse-graining workflow, inspired by ideas from uncertainty quantification and numerical analysis, to address this problem. The key idea behind our approach is to introduce a Bayesian correction algorithm that uses functional derivatives of CG simulations to rapidly and inexpensively recalibrate initial estimates f0 of forces anchored by standard methods such as force-matching. Taking density-temperature relationships as a running example, we demonstrate that this algorithm, in concert with various interpolation schemes, can be used to efficiently compute physically reasonable force curves on a fine grid of state-points. Importantly, we show that our workflow is robust to several choices available to the modeler, including the interpolation schemes and tools used to construct f0. In a related vein, we also demonstrate that our approach can speed up coarse-graining by reducing the number of atomistic simulations needed as inputs to standard methods for generating CG forces.

Method for lateral force calibration in atomic force microscope using MEMS microforce sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Dziekoński, Cezary; Dera, Wojciech; Jarząbek, Dariusz M

2017-11-01

In this paper we present a simple and direct method for the lateral force calibration constant determination. Our procedure does not require any knowledge about material or geometrical parameters of an investigated cantilever. We apply a commercially available microforce sensor with advanced electronics for direct measurement of the friction force applied by the cantilever's tip to a flat surface of the microforce sensor measuring beam. Due to the third law of dynamics, the friction force of the equal value tilts the AFM cantilever. Therefore, torsional (lateral force) signal is compared with the signal from the microforce sensor and the lateral force calibration constant is determined. The method is easy to perform and could be widely used for the lateral force calibration constant determination in many types of atomic force microscopes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.