3-Nitropropionic acid neurotoxicity in organotypic striatal and corticostriatal slice cultures is dependent on glucose and glutamate

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Storgaard, J; Kornblit, B T; Zimmer, J

2000-01-01

of lactate dehydrogenase in the medium and glutamic acid decarboxylase in tissue homogenates. 3-NPA toxicity (25-100 microM in 5 mM glucose, 24-48 h) appeared to be highly dependent on culture medium glucose levels. 3-NPA treatment caused also a dose-dependent lactate increase, reaching a maximum......Mitochondrial inhibition by 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) causes striatal degeneration reminiscent of Huntington's disease. We studied 3-NPA neurotoxicity and possible indirect excitotoxicity in organotypic striatal and corticostriatal slice cultures. Neurotoxicity was quantified by assay...... of threefold increase above control at 100 microM. Both a high dose of glutamate (5 mM) and glutamate uptake blockade by dl-threo-beta-hydroxyaspartate potentiated 3-NPA neurotoxicity in corticostriatal slice cultures. Furthermore, striatum from corticostriatal cocultures was more sensitive to 3-NPA than...

Relationship between Duration of Untreated Psychosis and Intrinsic Corticostriatal Connectivity in Patients with Early Phase Schizophrenia.

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Sarpal, Deepak K; Robinson, Delbert G; Fales, Christina; Lencz, Todd; Argyelan, Miklos; Karlsgodt, Katherine H; Gallego, Juan A; John, Majnu; Kane, John M; Szeszko, Philip R; Malhotra, Anil K

2017-10-01

Patients with first-episode psychosis experience psychotic symptoms for a mean of up to 2 years prior to initiation of treatment, and long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Meanwhile, evidence compiled from numerous studies suggests that longer DUP is not associated with structural brain abnormalities. To date, few studies have examined the relationship between DUP and functional neuroimaging measures. In the present study, we used seed-based resting-state functional connectivity to examine the impact of DUP on corticostriatal circuitry. We included 83 patients with early phase schizophrenia and minimal exposure to antipsychotic drugs (drugs. Functional connectivity maps of the striatum were generated and examined in relation to DUP as a covariate. Mediation analyses were performed on a composite measure of corticostriatal connectivity derived from the significant results of our DUP analysis. We found that longer DUP correlated with worse response to treatment as well as overall decreased functional connectivity between striatal nodes and specific regions within frontal and parietal cortices. Moreover, the relationship between DUP and treatment response was significantly mediated by corticostriatal connectivity. Our results indicate that variation in corticostriatal circuitry may play a role in the relationship between longer DUP and worsened response to treatment. Future prospective studies are necessary to further characterize potential causal links between DUP, striatal circuitry and clinical outcomes.

Excitotoxic effects of non-NMDA receptor agonists in organotypic corticostriatal slice cultures

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Kristensen, B W; Noraberg, J; Jakobsen, B

1999-01-01

of the cytosolic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) into the culture medium and loss of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity in the tissue. Histological sections were also stained by the fluorescent dye Fluoro-Jade (FJ), for degenerating neurons and by immunocytochemical staining for gamma-aminobutyric acid...... density of Fluoro-Jade staining, (3) loss of GAD-activity in tissue homogenates, and (4) loss of GABA-immunostained neurons. We conclude that both differences between compounds (AMPA vs. KA) and brain areas (striatum vs. cortex) can be demonstrated in corticostriatal slice cultures, which in conjunction...... in corticostriatal slice cultures. The purpose was to examine the feasibility of these cultures for excitotoxic studies, and to demonstrate possible differential excitotoxic effects of KA and AMPA on striatal and cortical neurons. Slices of dorsolateral striatum with overlying neocortex were obtained from neonatal...

Corticostriatal Divergent Function in Determining the Temporal and Spatial Properties of Motor Tics.

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Israelashvili, Michal; Bar-Gad, Izhar

2015-12-16

Striatal disinhibition leads to the formation of motor tics resembling those expressed during Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. The spatial properties of these tics are dependent on the location of the focal disinhibition within the striatum; however, the factors affecting the temporal properties of tic expression are still unknown. Here, we used microstimulation within the motor cortex of freely behaving rats before and after striatal disinhibition to explore the factors underlying the timing of individual tics. Cortical activation determined the timing of individual tics via an accumulation process of inputs that was dependent on the frequency and amplitude of the inputs. The resulting tics and their neuronal representation within the striatum were highly stereotypic and independent of the cortical activity properties. The generation of tics was limited by absolute and relative tic refractory periods that were derived from an internal striatal state. Thus, the precise time of the tic expression depends on the interaction between the summation of incoming excitatory inputs to the striatum and the timing of the previous tic. A data-driven computational model of corticostriatal function closely replicated the temporal properties of tic generation and enabled the prediction of tic timing based on incoming cortical activity and tic history. These converging experimental and computational findings suggest a clear functional dichotomy within the corticostriatal network, pointing to disparate temporal (cortical) versus spatial (striatal) encoding. Thus, the abnormal striatal inhibition typical of Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders results in tics due to cortical activation of the abnormal striatal network. The factors underlying the temporal properties of tics expressed in Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders have eluded clinicians and scientists for decades. In this study, we highlight the key role of corticostriatal activity in determining the

The Role of Corticostriatal Systems in Speech Category Learning.

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Yi, Han-Gyol; Maddox, W Todd; Mumford, Jeanette A; Chandrasekaran, Bharath

2016-04-01

One of the most difficult category learning problems for humans is learning nonnative speech categories. While feedback-based category training can enhance speech learning, the mechanisms underlying these benefits are unclear. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated neural and computational mechanisms underlying feedback-dependent speech category learning in adults. Positive feedback activated a large corticostriatal network including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, caudate, putamen, and the ventral striatum. Successful learning was contingent upon the activity of domain-general category learning systems: the fast-learning reflective system, involving the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that develops and tests explicit rules based on the feedback content, and the slow-learning reflexive system, involving the putamen in which the stimuli are implicitly associated with category responses based on the reward value in feedback. Computational modeling of response strategies revealed significant use of reflective strategies early in training and greater use of reflexive strategies later in training. Reflexive strategy use was associated with increased activation in the putamen. Our results demonstrate a critical role for the reflexive corticostriatal learning system as a function of response strategy and proficiency during speech category learning. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A new framework for cortico-striatal plasticity: behavioural theory meets in vitro data at the reinforcement-action interface.

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Kevin N Gurney

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Operant learning requires that reinforcement signals interact with action representations at a suitable neural interface. Much evidence suggests that this occurs when phasic dopamine, acting as a reinforcement prediction error, gates plasticity at cortico-striatal synapses, and thereby changes the future likelihood of selecting the action(s coded by striatal neurons. But this hypothesis faces serious challenges. First, cortico-striatal plasticity is inexplicably complex, depending on spike timing, dopamine level, and dopamine receptor type. Second, there is a credit assignment problem-action selection signals occur long before the consequent dopamine reinforcement signal. Third, the two types of striatal output neuron have apparently opposite effects on action selection. Whether these factors rule out the interface hypothesis and how they interact to produce reinforcement learning is unknown. We present a computational framework that addresses these challenges. We first predict the expected activity changes over an operant task for both types of action-coding striatal neuron, and show they co-operate to promote action selection in learning and compete to promote action suppression in extinction. Separately, we derive a complete model of dopamine and spike-timing dependent cortico-striatal plasticity from in vitro data. We then show this model produces the predicted activity changes necessary for learning and extinction in an operant task, a remarkable convergence of a bottom-up data-driven plasticity model with the top-down behavioural requirements of learning theory. Moreover, we show the complex dependencies of cortico-striatal plasticity are not only sufficient but necessary for learning and extinction. Validating the model, we show it can account for behavioural data describing extinction, renewal, and reacquisition, and replicate in vitro experimental data on cortico-striatal plasticity. By bridging the levels between the single synapse and

Effects of chemotherapeutics on organotypic corticostriatal slice cultures identified by a panel of fluorescent and immunohistochemical markers

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Nørregaard, Annette; Jensen, Stine Skov; Kolenda, Jesper

2012-01-01

no toxicity was observed. Corresponding immunostaining showed loss of MAP2 and increased expression of GFAP and p25α for cultures exposed to 1,000 nM VCR. Cultures exposed to high concentrations of ACNU and IM disintegrated, leaving no tissue for histology. In conclusion, corticostriatal slice cultures...... specific neuronal and glial degeneration induced by chemotherapeutics in organotypic rat corticostriatal slice cultures. The slice cultures were exposed to the alkylating agents temozolomide (TMZ) and nimustine (ACNU), the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (IM) and the microtubule...

Loss of Balance between Striatal Feedforward Inhibition and Corticostriatal Excitation Leads to Tremor.

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Oran, Yael; Bar-Gad, Izhar

2018-02-14

Fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) exert powerful inhibitory control over the striatum and are hypothesized to balance the massive excitatory cortical and thalamic input to this structure. We recorded neuronal activity in the dorsolateral striatum and globus pallidus (GP) concurrently with the detailed movement kinematics of freely behaving female rats before and after selective inhibition of FSI activity using IEM-1460 microinjections. The inhibition led to the appearance of episodic rest tremor in the body part that depended on the somatotopic location of the injection within the striatum. The tremor was accompanied by coherent oscillations in the local field potential (LFP). Individual neuron activity patterns became oscillatory and coherent in the tremor frequency. Striatal neurons, but not GP neurons, displayed additional temporal, nonoscillatory correlations. The subsequent reduction in the corticostriatal input following muscimol injection to the corresponding somatotopic location in the primary motor cortex led to disruption of the tremor and a reduction of the LFP oscillations and individual neuron's phase-locked activity. The breakdown of the normal balance of excitation and inhibition in the striatum has been shown previously to be related to different motor abnormalities. Our results further indicate that the balance between excitatory corticostriatal input and feedforward FSI inhibition is sufficient to break down the striatal decorrelation process and generate oscillations resulting in rest tremor typical of multiple basal ganglia disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) play a key role in normal striatal processing by exerting powerful inhibitory control over the network. FSI malfunctions have been associated with abnormal processing of information within the striatum that leads to multiple movement disorders. Here, we study the changes in neuronal activity and movement kinematics following selective inhibition of these

Neurodevelopmental disruption of cortico-striatal function caused by degeneration of habenula neurons.

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Young-A Lee

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The habenula plays an important role on cognitive and affective functions by regulating monoamines transmission such as the dopamine and serotonin, such that its dysfunction is thought to underlie a number of psychiatric conditions. Given that the monoamine systems are highly vulnerable to neurodevelopmental insults, damages in the habenula during early neurodevelopment may cause devastating effects on the wide-spread brain areas targeted by monoamine innervations.Using a battery of behavioral, anatomical, and biochemical assays, we examined the impacts of neonatal damage in the habenula on neurodevelopmental sequelae of the prefrontal cortex (PFC and nucleus accumbens (NAcc and associated behavioral deficits in rodents. Neonatal lesion of the medial and lateral habenula by ibotenic acid produced an assortment of behavioral manifestations consisting of hyper-locomotion, impulsivity, and attention deficit, with hyper-locomotion and impulsivity being observed only in the juvenile period, whereas attention deficit was sustained up until adulthood. Moreover, these behavioral alterations were also improved by amphetamine. Our study further revealed that impulsivity and attention deficit were associated with disruption of PFC volume and dopamine (DA receptor expression, respectively. In contrast, hyper-locomotion was associated with decreased DA transporter expression in the NAcc. We also found that neonatal administration of nicotine into the habenula of neonatal brains produced selective lesion of the medial habenula. Behavioral deficits with neonatal nicotine administration were similar to those caused by ibotenic acid lesion of both medial and lateral habenula during the juvenile period, whereas they were different in adulthood.Because of similarity between behavioral and brain alterations caused by neonatal insults in the habenula and the symptoms and suggested neuropathology in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, these results

Sensory Entrainment Mechanisms in Auditory Perception: Neural Synchronization Cortico-Striatal Activation.

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Sameiro-Barbosa, Catia M; Geiser, Eveline

2016-01-01

The auditory system displays modulations in sensitivity that can align with the temporal structure of the acoustic environment. This sensory entrainment can facilitate sensory perception and is particularly relevant for audition. Systems neuroscience is slowly uncovering the neural mechanisms underlying the behaviorally observed sensory entrainment effects in the human sensory system. The present article summarizes the prominent behavioral effects of sensory entrainment and reviews our current understanding of the neural basis of sensory entrainment, such as synchronized neural oscillations, and potentially, neural activation in the cortico-striatal system.

Sensory Entrainment Mechanisms in Auditory Perception: Neural Synchronization Cortico-Striatal Activation

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Sameiro-Barbosa, Catia M.; Geiser, Eveline

2016-01-01

The auditory system displays modulations in sensitivity that can align with the temporal structure of the acoustic environment. This sensory entrainment can facilitate sensory perception and is particularly relevant for audition. Systems neuroscience is slowly uncovering the neural mechanisms underlying the behaviorally observed sensory entrainment effects in the human sensory system. The present article summarizes the prominent behavioral effects of sensory entrainment and reviews our current understanding of the neural basis of sensory entrainment, such as synchronized neural oscillations, and potentially, neural activation in the cortico-striatal system. PMID:27559306

Corticostriatal Plastic Changes in Experimental L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesia

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Veronica Ghiglieri

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In Parkinson’s disease (PD, alteration of dopamine- (DA- dependent striatal functions and pulsatile stimulation of DA receptors caused by the discontinuous administration of levodopa (L-DOPA lead to a complex cascade of events affecting the postsynaptic striatal neurons that might account for the appearance of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID. Experimental models of LID have been widely used and extensively characterized in rodents and electrophysiological studies provided remarkable insights into the inner mechanisms underlying L-DOPA-induced corticostriatal plastic changes. Here we provide an overview of recent findings that represent a further step into the comprehension of mechanisms underlying maladaptive changes of basal ganglia functions in response to L-DOPA and associated to development of LID.

Dysregulated corticostriatal activity in open-field behavior and the head-twitch response induced by the hallucinogen 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine.

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Rangel-Barajas, Claudia; Estrada-Sánchez, Ana María; Barton, Scott J; Luedtke, Robert R; Rebec, George V

2017-02-01

The substituted amphetamine, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI), is a hallucinogen that has been used to model a variety of psychiatric conditions. Here, we studied the effect of DOI on neural activity recorded simultaneously in the primary motor cortex (M1) and dorsal striatum of freely behaving FvB/N mice. DOI significantly decreased the firing rate of individually isolated neurons in M1 and dorsal striatum relative to pre-drug baseline. It also induced a bursting pattern of activity by increasing both the number of spikes within a burst and burst duration. In addition, DOI increased coincident firing between simultaneously recorded neuron pairs within the striatum and between M1 and dorsal striatum. Local field potential (LFP) activity also increased in coherence between M1 and dorsal striatum after DOI in the low frequency gamma band (30-50 Hz), while corticostriatal coherence in delta, theta, alpha, and beta activity decreased. We also assessed corticostriatal LFP activity in relation to the DOI-induced head-twitch response (HTR), a readily identifiable behavior used to assess potential treatments for the conditions it models. The HTR was associated with increased delta and decreased theta power in both M1 and dorsal striatum. Together, our results suggest that DOI dysregulates corticostriatal communication and that the HTR is associated with this dysregulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dysregulated neuronal activity patterns implicate corticostriatal circuit dysfunction in multiple rodent models of Huntington’s disease

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Benjamin R. Miller

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Huntington’s disease (HD is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder that targets the corticostriatal system and results in progressive deterioration of cognitive, emotional, and motor skills. Although cortical and striatal neurons are widely studied in animal models of HD, there is little information on neuronal function during expression of the HD behavioral phenotype. To address this knowledge gap, we used chronically implanted micro-wire bundles to record extracellular spikes and local field potentials (LFPs in truncated (R6/1 and R6/2 and full-length (knock-in, KI mouse models as well as in tgHD rats behaving in an open-field arena. Spike activity was recorded in the striatum of all models and in prefrontal cortex (PFC of R6/2 and KI mice, and in primary motor cortex (M1 of R6/2 mice. We also recorded LFP activity in R6/2 striatum. All HD models exhibited altered neuronal activity relative to wild-type (WT controls. Although there was no consistent effect on firing rate across models and brain areas, burst firing was reduced in striatum, PFC, and M1 of R6/2 mice, and in striatum of KI mice. Consistent with a decline in bursting, the interspike-interval coefficient of variation was reduced in all regions of all models, except PFC of KI mice and striatum of tgHD rats. Among simultaneously recorded neuron pairs, correlated firing was reduced in all brain regions of all models, while coincident bursting, which measures the temporal overlap between bursting pairs, was reduced in striatum of all models as well as in M1 of R6/2's. Preliminary analysis of striatal LFPs revealed aberrant behavior-related oscillations in the delta to theta range and in gamma activity. Collectively, our results indicate that disrupted corticostriatal processing occurs across multiple HD models despite differences in the severity of the behavioral phenotype. Efforts aimed at normalizing corticostriatal activity may hold the key to developing new HD

Connectivity-based parcellation reveals distinct cortico-striatal connectivity fingerprints in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Balsters, Joshua H; Mantini, Dante; Wenderoth, Nicole

2018-04-15

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been associated with abnormal synaptic development causing a breakdown in functional connectivity. However, when measured at the macro scale using resting state fMRI, these alterations are subtle and often difficult to detect due to the large heterogeneity of the pathology. Recently, we outlined a novel approach for generating robust biomarkers of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) using connectivity based parcellation of gross morphological structures to improve single-subject reproducibility and generate more robust connectivity fingerprints. Here we apply this novel approach to investigating the organization and connectivity strength of the cortico-striatal system in a large sample of ASD individuals and typically developed (TD) controls (N=130 per group). Our results showed differences in the parcellation of the striatum in ASD. Specifically, the putamen was found to be one single structure in ASD, whereas this was split into anterior and posterior segments in an age, IQ, and head movement matched TD group. An analysis of the connectivity fingerprints revealed that the group differences in clustering were driven by differential connectivity between striatum and the supplementary motor area, posterior cingulate cortex, and posterior insula. Our approach for analysing RS-fMRI in clinical populations has provided clear evidence that cortico-striatal circuits are organized differently in ASD. Based on previous task-based segmentations of the striatum, we believe that the anterior putamen cluster present in TD, but not in ASD, likely contributes to social and language processes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Altered resting state cortico-striatal connectivity in mild to moderate stage Parkinson’s disease

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Youngbin Kwak

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Parkinson’s disease (PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by dopamine depletion in the striatum. One consistent pathophysiological hallmark of PD is an increase in spontaneous oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia thalamocortical networks. We evaluated these effects using resting state functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI in mild to moderate stage Parkinson’s patients on and off L-DOPA and age-matched controls using six different striatal seed regions. We observed an overall increase in the strength of cortico-striatal functional connectivity in PD patients off L-DOPA compared to controls. This enhanced connectivity was down-regulated by L-DOPA as shown by an overall decrease in connectivity strength, particularly within motor cortical regions. We also performed a frequency content analysis of the BOLD signal time course extracted from the six striatal seed regions. PD off L-DOPA exhibited increased power in the frequency band 0.02 – 0.05 Hz compared to controls and to PD on L-DOPA. The L-DOPA associated decrease in the power of this frequency range modulated the L-DOPA associated decrease in connectivity strength between striatal seeds and the thalamus. In addition, the L-DOPA associated decrease in power in this frequency band also correlated with the L-DOPA associated improvement in cognitive performance. Our results demonstrate that PD and L-DOPA modulate striatal resting state BOLD signal oscillations and corticostriatal network coherence.

Dual nitrergic/cholinergic control of short-term plasticity of corticostriatal inputs to striatal projection neurons

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Craig Peter Blomeley

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The ability of nitric oxide and acetylcholine to modulate the short-term plasticity of corticostriatal inputs was investigated using current-clamp recordings in BAC mouse brain slices. Glutamatergic responses were evoked by stimulation of corpus callosum in D1 and D2 dopamine receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs and D2-MSN, respectively. Paired-pulse stimulation (50 ms intervals evoked depressing or facilitating responses in subgroups of both D1-MSNs and D2 MSNs. In both neuronal types, glutamatergic responses of cells that displayed paired-pulse depression were not significantly affected by the nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP; 100 µM. Conversely, in D1-MSNs and D2-MSNs that displayed paired-pulse facilitation, SNAP did not affect the first evoked response, but significantly reduced the amplitude of the second evoked EPSP, converting paired-pulse facilitation into paired-pulse depression. SNAP also strongly excited cholinergic interneurons and increased their cortical glutamatergic responses acting through a presynaptic mechanism. The effects of SNAP on glutamatergic response of D1-MSNs and D2-MSN were mediated by acetylcholine. The broad-spectrum muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine (25 µM did not affect paired-pulse ratios and did not prevent the effects of SNAP. Conversely, the broad-spectrum nicotinic receptor antagonist tubocurarine (10 µM fully mimicked and occluded the effects of SNAP. We concluded that phasic acetylcholine release mediates feedforward facilitation in MSNs through activation of nicotinic receptors on glutamatergic terminals and that nitric oxide, while increasing cholinergic interneurons’ firing, functionally impairs their ability to modulate glutamatergic inputs of MSNs. These results show that nitrergic and cholinergic transmission control the short-term plasticity of glutamatergic inputs in the striatum and reveal a novel cellular mechanism underlying paired

Exaggerated Cap-Dependent Translation as a Mechanism for Corticostriatal Dysfunction in Fragile X Syndrome Model Mice

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2017-11-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0361 TITLE: “Exaggerated Cap-Dependent Translation as a Mechanism for Corticostriatal Dysfunction in Fragile X...Annual 3. DATES COVERED 19Oct2016 - 18Oct2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER “Exaggerated Cap-Dependent Translation as a Mechanism for... translation inhibitors. Our specific tasks are centered on a proteomic study of FXS striatal synapses by using a transgenic mouse model that allows to

Aberrant resting-state corticostriatal functional connectivity in cirrhotic patients with hyperintense globus pallidus on T1-weighted MR imaging.

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Xi-Qi Zhu

Full Text Available Neurobiological and neuroimaging studies have emphasized the structural and functional alterations in the striatum of cirrhotic patients, but alterations in the functional connections between the striatum and other brain regions have not yet been explored. Of note, manganese accumulation in the nervous system, frequently reflected by hyperintensity at the bilateral globus pallidus (GP on T1-weighted imaging, has been considered a factor affecting the striatal and cortical functions in hepatic decompensation. We employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to analyze the temporal correlation between the striatum and the remaining brain regions using seed-based correlation analyses. The two-sample t-test was conducted to detect the differences in corticostriatal connectivity between 44 cirrhotic patients with hyperintensity at the bilateral GP and 20 healthy controls. Decreased connectivity of the caudate was detected in the anterior/middle cingulate gyrus, and increased connectivity of the caudate was found in the left motor cortex. A reduction in functional connectivity was found between the putamen and several regions, including the anterior cingulate gyrus, right insular lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and anterior lobe of the right cerebellum; increased connectivity was detected between the putamen and right middle temporal gyrus. There were significant correlations between the corticostriatal connectivity and neuropsychological performances in the patient group, but not between the striatal connectivity and GP signal intensity. These alterations in the corticostriatal functional connectivity suggested the abnormalities in the intrinsic brain functional organiztion among the cirrhotic patients with manganese deposition, and may be associated with development of metabolic encephalopathy. The manganese deposition in nervous system, however, can not be an independent factor predicting the resting

Chronic Methamphetamine Abuse and Corticostriatal Deficits Revealed by Neuroimaging

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London, Edythe D.; Kohno, Milky; Morales, Angelica; Ballard, Michael E.

2014-01-01

Despite aggressive efforts to contain it, methamphetamine use disorder continues to be major public health problem; and with generic behavioral therapies still the mainstay of treatment for methamphetamine abuse, rates of attrition and relapse remain high. This review summarizes the findings of structural, molecular, and functional neuroimaging studies of methamphetamine abusers, focusing on cortical and striatal abnormalities and their potential contributions to cognitive and behavioral phenotypes that can serve to promote compulsive drug use. These studies indicate that individuals with a history of chronic methamphetamine abuse often display several signs of corticostriatal dysfunction, including abnormal gray- and white-matter integrity, monoamine neurotransmitter system deficiencies, neuroinflammation, poor neuronal integrity, and aberrant patterns of brain connectivity and function, both when engaged in cognitive tasks and at rest. More importantly, many of these neural abnormalities were found to be linked with certain addiction-related phenotypes that may influence treatment response (e.g., poor self-control, cognitive inflexibility, maladaptive decision-making), raising the possibility that they may represent novel therapeutic targets. PMID:25451127

An anticholinergic reverses motor control and corticostriatal LTD deficits in Dyt1 ΔGAG knock-in mice.

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Dang, Mai T; Yokoi, Fumiaki; Cheetham, Chad C; Lu, Jun; Vo, Viet; Lovinger, David M; Li, Yuqing

2012-01-15

DYT1 early-onset generalized torsion dystonia is an inherited movement disorder associated with mutations in DYT1 that codes for torsinA protein. The most common mutation seen in this gene is a trinucleotide deletion of GAG. We previously reported a motor control deficit on a beam-walking task in our Dyt1 ΔGAG knock-in heterozygous mice. In this report we show the reversal of this motor deficit with the anticholinergic trihexyphenidyl (THP), a drug commonly used to treat movement problems in dystonia patients. THP also restored the reduced corticostriatal long-term depression (LTD) observed in these mice. Corticostriatal LTD has long been known to be dependent on D2 receptor activation. In this mouse model, striatal D2 receptors were expressed at lower quantities in comparison to wild-type mice. Furthermore, the mice were also partially resistant to FPL64176, an agonist of L-type calcium channels that have been previously reported to cause severe dystonic-like symptoms in wild-type mice. Our findings collectively suggest that altered communication between cholinergic interneurons and medium spiny neurons is responsible for the LTD deficit and that this synaptic plasticity modification may be involved in the striatal motor control abnormalities in our mouse model of DYT1 dystonia. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spike-timing dependent plasticity in the striatum

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Elodie Fino

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The striatum is the major input nucleus of basal ganglia, an ensemble of interconnected sub-cortical nuclei associated with fundamental processes of action-selection and procedural learning and memory. The striatum receives afferents from the cerebral cortex and the thalamus. In turn, it relays the integrated information towards the basal ganglia output nuclei through which it operates a selected activation of behavioral effectors. The striatal output neurons, the GABAergic medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs, are in charge of the detection and integration of behaviorally relevant information. This property confers to the striatum the ability to extract relevant information from the background noise and select cognitive-motor sequences adapted to environmental stimuli. As long-term synaptic efficacy changes are believed to underlie learning and memory, the corticostriatal long-term plasticity provides a fundamental mechanism for the function of the basal ganglia in procedural learning. Here, we reviewed the different forms of spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP occurring at corticostriatal synapses. Most of the studies have focused on MSNs and their ability to develop long-term plasticity. Nevertheless, the striatal interneurons (the fast-spiking GABAergic, the NO synthase and cholinergic interneurons also receive monosynaptic afferents from the cortex and tightly regulated corticostriatal information processing. Therefore, it is important to take into account the variety of striatal neurons to fully understand the ability of striatum to develop long-term plasticity. Corticostriatal STDP with various spike-timing dependence have been observed depending on the neuronal sub-populations and experimental conditions. This complexity highlights the extraordinary potentiality in term of plasticity of the corticostriatal pathway.

Ventral striatal D2/3 receptor availability is associated with impulsive choice behavior as well aslimbic corticostriatal connectivity.

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Barlow, Rebecca L; Gorges, Martin; Wearn, Alfie; Niessen, Heiko G; Kassubek, Jan; Dalley, Jeffrey W; Pekcec, Anton

2018-03-15

Low dopamine D2/3 receptor availability in the nucleus accumbens (NAcb) shell is associated with highly-impulsive behavior in rats, as measured by premature responses in a cued attentional task. However, it is unclear whether dopamine D2/3 receptor availability in the NAcb is equally linked to intolerance for delayed rewards, a related form of impulsivity. We investigated the relationship between D2/3 receptor availability in the NAcb and impulsivity in a delay-discounting task (DDT) where animals must choose between immediate small-magnitude rewards and delayed larger-magnitude rewards. Corticostriatal D2/3 receptor availability was measured in rats stratified for high-, and low-impulsivity using in-vivo [18F]fallypride positron emission tomography (PET) and ex-vivo [3H]raclopride autoradiography. Resting-state functional connectivity in limbic corticostriatal networks was also assessed using fMRI. DDT impulsivity was inversely related to D2/3 receptor availability in the NAcb core but not the dorsal striatum with higher D2/3 binding in the NAcb shell of high-impulsive rats compared with low-impulsive rats. D2/3 receptor availability was associated with stronger connectivity between the cingulate cortex and hippocampus of high versus low impulsive rats. We conclude that DDT impulsivity is associated with low D2/3 receptor binding in the NAcb core. Thus two related forms of waiting impulsivity - premature responding and delay intolerance in a delay-of-reward task - implicate an involvement of D2/3 receptor availability in the NAcb shell and core, respectively. This dissociation may be causal or consequential to enhanced functional connectivity of limbic brain circuitry and hold relevance for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders.

The neostriatal mosaic: striatal patch-matrix organization is related to cortical lamination.

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Gerfen, C R

1989-10-20

The basal ganglia, of which the striatum is the major component, process inputs from virtually all cerebral cortical areas to affect motor, emotional, and cognitive behaviors. Insights into how these seemingly disparate functions may be integrated have emerged from studies that have demonstrated that the mammalian striatum is composed of two compartments arranged as a mosaic, the patches and the matrix, which differ in their neurochemical and neuroanatomical properties. In this study, projections from prefrontal, cingulate, and motor cortical areas to the striatal compartments were examined with the Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) anterograde axonal tracer in rats. Each cortical area projects to both the patches and the matrix of the striatum; however, deep layer V and layer VI corticostriatal neurons project principally to the patches, whereas superficial layer V and layer III and II corticostriatal neurons project principally to the matrix. The relative contribution of patch and matrix corticostriatal projections varies among the cortical areas examined such that allocortical areas provide a greater number of inputs to the patches than to the matrix, whereas the reverse obtains for neocortical areas. These results demonstrate that the compartmental organization of corticostriatal inputs is related to their laminar origin and secondarily to the cytoarchitectonic area of origin.

Why social attachment and oxytocin protect against addiction and stress: Insights from the dynamics between ventral and dorsal corticostriatal systems.

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Tops, Mattie; Koole, Sander L; IJzerman, Hans; Buisman-Pijlman, Femke T A

2014-04-01

The present article advances a neurobiological model of the reciprocal associations between social attachment and drug abuse, and social attachment and chronic stress, as overlapping systems are involved in stress coping and social attachment. In terms of coping, responding to a novel stressor or challenge involves initial novelty processing and activation of learning mechanisms that allow habituation to the stressor through familiarization. Similarly, social attachments are initially formed by being attracted by rewarding properties of an as-yet novel individual, and subsequently developing feelings of attachment towards the familiarized individual. Attachment and familiarization increase the availability of "internal working models" for the control of behavior and emotion, which may explain why secure attachments are associated with increased resilience in the face of stress, accompanied by less reactive reward responding (i.e., increased resilience against drug addiction). The present article seeks to illuminate the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin, which may be involved in the overlapping mechanisms of stable attachment formation and stress coping by shifting processing from novelty and reward seeking to appreciation of familiarity. Oxytocin may accomplish this by facilitating a ventral-to-dorsal shift in activation in corticostriatal loops, which produces a shift from a reactive reward drive (wanting) to stable appreciation of familiar social aspects ("liking" or "loving"). The authors suggest that through dopaminergic, serotonergic and endogenous opioid mechanisms, oxytocin is involved in shifting the balance between wanting and liking in corticostriatal loops by facilitating consolidation of social information from ventral reactive reward systems to dorsal internal working models that aid in prospectively selecting optimal actions in the future, increasing resilience in the face of stress and addiction. © 2013.

Selective increase of auditory cortico-striatal coherence during auditory-cued Go/NoGo discrimination learning.

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Andreas L. Schulz

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Goal directed behavior and associated learning processes are tightly linked to neuronal activity in the ventral striatum. Mechanisms that integrate task relevant sensory information into striatal processing during decision making and learning are implicitly assumed in current reinforcementmodels, yet they are still weakly understood. To identify the functional activation of cortico-striatal subpopulations of connections during auditory discrimination learning, we trained Mongolian gerbils in a two-way active avoidance task in a shuttlebox to discriminate between falling and rising frequency modulated tones with identical spectral properties. We assessed functional coupling by analyzing the field-field coherence between the auditory cortex and the ventral striatum of animals performing the task. During the course of training, we observed a selective increase of functionalcoupling during Go-stimulus presentations. These results suggest that the auditory cortex functionally interacts with the ventral striatum during auditory learning and that the strengthening of these functional connections is selectively goal-directed.

Corticostriatal field potentials are modulated at delta and theta frequencies during interval-timing task in rodents

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Eric B Emmons

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Organizing movements in time is a critical and highly conserved feature of mammalian behavior. Temporal control of action requires corticostriatal networks. We investigate these networks in rodents using a two-interval timing task while recording local field potentials in medial frontal cortex or dorsomedial striatum. Consistent with prior work, we found cue-triggered delta (1-4 Hz and theta activity (4-8 Hz primarily in rodent medial frontal cortex. We observed delta activity across temporal intervals in medial frontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum. Rewarded responses were associated with increased delta activity in medial frontal cortex. Activity in theta bands in medial frontal cortex and delta bands in the striatum was linked with the timing of responses. These data suggest both delta and theta activity in frontostriatal networks are modulated during interval timing and that activity in these bands may be involved in the temporal control of action.

Behavioral control blunts reactions to contemporaneous and future adverse events: Medial prefrontal cortex plasticity and a corticostriatal network

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Steven F. Maier

2015-01-01

Full Text Available It has been known for many years that the ability to exert behavioral control over an adverse event blunts the behavioral and neurochemical impact of the event. More recently, it has become clear that the experience of behavioral control over adverse events also produces enduring changes that reduce the effects of subsequent negative events, even if they are uncontrollable and quite different from the original event controlled. This review focuses on the mechanism by which control both limits the impact of the stressor being experienced and produces enduring, trans-situational “immunization”. The evidence will suggest that control is detected by a corticostriatal circuit involving the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC and the posterior dorsomedial striatum (DMS. Once control is detected, other mPFC neurons that project to stress-responsive brainstem (dorsal raphe nucleus, DRN and limbic (amygdala structures exert top–down inhibitory control over the activation of these structures that is produced by the adverse event. These structures, such as the DRN and amygdala, in turn regulate the proximate mediators of the behavioral and physiological responses produced by adverse events, and so control blunts these responses. Importantly, the joint occurrence of control and adverse events seems to produce enduring plastic changes in the top–down inhibitory mPFC system such that this system is now activated by later adverse events even if they are uncontrollable, thereby reducing the impact of these events. Other issues are discussed that include a whether other processes such as safety signals and exercise, that lead to resistance/resilience, also use the mPFC circuitry or do so in other ways; b whether control has similar effects and neural mediation in humans, and c the relationship of this work to clinical phenomena.

The term structure of credit spreads in project finance

OpenAIRE

Marco Sorge; Blaise Gadanecz

2004-01-01

This paper finds that the term structure of credit spreads in project finance is hump-shaped. This contrasts with other types of debt, where credit risk is shown instead to increase monotonically with maturity ceteris paribus. We emphasize a number of peculiar features of project finance structures that might underlie this finding, such as high leverage decreasing over time, long-term political risk guarantees and the sequential resolution of uncertainty along project advancement stages. Our ...

Diversity of layer 5 projection neurons in the mouse motor cortex

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Oswald, Manfred J.; Tantirigama, Malinda L. S.; Sonntag, Ivo; Hughes, Stephanie M.; Empson, Ruth M.

2013-01-01

In the primary motor cortex (M1), layer 5 projection neurons signal directly to distant motor structures to drive movement. Despite their pivotal position and acknowledged diversity these neurons are traditionally separated into broad commissural and corticofugal types, and until now no attempt has been made at resolving the basis for their diversity. We therefore probed the electrophysiological and morphological properties of retrogradely labeled M1 corticospinal (CSp), corticothalamic (CTh), and commissural projecting corticostriatal (CStr) and corticocortical (CC) neurons. An unsupervised cluster analysis established at least four phenotypes with additional differences between lumbar and cervical projecting CSp neurons. Distinguishing parameters included the action potential (AP) waveform, firing behavior, the hyperpolarisation-activated sag potential, sublayer position, and soma and dendrite size. CTh neurons differed from CSp neurons in showing spike frequency acceleration and a greater sag potential. CStr neurons had the lowest AP amplitude and maximum rise rate of all neurons. Temperature influenced spike train behavior in corticofugal neurons. At 26°C CTh neurons fired bursts of APs more often than CSp neurons, but at 36°C both groups fired regular APs. Our findings provide reliable phenotypic fingerprints to identify distinct M1 projection neuron classes as a tool to understand their unique contributions to motor function. PMID:24137110

Diversity of Layer 5 Projection Neurons in the Mouse Motor Cortex

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Manfred J Oswald

2013-10-01

Full Text Available In the primary motor cortex (M1, layer 5 projection neurons signal directly to distant motor structures to drive movement. Despite their pivotal position and acknowledged diversity these neurons are traditionally separated into broad commissural and corticofugal types, and until now no attempt has been made at resolving the basis for their diversity. We therefore probed the electrophysiological and morphological properties of retrogradely labelled M1 corticospinal (CSp, corticothalamic (CTh, and commissural projecting corticostriatal (CStr and corticocortical (CC neurons. An unsupervised cluster analysis established at least four phenotypes with additional differences between lumbar and cervical projecting CSp neurons. Distinguishing parameters included the action potential (AP waveform, firing behaviour, the hyperpolarisation-activated sag potential, sublayer position, and soma and dendrite size. CTh neurons differed from CSp neurons in showing spike frequency acceleration and a greater sag potential. CStr neurons had the lowest AP amplitude and maximum rise rate of all neurons. Temperature influenced spike train behaviour in corticofugal neurons. At 26 ºC CTh neurons fired bursts of APs more often than CSp neurons, but at 36 ºC both groups fired regular APs. Our findings provide reliable phenotypic fingerprints to identify distinct M1 projection neuron classes as a tool to understand their unique contributions to motor function.

Haloperidol Selectively Remodels Striatal Indirect Pathway Circuits

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Sebel, Luke E; Graves, Steven M; Chan, C Savio; Surmeier, D James

2017-01-01

Typical antipsychotic drugs are widely thought to alleviate the positive symptoms of schizophrenia by antagonizing dopamine D2 receptors expressed by striatal spiny projection neurons (SPNs). What is less clear is why antipsychotics have a therapeutic latency of weeks. Using a combination of physiological and anatomical approaches in ex vivo brain slices from transgenic mice, it was found that 2 weeks of haloperidol treatment induced both intrinsic and synaptic adaptations specifically within indirect pathway SPNs (iSPNs). Perphenazine treatment had similar effects. Some of these adaptations were homeostatic, including a drop in intrinsic excitability and pruning of excitatory corticostriatal glutamatergic synapses. However, haloperidol treatment also led to strengthening of a subset of excitatory corticostriatal synapses. This slow remodeling of corticostriatal iSPN circuitry is likely to play a role in mediating the delayed therapeutic action of neuroleptics. PMID:27577602

A Genetic Polymorphism of the Endogenous Opioid Dynorphin Modulates Monetary Reward Anticipation in the Corticostriatal Loop

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Votinov, Mikhail; Pripfl, Juergen; Windischberger, Christian; Kalcher, Klaudius; Zimprich, Alexander; Zimprich, Fritz; Moser, Ewald

2014-01-01

The dynorphin/κ-opioid receptor (KOP-R) system has been shown to play a role in different types of behavior regulation, including reward-related behavior and drug craving. It has been shown that alleles with 3 or 4 repeats (HH genotype) of the variable nucleotide tandem repeat (68-bp VNTR) functional polymorphism of the prodynorphin (PDYN) gene are associated with higher levels of dynorphin peptides than alleles with 1 or 2 repeats (LL genotype). We used fMRI on N = 71 prescreened healthy participants to investigate the effect of this polymorphism on cerebral activation in the limbic-corticostriatal loop during reward anticipation. Individuals with the HH genotype showed higher activation than those with the LL genotype in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) when anticipating a possible monetary reward. In addition, the HH genotype showed stronger functional coupling (as assessed by effective connectivity analyses) of mOFC with VMPFC, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral striatum during reward anticipation. This hints at a larger sensitivity for upcoming rewards in individuals with the HH genotype, resulting in a higher motivation to attain these rewards. These findings provide first evidence in humans that the PDYN polymorphism modulates neural processes associated with the anticipation of rewards, which ultimately may help to explain differences between genotypes with respect to addiction and drug abuse. PMID:24587148

A genetic polymorphism of the endogenous opioid dynorphin modulates monetary reward anticipation in the corticostriatal loop.

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Mikhail Votinov

Full Text Available The dynorphin/κ-opioid receptor (KOP-R system has been shown to play a role in different types of behavior regulation, including reward-related behavior and drug craving. It has been shown that alleles with 3 or 4 repeats (HH genotype of the variable nucleotide tandem repeat (68-bp VNTR functional polymorphism of the prodynorphin (PDYN gene are associated with higher levels of dynorphin peptides than alleles with 1 or 2 repeats (LL genotype. We used fMRI on N = 71 prescreened healthy participants to investigate the effect of this polymorphism on cerebral activation in the limbic-corticostriatal loop during reward anticipation. Individuals with the HH genotype showed higher activation than those with the LL genotype in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC when anticipating a possible monetary reward. In addition, the HH genotype showed stronger functional coupling (as assessed by effective connectivity analyses of mOFC with VMPFC, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral striatum during reward anticipation. This hints at a larger sensitivity for upcoming rewards in individuals with the HH genotype, resulting in a higher motivation to attain these rewards. These findings provide first evidence in humans that the PDYN polymorphism modulates neural processes associated with the anticipation of rewards, which ultimately may help to explain differences between genotypes with respect to addiction and drug abuse.

A genetic polymorphism of the endogenous opioid dynorphin modulates monetary reward anticipation in the corticostriatal loop.

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Votinov, Mikhail; Pripfl, Juergen; Windischberger, Christian; Kalcher, Klaudius; Zimprich, Alexander; Zimprich, Fritz; Moser, Ewald; Lamm, Claus; Sailer, Uta

2014-01-01

The dynorphin/κ-opioid receptor (KOP-R) system has been shown to play a role in different types of behavior regulation, including reward-related behavior and drug craving. It has been shown that alleles with 3 or 4 repeats (HH genotype) of the variable nucleotide tandem repeat (68-bp VNTR) functional polymorphism of the prodynorphin (PDYN) gene are associated with higher levels of dynorphin peptides than alleles with 1 or 2 repeats (LL genotype). We used fMRI on N = 71 prescreened healthy participants to investigate the effect of this polymorphism on cerebral activation in the limbic-corticostriatal loop during reward anticipation. Individuals with the HH genotype showed higher activation than those with the LL genotype in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) when anticipating a possible monetary reward. In addition, the HH genotype showed stronger functional coupling (as assessed by effective connectivity analyses) of mOFC with VMPFC, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral striatum during reward anticipation. This hints at a larger sensitivity for upcoming rewards in individuals with the HH genotype, resulting in a higher motivation to attain these rewards. These findings provide first evidence in humans that the PDYN polymorphism modulates neural processes associated with the anticipation of rewards, which ultimately may help to explain differences between genotypes with respect to addiction and drug abuse.

How do top managers support strategic information system projects and why do they sometimes withhold this support?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boonstra, A.

Top management support is an important determinant of information system project success. This is especially the case in complex and large-scale IS projects. Surprisingly, however, there is only limited reliable knowledge about the types of behavior that underlie top management support. Further,

The Human Genome Project: Biology, Computers, and Privacy.

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Cutter, Mary Ann G.; Drexler, Edward; Gottesman, Kay S.; Goulding, Philip G.; McCullough, Laurence B.; McInerney, Joseph D.; Micikas, Lynda B.; Mural, Richard J.; Murray, Jeffrey C.; Zola, John

This module, for high school teachers, is the second of two modules about the Human Genome Project (HGP) produced by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). The first section of this module provides background information for teachers about the structure and objectives of the HGP, aspects of the science and technology that underlie the…

The Crossed Projection to the Striatum in Two Species of Monkey and in Humans: Behavioral and Evolutionary Significance.

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Innocenti, Giorgio M; Dyrby, Tim B; Andersen, Kasper Winther; Rouiller, Eric M; Caminiti, Roberto

2017-06-01

The corpus callosum establishes the anatomical continuity between the 2 hemispheres and coordinates their activity. Using histological tracing, single axon reconstructions, and diffusion tractography, we describe a callosal projection to n caudatus and putamen in monkeys and humans. In both species, the origin of this projection is more restricted than that of the ipsilateral projection. In monkeys, it consists of thin axons (0.4-0.6 µm), appropriate for spatial and temporal dispersion of subliminal inputs. For prefrontal cortex, contralateral minus ipsilateral delays to striatum calculated from axon diameters and conduction distance are <2 ms in the monkey and, by extrapolation, <4 ms in humans. This delay corresponds to the performance in Poffenberger's paradigm, a classical attempt to estimate central conduction delays, with a neuropsychological task. In both species, callosal cortico-striatal projections originate from prefrontal, premotor, and motor areas. In humans, we discovered a new projection originating from superior parietal lobule, supramarginal, and superior temporal gyrus, regions engaged in language processing. This projection crosses in the isthmus the lesion of which was reported to dissociate syntax and prosody. The projection might originate from an overproduction of callosal projections in development, differentially pruned depending on species. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Corticostriatal circuit mechanisms of value-based action selection: Implementation of reinforcement learning algorithms and beyond.

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Morita, Kenji; Jitsev, Jenia; Morrison, Abigail

2016-09-15

Value-based action selection has been suggested to be realized in the corticostriatal local circuits through competition among neural populations. In this article, we review theoretical and experimental studies that have constructed and verified this notion, and provide new perspectives on how the local-circuit selection mechanisms implement reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms and computations beyond them. The striatal neurons are mostly inhibitory, and lateral inhibition among them has been classically proposed to realize "Winner-Take-All (WTA)" selection of the maximum-valued action (i.e., 'max' operation). Although this view has been challenged by the revealed weakness, sparseness, and asymmetry of lateral inhibition, which suggest more complex dynamics, WTA-like competition could still occur on short time scales. Unlike the striatal circuit, the cortical circuit contains recurrent excitation, which may enable retention or temporal integration of information and probabilistic "soft-max" selection. The striatal "max" circuit and the cortical "soft-max" circuit might co-implement an RL algorithm called Q-learning; the cortical circuit might also similarly serve for other algorithms such as SARSA. In these implementations, the cortical circuit presumably sustains activity representing the executed action, which negatively impacts dopamine neurons so that they can calculate reward-prediction-error. Regarding the suggested more complex dynamics of striatal, as well as cortical, circuits on long time scales, which could be viewed as a sequence of short WTA fragments, computational roles remain open: such a sequence might represent (1) sequential state-action-state transitions, constituting replay or simulation of the internal model, (2) a single state/action by the whole trajectory, or (3) probabilistic sampling of state/action. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Impaired development of cortico-striatal synaptic connectivity in a cell culture model of Huntington's disease.

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Buren, Caodu; Parsons, Matthew P; Smith-Dijak, Amy; Raymond, Lynn A

2016-03-01

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetically inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a mutation in the gene encoding the huntingtin protein. This mutation results in progressive cell death that is particularly striking in the striatum. Recent evidence indicates that early HD is initially a disease of the synapse, in which subtle alterations in synaptic neurotransmission, particularly at the cortico-striatal (C-S) synapse, can be detected well in advance of cell death. Here, we used a cell culture model in which striatal neurons are co-cultured with cortical neurons, and monitored the development of C-S connectivity up to 21days in vitro (DIV) in cells cultured from either the YAC128 mouse model of HD or the background strain, FVB/N (wild-type; WT) mice. Our data demonstrate that while C-S connectivity in WT co-cultures develops rapidly and continuously from DIV 7 to 21, YAC128 C-S connectivity shows no significant growth from DIV 14 onward. Morphological and electrophysiological data suggest that a combination of pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms contribute to this effect, including a reduction in both the postsynaptic dendritic arborization and the size and replenishment rate of the presynaptic readily releasable pool of excitatory vesicles. Moreover, a chimeric culture strategy confirmed that the most robust impairment in C-S connectivity was only observed when mutant huntingtin was expressed both pre- and postsynaptically. In all, our data demonstrate a progressive HD synaptic phenotype in this co-culture system that may be exploited as a platform for identifying promising therapeutic strategies to prevent early HD-associated synaptopathy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Treadmill Exercise Improves Motor Dysfunction and Hyperactivity of the Corticostriatal Glutamatergic Pathway in Rats with 6-OHDA-Induced Parkinson’s Disease

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Wei Chen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Hyperactivity in the corticostriatal glutamatergic pathway (CGP induces basal ganglia dysfunction, contributing to parkinsonian syndrome (PS. Physical exercise can improve PS. However, the effect of exercise on the CGP, and whether this pathway is involved in the improvement of PS, remains unclear. Parkinson’s disease (PD was induced in rats by 6-hydroxydopamine injection into the right medial forebrain bundle. Motor function was assessed using the cylinder test. Striatal neuron (SN spontaneous and evoked firing activity was recorded, and the expression levels of Cav1.3 and CaMKII in the striatum were measured after 4 weeks of treadmill exercise. The motor function in PD rats was improved by treadmill exercise. SN showed significantly enhanced excitability, and treadmill exercise reduced SN excitability in PD rats. In addition, firing activity was evoked in SNs by stimulation of the primary motor cortex, and SNs exhibited significantly decreased stimulus threshold, increased firing rates, and reduced latency. The expression of Cav1.3 and p-CaMKII (Thr286 in the striatum were enhanced in PD rats. However, these effects were reversed by treadmill exercise. These findings suggest that treadmill exercise inhibits CGP hyperactivity in PD rats, which may be related to improvement of PS.

Descending projections from the dysgranular zone of rat primary somatosensory cortex processing deep somatic input.

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Lee, Taehee; Kim, Uhnoh

2012-04-01

In the mammalian somatic system, peripheral inputs from cutaneous and deep receptors ascend via different subcortical channels and terminate in largely separate regions of the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). How these inputs are processed in SI and then projected back to the subcortical relay centers is critical for understanding how SI may regulate somatic information processing in the subcortex. Although it is now relatively well understood how SI cutaneous areas project to the subcortical structures, little is known about the descending projections from SI areas processing deep somatic input. We examined this issue by using the rodent somatic system as a model. In rat SI, deep somatic input is processed mainly in the dysgranular zone (DSZ) enclosed by the cutaneous barrel subfields. By using biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) as anterograde tracer, we characterized the topography of corticostriatal and corticofugal projections arising in the DSZ. The DSZ projections terminate mainly in the lateral subregions of the striatum that are also known as the target of certain SI cutaneous areas. This suggests that SI processing of deep and cutaneous information may be integrated, to a certain degree, in this striatal region. By contrast, at both thalamic and prethalamic levels as far as the spinal cord, descending projections from DSZ terminate in areas largely distinguishable from those that receive input from SI cutaneous areas. These subcortical targets of DSZ include not only the sensory but also motor-related structures, suggesting that SI processing of deep input may engage in regulating somatic and motor information flow between the cortex and periphery. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

What the laboratory rat has taught us about social play behavior: role in behavioral development and neural mechanisms.

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Vanderschuren, Louk J M J; Trezza, Viviana

2014-01-01

Social play behavior is the most vigorous and characteristic form of social interaction displayed by developing mammals. The laboratory rat is an ideal species to study this behavior, since it shows ample social play that can be easily recognized and quantified. In this chapter, we will first briefly describe the structure of social play behavior in rats. Next, we will discuss studies that used social isolation rearing during the period in life when social play is most abundant to investigate the developmental functions of social play behavior in rats, focusing on the consequences of play deprivation on social, cognitive, emotional, and sensorimotor development. Last, we will discuss the neural substrates of social play behavior in rats, with emphasis on the limbic corticostriatal circuits that underlie emotions and their influence on behavior.

Recreational stimulants, herbal, and spice cannabis: The core psychobiological processes that underlie their damaging effects.

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Parrott, Andrew C; Hayley, Amie C; Downey, Luke A

2017-05-01

Recreational drugs are taken for their positive mood effects, yet their regular usage damages well-being. The psychobiological mechanisms underlying these damaging effects will be debated. The empirical literature on recreational cannabinoids and stimulant drugs is reviewed. A theoretical explanation for how they cause similar types of damage is outlined. All psychoactive drugs cause moods and psychological states to fluctuate. The acute mood gains underlie their recreational usage, while the mood deficits on withdrawal explain their addictiveness. Cyclical mood changes are found with every central nervous system stimulant and also occur with cannabis. These mood state changes provide a surface index for more profound psychobiological fluctuations. Homeostatic balance is altered, with repetitive disturbances of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and disrupted cortisol-neurohormonal secretions. Hence, these drugs cause increased stress, disturbed sleep, neurocognitive impairments, altered brain activity, and psychiatric vulnerability. Equivalent deficits occur with novel psychoactive stimulants such as mephedrone and artificial "spice" cannabinoids. These psychobiological fluctuations underlie drug dependency and make cessation difficult. Psychobiological stability and homeostatic balance are optimally restored by quitting psychoactive drugs. Recreational stimulants such as cocaine or MDMA (3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and sedative drugs such as cannabis damage human homeostasis and well-being through similar core psychobiological mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Becoming a Heavily Tattooed Young Body: From a Bodily Experience to a Body Project

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Ferreira, Vitor Sérgio

2014-01-01

Why some young people start to tattoo their bodies? And why some of them keep going on with this practice, until having all body tattooed? What doing so means to them? These are some of the questions that underlie a qualitative research project carried out in Portugal on heavily tattooed young people. In this article, the author discusses their…

PROBLEM-SOLVING METHODS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS

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Александр Васильевич СИДОРЧУК

2015-05-01

Full Text Available There have been proposed projects of technical development for agricultural producers. The conclusions about system features research projects that underlie the problem-solving methods of project management, have been made. There have been proved these projects (systems that can be simulated with the help of the research and formalization of many events. These events are components of the seven main factors of the agricultural production. The conclusion about the using the research method of the probabilistic nature events in the field of the crops projects with the help of the statistical and imitational models, have been developed. There have been considered the relation between the forecasting of functional marks of the technological systems and the estimation of their cost. And there have been found the optimum correspondence between parameters of the technical supply and planned features of the crops projects.

Long-Term Synaptic Changes in Two Input Pathways into the Lateral Nucleus of the Amygdala Underlie Fear Extinction

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Park, Junchol; Choi, June-Seek

2010-01-01

Plasticity in two input pathways into the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA), the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the sensory thalamus, have been suggested to underlie extinction, suppression of a previously acquired conditioned response (CR) following repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus (CS). However, little is known about…

Sensorimotor simulations underlie conceptual representations: modality-specific effects of prior activation.

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Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Barsalou, Lawrence W

2004-02-01

According to the perceptual symbols theory (Barsalou, 1999), sensorimotor simulations underlie the representation of concepts. Simulations are componential in the sense that they vary with the context in which the concept is presented. In the present study, we investigated whether representations are affected by recent experiences with a concept. Concept names (e.g., APPLE) were presented twice in a property verification task with a different property on each occasion. The two properties were either from the same perceptual modality (e.g., green, shiny) or from different modalities (e.g., tart, shiny). All stimuli were words. There was a lag of several intervening trials between the first and second presentation. Verification times and error rates for the second presentation of the concept were higher if the properties were from different modalities than if they were from the same modality.

Blood flow patterns underlie developmental heart defects.

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Midgett, Madeline; Thornburg, Kent; Rugonyi, Sandra

2017-03-01

Although cardiac malformations at birth are typically associated with genetic anomalies, blood flow dynamics also play a crucial role in heart formation. However, the relationship between blood flow patterns in the early embryo and later cardiovascular malformation has not been determined. We used the chicken embryo model to quantify the extent to which anomalous blood flow patterns predict cardiac defects that resemble those in humans and found that restricting either the inflow to the heart or the outflow led to reproducible abnormalities with a dose-response type relationship between blood flow stimuli and the expression of cardiac phenotypes. Constricting the outflow tract by 10-35% led predominantly to ventricular septal defects, whereas constricting by 35-60% most often led to double outlet right ventricle. Ligation of the vitelline vein caused mostly pharyngeal arch artery malformations. We show that both cardiac inflow reduction and graded outflow constriction strongly influence the development of specific and persistent abnormal cardiac structure and function. Moreover, the hemodynamic-associated cardiac defects recapitulate those caused by genetic disorders. Thus our data demonstrate the importance of investigating embryonic blood flow conditions to understand the root causes of congenital heart disease as a prerequisite to future prevention and treatment. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Congenital heart defects result from genetic anomalies, teratogen exposure, and altered blood flow during embryonic development. We show here a novel "dose-response" type relationship between the level of blood flow alteration and manifestation of specific cardiac phenotypes. We speculate that abnormal blood flow may frequently underlie congenital heart defects. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Opponent appetitive-aversive neural processes underlie predictive learning of pain relief.

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Seymour, Ben; O'Doherty, John P; Koltzenburg, Martin; Wiech, Katja; Frackowiak, Richard; Friston, Karl; Dolan, Raymond

2005-09-01

Termination of a painful or unpleasant event can be rewarding. However, whether the brain treats relief in a similar way as it treats natural reward is unclear, and the neural processes that underlie its representation as a motivational goal remain poorly understood. We used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to investigate how humans learn to generate expectations of pain relief. Using a pavlovian conditioning procedure, we show that subjects experiencing prolonged experimentally induced pain can be conditioned to predict pain relief. This proceeds in a manner consistent with contemporary reward-learning theory (average reward/loss reinforcement learning), reflected by neural activity in the amygdala and midbrain. Furthermore, these reward-like learning signals are mirrored by opposite aversion-like signals in lateral orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. This dual coding has parallels to 'opponent process' theories in psychology and promotes a formal account of prediction and expectation during pain.

Hip mechanics underlie lower extremity power training-induced increase in old adults' fast gait velocity : The Potsdam Gait Study (POGS)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beijersbergen, Chantal M. I.; Granacher, Urs; Gäbler, Martijn; DeVita, Paul; Hortobagyi, Tibor

Background: Aging is associated with slowed gait and old compared with young adults generally walk with greater positive hip work (H1) and reduced positive ankle work (A2). The role of exercise interventions on old adults' gait mechanics that underlie training-induced improvements in gait velocity

Altered caudate connectivity is associated with executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury

Science.gov (United States)

De Simoni, Sara; Jenkins, Peter O; Bourke, Niall J; Fleminger, Jessica J; Jolly, Amy E; Patel, Maneesh C; Leech, Robert; Sharp, David J

2018-01-01

Abstract Traumatic brain injury often produces executive dysfunction. This characteristic cognitive impairment often causes long-term problems with behaviour and personality. Frontal lobe injuries are associated with executive dysfunction, but it is unclear how these injuries relate to corticostriatal interactions that are known to play an important role in behavioural control. We hypothesized that executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury would be associated with abnormal corticostriatal interactions, a question that has not previously been investigated. We used structural and functional MRI measures of connectivity to investigate this. Corticostriatal functional connectivity in healthy individuals was initially defined using a data-driven approach. A constrained independent component analysis approach was applied in 100 healthy adult dataset from the Human Connectome Project. Diffusion tractography was also performed to generate white matter tracts. The output of this analysis was used to compare corticostriatal functional connectivity and structural integrity between groups of 42 patients with traumatic brain injury and 21 age-matched controls. Subdivisions of the caudate and putamen had distinct patterns of functional connectivity. Traumatic brain injury patients showed disruption to functional connectivity between the caudate and a distributed set of cortical regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex. Cognitive impairments in the patients were mainly seen in processing speed and executive function, as well as increased levels of apathy and fatigue. Abnormalities of caudate functional connectivity correlated with these cognitive impairments, with reductions in right caudate connectivity associated with increased executive dysfunction, information processing speed and memory impairment. Structural connectivity, measured using diffusion tensor imaging between the caudate and anterior cingulate cortex was impaired and this also correlated with

The vomeronasal cortex - afferent and efferent projections of the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in mice.

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Gutiérrez-Castellanos, Nicolás; Pardo-Bellver, Cecília; Martínez-García, Fernando; Lanuza, Enrique

2014-01-01

Most mammals possess a vomeronasal system that detects predominantly chemical signals of biological relevance. Vomeronasal information is relayed to the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), whose unique cortical target is the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala. This cortical structure should therefore be considered the primary vomeronasal cortex. In the present work, we describe the afferent and efferent connections of the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in female mice, using anterograde (biotinylated dextranamines) and retrograde (Fluorogold) tracers, and zinc selenite as a tracer specific for zinc-enriched (putative glutamatergic) projections. The results show that the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala is strongly interconnected not only with the rest of the vomeronasal system (AOB and its target structures in the amygdala), but also with the olfactory system (piriform cortex, olfactory-recipient nuclei of the amygdala and entorhinal cortex). Therefore, the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala probably integrates olfactory and vomeronasal information. In addition, the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala shows moderate interconnections with the associative (basomedial) amygdala and with the ventral hippocampus, which may be involved in emotional and spatial learning (respectively) induced by chemical signals. Finally, the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala gives rise to zinc-enriched projections to the ventrolateral septum and the ventromedial striatum (including the medial islands of Calleja). This pattern of intracortical connections (with the olfactory cortex and hippocampus, mainly) and cortico-striatal excitatory projections (with the olfactory tubercle and septum) is consistent with its proposed nature as the primary vomeronasal cortex. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Genetics, Neurogenetics and Pharmacogenetics of Addiction.

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Demers, Catherine H; Bogdan, Ryan; Agrawal, Arpana

2014-03-01

Addictions are prevalent psychiatric disorders that confer remarkable personal and social burden. Despite substantial evidence for their moderate, yet robust, heritability (approx. 50%), specific genetic mechanisms underlying their development and maintenance remain unclear. The goal of this selective review is to highlight progress in unveiling the genetic underpinnings of addiction. First, we revisit the basis for heritable variation in addiction before reviewing the most replicable candidate gene findings and emerging signals from genomewide association studies for alcohol, nicotine and cannabis addictions. Second, we survey the modest but growing field of neurogenetics examining how genetic variation influences corticostriatal structure, function, and connectivity to identify neural mechanisms that may underlie associations between genetic variation and addiction. Third, we outline how extant genomic findings are being used to develop and refine pharmacotherapies. Finally, as sample sizes for genetically informed studies of addiction approach critical mass, we posit five exciting possibilities that may propel further discovery (improved phenotyping, rare variant discovery, gene-environment interplay, epigenetics, and novel neuroimaging designs).

Protecting the Innocence of Youth: Moral Sanctity Values Underlie Censorship From Young Children.

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Anderson, Rajen A; Masicampo, E J

2017-11-01

Three studies examined the relationship between people's moral values (drawing on moral foundations theory) and their willingness to censor immoral acts from children. Results revealed that diverse moral values did not predict censorship judgments. It was not the case that participants who valued loyalty and authority, respectively, sought to censor depictions of disloyal and disobedient acts. Rather, censorship intentions were predicted by a single moral value-sanctity. The more people valued sanctity, the more willing they were to censor from children, regardless of the types of violations depicted (impurity, disloyalty, disobedience, etc.). Furthermore, people who valued sanctity objected to indecent exposure only to apparently innocent and pure children-those who were relatively young and who had not been previously exposed to immoral acts. These data suggest that sanctity, purity, and the preservation of innocence underlie intentions to censor from young children.

Planning-related motor processes underlie mental practice and imitation learning.

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Bach, Patric; Allami, Bassem Khalaf; Tucker, Mike; Ellis, Rob

2014-06-01

It is still controversial whether mental practice-the internal rehearsal of movements to improve later performance-relies on processes engaged during physical motor performance and, if so, which processes these are. We report data from 5 experiments, in which participants mentally practiced complex rhythms with either feet or hands while using the same or different body parts to respond to unrelated sounds. We found that responses were impaired for those body parts that were concurrently used in mental practice, suggesting a binding of body-part-specific motor processes to action plans. This result was found when participants mentally trained to memorize the rhythms, to merely improve their performance, when mental practice and execution directly followed one another and when separated by a different task. Finally, it was found irrespective of whether participants practiced on the basis of a symbolic rhythm description and when they practiced by watching somebody perform the rhythms (imitation learning). The effect was eliminated only when the requirement for mental practice was eliminated from the task while keeping visual stimulation identical. These data link mental practice not to execution but planning related motor processes and reveal that these planning processes underlie both mental practice and imitation learning. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Activity of the anterior cingulate cortex and ventral hippocampus underlie increases in contextual fear generalization.

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Cullen, Patrick K; Gilman, T Lee; Winiecki, Patrick; Riccio, David C; Jasnow, Aaron M

2015-10-01

Memories for context become less specific with time resulting in animals generalizing fear from training contexts to novel contexts. Though much attention has been given to the neural structures that underlie the long-term consolidation of a context fear memory, very little is known about the mechanisms responsible for the increase in fear generalization that occurs as the memory ages. Here, we examine the neural pattern of activation underlying the expression of a generalized context fear memory in male C57BL/6J mice. Animals were context fear conditioned and tested for fear in either the training context or a novel context at recent and remote time points. Animals were sacrificed and fluorescent in situ hybridization was performed to assay neural activation. Our results demonstrate activity of the prelimbic, infralimbic, and anterior cingulate (ACC) cortices as well as the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) underlie expression of a generalized fear memory. To verify the involvement of the ACC and vHPC in the expression of a generalized fear memory, animals were context fear conditioned and infused with 4% lidocaine into the ACC, dHPC, or vHPC prior to retrieval to temporarily inactivate these structures. The results demonstrate that activity of the ACC and vHPC is required for the expression of a generalized fear memory, as inactivation of these regions returned the memory to a contextually precise form. Current theories of time-dependent generalization of contextual memories do not predict involvement of the vHPC. Our data suggest a novel role of this region in generalized memory, which should be incorporated into current theories of time-dependent memory generalization. We also show that the dorsal hippocampus plays a prolonged role in contextually precise memories. Our findings suggest a possible interaction between the ACC and vHPC controls the expression of fear generalization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genetic Defects Underlie the Non-syndromic Autosomal Recessive Intellectual Disability (NS-ARID

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Saleha Shamim

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Intellectual disability (ID is a neurodevelopmental disorder which appears frequently as the result of genetic mutations and may be syndromic (S-ID or non-syndromic (NS-ID. ID causes an important economic burden, for patient's family, health systems, and society. Identifying genes that cause S-ID can easily be evaluated due to the clinical symptoms or physical anomalies. However, in the case of NS-ID due to the absence of co-morbid features, the latest molecular genetic techniques can be used to understand the genetic defects that underlie it. Recent studies have shown that non-syndromic autosomal recessive (NS-ARID is extremely heterogeneous and contributes much more than X-linked ID. However, very little is known about the genes and loci involved in NS-ARID relative to X-linked ID, and whose complete genetic etiology remains obscure. In this review article, the known genetic etiology of NS-ARID and possible relationships between genes and the associated molecular pathways of their encoded proteins has been reviewed which will enhance our understanding about the underlying genes and mechanisms in NS-ARID.

Control of Huntington’s Disease-Associated Phenotypes by the Striatum-Enriched Transcription Factor Foxp2

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Lea J. Hachigian

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Summary: Alteration of corticostriatal glutamatergic function is an early pathophysiological change associated with Huntington’s disease (HD. The factors that regulate the maintenance of corticostriatal glutamatergic synapses post-developmentally are not well understood. Recently, the striatum-enriched transcription factor Foxp2 was implicated in the development of these synapses. Here, we show that, in mice, overexpression of Foxp2 in the adult striatum of two models of HD leads to rescue of HD-associated behaviors, while knockdown of Foxp2 in wild-type mice leads to development of HD-associated behaviors. We note that Foxp2 encodes the longest polyglutamine repeat protein in the human reference genome, and we show that it can be sequestered into aggregates with polyglutamine-expanded mutant Huntingtin protein (mHTT. Foxp2 overexpression in HD model mice leads to altered expression of several genes associated with synaptic function, genes that present additional targets for normalization of corticostriatal dysfunction in HD. : Hachigian et al. demonstrate that manipulating levels of the striatum-enriched transcription factor Foxp2 can either rescue or mimic HD-associated behaviors in vivo. They link Foxp2 to the post-developmental regulation of the structure and function of the corticostriatal synapse. Keywords: Huntington’s disease, Foxp2, striatum, corticostriatal synapse

Altered caudate connectivity is associated with executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury.

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De Simoni, Sara; Jenkins, Peter O; Bourke, Niall J; Fleminger, Jessica J; Hellyer, Peter J; Jolly, Amy E; Patel, Maneesh C; Cole, James H; Leech, Robert; Sharp, David J

2018-01-01

Traumatic brain injury often produces executive dysfunction. This characteristic cognitive impairment often causes long-term problems with behaviour and personality. Frontal lobe injuries are associated with executive dysfunction, but it is unclear how these injuries relate to corticostriatal interactions that are known to play an important role in behavioural control. We hypothesized that executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury would be associated with abnormal corticostriatal interactions, a question that has not previously been investigated. We used structural and functional MRI measures of connectivity to investigate this. Corticostriatal functional connectivity in healthy individuals was initially defined using a data-driven approach. A constrained independent component analysis approach was applied in 100 healthy adult dataset from the Human Connectome Project. Diffusion tractography was also performed to generate white matter tracts. The output of this analysis was used to compare corticostriatal functional connectivity and structural integrity between groups of 42 patients with traumatic brain injury and 21 age-matched controls. Subdivisions of the caudate and putamen had distinct patterns of functional connectivity. Traumatic brain injury patients showed disruption to functional connectivity between the caudate and a distributed set of cortical regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex. Cognitive impairments in the patients were mainly seen in processing speed and executive function, as well as increased levels of apathy and fatigue. Abnormalities of caudate functional connectivity correlated with these cognitive impairments, with reductions in right caudate connectivity associated with increased executive dysfunction, information processing speed and memory impairment. Structural connectivity, measured using diffusion tensor imaging between the caudate and anterior cingulate cortex was impaired and this also correlated with measures of

Neural Tuning Functions Underlie Both Generalization and Interference.

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Ian S Howard

Full Text Available In sports, the role of backswing is considered critical for generating a good shot, even though it plays no direct role in hitting the ball. We recently demonstrated the scientific basis of this phenomenon by showing that immediate past movement affects the learning and recall of motor memories. This effect occurred regardless of whether the past contextual movement was performed actively, passively, or shown visually. In force field studies, it has been shown that motor memories generalize locally and that the level of compensation decays as a function of movement angle away from the trained movement. Here we examine if the contextual effect of past movement exhibits similar patterns of generalization and whether it can explain behavior seen in interference studies. Using a single force-field learning task, the directional tuning curves of both the prior contextual movement and the subsequent force field adaptive movements were measured. The adaptation movement direction showed strong directional tuning, decaying to zero by 90° relative to the training direction. The contextual movement direction exhibited a similar directional tuning, although the effect was always above 60%. We then investigated the directional tuning of the passive contextual movement using interference tasks, where the contextual movements that uniquely specified the force field direction were separated by ±15° or ±45°. Both groups showed a pronounced tuning effect, which could be well explained by the directional tuning functions for single force fields. Our results show that contextual effect of past movement influences predictive force compensation, even when adaptation does not require contextual information. However, when such past movement contextual information is crucial to the task, such as in an interference study, it plays a strong role in motor memory learning and recall. This work demonstrates that similar tuning responses underlie both generalization of

Investigation of Cortical Glutamate–Glutamine and γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder by Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

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Simpson, Helen B; Shungu, Dikoma C; Bender, James; Mao, Xiangling; Xu, Xiaoyan; Slifstein, Mark; Kegeles, Lawrence S

2012-01-01

Glutamatergic abnormalities in corticostriatal brain circuits are thought to underlie obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Whether these abnormalities exist in adults with OCD is not clear. We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) to test our hypothesis that unmedicated adults with OCD have reduced glutamate plus glutamine (Glx) levels in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) compared with healthy controls. Levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were also explored. Twenty-four unmedicated adults with OCD and 22 matched healthy control subjects underwent 1H MRS scans at 3.0 T. Resonances of both Glx and GABA were obtained using the standard J-editing technique and assessed as ratios relative to voxel tissue water (W) in the MPFC (the region of interest) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to explore the regional specificity of any finding. In the MPFC, Glx/W did not differ by diagnostic group (p=0.98) or sex (p=0.57). However, GABA/W was decreased in OCD (2.16±0.46 × 10−3) compared with healthy controls (2.43±0.45 × 10−3, p=0.045); moreover, age of OCD onset was inversely correlated with MPFC GABA/W (r=−0.50, p=0.015). MPFC GABA/W was higher in females than in males. In the DLPFC, there were no main effects of diagnosis or gender on Glx/W or GABA/W. These data indicate that unmedicated adults with OCD do not have Glx abnormalities in a MPFC voxel that includes the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. However, they may have decreased MPFC GABA levels. How GABA abnormalities might contribute to corticostriatal dysfunction in OCD deserves further study. PMID:22850733

Inhibitory Gating of Basolateral Amygdala Inputs to the Prefrontal Cortex.

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McGarry, Laura M; Carter, Adam G

2016-09-07

Interactions between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) regulate emotional behaviors. However, a circuit-level understanding of functional connections between these brain regions remains incomplete. The BLA sends prominent glutamatergic projections to the PFC, but the overall influence of these inputs is predominantly inhibitory. Here we combine targeted recordings and optogenetics to examine the synaptic underpinnings of this inhibition in the mouse infralimbic PFC. We find that BLA inputs preferentially target layer 2 corticoamygdala over neighboring corticostriatal neurons. However, these inputs make even stronger connections onto neighboring parvalbumin and somatostatin expressing interneurons. Inhibitory connections from these two populations of interneurons are also much stronger onto corticoamygdala neurons. Consequently, BLA inputs are able to drive robust feedforward inhibition via two parallel interneuron pathways. Moreover, the contributions of these interneurons shift during repetitive activity, due to differences in short-term synaptic dynamics. Thus, parvalbumin interneurons are activated at the start of stimulus trains, whereas somatostatin interneuron activation builds during these trains. Together, these results reveal how the BLA impacts the PFC through a complex interplay of direct excitation and feedforward inhibition. They also highlight the roles of targeted connections onto multiple projection neurons and interneurons in this cortical circuit. Our findings provide a mechanistic understanding for how the BLA can influence the PFC circuit, with important implications for how this circuit participates in the regulation of emotion. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) interact to control emotional behaviors. Here we show that BLA inputs elicit direct excitation and feedforward inhibition of layer 2 projection neurons in infralimbic PFC. BLA inputs are much stronger at corticoamygdala neurons compared

Distinct neural and neuromuscular strategies underlie independent evolution of simplified advertisement calls.

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Leininger, Elizabeth C; Kelley, Darcy B

2013-04-07

Independent or convergent evolution can underlie phenotypic similarity of derived behavioural characters. Determining the underlying neural and neuromuscular mechanisms sheds light on how these characters arose. One example of evolutionarily derived characters is a temporally simple advertisement call of male African clawed frogs (Xenopus) that arose at least twice independently from a more complex ancestral pattern. How did simplification occur in the vocal circuit? To distinguish shared from divergent mechanisms, we examined activity from the calling brain and vocal organ (larynx) in two species that independently evolved simplified calls. We find that each species uses distinct neural and neuromuscular strategies to produce the simplified calls. Isolated Xenopus borealis brains produce fictive vocal patterns that match temporal patterns of actual male calls; the larynx converts nerve activity faithfully into muscle contractions and single clicks. In contrast, fictive patterns from isolated Xenopus boumbaensis brains are short bursts of nerve activity; the isolated larynx requires stimulus bursts to produce a single click of sound. Thus, unlike X. borealis, the output of the X. boumbaensis hindbrain vocal pattern generator is an ancestral burst-type pattern, transformed by the larynx into single clicks. Temporally simple advertisement calls in genetically distant species of Xenopus have thus arisen independently via reconfigurations of central and peripheral vocal neuroeffectors.

Regulation of Alcohol Extinction and Cue-Induced Reinstatement by Specific Projections among Medial Prefrontal Cortex, Nucleus Accumbens, and Basolateral Amygdala.

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Keistler, Colby R; Hammarlund, Emma; Barker, Jacqueline M; Bond, Colin W; DiLeone, Ralph J; Pittenger, Christopher; Taylor, Jane R

2017-04-26

The ability to inhibit drinking is a significant challenge for recovering alcoholics, especially in the presence of alcohol-associated cues. Previous studies have demonstrated that the regulation of cue-guided alcohol seeking is mediated by the basolateral amygdala (BLA), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, given the high interconnectivity between these structures, it is unclear how mPFC projections to each subcortical structure, as well as projections between BLA and NAc, mediate alcohol-seeking behaviors. Here, we evaluate how cortico-striatal, cortico-amygdalar, and amygdalo-striatal projections control extinction and relapse in a rat model of alcohol seeking. Specifically, we used a combinatorial viral technique to express diphtheria toxin receptors in specific neuron populations based on their projection targets. We then used this strategy to create directionally selective ablations of three distinct pathways after acquisition of ethanol self-administration but before extinction and reinstatement. We demonstrate that ablation of mPFC neurons projecting to NAc, but not BLA, blocks cue-induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking and neither pathway is necessary for extinction of responding. Further, we show that ablating BLA neurons that project to NAc disrupts extinction of alcohol approach behaviors and attenuates reinstatement. Together, these data provide evidence that the mPFC→NAc pathway is necessary for cue-induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking, expand our understanding of how the BLA→NAc pathway regulates alcohol behavior, and introduce a new methodology for the manipulation of target-specific neural projections. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The vast majority of recovering alcoholics will relapse at least once and understanding how the brain regulates relapse will be key to developing more effective behavior and pharmacological therapies for alcoholism. Given the high interconnectivity of cortical, striatal, and limbic

Pulvinar projections to the striatum and amygdala

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Jonathan D Day-Brown

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Visually-guided movement is possible in the absence of conscious visual perception, a phenomenon referred to as blindsight. Similarly, fearful images can elicit emotional responses in the absence of their conscious perception. Both capabilities are thought to be mediated by pathways from the retina through the superior colliculus (SC and pulvinar nucleus. To define potential pathways that underlie behavioral responses to unperceived visual stimuli, we examined the projections from the pulvinar nucleus to the striatum and amygdala in the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri, a species considered to be a protypical primate. The tree shrew brain has a large pulvinar nucleus that contains two SC-recipient subdivisions; the dorsal (Pd and central (Pc pulvinar both receive topographic (specific projections from SC, and Pd receives an additional nontopographic (diffuse projection from SC (Chomsung et al., 2008; JCN 510:24-46. Anterograde and retrograde tract tracing revealed that both Pd and Pc project to the caudate and putamen, and Pd, but not Pc, additionally projects to the lateral amygdala. Using immunocytochemical staining for substance P (SP and parvalbumin (PV to reveal the patch/matrix organization of tree shrew striatum, we found that SP-rich/PV-poor patches interlock with a PV-rich/SP-poor matrix. Confocal microscopy revealed that tracer-labeled pulvinostriatal terminals preferentially innervate the matrix. Electron microscopy revealed that the postsynaptic targets of tracer-labeled pulvino-striatal and pulvino-amygdala terminals are spines, demonstrating that the pulvinar nucleus projects to the spiny output cells of the striatum matrix and the lateral amygdala, potentially relaying: 1 topographic visual information from SC to striatum to aid in guiding precise movements, and 2 nontopographic visual information from SC to the amygdala alerting the animal to potentially dangerous visual images.

Co-Option and De Novo Gene Evolution Underlie Molluscan Shell Diversity

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Aguilera, Felipe; McDougall, Carmel

2017-01-01

Abstract Molluscs fabricate shells of incredible diversity and complexity by localized secretions from the dorsal epithelium of the mantle. Although distantly related molluscs express remarkably different secreted gene products, it remains unclear if the evolution of shell structure and pattern is underpinned by the differential co-option of conserved genes or the integration of lineage-specific genes into the mantle regulatory program. To address this, we compare the mantle transcriptomes of 11 bivalves and gastropods of varying relatedness. We find that each species, including four Pinctada (pearl oyster) species that diverged within the last 20 Ma, expresses a unique mantle secretome. Lineage- or species-specific genes comprise a large proportion of each species’ mantle secretome. A majority of these secreted proteins have unique domain architectures that include repetitive, low complexity domains (RLCDs), which evolve rapidly, and have a proclivity to expand, contract and rearrange in the genome. There are also a large number of secretome genes expressed in the mantle that arose before the origin of gastropods and bivalves. Each species expresses a unique set of these more ancient genes consistent with their independent co-option into these mantle gene regulatory networks. From this analysis, we infer lineage-specific secretomes underlie shell diversity, and include both rapidly evolving RLCD-containing proteins, and the continual recruitment and loss of both ancient and recently evolved genes into the periphery of the regulatory network controlling gene expression in the mantle epithelium. PMID:28053006

Abnormal Brain Dynamics Underlie Speech Production in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Pang, Elizabeth W; Valica, Tatiana; MacDonald, Matt J; Taylor, Margot J; Brian, Jessica; Lerch, Jason P; Anagnostou, Evdokia

2016-02-01

A large proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have speech and/or language difficulties. While a number of structural and functional neuroimaging methods have been used to explore the brain differences in ASD with regards to speech and language comprehension and production, the neurobiology of basic speech function in ASD has not been examined. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a neuroimaging modality with high spatial and temporal resolution that can be applied to the examination of brain dynamics underlying speech as it can capture the fast responses fundamental to this function. We acquired MEG from 21 children with high-functioning autism (mean age: 11.43 years) and 21 age- and sex-matched controls as they performed a simple oromotor task, a phoneme production task and a phonemic sequencing task. Results showed significant differences in activation magnitude and peak latencies in primary motor cortex (Brodmann Area 4), motor planning areas (BA 6), temporal sequencing and sensorimotor integration areas (BA 22/13) and executive control areas (BA 9). Our findings of significant functional brain differences between these two groups on these simple oromotor and phonemic tasks suggest that these deficits may be foundational and could underlie the language deficits seen in ASD. © 2015 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research.

Extensive molecular differences between anterior- and posterior-half-sclerotomes underlie somite polarity and spinal nerve segmentation

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Keynes Roger J

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The polarization of somite-derived sclerotomes into anterior and posterior halves underlies vertebral morphogenesis and spinal nerve segmentation. To characterize the full extent of molecular differences that underlie this polarity, we have undertaken a systematic comparison of gene expression between the two sclerotome halves in the mouse embryo. Results Several hundred genes are differentially-expressed between the two sclerotome halves, showing that a marked degree of molecular heterogeneity underpins the development of somite polarity. Conclusion We have identified a set of genes that warrant further investigation as regulators of somite polarity and vertebral morphogenesis, as well as repellents of spinal axon growth. Moreover the results indicate that, unlike the posterior half-sclerotome, the central region of the anterior-half-sclerotome does not contribute bone and cartilage to the vertebral column, being associated instead with the development of the segmented spinal nerves.

Geologic report on the Sand Wash Drilling Project, Moffat and Routt Counties, Colorado

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Carter, T.E.; Wayland, T.E.

1981-09-01

The Sand Wash Basin Drilling Project comprises twenty-seven (27) drill holes located in Moffat and Routt Counties, northwest Colorado, having an aggregate depth of 26,107.5 feet (7957.6 m). The holes penetrate the Browns Park Formation of Miocene age, which is a tuffaceous continental sandstone deposited in fluvial, eolian, and lacustrine environments. Partly based on project drilling results, uranium potential resource estimates for this formation in the $50/lb U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ forward-cost category have been increased by 34,476 tons U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ (35,036 metric tons). Three areas between Maybell and Craig, Colorado, considered favorable for uranium occurrences were verified as favorable by project drilling, and a fourth favorable area northwest of Maybell has been expanded. In addition, project drilling results indicate two new favorable areas, one north and northwest and one south of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Anomalous radioactivity was detected in drill holes in all six study areas of the project. The most important factor in concentrating significant amounts of uranium in the target formation appears to be the availability of gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons and/or hydrogen sulfide gas as reductants. Where subjacent formations supply these reductants to the Browns Park Formation, project drilling encountered 0.05 percent to 0.01 percent uranium concentrations. Potential, though unproven, sources of these reductants are believed to underlie parts of all six project study areas.

Geologic report on the Sand Wash Drilling Project, Moffat and Routt Counties, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, T.E.; Wayland, T.E.

1981-09-01

The Sand Wash Basin Drilling Project comprises twenty-seven (27) drill holes located in Moffat and Routt Counties, northwest Colorado, having an aggregate depth of 26,107.5 feet (7957.6 m). The holes penetrate the Browns Park Formation of Miocene age, which is a tuffaceous continental sandstone deposited in fluvial, eolian, and lacustrine environments. Partly based on project drilling results, uranium potential resource estimates for this formation in the $50/lb U 3 O 8 forward-cost category have been increased by 34,476 tons U 3 O 8 (35,036 metric tons). Three areas between Maybell and Craig, Colorado, considered favorable for uranium occurrences were verified as favorable by project drilling, and a fourth favorable area northwest of Maybell has been expanded. In addition, project drilling results indicate two new favorable areas, one north and northwest and one south of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Anomalous radioactivity was detected in drill holes in all six study areas of the project. The most important factor in concentrating significant amounts of uranium in the target formation appears to be the availability of gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons and/or hydrogen sulfide gas as reductants. Where subjacent formations supply these reductants to the Browns Park Formation, project drilling encountered 0.05 percent to 0.01 percent uranium concentrations. Potential, though unproven, sources of these reductants are believed to underlie parts of all six project study areas

Autonomous and Non-autonomous Defects Underlie Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in BRAF-Mutant hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes

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Rebecca Josowitz

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Germline mutations in BRAF cause cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome (CFCS, whereby 40% of patients develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM. As the role of the RAS/MAPK pathway in HCM pathogenesis is unclear, we generated a human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC model for CFCS from three patients with activating BRAF mutations. By cell sorting for SIRPα and CD90, we generated a method to examine hiPSC-derived cell type-specific phenotypes and cellular interactions underpinning HCM. BRAF-mutant SIRPα+/CD90− cardiomyocytes displayed cellular hypertrophy, pro-hypertrophic gene expression, and intrinsic calcium-handling defects. BRAF-mutant SIRPα−/CD90+ cells, which were fibroblast-like, exhibited a pro-fibrotic phenotype and partially modulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through transforming growth factor β (TGFβ paracrine signaling. Inhibition of TGFβ or RAS/MAPK signaling rescued the hypertrophic phenotype. Thus, cell autonomous and non-autonomous defects underlie HCM due to BRAF mutations. TGFβ inhibition may be a useful therapeutic option for patients with HCM due to RASopathies or other etiologies.

Mutation mechanisms that underlie turnover of a human telomere-adjacent segmental duplication containing an unstable minisatellite.

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Hills, Mark; Jeyapalan, Jennie N; Foxon, Jennifer L; Royle, Nicola J

2007-04-01

Subterminal regions, juxtaposed to telomeres on human chromosomes, contain a high density of segmental duplications, but relatively little is known about the evolutionary processes that underlie sequence turnover in these regions. We have characterized a segmental duplication adjacent to the Xp/Yp telomere, each copy containing a hypervariable array of the DXYS14 minisatellite. Both DXYS14 repeat arrays mutate at a high rate (0.3 and 0.2% per gamete) but linkage disequilibrium analysis across 27 SNPs and a direct crossover assay show that recombination during meiosis is suppressed. Therefore instability at DXYS14a and b is dominated by intra-allelic processes or possibly conversion limited to the repeat arrays. Furthermore some chromosomes (14%) carry only one copy of the duplicon, including one DXYS14 repeat array that is also highly mutable (1.2% per gamete). To explain these and other observations, we propose there is another low-rate mutation process that causes copy number change in part or all of the duplicon.

Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project: water-resources activities

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Robson, Stanley G.; Heiny, Janet S.

1998-01-01

Infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, airports, and dams, is built and maintained by use of large quantities of natural resources such as aggregate (sand and gravel), energy, and water. As urban area expand, local sources of these resource are becoming inaccessible (gravel cannot be mined from under a subdivision, for example), or the cost of recovery of the resource becomes prohibitive (oil and gas drilling in urban areas is costly), or the resources may become unfit for some use (pollution of ground water may preclude its use as a water supply). Governmental land-use decision and environmental mandates can further preclude development of natural resources. If infrastructure resources are to remain economically available. current resource information must be available for use in well-reasoned decisions bout future land use. Ground water is an infrastructure resource that is present in shallow aquifers and deeper bedrock aquifers that underlie much of the 2,450-square-mile demonstration area of the Colorado Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project. In 1996, mapping of the area's ground-water resources was undertaken as a U.S. Geological Survey project in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Interdisciplinary Action in Halls of EJA: the projects work in the light of focus-cultural history

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Cyntia Graziella Guizelim Simões Girotto

2009-11-01

Full Text Available This article aims to discuss the organization of work teaching in classrooms of Pejão (Program of Education for Youth and Adult - Unesp - Linda through the Work Projects, which underlie actions from the perspective of interdisciplinary Theory History-Culture. Pointing to the pedagogical implications of this conception of education, considering the formation of educating young adults and forth the use of time and space for education, production of knowledge, the procedure to information given to school subjects, the development / implementation / development / evaluation of projects of interdisciplinary work in the light of the focus vygotiskiano. Therefore, our gaze is theoretical and methodological back-up for a particular context: the classes of its shares in EJA interdisciplinary. Discuss such issues as follows: the first section, we present the general theory, discussing key concepts such as mediation, activity, learning, development, and then inserted the actions of students and educators of EJA. In a second section, we draw some lessons of that theory, to (re present and (re thinking projects in the EJA, resignified and resizing them by vygotiskiano bias.

X-y interactions underlie sperm head abnormality in hybrid male house mice.

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Campbell, Polly; Nachman, Michael W

2014-04-01

The genetic basis of hybrid male sterility in house mice is complex, highly polygenic, and strongly X linked. Previous work suggested that there might be interactions between the Mus musculus musculus X and the M. m. domesticus Y with a large negative effect on sperm head morphology in hybrid males with an F1 autosomal background. To test this, we introgressed the M. m. domesticus Y onto a M. m. musculus background and measured the change in sperm morphology, testis weight, and sperm count across early backcross generations and in 11th generation backcross males in which the opportunity for X-autosome incompatibilities is effectively eliminated. We found that abnormality in sperm morphology persists in M. m. domesticus Y introgression males, and that this phenotype is rescued by M. m. domesticus introgressions on the X chromosome. In contrast, the severe reductions in testis weight and sperm count that characterize F1 males were eliminated after one generation of backcrossing. These results indicate that X-Y incompatibilities contribute specifically to sperm morphology. In contrast, X-autosome incompatibilities contribute to low testis weight, low sperm count, and sperm morphology. Restoration of normal testis weight and sperm count in first generation backcross males suggests that a small number of complex incompatibilities between loci on the M. m. musculus X and the M. m. domesticus autosomes underlie F1 male sterility. Together, these results provide insight into the genetic architecture of F1 male sterility and help to explain genome-wide patterns of introgression across the house mouse hybrid zone.

Different evolutionary pathways underlie the morphology of wrist bones in hominoids.

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Kivell, Tracy L; Barros, Anna P; Smaers, Jeroen B

2013-10-23

The hominoid wrist has been a focus of numerous morphological analyses that aim to better understand long-standing questions about the evolution of human and hominoid hand use. However, these same analyses also suggest various scenarios of complex and mosaic patterns of morphological evolution within the wrist and potentially multiple instances of homoplasy that would benefit from require formal analysis within a phylogenetic context.We identify morphological features that principally characterize primate - and, in particular, hominoid (apes, including humans) - wrist evolution and reveal the rate, process and evolutionary timing of patterns of morphological change on individual branches of the primate tree of life. Linear morphological variables of five wrist bones - the scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, capitate and hamate - are analyzed in a diverse sample of extant hominoids (12 species, 332 specimens), Old World (8 species, 43 specimens) and New World (4 species, 26 specimens) monkeys, fossil Miocene apes (8 species, 20 specimens) and Plio-Pleistocene hominins (8 species, 18 specimens). Results reveal a combination of parallel and synapomorphic morphology within haplorrhines, and especially within hominoids, across individual wrist bones. Similar morphology of some wrist bones reflects locomotor behaviour shared between clades (scaphoid, triquetrum and capitate) while others (lunate and hamate) indicate clade-specific synapomorphic morphology. Overall, hominoids show increased variation in wrist bone morphology compared with other primate clades, supporting previous analyses, and demonstrate several occurrences of parallel evolution, particularly between orangutans and hylobatids, and among hominines (extant African apes, humans and fossil hominins). Our analyses indicate that different evolutionary processes can underlie the evolution of a single anatomical unit (the wrist) to produce diversity in functional and morphological adaptations across individual wrist

Rat hippocampal alterations could underlie behavioral abnormalities induced by exposure to moderate noise levels.

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Uran, S L; Aon-Bertolino, M L; Caceres, L G; Capani, F; Guelman, L R

2012-08-30

Noise exposure is known to affect auditory structures in living organisms. However, it should not be ignored that many of the effects of noise are extra-auditory. Previous findings of our laboratory demonstrated that noise was able to induce behavioral alterations that are mainly related to the cerebellum (CE) and the hippocampus (HC). Therefore, the aim of this work was to reveal new data about the vulnerability of developing rat HC to moderate noise levels through the assessment of potential histological changes and hippocampal-related behavioral alterations. Male Wistar rats were exposed to noise (95-97 dB SPL, 2h daily) either for 1 day (acute noise exposure, ANE) or between postnatal days 15 and 30 (sub-acute noise exposure, SANE). Hippocampal histological evaluation as well as short (ST) and long term (LT) habituation and recognition memory assessments were performed. Results showed a mild disruption in the different hippocampal regions after ANE and SANE schemes, along with significant behavioral abnormalities. These data suggest that exposure of developing rats to noise levels of moderate intensity is able to trigger changes in the HC, an extra-auditory structure of the Central Nervous System (CNS), that could underlie the observed behavioral effects. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

KV7 Channels Regulate Firing during Synaptic Integration in GABAergic Striatal Neurons

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M. Belén Pérez-Ramírez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Striatal projection neurons (SPNs process motor and cognitive information. Their activity is affected by Parkinson’s disease, in which dopamine concentration is decreased and acetylcholine concentration is increased. Acetylcholine activates muscarinic receptors in SPNs. Its main source is the cholinergic interneuron that responds with a briefer latency than SPNs during a cortical command. Therefore, an important question is whether muscarinic G-protein coupled receptors and their signaling cascades are fast enough to intervene during synaptic responses to regulate synaptic integration and firing. One of the most known voltage dependent channels regulated by muscarinic receptors is the KV7/KCNQ channel. It is not known whether these channels regulate the integration of suprathreshold corticostriatal responses. Here, we study the impact of cholinergic muscarinic modulation on the synaptic response of SPNs by regulating KV7 channels. We found that KV7 channels regulate corticostriatal synaptic integration and that this modulation occurs in the dendritic/spines compartment. In contrast, it is negligible in the somatic compartment. This modulation occurs on sub- and suprathreshold responses and lasts during the whole duration of the responses, hundreds of milliseconds, greatly altering SPNs firing properties. This modulation affected the behavior of the striatal microcircuit.

Resting-State Connectivity Predicts Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesias in Parkinson's Disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herz, Damian M.; Haagensen, Brian N.; Nielsen, Silas H.

2016-01-01

Background: Levodopa-induced dyskinesias are a common side effect of dopaminergic therapy in PD, but their neural correlates remain poorly understood. Objectives: This study examines whether dyskinesias are associated with abnormal dopaminergic modulation of resting-state cortico-striatal connect......Background: Levodopa-induced dyskinesias are a common side effect of dopaminergic therapy in PD, but their neural correlates remain poorly understood. Objectives: This study examines whether dyskinesias are associated with abnormal dopaminergic modulation of resting-state cortico......-striatal connectivity. Methods: Twelve PD patients with peak-of-dose dyskinesias and 12 patients without dyskinesias were withdrawn from dopaminergic medication. All patients received a single dose of fast-acting soluble levodopa and then underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging before any...... dyskinesias emerged. Levodopa-induced modulation of cortico-striatal resting-state connectivity was assessed between the putamen and the following 3 cortical regions of interest: supplementary motor area, primary sensorimotor cortex, and right inferior frontal gyrus. These functional connectivity measures...

Linking Cellular Mechanisms to Behavior: Entorhinal Persistent Spiking and Membrane Potential Oscillations May Underlie Path Integration, Grid Cell Firing, and Episodic Memory

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Michael E. Hasselmo

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The entorhinal cortex plays an important role in spatial memory and episodic memory functions. These functions may result from cellular mechanisms for integration of the afferent input to entorhinal cortex. This article reviews physiological data on persistent spiking and membrane potential oscillations in entorhinal cortex then presents models showing how both these cellular mechanisms could contribute to properties observed during unit recording, including grid cell firing, and how they could underlie behavioural functions including path integration. The interaction of oscillations and persistent firing could contribute to encoding and retrieval of trajectories through space and time as a mechanism relevant to episodic memory.

Mind from genes and neurons: a neurobiological model of Freudian psychology.

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Brito, Gilberto N O

2002-10-01

A hypothetical neurobiological model of Freud's architecture of the mind is presented in an attempt to unify concepts and data derived from molecular biology (e.g., genomic imprinting), systems neuroscience (e.g., neuroanatomochemical circuitries), evolutionary psychology (e.g., human mating strategies), and Freudian psychology. The model posits that events related to genomic imprinting can be regulated in a tissue-specific manner over the course of neural development such that imprinting along the matriline would favor the development of corticostriatal structures whereas imprinting along the patriline would favor the development of limbic-subcortical structures. A neuropsychological analysis of the brain requirements for successful mating presumably would put an evolutionary premium on the corticostriatal system (matrilineal) in men and limbic-subcortical systems (patrilineal) in women. Additionally, the model emphasizes that the ego and the super-ego of Freudian psychology are dependent on corticostriatal mechanisms (matriline-related), while the id is dependent on brainstem processes (patriline-related). It is hoped that the model herein presented has heuristic value for a rapprochement of psychoanalysis and neurobiology.

Brain mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational audiovisual stimuli on psychophysiological responses during exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Bigliassi, Marcelo; Silva, Vinícius B; Karageorghis, Costas I; Bird, Jonathan M; Santos, Priscila C; Altimari, Leandro R

2016-05-01

Motivational audiovisual stimuli such as music and video have been widely used in the realm of exercise and sport as a means by which to increase situational motivation and enhance performance. The present study addressed the mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational stimuli on psychophysiological responses and exercise performance. Twenty-two participants completed fatiguing isometric handgrip-squeezing tasks under two experimental conditions (motivational audiovisual condition and neutral audiovisual condition) and a control condition. Electrical activity in the brain and working muscles was analyzed by use of electroencephalography and electromyography, respectively. Participants were asked to squeeze the dynamometer maximally for 30s. A single-item motivation scale was administered after each squeeze. Results indicated that task performance and situational motivational were superior under the influence of motivational stimuli when compared to the other two conditions (~20% and ~25%, respectively). The motivational stimulus downregulated the predominance of low-frequency waves (theta) in the right frontal regions of the cortex (F8), and upregulated high-frequency waves (beta) in the central areas (C3 and C4). It is suggested that motivational sensory cues serve to readjust electrical activity in the brain; a mechanism by which the detrimental effects of fatigue on the efferent control of working muscles is ameliorated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Double-dissociation between the mechanism leading to impulsivity and inattention in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A resting-state functional connectivity study.

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Sanefuji, Masafumi; Craig, Michael; Parlatini, Valeria; Mehta, Mitul A; Murphy, Declan G; Catani, Marco; Cerliani, Leonardo; Thiebaut de Schotten, Michel

2017-01-01

Two core symptoms characterize Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) subtypes: inattentiveness and hyperactivity-impulsivity. While previous brain imaging research investigated ADHD as if it was a homogenous condition, its two core symptoms may originate from different brain mechanisms. We, therefore, hypothesized that the functional connectivity of cortico-striatal and attentional networks would be different between ADHD subtypes. We studied 165 children (mean age 10.93 years; age range, 7-17 year old) diagnosed as having ADHD based on their revised Conner's rating scale score and 170 typical developing individuals (mean age 11.46 years; age range, 7-17 year old) using resting state functional fMRI. Groups were matched for age, IQ and head motion during the MRI acquisition. We fractionated the ADHD group into predominantly inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive and combined subtypes based on their revised Conner's rating scale score. We then analyzed differences in resting state functional connectivity of the cortico-striatal and attentional networks between these subtypes. We found a double dissociation of functional connectivity in the cortico-striatal and ventral attentional networks, reflecting the subtypes of the ADHD participants. Particularly, the hyperactive-impulsive subtype was associated with increased connectivity in cortico-striatal network, whereas the inattentive subtype was associated with increased connectivity in the right ventral attention network. Our study demonstrated for the first time a right lateralized, double dissociation between specific networks associated with hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattentiveness in ADHD children, providing a biological basis for exploring symptom dimensions and revealing potential targets for more personalized treatments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Postnatal Administration of Allopregnanolone Modifies Glutamate Release but Not BDNF Content in Striatum Samples of Rats Prenatally Exposed to Ethanol

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Roberto Yunes

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Ethanol consumption during pregnancy may induce profound changes in fetal CNS development. We postulate that some of the effects of ethanol on striatal glutamatergic transmission and neurotrophin expression could be modulated by allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid modulator of GABAA receptor activity. We describe the acute pharmacological effect of allopregnanolone (65 μg/kg, s.c. administered to juvenile male rats (day 21 of age on the corticostriatal glutamatergic pathway, in both control and prenatally ethanol-exposed rats (two ip injections of 2.9 g/kg in 24% v/v saline solution on gestational day 8. Prenatal ethanol administration decreased the K+-induced release of glutamate regarding the control group. Interestingly, this effect was reverted by allopregnanolone. Regarding BDNF, allopregnanolone decreases the content of this neurotrophic factor in the striatum of control groups. However, both ethanol alone and ethanol plus allopregnanolone treated animals did not show any change regarding control values. We suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure may produce an alteration of GABAA receptors which blocks the GABA agonist-like effect of allopregnanolone on rapid glutamate release, thus disturbing normal neural transmission. Furthermore, the reciprocal interactions found between GABAergic neurosteroids and BDNF could underlie mechanisms operating during the neuronal plasticity of fetal development.

Projecting my envy onto you: neurocognitive mechanisms of an offline emotional egocentricity bias.

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Steinbeis, Nikolaus; Singer, Tania

2014-11-15

Humans often project their own beliefs, desires and emotions onto others, indicating an inherent egocentrism. In five studies we investigated the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying emotional egocentricity bias (EEB) and specifically an offline EEB, defined as the projection of one's own tendency to react with a certain emotional response pattern in a given situation onto other people. We used a competitive reaction time game associated with monetary gains and losses that allowed inducing feelings of envy and Schadenfreude. While we found evidence for the first hand experience of envy and Schadenfreude, we also observed an offline bias, that is participants on average projected feelings of envy and Schadenfreude when having to judge others. Importantly the extent of experienced and projected social emotions were highly correlated. This bias was observed when participants were both directly involved and also as an uninvolved party, suggesting the offline bias to be independent of the presently experienced emotion. Under increased time pressure however an online bias emerged whereby participants just projected their presently experienced emotions onto the other. Finally, we show that on the neural level shared neuronal networks underlie the offline EEB at least for envy. Thus, for envy, activity of the same part of anterior insula was sensitive to individual differences both in the experience and the projection of envy. These findings outline the set of circumstances leading to specific types of empathic attribution biases and show that individual differences in the experience of social emotions are predictive of the offline egocentricity bias both on a behavioral as well as a neural level. These data extend present models on the neurocognitive mechanisms of interpersonal understanding in the socio-affective domain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Projecting species' vulnerability to climate change: Which uncertainty sources matter most and extrapolate best?

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Steen, Valerie; Sofaer, Helen R; Skagen, Susan K; Ray, Andrea J; Noon, Barry R

2017-11-01

Species distribution models (SDMs) are commonly used to assess potential climate change impacts on biodiversity, but several critical methodological decisions are often made arbitrarily. We compare variability arising from these decisions to the uncertainty in future climate change itself. We also test whether certain choices offer improved skill for extrapolating to a changed climate and whether internal cross-validation skill indicates extrapolative skill. We compared projected vulnerability for 29 wetland-dependent bird species breeding in the climatically dynamic Prairie Pothole Region, USA. For each species we built 1,080 SDMs to represent a unique combination of: future climate, class of climate covariates, collinearity level, and thresholding procedure. We examined the variation in projected vulnerability attributed to each uncertainty source. To assess extrapolation skill under a changed climate, we compared model predictions with observations from historic drought years. Uncertainty in projected vulnerability was substantial, and the largest source was that of future climate change. Large uncertainty was also attributed to climate covariate class with hydrological covariates projecting half the range loss of bioclimatic covariates or other summaries of temperature and precipitation. We found that choices based on performance in cross-validation improved skill in extrapolation. Qualitative rankings were also highly uncertain. Given uncertainty in projected vulnerability and resulting uncertainty in rankings used for conservation prioritization, a number of considerations appear critical for using bioclimatic SDMs to inform climate change mitigation strategies. Our results emphasize explicitly selecting climate summaries that most closely represent processes likely to underlie ecological response to climate change. For example, hydrological covariates projected substantially reduced vulnerability, highlighting the importance of considering whether water

Intratelencephalic corticostriatal neurons equally excite striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons and their discharge activity is selectively reduced in experimental parkinsonism

OpenAIRE

Ballion, B. (B.); Mallet, N. (Nicolas); Bezard, E. (E.); Lanciego, J.L. (José Luis); Gonon, F. (Francois)

2008-01-01

Striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons form distinct populations of striatal projection neurons. Their discharge activity is imbalanced after dopaminergic degeneration in Parkinson's disease. Striatal projection neurons receive massive cortical excitatory inputs from bilateral intratelencephalic (IT) neurons projecting to both the ipsilateral and contralateral striatum and from collateral axons of ipsilateral neurons that send their main axon through the pyramidal tract (PT). Previous anat...

Nitric oxide-soluble guanylyl cyclase-cyclic GMP signaling in the striatum: New targets for the treatment of Parkinson's disease?

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Anthony R West

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Striatal nitric oxide (NO-producing interneurons play an important role in the regulation of corticostriatal synaptic transmission and motor behavior. Striatal NO synthesis is driven by concurrent activation of NMDA and dopamine (DA D1 receptors. NO diffuses into the dendrites of medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs which contain high levels of NO receptors called soluble guanylyl cyclases (sGC. NO-mediated activation of sGC leads to the synthesis of the second messenger cGMP. In the intact striatum, transient elevations in intracellular cGMP primarily act to increase neuronal excitability and to facilitate glutamatergic corticostriatal transmission. NO-cGMP signaling also functionally opposes the inhibitory effects of DA D2 receptor activation on corticostriatal transmission. Not surprisingly, abnormal striatal NO-sGC-cGMP signaling becomes apparent following striatal DA depletion, an alteration thought to contribute to pathophysiological changes observed in basal ganglia circuits in Parkinson’s disease (PD. Here, we discuss recent developments in the field which have shed light on the role of NO-sGC-cGMP signaling pathways in basal ganglia dysfunction and motor symptoms associated with PD and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias.

Qualifications of drivers - vision and diabetes

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

San Francisco UPA projects focus on reducing traffic congestion related to parking in downtown San Francisco. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies underlie many of the San Francisco UPA projects, including parking and roadway sensors...

Real-time parallel processing of grammatical structure in the fronto-striatal system: a recurrent network simulation study using reservoir computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinaut, Xavier; Dominey, Peter Ford

2013-01-01

Sentence processing takes place in real-time. Previous words in the sentence can influence the processing of the current word in the timescale of hundreds of milliseconds. Recent neurophysiological studies in humans suggest that the fronto-striatal system (frontal cortex, and striatum--the major input locus of the basal ganglia) plays a crucial role in this process. The current research provides a possible explanation of how certain aspects of this real-time processing can occur, based on the dynamics of recurrent cortical networks, and plasticity in the cortico-striatal system. We simulate prefrontal area BA47 as a recurrent network that receives on-line input about word categories during sentence processing, with plastic connections between cortex and striatum. We exploit the homology between the cortico-striatal system and reservoir computing, where recurrent frontal cortical networks are the reservoir, and plastic cortico-striatal synapses are the readout. The system is trained on sentence-meaning pairs, where meaning is coded as activation in the striatum corresponding to the roles that different nouns and verbs play in the sentences. The model learns an extended set of grammatical constructions, and demonstrates the ability to generalize to novel constructions. It demonstrates how early in the sentence, a parallel set of predictions are made concerning the meaning, which are then confirmed or updated as the processing of the input sentence proceeds. It demonstrates how on-line responses to words are influenced by previous words in the sentence, and by previous sentences in the discourse, providing new insight into the neurophysiology of the P600 ERP scalp response to grammatical complexity. This demonstrates that a recurrent neural network can decode grammatical structure from sentences in real-time in order to generate a predictive representation of the meaning of the sentences. This can provide insight into the underlying mechanisms of human cortico-striatal

How Christians reconcile their personal political views and the teachings of their faith: Projection as a means of dissonance reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Lee D.; Lelkes, Yphtach; Russell, Alexandra G.

2012-01-01

The present study explores the dramatic projection of one's own views onto those of Jesus among conservative and liberal American Christians. In a large-scale survey, the relevant views that each group attributed to a contemporary Jesus differed almost as much as their own views. Despite such dissonance-reducing projection, however, conservatives acknowledged the relevant discrepancy with regard to “fellowship” issues (e.g., taxation to reduce economic inequality and treatment of immigrants) and liberals acknowledged the relevant discrepancy with regard to “morality” issues (e.g., abortion and gay marriage). However, conservatives also claimed that a contemporary Jesus would be even more conservative than themselves on the former issues whereas liberals claimed that Jesus would be even more liberal than themselves on the latter issues. Further reducing potential dissonance, liberal and conservative Christians differed markedly in the types of issues they claimed to be more central to their faith. A concluding discussion considers the relationship between individual motivational processes and more social processes that may underlie the present findings, as well as implications for contemporary social and political conflict. PMID:22308413

How Christians reconcile their personal political views and the teachings of their faith: projection as a means of dissonance reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Lee D; Lelkes, Yphtach; Russell, Alexandra G

2012-03-06

The present study explores the dramatic projection of one's own views onto those of Jesus among conservative and liberal American Christians. In a large-scale survey, the relevant views that each group attributed to a contemporary Jesus differed almost as much as their own views. Despite such dissonance-reducing projection, however, conservatives acknowledged the relevant discrepancy with regard to "fellowship" issues (e.g., taxation to reduce economic inequality and treatment of immigrants) and liberals acknowledged the relevant discrepancy with regard to "morality" issues (e.g., abortion and gay marriage). However, conservatives also claimed that a contemporary Jesus would be even more conservative than themselves on the former issues whereas liberals claimed that Jesus would be even more liberal than themselves on the latter issues. Further reducing potential dissonance, liberal and conservative Christians differed markedly in the types of issues they claimed to be more central to their faith. A concluding discussion considers the relationship between individual motivational processes and more social processes that may underlie the present findings, as well as implications for contemporary social and political conflict.

Neurons That Underlie Drosophila melanogaster Reproductive Behaviors: Detection of a Large Male-Bias in Gene Expression in fruitless-Expressing Neurons

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Nicole R. Newell

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Male and female reproductive behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster are vastly different, but neurons that express sex-specifically spliced fruitless transcripts (fru P1 underlie these behaviors in both sexes. How this set of neurons can generate such different behaviors between the two sexes is an unresolved question. A particular challenge is that fru P1-expressing neurons comprise only 2–5% of the adult nervous system, and so studies of adult head tissue or whole brain may not reveal crucial differences. Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP identifies the actively translated pool of mRNAs from fru P1-expressing neurons, allowing a sensitive, cell-type-specific assay. We find four times more male-biased than female-biased genes in TRAP mRNAs from fru P1-expressing neurons. This suggests a potential mechanism to generate dimorphism in behavior. The male-biased genes may direct male behaviors by establishing cell fate in a similar context of gene expression observed in females. These results suggest a possible global mechanism for how distinct behaviors can arise from a shared set of neurons.

Left insular cortex and left SFG underlie prismatic adaptation effects on time perception: evidence from fMRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnani, Barbara; Frassinetti, Francesca; Ditye, Thomas; Oliveri, Massimiliano; Costantini, Marcello; Walsh, Vincent

2014-05-15

Prismatic adaptation (PA) has been shown to affect left-to-right spatial representations of temporal durations. A leftward aftereffect usually distorts time representation toward an underestimation, while rightward aftereffect usually results in an overestimation of temporal durations. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural mechanisms that underlie PA effects on time perception. Additionally, we investigated whether the effect of PA on time is transient or stable and, in the case of stability, which cortical areas are responsible of its maintenance. Functional brain images were acquired while participants (n=17) performed a time reproduction task and a control-task before, immediately after and 30 min after PA inducing a leftward aftereffect, administered outside the scanner. The leftward aftereffect induced an underestimation of time intervals that lasted for at least 30 min. The left anterior insula and the left superior frontal gyrus showed increased functional activation immediately after versus before PA in the time versus the control-task, suggesting these brain areas to be involved in the executive spatial manipulation of the representation of time. The left middle frontal gyrus showed an increase of activation after 30 min with respect to before PA. This suggests that this brain region may play a key role in the maintenance of the PA effect over time. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

First Results from HOTSPOT: The Snake River Plain Scientific Drilling Project, Idaho, U.S.A.

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John W. Shervais

2013-03-01

Full Text Available HOTSPOT is an international collaborative effort to understand the volcanic history of the Snake River Plain (SRP. The SRP overlies a thermal anomaly, the Yellowstone-Snake River hotspot, that is thought to represent a deep-seated mantle plume under North America. Theprimary goal of this project is to document the volcanic and stratigraphic history of the SRP, which represents the surface expression of this hotspot, and to understand how it affected the evolution of continental crust and mantle. An additional goal is to evaluate the geothermal potential of southern Idaho.Project HOTSPOT has completed three drill holes. (1 The Kimama site is located along the central volcanic axis of the SRP; our goal here was to sample a long-term record of basaltic volcanism in the wake of the SRP hotspot. (2 The Kimberly site is located near the margin of the plain; our goal here was to sample a record of high-temperaturerhyolite volcanism associated with the underlying plume. This site was chosen to form a nominally continuous record of volcanism when paired with the Kimama site. (3 The Mountain Home site is located in the western plain; our goal here was to sample the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition in lake sediments at this site and to sample older basalts that underlie the sediments.We report here on our initial results for each site, and on some of the geophysical logging studies carried out as part of this project.

What factors underlie children's susceptibility to semantic and phonological false memories? investigating the roles of language skills and auditory short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

McGeown, Sarah P; Gray, Eleanor A; Robinson, Jamey L; Dewhurst, Stephen A

2014-06-01

Two experiments investigated the cognitive skills that underlie children's susceptibility to semantic and phonological false memories in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott procedure (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995). In Experiment 1, performance on the Verbal Similarities subtest of the British Ability Scales (BAS) II (Elliott, Smith, & McCulloch, 1997) predicted correct and false recall of semantic lures. In Experiment 2, performance on the Yopp-Singer Test of Phonemic Segmentation (Yopp, 1988) did not predict correct recall, but inversely predicted the false recall of phonological lures. Auditory short-term memory was a negative predictor of false recall in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. The findings are discussed in terms of the formation of gist and verbatim traces as proposed by fuzzy trace theory (Reyna & Brainerd, 1998) and the increasing automaticity of associations as proposed by associative activation theory (Howe, Wimmer, Gagnon, & Plumpton, 2009). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphology and kainate-receptor immunoreactivity of identified neurons within the entorhinal cortex projecting to superior temporal sulcus in the cynomolgus monkey

Science.gov (United States)

Good, P. F.; Morrison, J. H.; Bloom, F. E. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

Projections of the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus are well known from the classical studies of Cajal (Ramon y Cajal, 1904) and Lorente de No (1933). Projections from the entorhinal cortex to neocortical areas are less well understood. Such connectivity is likely to underlie the consolidation of long-term declarative memory in neocortical sites. In the present study, a projection arising in layer V of the entorhinal cortex and terminating in a polymodal association area of the superior temporal gyrus has been identified with the use of retrograde tracing. The dendritic arbors of neurons giving rise to this projection were further investigated by cell filling and confocal microscopy with computer reconstruction. This analysis demonstrated that the dendritic arbor of identified projection neurons was largely confined to layer V, with the exception of a solitary, simple apical dendrite occasionally ascending to superficial laminae but often confined to the lamina dissecans (layer IV). Finally, immunoreactivity for glutamate-receptor subunit proteins GluR 5/6/7 of the dendritic arbor of identified entorhinal projection neurons was examined. The solitary apical dendrite of identified entorhinal projection neurons was prominently immunolabeled for GluR 5/6/7, as was the dendritic arbor of basilar dendrites of these neurons. The restriction of the large bulk of the dendritic arbor of identified entorhinal projection neurons to layer V implies that these neurons are likely to be heavily influenced by hippocampal output arriving in the deep layers of the entorhinal cortex. Immunoreactivity for GluR 5/6/7 throughout the dendritic arbor of such neurons indicates that this class of glutamate receptor is in a position to play a prominent role in mediating excitatory neurotransmission within hippocampal-entorhinal circuits.

The relationship between female brooding and male nestling provisioning: does climate underlie geographic variation in sex roles?

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Yoon, Jongmin; Sofaer, Helen R.; Sillett, T. Scott; Morrison, Scott A.; Ghalambor, Cameron K.

2017-01-01

Comparative studies of populations occupying different environments can provide insights into the ecological conditions affecting differences in parental strategies, including the relative contributions of males and females. Male and female parental strategies reflect the interplay between ecological conditions, the contributions of the social mate, and the needs of offspring. Climate is expected to underlie geographic variation in incubation and brooding behavior, and can thereby affect both the absolute and relative contributions of each sex to other aspects of parental care such as offspring provisioning. However, geographic variation in brooding behavior has received much less attention than variation in incubation attentiveness or provisioning rates. We compared parental behavior during the nestling period in populations of orange-crowned warblers Oreothlypis celata near the northern (64°N) and southern (33°N) boundaries of the breeding range. In Alaska, we found that males were responsible for the majority of food delivery whereas the sexes contributed equally to provisioning in California. Higher male provisioning in Alaska appeared to facilitate a higher proportion of time females spent brooding the nestlings. Surprisingly, differences in brooding between populations could not be explained by variation in ambient temperature, which was similar between populations during the nestling period. While these results represent a single population contrast, they suggest additional hypotheses for the ecological correlates and evolutionary drivers of geographic variation in brooding behavior, and the factors that shape the contributions of each sex.

Medial septal GABAergic projection neurons promote object exploration behavior and type 2 theta rhythm

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Gangadharan, Gireesh; Shin, Jonghan; Kim, Seong-Wook; Kim, Angela; Paydar, Afshin; Kim, Duk-Soo; Miyazaki, Taisuke; Watanabe, Masahiko; Yanagawa, Yuchio; Kim, Jinhyun; Kim, Yeon-Soo; Kim, Daesoo; Shin, Hee-Sup

2016-01-01

Exploratory drive is one of the most fundamental emotions, of all organisms, that are evoked by novelty stimulation. Exploratory behavior plays a fundamental role in motivation, learning, and well-being of organisms. Diverse exploratory behaviors have been described, although their heterogeneity is not certain because of the lack of solid experimental evidence for their distinction. Here we present results demonstrating that different neural mechanisms underlie different exploratory behaviors. Localized Cav3.1 knockdown in the medial septum (MS) selectively enhanced object exploration, whereas the null mutant (KO) mice showed enhanced-object exploration as well as open-field exploration. In MS knockdown mice, only type 2 hippocampal theta rhythm was enhanced, whereas both type 1 and type 2 theta rhythm were enhanced in KO mice. This selective effect was accompanied by markedly increased excitability of septo-hippocampal GABAergic projection neurons in the MS lacking T-type Ca2+ channels. Furthermore, optogenetic activation of the septo-hippocampal GABAergic pathway in WT mice also selectively enhanced object exploration behavior and type 2 theta rhythm, whereas inhibition of the same pathway decreased the behavior and the rhythm. These findings define object exploration distinguished from open-field exploration and reveal a critical role of T-type Ca2+ channels in the medial septal GABAergic projection neurons in this behavior. PMID:27208094

Prenatal cocaine exposure decreases parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons and GABA-to-projection neuron ratio in the medial prefrontal cortex.

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McCarthy, Deirdre M; Bhide, Pradeep G

2012-01-01

Cocaine abuse during pregnancy produces harmful effects not only on the mother but also on the unborn child. The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin are known as the principal targets of the action of cocaine in the fetal and postnatal brain. However, recent evidence suggests that cocaine can impair cerebral cortical GABA neuron development and function. We sought to analyze the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on the number and distribution of GABA and projection neurons (inhibitory interneurons and excitatory output neurons, respectively) in the mouse cerebral cortex. We found that the prenatal cocaine exposure decreased GABA neuron numbers and GABA-to-projection neuron ratio in the medial prefrontal cortex of 60-day-old mice. The neighboring prefrontal cortex did not show significant changes in either of these measures. However, there was a significant increase in projection neuron numbers in the prefrontal cortex but not in the medial prefrontal cortex. Thus, the effects of cocaine on GABA and projection neurons appear to be cortical region specific. The population of parvalbumin-immunoreactive GABA neurons was decreased in the medial prefrontal cortex following the prenatal cocaine exposure. The cocaine exposure also delayed the developmental decline in the volume of the medial prefrontal cortex. Thus, prenatal cocaine exposure produced persisting and region-specific effects on cortical cytoarchitecture and impaired the physiological balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. These structural changes may underlie the electrophysiological and behavioral effects of prenatal cocaine exposure observed in animal models and human subjects. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Resting state functional MRI in Parkinson's disease: the impact of deep brain stimulation on 'effective' connectivity.

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Kahan, Joshua; Urner, Maren; Moran, Rosalyn; Flandin, Guillaume; Marreiros, Andre; Mancini, Laura; White, Mark; Thornton, John; Yousry, Tarek; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hariz, Marwan; Limousin, Patricia; Friston, Karl; Foltynie, Tom

2014-04-01

Depleted of dopamine, the dynamics of the parkinsonian brain impact on both 'action' and 'resting' motor behaviour. Deep brain stimulation has become an established means of managing these symptoms, although its mechanisms of action remain unclear. Non-invasive characterizations of induced brain responses, and the effective connectivity underlying them, generally appeals to dynamic causal modelling of neuroimaging data. When the brain is at rest, however, this sort of characterization has been limited to correlations (functional connectivity). In this work, we model the 'effective' connectivity underlying low frequency blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations in the resting Parkinsonian motor network-disclosing the distributed effects of deep brain stimulation on cortico-subcortical connections. Specifically, we show that subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation modulates all the major components of the motor cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop, including the cortico-striatal, thalamo-cortical, direct and indirect basal ganglia pathways, and the hyperdirect subthalamic nucleus projections. The strength of effective subthalamic nucleus afferents and efferents were reduced by stimulation, whereas cortico-striatal, thalamo-cortical and direct pathways were strengthened. Remarkably, regression analysis revealed that the hyperdirect, direct, and basal ganglia afferents to the subthalamic nucleus predicted clinical status and therapeutic response to deep brain stimulation; however, suppression of the sensitivity of the subthalamic nucleus to its hyperdirect afferents by deep brain stimulation may subvert the clinical efficacy of deep brain stimulation. Our findings highlight the distributed effects of stimulation on the resting motor network and provide a framework for analysing effective connectivity in resting state functional MRI with strong a priori hypotheses.

Interregional synaptic maps among engram cells underlie memory formation.

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Choi, Jun-Hyeok; Sim, Su-Eon; Kim, Ji-Il; Choi, Dong Il; Oh, Jihae; Ye, Sanghyun; Lee, Jaehyun; Kim, TaeHyun; Ko, Hyoung-Gon; Lim, Chae-Seok; Kaang, Bong-Kiun

2018-04-27

Memory resides in engram cells distributed across the brain. However, the site-specific substrate within these engram cells remains theoretical, even though it is generally accepted that synaptic plasticity encodes memories. We developed the dual-eGRASP (green fluorescent protein reconstitution across synaptic partners) technique to examine synapses between engram cells to identify the specific neuronal site for memory storage. We found an increased number and size of spines on CA1 engram cells receiving input from CA3 engram cells. In contextual fear conditioning, this enhanced connectivity between engram cells encoded memory strength. CA3 engram to CA1 engram projections strongly occluded long-term potentiation. These results indicate that enhanced structural and functional connectivity between engram cells across two directly connected brain regions forms the synaptic correlate for memory formation. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Age-Related Alterations in the Expression of Genes and Synaptic Plasticity Associated with Nitric Oxide Signaling in the Mouse Dorsal Striatum

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Aisa N. Chepkova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Age-related alterations in the expression of genes and corticostriatal synaptic plasticity were studied in the dorsal striatum of mice of four age groups from young (2-3 months old to old (18–24 months of age animals. A significant decrease in transcripts encoding neuronal nitric oxide (NO synthase and receptors involved in its activation (NR1 subunit of the glutamate NMDA receptor and D1 dopamine receptor was found in the striatum of old mice using gene array and real-time RT-PCR analysis. The old striatum showed also a significantly higher number of GFAP-expressing astrocytes and an increased expression of astroglial, inflammatory, and oxidative stress markers. Field potential recordings from striatal slices revealed age-related alterations in the magnitude and dynamics of electrically induced long-term depression (LTD and significant enhancement of electrically induced long-term potentiation in the middle-aged striatum (6-7 and 12-13 months of age. Corticostriatal NO-dependent LTD induced by pharmacological activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors underwent significant reduction with aging and could be restored by inhibition of cGMP hydrolysis indicating that its age-related deficit is caused by an altered NO-cGMP signaling cascade. It is suggested that age-related alterations in corticostriatal synaptic plasticity may result from functional alterations in receptor-activated signaling cascades associated with increasing neuroinflammation and a prooxidant state.

Learning Predictive Statistics: Strategies and Brain Mechanisms.

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Wang, Rui; Shen, Yuan; Tino, Peter; Welchman, Andrew E; Kourtzi, Zoe

2017-08-30

When immersed in a new environment, we are challenged to decipher initially incomprehensible streams of sensory information. However, quite rapidly, the brain finds structure and meaning in these incoming signals, helping us to predict and prepare ourselves for future actions. This skill relies on extracting the statistics of event streams in the environment that contain regularities of variable complexity from simple repetitive patterns to complex probabilistic combinations. Here, we test the brain mechanisms that mediate our ability to adapt to the environment's statistics and predict upcoming events. By combining behavioral training and multisession fMRI in human participants (male and female), we track the corticostriatal mechanisms that mediate learning of temporal sequences as they change in structure complexity. We show that learning of predictive structures relates to individual decision strategy; that is, selecting the most probable outcome in a given context (maximizing) versus matching the exact sequence statistics. These strategies engage distinct human brain regions: maximizing engages dorsolateral prefrontal, cingulate, sensory-motor regions, and basal ganglia (dorsal caudate, putamen), whereas matching engages occipitotemporal regions (including the hippocampus) and basal ganglia (ventral caudate). Our findings provide evidence for distinct corticostriatal mechanisms that facilitate our ability to extract behaviorally relevant statistics to make predictions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Making predictions about future events relies on interpreting streams of information that may initially appear incomprehensible. Past work has studied how humans identify repetitive patterns and associative pairings. However, the natural environment contains regularities that vary in complexity from simple repetition to complex probabilistic combinations. Here, we combine behavior and multisession fMRI to track the brain mechanisms that mediate our ability to adapt to

Subcortical Contributions to Motor Speech: Phylogenetic, Developmental, Clinical.

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Ziegler, W; Ackermann, H

2017-08-01

Vocal learning is an exclusively human trait among primates. However, songbirds demonstrate behavioral features resembling human speech learning. Two circuits have a preeminent role in this human behavior; namely, the corticostriatal and the cerebrocerebellar motor loops. While the striatal contribution can be traced back to the avian anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), the sensorimotor adaptation functions of the cerebellum appear to be human specific in acoustic communication. This review contributes to an ongoing discussion on how birdsong translates into human speech. While earlier approaches were focused on higher linguistic functions, we place the motor aspects of speaking at center stage. Genetic data are brought together with clinical and developmental evidence to outline the role of cerebrocerebellar and corticostriatal interactions in human speech. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Glutamate and GABA in autism spectrum disorder-a translational magnetic resonance spectroscopy study in man and rodent models.

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Horder, Jamie; Petrinovic, Marija M; Mendez, Maria A; Bruns, Andreas; Takumi, Toru; Spooren, Will; Barker, Gareth J; Künnecke, Basil; Murphy, Declan G

2018-05-25

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive neurodevelopmental syndrome with a high human and economic burden. The pathophysiology of ASD is largely unclear, thus hampering development of pharmacological treatments for the core symptoms of the disorder. Abnormalities in glutamate and GABA signaling have been hypothesized to underlie ASD symptoms, and may form a therapeutic target, but it is not known whether these abnormalities are recapitulated in humans with ASD, as well as in rodent models of the disorder. We used translational proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([1H]MRS) to compare glutamate and GABA levels in adult humans with ASD and in a panel of six diverse rodent ASD models, encompassing genetic and environmental etiologies. [1H]MRS was performed in the striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex, of the humans, mice, and rats in order to allow for direct cross-species comparisons in specific cortical and subcortical brain regions implicated in ASD. In humans with ASD, glutamate concentration was reduced in the striatum and this was correlated with the severity of social symptoms. GABA levels were not altered in either brain region. The reduction in striatal glutamate was recapitulated in mice prenatally exposed to valproate, and in mice and rats carrying Nlgn3 mutations, but not in rodent ASD models with other etiologies. Our findings suggest that glutamate/GABA abnormalities in the corticostriatal circuitry may be a key pathological mechanism in ASD; and may be linked to alterations in the neuroligin-neurexin signaling complex.

Age related changes in striatal resting state functional connectivity in autism

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Aarthi ePadmanabhan

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Characterizing the nature of developmental change is critical to understanding the mechanisms that are impaired in complex neurodevelopment disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD and, pragmatically, may allow us to pinpoint periods of plasticity when interventions are particularly useful. Although aberrant brain development has long been theorized as a characteristic feature of ASD, the neural substrates have been difficult to characterize, in part due to a lack of developmental data and to performance confounds. To address these issues, we examined the development of intrinsic functional connectivity with resting state fMRI from late childhood to early adulthood (8-36 years, using a seed based functional connectivity method with the striatum. Overall, we found that both groups show decreases in cortico-striatal circuits over age. However, when controlling for age, ASD participants showed increased connectivity with parietal cortex and decreased connectivity with prefrontal cortex relative to TD participants. In addition, ASD participants showed aberrant age-related changes in connectivity with anterior aspects of cerebellum, and posterior temporal regions (e.g. fusiform gyrus, inferior and superior temporal gyri. In sum, we found prominent differences in the development of striatal connectivity in ASD, most notably, atypical development of connectivity in striatal networks that may underlie cognitive and social reward processing. Our findings highlight the need to identify the biological mechanisms of perturbations in brain reorganization over development, which also may help clarify discrepant findings in the literature.

The psychological and neurochemical mechanisms of drug memory reconsolidation: implications for the treatment of addiction.

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Milton, Amy L; Everitt, Barry J

2010-06-01

Memory reconsolidation is the process by which memories, destabilised at retrieval, require restabilisation to persist in the brain. It has been demonstrated that even old, well-established memories require reconsolidation following retrieval; therefore, memory reconsolidation could potentially be exploited to disrupt, or even erase, aberrant memories that underlie psychiatric disorders, thereby providing a novel therapeutic target. Drug addiction is one such disorder; it is both chronic and relapsing, and one prominent risk factor for a relapse episode is the presentation of environmental cues that have previously been associated with drugs of abuse. This 'cue-induced relapse' can be accounted for in psychological terms by reinforcing memories of the pavlovian association between the cue and the drug, which can thus influence behaviour through at least three psychologically and neurobiologically dissociable mechanisms: conditioned reinforcement, conditioned approach and conditioned motivation. As each of these psychological processes could contribute to the resumption of drug-seeking following abstinence, it is important to develop treatments that can reduce drug-seeking re-established via influences on each or all of these pavlovian processes, in order to minimise the risk of a subsequent relapse. Investigation of the memory reconsolidation mechanisms of the memories underlying conditioned reinforcement, conditioned approach and conditioned motivation indicate that they depend upon different neurochemical systems, including the glutamatergic and adrenergic systems within limbic corticostriatal circuitry. We also discuss here the subsequent translation to the clinic of this preclinical work.

Episodic memory and episodic future thinking impairments in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: an underlying difficulty with scene construction or self-projection?

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Lind, Sophie E; Williams, David M; Bowler, Dermot M; Peel, Anna

2014-01-01

There appears to be a common network of brain regions that underlie the ability to recall past personal experiences (episodic memory) and the ability to imagine possible future personal experiences (episodic future thinking). At the cognitive level, these abilities are thought to rely on "scene construction" (the ability to bind together multimodal elements of a scene in mind--dependent on hippocampal functioning) and temporal "self-projection" (the ability to mentally project oneself through time--dependent on prefrontal cortex functioning). Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by diminished episodic memory, it is unclear whether episodic future thinking is correspondingly impaired. Moreover, the underlying basis of such impairments (difficulties with scene construction, self-projection, or both) is yet to be established. The current study therefore aimed to elucidate these issues. Twenty-seven intellectually high-functioning adults with ASD and 29 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical comparison adults were asked to describe (a) imagined atemporal, non-self-relevant fictitious scenes (assessing scene construction), (b) imagined plausible self-relevant future episodes (assessing episodic future thinking), and (c) recalled personally experienced past episodes (assessing episodic memory). Tests of narrative ability and theory of mind were also completed. Performances of participants with ASD were significantly and equally diminished in each condition and, crucially, this diminution was independent of general narrative ability. Given that participants with ASD were impaired in the fictitious scene condition, which does not involve self-projection, we suggest the underlying difficulty with episodic memory/future thinking is one of scene construction.

Does Growth in the Executive System of Working Memory Underlie Growth in Literacy for Bilingual Children With and Without Reading Disabilities?

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Swanson, H Lee; Orosco, Michael J; Kudo, Milagros

This cohort-sequential study explored the components of working memory (WM) that underlie second language (L2) reading growth in 450 children at risk and not at risk for reading disabilities (RD) whose first language is Spanish. English language learners designated as balanced and nonbalanced bilinguals with and without risk for RD in Grades 1, 2, and 3 at Wave 1 were administered a battery of cognitive (short-term memory, WM, naming speed, and inhibition), vocabulary, and reading measures in Spanish and English. These same measures were administered 1 and 2 years later. Two important findings occurred: First, growth in the WM executive component was significantly related to growth in English word identification and passage comprehension when competing measures (phonological processing, naming speed, inhibition, and fluid intelligence) were entered into the multilevel growth model. Second, children defined as at risk for RD in Wave 1 had lower intercepts than children not at risk at Wave 3 across several measures of cognition, language, and achievement. However, except on measures of the executive component of WM, no significant group differences in linear growth emerged. These findings suggest that growth in L2 reading was tied to growth in the executive system of WM.

Controlling striatal function via anterior frontal cortex stimulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holstein, M.G.A. van; Froböse, M.I.; O'Shea, J.; Aarts, E.; Cools, R.

2018-01-01

Motivational, cognitive and action goals are processed by distinct, topographically organized, corticostriatal circuits. We aimed to test whether processing in the striatum is under causal control by cortical regions in the human brain by investigating the effects of offline transcranial magnetic

Discrete sequence production with and without a pause: the role of cortex, basal ganglia and cerebellum

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Jouen, A.-L.; Verwey, Willem B.; van der Helden, J.; Scheiber, C.; Neveu, R.; Dominey, P.F.; Ventre-Dominey, J.

2013-01-01

Our sensorimotor experience unfolds in sequences over time. We hypothesize that the processing of movement sequences with and without a temporal pause will recruit distinct but cooperating neural processes, including cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar networks. We thus, compare neural activity

Kv4 channels underlie the subthreshold-operating A-type K+-current in nociceptive dorsal root ganglion neurons

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Thanawath R Na Phuket

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The dorsal root ganglion (DRG contains heterogeneous populations of sensory neurons including primary nociceptive neurons and C-fibers implicated in pain signaling.  Recent studies have demonstrated DRG hyperexcitability associated with downregulation of A-type K+ channels; however, the molecular correlate of the corresponding A-type K+ current (IA has remained hypothetical.  Kv4 channels may underlie the IA in DRG neurons.  We combined electrophysiology, molecular biology (whole-tissue and single-cell RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry to investigate the molecular basis of the IA in acutely dissociated DRG neurons from 7-8 day-old rats.  Whole-cell recordings demonstrate a robust tetraethylammonium-resistant (20 mM and 4-aminopyridine-sensitive (5 mM IA.  Matching Kv4 channel properties, activation and inactivation of this IA occur in the subthreshold range of membrane potentials and the rate of recovery from inactivation is rapid and voltage-dependent.  Among Kv4 transcripts, the DRG expresses significant levels of Kv4.1 and Kv4.3 mRNAs.  Also, single small-medium diameter DRG neurons (~30 mm exhibit correlated frequent expression of mRNAs encoding Kv4.1 and Nav1.8, a known nociceptor marker.  In contrast, the expressions of Kv1.4 and Kv4.2 mRNAs at the whole-tissue and single-cell levels are relatively low and infrequent.  Kv4 protein expression in nociceptive DRG neurons was confirmed by immunohistochemistry, which demonstrates colocalization of Kv4.3 and Nav1.8, and negligible expression of Kv4.2.  Furthermore, specific dominant-negative suppression and overexpression strategies confirmed the contribution of Kv4 channels to IA in DRG neurons.  Contrasting the expression patterns of Kv4 channels in the central and peripheral nervous systems, we discuss possible functional roles of these channels in primary sensory neurons.

[Methodological aspects of the reconstitution and evaluation of the behavioral theories that underlie population policy].

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Leeuw, F

1991-09-01

This work discusses methodological aspects of the articulation and evaluation of behavioral theories underlying demographic policies. Such theories, called "policy theories" among other terms, may be defined as a group of hypotheses explicitly translated into predictions about behavior that underlie policy measures and that concern the relations between the measure and the objective to be attained. Interest in policy theories has been reflected in the writings of such demographers as D. Bogue, J. Blake, and T. Burch, and of researchers from other social science disciplines. 2 examples of policy theories from the Netherlands are presented to illustrate the discussion, 1 describing family planning communication programs that were intended to reduce the number of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, and the other describing measures to increase availability of child care services in order to facilitate labor force participation of women and ultimately to increase the birth rate. Both theories are found to be comprised of 2 main parallel theories and several related hypotheses. Because political authorities do not usually make explicit the hypotheses that support political measures, their hypotheses must be articulated and reconstituted through attention to debates, written communications, interviews, and other means. The reconstitution must be done as objectively as possible, which implies the need to follow some methodologic rules. Examples are cited of principles advanced by researchers in management science, market research, and political science. 7 methodological rules or steps are then suggested for articulating policy theories: 1) identify statements relative to the political problem, such as excessive or inadequate fertility rates; 2) use the sources to identify reasons for undertaking concrete policy measures; 3) describe the role of the official in the political process; 4) inventory all declarations concerning the relationship between the objective and the

Distinct moieties underlie biphasic H+ gating of connexin43 channels, producing a pH optimum for intercellular communication

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Garciarena, Carolina D.; Malik, Akif; Swietach, Pawel; Moreno, Alonso P.; Vaughan-Jones, Richard D.

2018-01-01

Most mammalian cells can intercommunicate via connexin-assembled, gap-junctional channels. To regulate signal transmission, connexin (Cx) channel permeability must respond dynamically to physiological and pathophysiological stimuli. One key stimulus is intracellular pH (pHi), which is modulated by a tissue’s metabolic and perfusion status. Our understanding of the molecular mechanism of H+ gating of Cx43 channels—the major isoform in the heart and brain—is incomplete. To interrogate the effects of acidic and alkaline pHi on Cx43 channels, we combined voltage-clamp electrophysiology with pHi imaging and photolytic H+ uncaging, performed over a range of pHi values. We demonstrate that Cx43 channels expressed in HeLa or N2a cell pairs are gated biphasically by pHi via a process that consists of activation by H+ ions at alkaline pHi and inhibition at more acidic pHi. For Cx43 channel–mediated solute/ion transmission, the ensemble of these effects produces a pHi optimum, near resting pHi. By using Cx43 mutants, we demonstrate that alkaline gating involves cysteine residues of the C terminus and is independent of motifs previously implicated in acidic gating. Thus, we present a molecular mechanism by which cytoplasmic acid–base chemistry fine tunes intercellular communication and establishes conditions for the optimal transmission of solutes and signals in tissues, such as the heart and brain.—Garciarena, C. D., Malik, A., Swietach, P., Moreno, A. P., Vaughan-Jones, R. D. Distinct moieties underlie biphasic H+ gating of connexin43 channels, producing a pH optimum for intercellular communication. PMID:29183963

Cortical GluN2B deletion attenuates punished suppression of food reward-seeking.

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Radke, Anna K; Nakazawa, Kazu; Holmes, Andrew

2015-10-01

Compulsive behavior, which is a hallmark of psychiatric disorders such as addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder, engages corticostriatal circuits. Previous studies indicate a role for corticostriatal N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) in mediating compulsive-like responding for drugs of abuse, but the specific receptor subunits controlling reward-seeking in the face of punishment remain unclear. The current study assessed the involvement of corticostriatal GluN2B-containing NMDARs in measures of persistent and punished food reward-seeking. Mice with genetic deletion of GluN2B in one of three distinct neuronal populations, cortical principal neurons, forebrain interneurons, or striatal medium spiny neurons, were tested for (1) sustained food reward-seeking when reward was absent, (2) reward-seeking under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, and (3) persistent reward-seeking after a footshock punishment. Mutant mice with genetic deletion of GluN2B in cortical principal neurons demonstrated attenuated suppression of reward-seeking during punishment. These mice performed normally on other behavioral measures, including an assay for pain sensitivity. Mutants with interneuronal or striatal GluN2B deletions were normal on all behavioral assays. Current findings offer novel evidence that loss of GluN2B-containing NMDARs expressed on principal neurons in the cortex results in reduced punished food reward-seeking. These data support the involvement of GluN2B subunit in cortical circuits regulating cognitive flexibility in a variety of settings, with implications for understanding the basis of inflexible behavior in neuropsychiatric disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and addictions.

A Preliminary Study of DBH (Encoding Dopamine Beta-Hydroxylase) Genetic Variation and Neural Correlates of Emotional and Motivational Processing in Individuals With and Without Pathological Gambling.

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Yang, Bao-Zhu; Balodis, Iris M; Lacadie, Cheryl M; Xu, Jiansong; Potenza, Marc N

2016-06-01

Background and aims Corticostriatal-limbic neurocircuitry, emotional and motivational processing, dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems and genetic factors have all been implicated in pathological gambling (PG). However, allelic variants of genes influencing dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurotransmitters have not been investigated with respect to the neural correlates of emotional and motivational states in PG. Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) converts dopamine to norepinephrine; the T allele of a functional single-nucleotide polymorphism rs1611115 (C-1021T) in the DBH gene is associated with less DBH activity and has been linked to emotional processes and addiction. Here, we investigate the influence of rs1611115 on the neural correlates of emotional and motivational processing in PG and healthy comparison (HC) participants. Methods While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, 18 PG and 25 HC participants, all European Americans, viewed gambling-, sad-, and cocaine-related videotapes. Analyses focused on brain activation differences related to DBH genotype (CC/T-carrier [i.e., CT and TT]) and condition (sad/gambling/cocaine). Results CC participants demonstrated greater recruitment of corticostriatal-limbic regions, relative to T-carriers. DBH variants were also associated with altered corticostriatal-limbic activations across the different videotape conditions, and this association appeared to be driven by greater activation in CC participants relative to T-carriers during the sad condition. CC relative to T-carrier subjects also reported greater subjective sadness to the sad videotapes. Conclusions Individual differences in genetic composition linked to aminergic function contribute significantly to emotional regulation across diagnostic groups and warrant further investigation in PG.

Exaggerated Cap-Dependent Translation as a Mechanism for Corticostriatal Dysfunction in Fragile X Syndrome Model Mice

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2016-10-01

Gordon  Research  Conference  “Fragile  X  and  Autism-­Related  Disorders”.  Vermont,  USA. 2) NCCR  Synapsy  “The  Neurobiology  of   Mental   Health ...and   repetitive/perseverative   behaviours  displayed  by  FXS  model  mice  are  reversed  by  novel   cap-­dependent   translation   inhibitors...graduate   student   Person  months  worked:  3  cal  mos   Contribution  to  project:  perform  experiments  and  analyze  data   Name:  Jonathan

Subthalamic nucleus stimulation reverses mediofrontal influence over decision threshold

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Cavanagh, J.F.; Wiecki, T.V.; Cohen, M.X.; Figueroa, C.M.; Samanta, J.; Sherman, S.J.; Frank, M.J.

2011-01-01

It takes effort and time to tame one's impulses. Although medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is broadly implicated in effortful control over behavior, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is specifically thought to contribute by acting as a brake on cortico-striatal function during decision conflict, buying

A Research Design for NASA-Funded Professional Development Projects

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Bleicher, R. E.; Lambert, J.; Getty, S. R.

2011-12-01

This proposal outlines a research plan designed to measure gains in student learning resulting from their teachers participating in professional development. Project Description Misconceptions about global climate change (GCC) are prevalent in the general public (Kellstedt, Zahran, & Vedlitz, 2008; Washington & Cook, 2011). One solution is to provide high school students with a better grounding in the basic science and data that underlie GCC. The overarching goal of a NASA-funded project, Promoting Educational Leadership in Climate Change Literacy (PEL), is to increase GCC literacy in high school students. Research Design The research design is interpretative (Erickson, 2006), framed within a multi-method design, synthesizing both quantitative and qualitative data sources (Morse, 2003). Overall, the data will provide rich information about the PEL's impact on curriculum development, teacher pedagogical knowledge, and student learning. The expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation (E-V-C) (Fan, 2011; Wigfield & Eccles, 1994) provides a theoretical foundation for the research. Expectancy is the degree to which a teacher or student has reason to expect that they will be successful in school. Value indicates whether they think that performance at school will be worthwhile to them. Cost is the perceived sacrifices that must be undertaken, or factors that can inhibit, a successful performance at school. For students, data from an embedded E-V-C investigation will help articulate how E-V-C factors relate to student interest in science, continuing to study science, or embarking on STEM related careers. For teachers, the E-V-C measures will give insight into a key mediating variable on student achievement in science. The evaluation will seek to address research questions at the student and teacher levels. Table 1 presents a sample of research questions and data sources. This is a sample of a much larger set of questions that will be addressed in the project. Data

Project report - an overview of the project and experiences with project management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg

1996-01-01

A collection of the project planning and the experiences with project management from the Catering 2000 project.As appendieces articles etc. from journals, newspapers etc. about the project.......A collection of the project planning and the experiences with project management from the Catering 2000 project.As appendieces articles etc. from journals, newspapers etc. about the project....

Anti-Streptococcus IgM Antibodies Induce Repetitive Stereotyped Movements: Cell Activation and Co-Localization with Fcα/μ Receptors in the Striatum and Motor Cortex

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Danhui; Patel, Ankur; Zhu, Youhua; Siegel, Allan; Zalcman, Steven S.

2012-01-01

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) infections are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders associated with an increased expression of repetitive stereotyped movements. Anti-streptococcus IgG presumably cross-reacts with elements on basal ganglia cells, modifies their function, and triggers symptoms. IgM may play a unique role in precipitating behavioral disturbances since variations in cortico-striatal activity occur in temporal congruity with peak IgM titers during an orchestrated immune response. We discovered in Balb/c mice that single subcutaneous injections of mouse monoclonal IgM antibodies to Streptococcus Group A bacteria induce marked dose-dependent increases in repetitive stereotyped movements, including head bobbing, sniffing, and intense grooming. Effects were antibody- and antigen-specific: anti-streptococcus IgG stimulated ambulatory activity and vertical activity but not these stereotypies, while anti-KLH IgM reduced activity. We suggest that anti-streptococcus IgM and IgG play unique roles in provoking GABHS-related behavioral disturbances. Paralleling its stereotypy-inducing effects, anti-streptococcus IgM stimulated Fos-like immunoreactivity in regions linked to cortico-striatal projections involved in motor control, including subregions of the caudate, nucleus accumbens, and motor cortex. This is the first evidence that anti-streptococcus IgM antibodies induce in vivo functional changes in these structures. Moreover, there was a striking similarity in the distributions of anti-streptococcus IgM deposits and Fos-like immunoreactivity in these regions. Of further importance, Fcα/μ receptors, which bind IgM, were present- and co-localized with anti-streptococcus IgM in these structures. We suggest that anti-streptococcus IgM-induced alterations of cell activity reflect local actions of IgM that involve Fcα/μ receptors. These findings support the use of anti-streptococcus monoclonal antibody administration in Balb/c mice to model GABHS

Abnormal Bidirectional Plasticity-Like Effects in Parkinson's Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ying-Zu; Rothwell, John C.; Lu, Chin-Song; Chuang, Wen-Li; Chen, Rou-Shayn

2011-01-01

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia is a major complication of long-term dopamine replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease that becomes increasingly problematic in advanced Parkinson's disease. Although the cause of levodopa-induced dyskinesias is still unclear, recent work in animal models of the corticostriatal system has suggested that…

Widespread AAV1- and AAV2-mediated transgene expression in the nonhuman primate brain: implications for Huntington's disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Hadaczek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Huntington's disease (HD is caused by a toxic gain-of-function associated with the expression of the mutant huntingtin (htt protein. Therefore, the use of RNA interference to inhibit Htt expression could represent a disease-modifying therapy. The potential of two recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV, AAV1 and AAV2, to transduce the cortico-striatal tissues that are predominantly affected in HD was explored. Green fluorescent protein was used as a reporter in each vector to show that both serotypes were broadly distributed in medium spiny neurons in the striatum and cortico-striatal neurons after infusion into the putamen and caudate nucleus of nonhuman primates (NHP, with AAV1-directed expression being slightly more robust than AAV2-driven expression. This study suggests that both serotypes are capable of targeting neurons that degenerate in HD, and it sets the stage for the advanced preclinical evaluation of an RNAi-based therapy for this disease.

One project`s waste is another project`s resource

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Short, J.

1997-02-01

The author describes the efforts being made toward pollution prevention within the DOE complex, as a way to reduce overall project costs, in addition to decreasing the amount of waste to be handled. Pollution prevention is a concept which is trying to be ingrained into project planning. Part of the program involves the concept that ultimately the responsibility for waste comes back to the generator. Parts of the program involve efforts to reuse materials and equipment on new projects, to recycle wastes to generate offsetting revenue, and to increase awareness, accountability and incentives so as to stimulate action on this plan. Summaries of examples are presented in tables.

Sensory Processing in the Dorsolateral Striatum: The Contribution of Thalamostriatal Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Alloway, Kevin D.; Smith, Jared B.; Mowery, Todd M.; Watson, Glenn D. R.

2017-01-01

The dorsal striatum has two functionally-defined subdivisions: a dorsomedial striatum (DMS) region involved in mediating goal-directed behaviors that require conscious effort, and a dorsolateral striatum (DLS) region involved in the execution of habitual behaviors in a familiar sensory context. Consistent with its presumed role in forming stimulus-response (S-R) associations, neurons in DLS receive massive inputs from sensorimotor cortex and are responsive to both active and passive sensory stimulation. While several studies have established that corticostriatal inputs contribute to the stimulus-induced responses observed in the DLS, there is growing awareness that the thalamus has a significant role in conveying sensory-related information to DLS and other parts of the striatum. The thalamostriatal projections to DLS originate mainly from the caudal intralaminar region, which contains the parafascicular (Pf) nucleus, and from higher-order thalamic nuclei such as the medial part of the posterior (POm) nucleus. Based on recent findings, we hypothesize that the thalamostriatal projections from these two regions exert opposing influences on the expression of behavioral habits. This article reviews the subcortical circuits that regulate the transmission of sensory information through these thalamostriatal projection systems, and describes the evidence that indicates these circuits could be manipulated to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related neurological disorders. PMID:28790899

The Basolateral Amygdala and Nucleus Accumbens Core Mediate Dissociable Aspects of Drug Memory Reconsolidation

Science.gov (United States)

Theberge, Florence R. M.; Milton, Amy L.; Belin, David; Lee, Jonathan L. C.; Everitt, Barry J.

2010-01-01

A distributed limbic-corticostriatal circuitry is implicated in cue-induced drug craving and relapse. Exposure to drug-paired cues not only precipitates relapse, but also triggers the reactivation and reconsolidation of the cue-drug memory. However, the limbic cortical-striatal circuitry underlying drug memory reconsolidation is unclear. The aim…

Genetic effects on gene expression across human tissues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Battle, Alexis; Brown, Christopher D.; Engelhardt, Barbara E.; Montgomery, Stephen B.; Aguet, François; Ardlie, Kristin G.; Cummings, Beryl B.; Gelfand, Ellen T.; Getz, Gad; Hadley, Kane; Handsaker, Robert E.; Huang, Katherine H.; Kashin, Seva; Karczewski, Konrad J.; Lek, Monkol; Li, Xiao; MacArthur, Daniel G.; Nedzel, Jared L.; Nguyen, Duyen T.; Noble, Michael S.; Segrè, Ayellet V.; Trowbridge, Casandra A.; Tukiainen, Taru; Abell, Nathan S.; Balliu, Brunilda; Barshir, Ruth; Basha, Omer; Bogu, Gireesh K.; Brown, Andrew; Castel, Stephane E.; Chen, Lin S.; Chiang, Colby; Conrad, Donald F.; Cox, Nancy J.; Damani, Farhan N.; Davis, Joe R.; Delaneau, Olivier; Dermitzakis, Emmanouil T.; Eskin, Eleazar; Ferreira, Pedro G.; Frésard, Laure; Gamazon, Eric R.; Garrido-Martín, Diego; Gewirtz, Ariel D. H.; Gliner, Genna; Gloudemans, Michael J.; Guigo, Roderic; Hall, Ira M.; Han, Buhm; He, Yuan

2017-01-01

Characterization of the molecular function of the human genome and its variation across individuals is essential for identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie human genetic traits and diseases. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to characterize variation in gene expression

Project Success in IT Project Management

OpenAIRE

Siddiqui, Farhan Ahmed

2010-01-01

The rate of failed and challenged Information Technology (IT) projects is too high according to the CHAOS Studies by the Standish Group and the literature on project management (Standish Group, 2008). The CHAOS Studies define project success as meeting the triple constraints of scope, time, and cost. The criteria for project success need to be agreed by all parties before the start of the project and constantly reviewed as the project progresses. Assessing critical success factors is another ...

Vague project start makes project success of outsourced software development projects uncertain

OpenAIRE

Savolainen, Paula

2010-01-01

peer-reviewed A definition of a project success includes at least three criteria: 1) meeting planning goals, 2) customer benefits, and 3) supplier benefits. This study aims to point out the importance of the definition of the project start, the project start date, and what work should be included in the project effort in order to ensure the supplier's benefits. The ambiguity of the project start risks the profitability of the project and therefore makes project success at least from suppli...

Project management: a case of fixed price IS/IT projects. Analysis of projects by project scopes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Kral

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The paper provides an overview of major issues of IS / IT projects. Attention will be focused on projects that are implemented under a contract for a specified amount of work and fixed price. The main purpose of the paper is to analyse the project parameters in terms of the types of projects, and to confirm, or refuse, a hypothesis related to this. There is some evidence from the portfolio of projects that have been implemented by the international companies providing IT services. Regarding the localisation, CEE region was selected for our research. The outputs of the paper should be a contribution to managing IS/IT projects in IT service delivery organizations and for the support of innovative thinking about project management generally.

Thermal Analysis of a Dry Storage Concept for Capsule Dry Storage Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

JOSEPHSON, W.S.

2003-01-01

There are 1,936 cesium (Cs) and strontium (Sr) capsules stored in pools at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF). These capsules will be moved to dry storage on the Hanford Site as an interim measure to reduce risk. The Cs/Sr Capsule Dry Storage Project is conducted under the assumption that the capsules will eventually be moved to the repository at Yucca Mountain, and the design criteria include requirements that will facilitate acceptance at the repository. The storage system must also permit retrieval of capsules in the event that vitrification of the capsule contents is pursued. The Capsule Advisory Panel (CAP) was created by the Project Manager for the Hanford Site Capsule Dry Storage Project (CDSP). The purpose of the CAP is to provide specific technical input to the CDSP; to identify design requirements; to ensure design requirements for the project are conservative and defensible; to identify and resolve emerging, critical technical issues, as requested; and to support technical reviews performed by regulatory organizations, as requested. The CAP will develop supporting and summary documents that can be used as part of the technical and safety bases for the CDSP. The purpose of capsule dry storage thermal analysis is to: (1) Summarize the pertinent thermal design requirements sent to vendors, (2) Summarize and address the assumptions that underlie those design requirements, (3) Demonstrate that an acceptable design exists that satisfies the requirements, (4) Identify key design features and phenomena that promote or impede design success, (5) Support other CAP analyses such as corrosion and integrity evaluations, and (6) Support the assessment of proposed designs. It is not the purpose of this report to optimize or fully analyze variations of postulated acceptable designs. The present evaluation will indicate the impact of various possible design features, but not systematically pursue design improvements obtainable through analysis

Managing project complexity : A study into adapting early project phases to improve project performance in large engineering projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosch-Rekveldt, M.G.C.

2011-01-01

Engineering projects become increasingly more complex and project complexity is assumed to be one of the causes for projects being delivered late and over budget. However, what this project complexity actually comprised of was unclear. To improve the overall project performance, this study focuses

Behavioral Ecology of Captive Species: Using Behavioral Adaptations to Assess and Enhance Welfare of Nonhuman Zoo Animals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koene, P.

2013-01-01

This project aimed to estimate a species' adaptations in nature and in captivity, assess welfare, suggest environmental changes, and find species characteristics that underlie welfare problems in nonhuman animals in the zoo. First, the current status of zoo animal welfare assessment was reviewed,

Spent Nuclear Fuel project, project management plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuquay, B.J.

1995-01-01

The Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Project has been established to safely store spent nuclear fuel at the Hanford Site. This Project Management Plan sets forth the management basis for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project. The plan applies to all fabrication and construction projects, operation of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project facilities, and necessary engineering and management functions within the scope of the project

Managing projects using a project management approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko D. Andrejić

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Modern management theory treats all complex tasks and duties like projects and make these projects possible to be managed by a particular organizational-management concept in order to achieve a goal effectively. A large number of jobs and tasks performed in the system of defense or for defense purposes have the characteristics of projects. Project management is both a skill and a science of monitoring human, material, financial, energy and other resources to achieve required objectives within the given limits: deadlines, time, budget, possibility of realization and the satisfaction of the interests of all project participants. Project management is a traditional area of applied (or functional management focused on managing complex and uncertain situations with defined goals. Introduction In conditions of rapid change and high uncertainty, only adaptive organizations survive, i. e. those that are able not only to react quickly to changes but also to proactively take advantage of changes. Development of project management The biggest influence on the development of the area had complex jobs within the engineering profession. In parallel with the traditional approach new approaches began to develop, while the traditional one still remained in use. Contrary to the traditional engineering approach, a dynamic model first developed in order to respond to demands for greater control of costs. Project management Project management is a skill and knowledge of human and material resources to achieve set objectives within prescribed limits: deadlines, time, budget, possibility of realization, and the satisfaction of all participants in the project. In order to realize a project effectively, it is necessary to manage it rationally. Planning and project management A project plan is a document that allows all team members insight on where to go, when to start and when to arrive, what is necessary to be done in order to achieve the project objectives and what

Disconnection and hyper-connectivity underlie reorganization after TBI: A rodent functional connectomic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, N G; Verley, D R; Gutman, B A; Thompson, P M; Yeh, H J; Brown, J A

2016-03-01

predicted by the structural deficits, not only within the primary sensorimotor injury site and pericontused regions, but the normally connected homotopic cortex, as well as subcortical regions, all of which persisted chronically. Especially novel in this study is the unanticipated finding of widespread increases in connection strength that dwarf both the degree and extent of the functional disconnections, and which persist chronically in some sensorimotor and subcortically connected regions. Exploratory global network analysis showed changes in network parameters indicative of possible acutely increased random connectivity and temporary reductions in modularity that were matched by local increases in connectedness and increased efficiency among more weakly connected regions. The global network parameters: shortest path-length, clustering coefficient and modularity that were most affected by trauma also scaled with the severity of injury, so that the corresponding regional measures were correlated to the injury severity most notably at 7 and 14 days and especially within, but not limited to, the contralateral cortex. These changes in functional network parameters are discussed in relation to the known time-course of physiologic and anatomic data that underlie structural and functional reorganization in this experiment model of TBI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Project management of life-science research projects: project characteristics, challenges and training needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Beukers, Margot W

2011-02-01

Thirty-four project managers of life-science research projects were interviewed to investigate the characteristics of their projects, the challenges they faced and their training requirements. A set of ten discriminating parameters were identified based on four project categories: contract research, development, discovery and call-based projects--projects set up to address research questions defined in a call for proposals. The major challenges these project managers are faced with relate to project members, leadership without authority and a lack of commitment from the respective organization. Two-thirds of the project managers indicated that they would be interested in receiving additional training, mostly on people-oriented, soft skills. The training programs that are currently on offer, however, do not meet their needs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Project Leadership Facets on Project Outcome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arslan Ayub

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The study analyzes the role of project leadership facets on effective project outcome. Numerous such initiatives have already been taken on project outcome/performance in the context of apposite leadership styles or project management. However, the current study is unique in the milieu of project outcome that it introduces a new leadership approach, which throws light on the significance of variant leadership facets on project outcome. The study uses explanatory approach; primary data is collected from project management professionals working in different project organizations. The study uses structural equation model (SEM technique to test the hypothesis. The study found a positive relationship between project leadership facets and project outcome.

Project management in practice : Evaluating a case project through project management theories

OpenAIRE

Uusitalo, Jenni

2013-01-01

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate a case project and to study whether it was carried out in a correct manner; meaning that did the case project follow the project management models. In addition, part of the study was to determine what could have been improved in the management of the case project. The case project was about creating and launching a communication channel based on a social media service, on a blog platform called Tumblr, for Team Finland in Spain network. The network p...

Feasibility of neuro-morphic computing to emulate error-conflict based decision making.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Branch, Darren W.

2009-09-01

A key aspect of decision making is determining when errors or conflicts exist in information and knowing whether to continue or terminate an action. Understanding the error-conflict processing is crucial in order to emulate higher brain functions in hardware and software systems. Specific brain regions, most notably the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are known to respond to the presence of conflicts in information by assigning a value to an action. Essentially, this conflict signal triggers strategic adjustments in cognitive control, which serve to prevent further conflict. The most probable mechanism is the ACC reports and discriminates different types of feedback, both positive and negative, that relate to different adaptations. Unique cells called spindle neurons that are primarily found in the ACC (layer Vb) are known to be responsible for cognitive dissonance (disambiguation between alternatives). Thus, the ACC through a specific set of cells likely plays a central role in the ability of humans to make difficult decisions and solve challenging problems in the midst of conflicting information. In addition to dealing with cognitive dissonance, decision making in high consequence scenarios also relies on the integration of multiple sets of information (sensory, reward, emotion, etc.). Thus, a second area of interest for this proposal lies in the corticostriatal networks that serve as an integration region for multiple cognitive inputs. In order to engineer neurological decision making processes in silicon devices, we will determine the key cells, inputs, and outputs of conflict/error detection in the ACC region. The second goal is understand in vitro models of corticostriatal networks and the impact of physical deficits on decision making, specifically in stressful scenarios with conflicting streams of data from multiple inputs. We will elucidate the mechanisms of cognitive data integration in order to implement a future corticostriatal-like network in silicon

Bariatric Surgery in Obese Women of Reproductive Age Improves Conditions That Underlie Fertility and Pregnancy Outcomes: Retrospective Cohort Study of UK National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR).

Science.gov (United States)

Edison, Eric; Whyte, Martin; van Vlymen, Jeremy; Jones, Simon; Gatenby, Piers; de Lusignan, Simon; Shawe, Jill

2016-12-01

The aims of this study are the following: to describe the female population of reproductive age having bariatric surgery in the UK, to assess the age and ethnicity of women accessing surgery, and to assess the effect of bariatric surgery on factors that underlie fertility and pregnancy outcomes. Demographic details, comorbidities, and operative type of women aged 18-45 years were extracted from the National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR). A comparison was made with non-operative cases (aged 18-45 and BMI ≥40 kg/m 2 ) from the Health Survey for England (HSE, 2007-2013). Analyses were performed using "R" software. Data were extracted on 15,222 women from NBSR and 1073 from HSE. Women aged 18-45 comprised 53 % of operations. Non-Caucasians were under-represented in NBSR compared to HSE (10 vs 16 % respectively, p years (Wilcoxon test p year postoperatively from 48.2 ± 8.3 to 37.4 ± 7.5 kg/m 2 (t test, p fertility and pregnancy outcomes. A prospective study is required to verify these effects.

The neurobiological basis of binge-eating disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessler, Robert M; Hutson, Peter H; Herman, Barry K; Potenza, Marc N

2016-04-01

Relatively little is known about the neuropathophysiology of binge-eating disorder (BED). Here, the evidence from neuroimaging, neurocognitive, genetics, and animal studies are reviewed to synthesize our current understanding of the pathophysiology of BED. Binge-eating disorder may be conceptualized as an impulsive/compulsive disorder, with altered reward sensitivity and food-related attentional biases. Neuroimaging studies suggest there are corticostriatal circuitry alterations in BED similar to those observed in substance abuse, including altered function of prefrontal, insular, and orbitofrontal cortices and the striatum. Human genetics and animal studies suggest that there are changes in neurotransmitter networks, including dopaminergic and opioidergic systems, associated with binge-eating behaviors. Overall, the current evidence suggests that BED may be related to maladaptation of the corticostriatal circuitry regulating motivation and impulse control similar to that found in other impulsive/compulsive disorders. Further studies are needed to understand the genetics of BED and how neurotransmitter activity and neurocircuitry function are altered in BED and how pharmacotherapies may influence these systems to reduce BED symptoms. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

From project management to project leadership

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Braun, F.; Avital, M.

2010-01-01

It is virtually a truism that good leadership practices can help project managers with attaining the desired project outcome. However, a better understanding of which leadership practices enable project managers to be more effective warrants further investigation. Subsequently, in this study, we

Ace Project as a Project Management Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Cline, Melinda; Guynes, Carl S.; Simard, Karine

2010-01-01

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve the project goals and objectives while adhering to project constraints--usually scope, quality, time and budget. The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of resources necessary to meet pre-defined objectives. Project management software provides an active…

Computational modeling of stuttering caused by impairments in a basal ganglia thalamo-cortical circuit involved in syllable selection and initiation

Science.gov (United States)

Civier, Oren; Bullock, Daniel; Max, Ludo; Guenther, Frank H.

2013-01-01

A typical white-matter integrity and elevated dopamine levels have been reported for individuals who stutter. We investigated how such abnormalities may lead to speech dysfluencies due to their effects on a syllable-sequencing circuit that consists of basal ganglia (BG), thalamus, and left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC). “Neurally impaired” versions of the neurocomputational speech production model GODIVA were utilized to test two hypotheses: (1) that white-matter abnormalities disturb the circuit via corticostriatal projections carrying copies of executed motor commands, and (2) that dopaminergic abnormalities disturb the circuit via the striatum. Simulation results support both hypotheses: in both scenarios, the neural abnormalities delay readout of the next syllable’s motor program, leading to dysfluency. The results also account for brain imaging findings during dysfluent speech. It is concluded that each of the two abnormality types can cause stuttering moments, probably by affecting the same BG-thalamus-vPMC circuit. PMID:23872286

Projective-anticipating, projective and projective-lag synchronization of chaotic systems with time-varying delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Cunfang; Guan Wei; Wang Yinghai

2013-01-01

We investigate different types of projective (projective-anticipating, projective and projective-lag) synchronization in unidirectionally nonlinearly coupled time-delayed chaotic systems with variable time delays. Based on the Krasovskii–Lyapunov approach, we find both the existence and sufficient stability conditions, using a general class of time-delayed chaotic systems related to optical bistable or hybrid optical bistable devices. Our method has the advantage that it requires only one nonlinearly coupled term to achieve different types of projective synchronization in time-delayed chaotic systems with variable time delays. Compared with other existing works, our result provides an easy way to achieve projective-anticipating, projective and projective-lag synchronization. Numerical simulations of the Ikeda system are given to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. (paper)

Project Success in Agile Development Software Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Farlik, John T.

2016-01-01

Project success has multiple definitions in the scholarly literature. Research has shown that some scholars and practitioners define project success as the completion of a project within schedule and within budget. Others consider a successful project as one in which the customer is satisfied with the product. This quantitative study was conducted…

An IS Project Management Course Project

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Ronald L.

2010-01-01

Information Systems curricula should provide project management (PM) theory, current practice, and hands-on experience. The schedule usually does not allow time in Analysis and Design courses for development oriented project management instruction other than a short introduction. Similarly, networking courses usually don't put project management…

Evaluation of Project Achievements in VOMARE -project

OpenAIRE

Kokkarinen, Eeva

2011-01-01

The purpose of the thesis is to study the achievements of VOMARE –project from the Finnish Lifeboat Institutions perspective. The organisation is a roof organisation for voluntary maritime rescue operation in Finland. The Finnish Lifeboat Institution is a lead partner in VOMARE –project which is EU funded project and the aim of the project is to start voluntary rescue operations in Estonia. The theoretical part of the work is divided into two main categories; project management and planni...

Leading global projects for professional and accidental project leaders

CERN Document Server

Moran, Robert T

2008-01-01

This book is a must-read for anyone responsible for projects and initiatives that span functional and geographical divides. Authors Moran and Youngdahl bring extensive experience and learning from industry practice to present a clear and straightforward treatment of the leadership skills and knowledge required to lead projects that are global in nature. They have written the first book of its kind to address the three essential skills of global project leaders - strategic project management, project leadership, and cross-cultural leadership. The authors argue that global project leadership is an essential skill in our project-based world and that we are all either intentional or accidental project leaders. Intentional project leaders pursue formal project management education and even certification whereas accidental project leaders find themselves leading global projects and initiatives as a result of a special assignment or promotion. Moran and Youndahl have found that the vast majority of global projects ...

Prioritising Project Scope Definition Elements in Public Building Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed K Fageha

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A complete definition of the scope of a project upfront during early stages ensures smooth and successful implementation during the project execution. This research identifies and prioritises project scope definition elements for public buildings in Saudi Arabia. Elements that could significantly contribute to complete project scope definition package at pre-project planning stage are identified and their interrelationship determined and prioritised. Using the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI as a basis, the study uses analytical network process (ANP technique based on data obtained from project managers who have been involved in public sector projects in Saudi Arabia. Data collection and analysis was conducted in three steps. The first step involved identification of scope definition elements while the second involved an investigation into interrelationships among the elements. In the third step, ANP was used to determine the weight of the elements’ importance in terms of contribution to project scope definition completeness. Finally, Pareto analysis was used to prioritise and assess the distribution pattern of the elements. The outcome from this research is the prioritisation of project scope definition elements for public building projects in Saudi Arabia. The prioritised list developed indicates the importance of project scope definition elements. It should help project management teams identify elements to consider when evaluating project scope definition for completeness at the pre-project planning stage. Keywords: Project scope definition, pre-project planning, prioritising, public building projects, Saudi Arabia, Analytical Network Process (ANP

The application of project management in construction projects ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Project management is critical for successful project development. A crucial responsibility of the project manager is ensuring that the client is certified and the scope of work is of high quality, within the agreed budget and time frame. In some way, project financing is completed from the time of project conception. Indeed ...

Perspectives on projects, project success and team work

OpenAIRE

Thompson, Karen

2015-01-01

This paper brings together perspectives on projects, project success and team work as a background to two graphical tools for considering project success and individual capabilities for working in a project team.

Breakdown of local information processing may underlie isoflurane anesthesia effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wollstadt, Patricia; Sellers, Kristin K; Rudelt, Lucas; Priesemann, Viola; Hutt, Axel; Fröhlich, Flavio; Wibral, Michael

2017-06-01

The disruption of coupling between brain areas has been suggested as the mechanism underlying loss of consciousness in anesthesia. This hypothesis has been tested previously by measuring the information transfer between brain areas, and by taking reduced information transfer as a proxy for decoupling. Yet, information transfer is a function of the amount of information available in the information source-such that transfer decreases even for unchanged coupling when less source information is available. Therefore, we reconsidered past interpretations of reduced information transfer as a sign of decoupling, and asked whether impaired local information processing leads to a loss of information transfer. An important prediction of this alternative hypothesis is that changes in locally available information (signal entropy) should be at least as pronounced as changes in information transfer. We tested this prediction by recording local field potentials in two ferrets after administration of isoflurane in concentrations of 0.0%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. We found strong decreases in the source entropy under isoflurane in area V1 and the prefrontal cortex (PFC)-as predicted by our alternative hypothesis. The decrease in source entropy was stronger in PFC compared to V1. Information transfer between V1 and PFC was reduced bidirectionally, but with a stronger decrease from PFC to V1. This links the stronger decrease in information transfer to the stronger decrease in source entropy-suggesting reduced source entropy reduces information transfer. This conclusion fits the observation that the synaptic targets of isoflurane are located in local cortical circuits rather than on the synapses formed by interareal axonal projections. Thus, changes in information transfer under isoflurane seem to be a consequence of changes in local processing more than of decoupling between brain areas. We suggest that source entropy changes must be considered whenever interpreting changes in information

Both genetic and dietary factors underlie individual differences in DNA damage levels and DNA repair capacity

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Slyšková, Jana; Lorenzo, Y.; Karlsen, A.; Carlsen, M. H.; Novosadová, Vendula; Blomhoff, R.; Vodička, Pavel; Collins, A. R.

2014-01-01

Roč. 16, APR 2014 (2014), s. 66-73 ISSN 1568-7864 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP304/12/1585 Institutional support: RVO:68378041 ; RVO:86652036 Keywords : DNA damage * DNA repair capacity * diet Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology; EI - Biotechnology ; Bionics (BTO-N) Impact factor: 3.111, year: 2014

Project Management Yinyang: Coupling project success and client satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greg Stewart Usher

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Our research applies paradox theory to a project management construct to help project management researchers and practitioners understand the tensions that can exist between project success and client satisfaction. Our research highlights that although project success and client satisfaction are both present within a project management construct, they also belong to different functional systems. Project success and client satisfaction have different systemic-discourses and use different language games to convey information. These distinctions can create latent and sometimes salient tensions within the project management construct that project managers must understand, embrace, and work with. We have used a Grounded Theory (GT methodology to explore the lived experience of project managers, and from this have identified a phenomenon which we have termed project management yinyang. Project management yinyang is the state that exists when both project success and Client satisfaction are tightly coupled within the project management construct. Project management yinyang highlights that these two phenomena cannot be viewed as separate elements because the ‘seed’ of each exists within the other. And to truly achieve one, you must also achieve the other. Our findings indicate that in order to create project management yinyang the project manager must embrace a paradoxical yet holistic philosophy. They must understand the complementarity, interdependency, and structural coupling that exists between the positivist and interpretivist paradigms within the project management construct. They must understand how satisfaction (Yin and success (Yang are created through focus. Furthermore, they must understand how project management yinyang is separate from, but borne from, the convergence of the other two elements.

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Citizen Science Projects

Science.gov (United States)

The Quality Assurance Project Plan is necessary for every project that collects or uses environmental data. It documents the project planning process and serves as a blueprint for how your project will run.

Sensory Processing in the Dorsolateral Striatum: The Contribution of Thalamostriatal Pathways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin D. Alloway

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The dorsal striatum has two functionally-defined subdivisions: a dorsomedial striatum (DMS region involved in mediating goal-directed behaviors that require conscious effort, and a dorsolateral striatum (DLS region involved in the execution of habitual behaviors in a familiar sensory context. Consistent with its presumed role in forming stimulus-response (S-R associations, neurons in DLS receive massive inputs from sensorimotor cortex and are responsive to both active and passive sensory stimulation. While several studies have established that corticostriatal inputs contribute to the stimulus-induced responses observed in the DLS, there is growing awareness that the thalamus has a significant role in conveying sensory-related information to DLS and other parts of the striatum. The thalamostriatal projections to DLS originate mainly from the caudal intralaminar region, which contains the parafascicular (Pf nucleus, and from higher-order thalamic nuclei such as the medial part of the posterior (POm nucleus. Based on recent findings, we hypothesize that the thalamostriatal projections from these two regions exert opposing influences on the expression of behavioral habits. This article reviews the subcortical circuits that regulate the transmission of sensory information through these thalamostriatal projection systems, and describes the evidence that indicates these circuits could be manipulated to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD and related neurological disorders.

Project Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pilkington, Alan; Chai, Kah-Hin; Le, Yang

2015-01-01

This paper identifies the true coverage of PM theory through a bibliometric analysis of the International Journal of Project Management from 1996-2012. We identify six persistent research themes: project time management, project risk management, programme management, large-scale project management......, project success/failure and practitioner development. These differ from those presented in review and editorial articles in the literature. In addition, topics missing from the PM BOK: knowledge management project-based organization and project portfolio management have become more popular topics...

Project financing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, A.

1998-01-01

Project financing was defined ('where a lender to a specific project has recourse only to the cash flow and assets of that project for repayment and security respectively') and its attributes were described. Project financing was said to be particularly well suited to power, pipeline, mining, telecommunications, petro-chemicals, road construction, and oil and gas projects, i.e. large infrastructure projects that are difficult to fund on-balance sheet, where the risk profile of a project does not fit the corporation's risk appetite, or where higher leverage is required. Sources of project financing were identified. The need to analyze and mitigate risks, and being aware that lenders always take a conservative view and gravitate towards the lowest common denominator, were considered the key to success in obtaining project financing funds. TransAlta Corporation's project financing experiences were used to illustrate the potential of this source of financing

Wisdom for Building the Project Manager/Project Sponsor Relationship: Partnership for Project Success

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Patton, Nanette; Shechet, Allan

2007-01-01

.... This article discusses conventional roles and responsibilities of the project sponsor and then discusses strategies a project manager can employ to define boundaries to reduce role confusion and promote partnership to facilitate project success.

The CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project Quality Assurance Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fix, N.J.

2008-01-01

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are working on the CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project (hereafter referred to as the Columbia River Project). This is a follow-on project, funded by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC (CHPRC), to the Fluor Hanford, Inc. Columbia River Protection Project. The work scope consists of a number of CHPRC funded, related projects that are managed under a master project (project number 55109). All contract releases associated with the Fluor Hanford Columbia River Project (Fluor Hanford, Inc. Contract 27647) and the CHPRC Columbia River Project (Contract 36402) will be collected under this master project. Each project within the master project is authorized by a CHPRC contract release that contains the project-specific statement of work. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by the Columbia River Project staff

The CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project Quality Assurance Project Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fix, N. J.

2008-11-30

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are working on the CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project (hereafter referred to as the Columbia River Project). This is a follow-on project, funded by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC (CHPRC), to the Fluor Hanford, Inc. Columbia River Protection Project. The work scope consists of a number of CHPRC funded, related projects that are managed under a master project (project number 55109). All contract releases associated with the Fluor Hanford Columbia River Project (Fluor Hanford, Inc. Contract 27647) and the CHPRC Columbia River Project (Contract 36402) will be collected under this master project. Each project within the master project is authorized by a CHPRC contract release that contains the project-specific statement of work. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by the Columbia River Project staff.

Project structure plan requirements for the deconstruction projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrasch, Peter; Schmitt, Christian; Stapf, Meike

2011-01-01

The deconstruction of nuclear facilities requires due to the particular conditions and the size of the project a special project planning. The authors analyze the possible requirements to be fulfilled by a project structure plan for nuclear facilities, including personnel resources, organization structure, budget questions, operation and project oriented measures, possibility of modifications and supplements. Further topics include controlling and project realization procedures, documentation, third party activities (authorities, consultants, surveyors), logistics and transport, and radiation protection issues. Several questions remain for plants-specific planning, including the integration of the plant personnel, administrative work, project management, economic and financial issues, radioactive waste management issues.

Adapting Project Management Practices to Research-Based Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Bahr, P.; Baker, T.; Corbin, B.; Keith, L.; Loerch, L.; Mullenax, C.; Myers, R.; Rhodes, B.; Skytland, N.

2007-01-01

From dealing with the inherent uncertainties in outcomes of scientific research to the lack of applicability of current NASA Procedural Requirements guidance documentation, research-based projects present challenges that require unique application of classical project management techniques. If additionally challenged by the creation of a new program transitioning from basic to applied research in a technical environment often unfamiliar with the cost and schedule constraints addressed by project management practices, such projects can find themselves struggling throughout their life cycles. Finally, supplying deliverables to a prime vehicle customer, also in the formative stage, adds further complexity to the development and management of research-based projects. The Biomedical Research and Countermeasures Projects Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center encompasses several diverse applied research-based or research-enabling projects within the newly-formed Human Research Program. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the organizational structure and environment in which these projects operate and how the projects coordinate to address and manage technical requirements. We will identify several of the challenges (cost, technical, schedule, and personnel) encountered by projects across the Branch, present case reports of actions taken and techniques implemented to deal with these challenges, and then close the session with an open forum discussion of remaining challenges and potential mitigations.

The Influence of Attentional Focus Instructions and Vision on Jump Height Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Abdollahipour, Reza; Psotta, Rudolf; Land, William M.

2016-01-01

Purpose: Studies have suggested that the use of visual information may underlie the benefit associated with an external focus of attention. Recent studies exploring this connection have primarily relied on motor tasks that involve manipulation of an object (object projection). The present study examined whether vision influences the effect of…

Organization of BSc and MSc projects in project families

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ottosen, Lisbeth M.; Goltermann, Per; Jensen, Pernille Erland

2014-01-01

This work reports organization of student thesis projects in project families, with the benefit to both teaching and learning. The project organization went from student projects broadly distributed on topics related to different research issues and individual supervision to project families with...

Project studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geraldi, Joana; Söderlund, Jonas

2018-01-01

Project organising is a growing field of scholarly inquiry and management practice. In recent years, two important developments have influenced this field: (1) the study and practice of projects have extended their level of analysis from mainly focussing on individual projects to focussing on micro......, and of the explanations of project practices they could offer. To discuss avenues for future research on projects and project practice, this paper suggests the notion of project studies to better grasp the status of our field. We combine these two sets of ideas to analyse the status and future options for advancing...... project research: (1) levels of analysis; and (2) type of research. Analysing recent developments within project studies, we observe the emergence of what we refer to as type 3 research, which reconciles the need for theoretical development and engagement with practice. Type 3 research suggests pragmatic...

Multiple levels in the organisation of innovation : project organization in single-firm projects and multi-firm projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jaspers, F.P.H.; Ende, van den J.C.M.; Borgh, van der W.; Yin, Jie

2008-01-01

Studies about how the organization of new product (and new service) development projects (NPD) projects influences project performance typically investigate this in Single-firm projects, i.e. projects with high ownership integration. However, NPD projects are often performed by two or more

Research Project Evaluation-Learnings from the PATHWAYS Project Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Galas, Aleksander; Pilat, Aleksandra; Leonardi, Matilde; Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata

2018-05-25

Every research project faces challenges regarding how to achieve its goals in a timely and effective manner. The purpose of this paper is to present a project evaluation methodology gathered during the implementation of the Participation to Healthy Workplaces and Inclusive Strategies in the Work Sector (the EU PATHWAYS Project). The PATHWAYS project involved multiple countries and multi-cultural aspects of re/integrating chronically ill patients into labor markets in different countries. This paper describes key project's evaluation issues including: (1) purposes, (2) advisability, (3) tools, (4) implementation, and (5) possible benefits and presents the advantages of a continuous monitoring. Project evaluation tool to assess structure and resources, process, management and communication, achievements, and outcomes. The project used a mixed evaluation approach and included Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (SWOT) analysis. A methodology for longitudinal EU projects' evaluation is described. The evaluation process allowed to highlight strengths and weaknesses and highlighted good coordination and communication between project partners as well as some key issues such as: the need for a shared glossary covering areas investigated by the project, problematic issues related to the involvement of stakeholders from outside the project, and issues with timing. Numerical SWOT analysis showed improvement in project performance over time. The proportion of participating project partners in the evaluation varied from 100% to 83.3%. There is a need for the implementation of a structured evaluation process in multidisciplinary projects involving different stakeholders in diverse socio-environmental and political conditions. Based on the PATHWAYS experience, a clear monitoring methodology is suggested as essential in every multidisciplinary research projects.

Project financing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, M.U.

1990-01-01

This paper presents the basic concepts and components of the project financing of large industrial facilities. Diagrams of a simple partnership structure and a simple leveraged lease structure are included. Finally, a Hypothetical Project is described with basic issues identified for discussion purposes. The topics of the paper include non-recourse financing, principal advantages and objectives, disadvantages, project financing participants and agreements, feasibility studies, organization of the project company, principal agreements in a project financing, insurance, and an examination of a hypothetical project

Distinct Reward Properties are Encoded via Corticostriatal Interactions

OpenAIRE

David V. Smith; Anastasia E. Rigney; Mauricio R. Delgado

2016-01-01

The striatum serves as a critical brain region for reward processing. Yet, understanding the link between striatum and reward presents a challenge because rewards are composed of multiple properties. Notably, affective properties modulate emotion while informative properties help obtain future rewards. We approached this problem by emphasizing affective and informative reward properties within two independent guessing games. We found that both reward properties evoked activation within the nu...

Project Notes

Science.gov (United States)

School Science Review, 1978

1978-01-01

Presents sixteen project notes developed by pupils of Chipping Norton School and Bristol Grammar School, in the United Kingdom. These Projects include eight biology A-level projects and eight Chemistry A-level projects. (HM)

Project Management and the Project Manager: A Strategy for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Development and Management Review ... collapse, project failure, project abandonment, project cost and time overruns, etc. ... component parts that constitute project management in the building construction industry.

Locale-Specific Categorization of IT Projects for Proper Project Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Nasir

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we aim to show that not only are the project management techniques important for small-scale projects, but following proper project management techniques is one of the most important requirements. However, there come slight variations in implementing project management techniques in small projects as compared with larger projects. Therefore, proper categorization of projects holds the key to success in many situations. Our paper will show that categorization of a project as small-scale or large-scale should always be locale specific. In this regards, we develop a criteria and evaluate how the projects are categorized as small-scale and large-scale in different parts of the world with focus on IT projects. This research concludes that some methods cannot be used for projects of different scales.

Distinctive hippocampal and amygdalar cytoarchitectural changes underlie specific patterns of behavioral disruption following stress exposure in an animal model of PTSD.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Hagit; Kozlovsky, Nitsan; Matar, Michael A; Zohar, Joseph; Kaplan, Zeev

2014-12-01

Alterations in cytoarchitecture and molecular signaling have been observed in adaptive and maladaptive responses to stress and presumably underlie the physiological and behavioral changes observed. The relationship between behavioral responses to stress exposure and changes in cytoarchitecture of subregions of the hippocampus and amygdala was investigated in an animal model of PTSD. Behaviors in elevated plus-maze and acoustic startle response tests were assessed in rats 7 days after exposure to predator scent stress. Brains were harvested 24h later. Neurons from CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus subregions and basolateral amygdala were reconstructed and subjected to Sholl analysis and spine density estimation. Glucocorticoid receptor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, phospho-NR1-Ser-889, phospho-GluR1-Ser-845, phospho-calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II-Thy-286, post-synaptic density protein 95 and phospho-CREB-Ser-133 were evaluated in the hippocampus. Data were analyzed by retrospective classification of individual rats into three behavioral response groups. The extent and distribution of changes in the morphology of hippocampal and amygdalar dendrites was significantly associated with stress-induced behavioral response classification. Extreme (PTSD-like) behavioral disruption was associated with extensive neuronal retraction in the hippocampus and proliferation in the amygdala. Neither structure displayed such changes in minimal behavioral responders. Partial behavioral response was associated with identical changes in the hippocampus only. Patterns of change in requisite molecular signaling genes and endophenotypic markers corresponded to the structural and behavioral responses. The extent and distribution of changes in the cytoarchitecture of hippocampal and amygdalar subregions is directly related to the pattern of behavioral response of the individual to stress exposure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Managing Projects for Change: Contextualised Project Management

Science.gov (United States)

Tynan, Belinda; Adlington, Rachael; Stewart, Cherry; Vale, Deborah; Sims, Rod; Shanahan, Peter

2010-01-01

This paper will detail three projects which focussed on enhancing online learning at a large Australian distance education University within a School of Business, School of Health and School of Education. Each project had special funding and took quite distinctive project management approaches, which reflect the desire to embed innovation and…

Improving Project Portfolio Management (PPM) for Improvement Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pries-Heje, Jan; Jakobsen, Peter M.; Korsaa, Morten

2017-01-01

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) focus on the integration and alignment of projects with the business operation in order to achieve most value and cost-efficiency for the investment in projects. PPM is often a challenge and especially so for improvement projects where PPM is considerably...... of evaluating a portfolio of improvement projects and combine this evaluation with the effect they have on the CMMI maturity level. Further, the paper demonstrates how the combination of a strong senior management requirement for improved maturity and the focus on getting the most value out of PPM made...

Project planning and project management of Baseball II-T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozman, T.A.; Chargin, A.K.

1975-01-01

The details of the project planning and project management work done on the Baseball II-T experiment are reviewed. The LLL Baseball program is a plasma confinement experiment accomplished with a superconducting magnet in the shape of a baseball seam. Both project planning and project management made use of the Critical Path Management (CPM) computer code. The computer code, input, and results from the project planning and project management runs, and the cost and effectiveness of this method of systems planning are discussed

Integrated Project Teams - An Essential Element of Project Management during Project Planning and Execution - 12155

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burritt, James G.; Berkey, Edgar [Longenecker and Associates, Las Vegas, NV 89135 (United States)

2012-07-01

Managing complex projects requires a capable, effective project manager to be in place, who is assisted by a team of competent assistants in various relevant disciplines. This team of assistants is known as the Integrated Project Team (IPT). he IPT is composed of a multidisciplinary group of people who are collectively responsible for delivering a defined project outcome and who plan, execute, and implement over the entire life-cycle of a project, which can be a facility being constructed or a system being acquired. An ideal IPT includes empowered representatives from all functional areas involved with a project-such as engineering design, technology, manufacturing, test and evaluation, contracts, legal, logistics, and especially, the customer. Effective IPTs are an essential element of scope, cost, and schedule control for any complex, large construction project, whether funded by DOE or another organization. By recently assessing a number of major, on-going DOE waste management projects, the characteristics of high performing IPTs have been defined as well as the reasons for potential IPT failure. Project managers should use IPTs to plan and execute projects, but the IPTs must be properly constituted and the members capable and empowered. For them to be effective, the project manager must select the right team, and provide them with the training and guidance for them to be effective. IPT members must treat their IPT assignment as a primary duty, not some ancillary function. All team members must have an understanding of the factors associated with successful IPTs, and the reasons that some IPTs fail. Integrated Project Teams should be used by both government and industry. (authors)

GEROHABITACIÓN, COHABITACIÓN, INDETERMINACIÓN: TRES ESTRATEGIAS DE PROYECTO PARA LA TERCERA EDAD / SENIOR HOUSING, COHABITATION, INDETERMINATION: THREE PROJECT STRATEGIES FOR THE ELDERLY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Pérez-Duarte Fernández

2016-05-01

Full Text Available RESUMEN Frente al problema del envejecimiento de la población, un fenómeno mundial, se presenta hoy un desafío para el proyectista en relación a la habitación colectiva. Se trata de un conjunto importante de usuarios que aparecen con necesidades particulares, que necesitan no apenas de una vivienda adaptada en términos físicos, sino ambientes adecuados en términos sociales y operativos. Se propone situar aquí un proceso de observación, y registro de casos de estudio, para evidenciar las diversas estrategias que subyacen en torno al proyecto habitacional para gente mayor. A lo largo del artículo se observan tres vocablos o descriptores, que pueden convertirse en verdaderos operadores proyectuales. Tal es el caso del hábitat satélite, la matriz indiferenciada y el espacio de apropiación. SUMMARY Due to the worldwide phenomenon of population aging, designers face a new challenge regarding collective housing. An important set of users with special needs requires not only adapted housing in physical terms, but also adequate environment in social and operational terms. This paper reflects observations and registration of case studies to highlight the various strategies that underlie senior housing projects. Throughout the article, three words or descriptors are observed, which can become real project operators, to wit, satellite habitat, undifferentiated matrix, and appropriation space.

Top-down and bottom-up attention-to-memory: mapping functional connectivity in two distinct networks that underlie cued and uncued recognition memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Burianová, Hana; Ciaramelli, Elisa; Grady, Cheryl L; Moscovitch, Morris

2012-11-15

The objective of this study was to examine the functional connectivity of brain regions active during cued and uncued recognition memory to test the idea that distinct networks would underlie these memory processes, as predicted by the attention-to-memory (AtoM) hypothesis. The AtoM hypothesis suggests that dorsal parietal cortex (DPC) allocates effortful top-down attention to memory retrieval during cued retrieval, whereas ventral parietal cortex (VPC) mediates spontaneous bottom-up capture of attention by memory during uncued retrieval. To identify networks associated with these two processes, we conducted a functional connectivity analysis of a left DPC and a left VPC region, both identified by a previous analysis of task-related regional activations. We hypothesized that the two parietal regions would be functionally connected with distinct neural networks, reflecting their engagement in the differential mnemonic processes. We found two spatially dissociated networks that overlapped only in the precuneus. During cued trials, DPC was functionally connected with dorsal attention areas, including the superior parietal lobules, right precuneus, and premotor cortex, as well as relevant memory areas, such as the left hippocampus and the middle frontal gyri. During uncued trials, VPC was functionally connected with ventral attention areas, including the supramarginal gyrus, cuneus, and right fusiform gyrus, as well as the parahippocampal gyrus. In addition, activity in the DPC network was associated with faster response times for cued retrieval. This is the first study to show a dissociation of the functional connectivity of posterior parietal regions during episodic memory retrieval, characterized by a top-down AtoM network involving DPC and a bottom-up AtoM network involving VPC. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental Science: 49 Science Fair Projects. Science Fair Projects Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnet, Robert L.; Keen, G. Daniel

This book contains 49 science fair projects designed for 6th to 9th grade students. Projects are organized by the topics of soil, ecology (projects in habitat and life cycles), pests and controls (projects in weeds and insects), recycling (projects in resources and conservation), waste products (projects in decomposition), microscopic organisms,…

Project descriptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

This part specifies the activities and project tasks of each project broken down according to types of financing, listing the current projects Lw 1 through 3 funded by long-term provisions (budget), the current projects LB 1 and 2, LG 1 through 5, LK1, LM1, and LU 1 through 6 financed from special funds, and the planned projects ZG 1 through 4 and ZU 1, also financed from special funds. (DG) [de

Project Communication in Functions, Process and Project-Oriented Industiral Companies

Science.gov (United States)

Samáková, Jana; Koltnerová, Kristína; Rybanský, Rudolf

2012-12-01

The article is focused on the project communication management. Industrial enterprises, which use project management must constantly search the new ways for improving. One of the possibilities is the change of management from a functional oriented to the projectoriented or process-oriented. Process-oriented and project-oriented companies have better project communication management during the all project life cycle. Communication in the project is a very important factor. According to the arguments of several authors, one of the biggest problem is that threaten the success of the project is just the communication. In each project is an important pillar - and that is communication. Only on the base of communication can the project move forward and achieve the target.

Research Project Evaluation—Learnings from the PATHWAYS Project Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksander Galas

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Every research project faces challenges regarding how to achieve its goals in a timely and effective manner. The purpose of this paper is to present a project evaluation methodology gathered during the implementation of the Participation to Healthy Workplaces and Inclusive Strategies in the Work Sector (the EU PATHWAYS Project. The PATHWAYS project involved multiple countries and multi-cultural aspects of re/integrating chronically ill patients into labor markets in different countries. This paper describes key project’s evaluation issues including: (1 purposes, (2 advisability, (3 tools, (4 implementation, and (5 possible benefits and presents the advantages of a continuous monitoring. Methods: Project evaluation tool to assess structure and resources, process, management and communication, achievements, and outcomes. The project used a mixed evaluation approach and included Strengths (S, Weaknesses (W, Opportunities (O, and Threats (SWOT analysis. Results: A methodology for longitudinal EU projects’ evaluation is described. The evaluation process allowed to highlight strengths and weaknesses and highlighted good coordination and communication between project partners as well as some key issues such as: the need for a shared glossary covering areas investigated by the project, problematic issues related to the involvement of stakeholders from outside the project, and issues with timing. Numerical SWOT analysis showed improvement in project performance over time. The proportion of participating project partners in the evaluation varied from 100% to 83.3%. Conclusions: There is a need for the implementation of a structured evaluation process in multidisciplinary projects involving different stakeholders in diverse socio-environmental and political conditions. Based on the PATHWAYS experience, a clear monitoring methodology is suggested as essential in every multidisciplinary research projects.

BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

Tamara Gvozdenovic; Mirjana Miljanovic; Aleksandar Jegdic; Zeljko Crnogorcic

2008-01-01

One of the main trends is standardization of project management. Some of the most important bodies of knowledge in project management, which were created by professional associations for project management are given in this paper. The main of the project management, apart from minimization of time, resources and costs, is to finish the project in the required quality, i.e. it is very important during the whole process of project management to provide realizing the project without any deviatio...

BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamara Gvozdenovic

2008-03-01

Full Text Available One of the main trends is standardization of project management. Some of the most important bodies of knowledge in project management, which were created by professional associations for project management are given in this paper. The main of the project management, apart from minimization of time, resources and costs, is to finish the project in the required quality, i.e. it is very important during the whole process of project management to provide realizing the project without any deviations from the previously set quality standards. Basic processes of project quality management are: quality planning, quality assurance and quality control.

40 CFR 258.41 - Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Project XL Bioreactor Landfill... WASTES CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Design Criteria § 258.41 Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects. (a) Buncombe County, North Carolina Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Requirements...

Virtual projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svejvig, Per; Commisso, Trine Hald

2012-01-01

that the best practice knowledge has not permeated sufficiently to the practice. Furthermore, the appropriate application of information and communication technology (ICT) remains a big challenge, and finally project managers are not sufficiently trained in organizing and conducting virtual projects....... The overall implications for research and practice are to acknowledge virtual project management as very different to traditional project management and to address this difference.......Virtual projects are common with global competition, market development, and not least the financial crisis forcing organizations to reduce their costs drastically. Organizations therefore have to place high importance on ways to carry out virtual projects and consider appropriate practices...

Project development symposium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1983-01-01

Papers were presented on the following: project evaluation; case studies - minerals; finance; applied finance; legal; manpower/industrial relations; and new technologies. Those papers on the coal industry were: mine planning for coal project development; the planning and management of a lignite exploration contract in Thailand; development of the West Cliff extended project; Ulan: a resource development; Saxonvale mine development a case study in project planning and project management; the role of marketing in the development of a new coal project; technical support for coal marketing; infrastructure development for the Ulan project; underground mine project developments; the bucketwheel excavator at Goonyella - a case study; tax aspects of mining development projects; cost of capital mining development projects; and trends in development project finance. 16 papers were abstracted separately.

Dredging and projecting the depths of personality: the thematic apperception test and the narratives of the unconscious.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Jason

2015-03-01

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was a projective psychological test created by Harvard psychologist Henry A. Murray and his lover Christina Morgan in the 1930s. The test entered the nascent intelligence service of the United States (the OSS) during the Second World War due to its celebrated reputation for revealing the deepest aspects of an individual's unconscious. It subsequently spread as a scientifically objective research tool capable not only of dredging the unconscious depths, but also of determining the best candidate for a management position, the psychological complexes of human nature, and the unique characteristics of a culture. Two suppositions underlie the utility of the test. One is the power of narrative. The test entails a calculated abuse of the subjects tested, based on their inability to interpret their own narrative. The form of the test requires that a subject fail to decipher the coded, unconscious meaning their narrative reveals. Murray believed the interpretation of a subject's narrative and the projection contained therein depended exclusively on the psychologist. This view of interpretation stems from the seemingly more reasonable belief of nineteenth-century Romantic thinkers that a literary text serves as a proxy for an author's deepest self. The TAT also supposes that there is something beyond consciousness closely resembling a psychoanalytic unconscious, which also has clear precedents in nineteenth-century German thought. Murray's views on literary interpretation, his view of psychology as well as the continuing prevalence of the TAT, signals a nineteenth-century concept of self that insists "on relations of depth and surface, inner and outer life" (Galison 2007, 277). It is clear the hermeneutic practice of Freud's psychoanalysis, amplified in Jung, drew on literary conceptions of the unconscious wider than those of nineteenth-century psychology.

Neural control of phrenic motoneuron discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kun-Ze; Fuller, David D.

2011-01-01

Phrenic motoneurons (PMNs) provide a synaptic relay between bulbospinal respiratory pathways and the diaphragm muscle. PMNs also receive propriospinal inputs, although the functional role of these interneuronal projections has not been established. Here we review the literature regarding PMN discharge patterns during breathing and the potential mechanisms that underlie PMN recruitment. Anatomical and neurophysiological studies indicate that PMNs form a heterogeneous pool, with respiratory-related PMN discharge and recruitment patterns likely determined by a balance between intrinsic MN properties and extrinsic synaptic inputs. We also review the limited literature regarding PMN bursting during respiratory plasticity. Differential recruitment or rate modulation of PMN subtypes may underlie phrenic motor plasticity following neural injury and/or respiratory stimulation; however this possibility remains relatively unexplored. PMID:21376841

Project Temporalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tryggestad, Kjell; Justesen, Lise; Mouritsen, Jan

2013-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how animals can become stakeholders in interaction with project management technologies and what happens with project temporalities when new and surprising stakeholders become part of a project and a recognized matter of concern to be taken...... into account. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative case study of a project in the building industry. The authors use actor-network theory (ANT) to analyze the emergence of animal stakeholders, stakes and temporalities. Findings – The study shows how project temporalities can...... multiply in interaction with project management technologies and how conventional linear conceptions of project time may be contested with the emergence of new non-human stakeholders and temporalities. Research limitations/implications – The study draws on ANT to show how animals can become stakeholders...

Understanding Applications of Project Planning and Scheduling in Construction Projects

OpenAIRE

AlNasseri, Hammad Abdullah

2015-01-01

Construction project life-cycle processes must be managed in a more effective and predictable way to meet project stakeholders’ needs. However, there is increasing concern about whether know-how effectively improves understanding of underlying theories of project management processes for construction organizations and their project managers. Project planning and scheduling are considered as key and challenging tools in controlling and monitoring project performance, but many worldwide constru...

Project Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Project Management Theory Meets Practice contains the proceedings from the 1st Danish Project Management Research Conference (DAPMARC 2015), held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 21st, 2015.......Project Management Theory Meets Practice contains the proceedings from the 1st Danish Project Management Research Conference (DAPMARC 2015), held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 21st, 2015....

Storytelling in Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk-Madsen, Andreas; Andersen, Peter Bøgh

2006-01-01

project managers should not only be concerned with project plans, but also with project stories. In this paper we explore some basic principles for transforming project plans into appealing stories. We discuss what may happen to stories once they are released into public space. And we illustrate how......Plans and stories are two different ways of communicating about projects. Project plans are formalized descriptions, primarily supporting coordination. Project stories are accounts whose primary function is emotional appeal. Project stories influence the projects’ chances of success. Therefore...... the possibilities of telling favorable stories may have repercussions on the project planning....

Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlie Genome Development

Science.gov (United States)

Lamm, Ehud

2013-01-01

Technological and methodological advances, in particular next-generation sequencing and chromatin profiling, has led to a deluge of data on epigenetic mechanisms and processes. Epigenetic regulation in the brain is no exception. In this commentary, Ehud Lamm writes that extending existing frameworks for thinking about psychological development to…

Experiences of project developers around CDM projects in South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thurner, Thomas W.; Varughese, Arun

2013-01-01

Project developers in South Africa are puzzled with the long process of evaluating and registering their CDM projects. In addition to other obstacles, we find that South African big businesses are rather reluctant to engage in any new business activities such as CDM projects and municipalities often lack the necessary flexibility. This offers opportunities for small-scale project developers who spot the opportunities and find creative solutions to overcome these difficulties. - Highlights: • First paper analysing the experience of small project developers in South Africa. • Project developers in South Africa are puzzled with the long process. • South African big businesses are reluctant to engage in CDM projects. • Small-scale project developers spot opportunities and find creative solutions to overcome difficulties. • Also, we saw learning processes of South African administration in support of CDM projects

MATCHING CONFIGURATIONS PROJECTS OF COOPERATIVE MILK COLLECTION PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Анатолій Миколайович ТРИГУБА

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The condition analysis of dairy farming is done and the reasons for its degradation are revealed. The need of technologically integrated production systems projects, harvesting, and processing of milk are substantiated. A scientific methodology and the method of project design of milk provision cooperative coordination in the community of the project environment, which are based on systematic-evaluative approach and simulation are proposed. The criterion for the definition of rational parameters of objects configuration for milk provision cooperative projects in the community system is the maximum value of their product. The monetary functioning assessment of the configuration object of cooperative milk provision projects in the community is done. On the basis of the proposed method, we performed the coordination of project configuration of milk provision cooperative with the project environment of territory Zabolotsi community in Brody district of Lviv region.

Project 2010 Bible

CERN Document Server

Marmel, Elaine

2010-01-01

A comprehensive reference on the latest version of the leading enterprise project management software: Microsoft Project 2010. Microsoft Project allows users to manage business activities effectively by sharing project information, performing modeling and scenario analyses, standardizizing reporting processes, and more. This soup-to-nuts reference covers both the professional and standard versions of the latest iteration of Microsoft Project, as well as Project Server, so that you can efficiently manage your business projects. Veteran author Elaine Marmel begins with an overview of project man

Caspase-2 and oxidative stress underlie the immunogenic potential of high hydrostatic pressure-induced cancer cell death

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Moserová, I.; Truxová, I.; Garg, A.D.; Tomala, Jakub; Agostinis, P.; Cartron, P.F.; Vošahlíková, Š.; Kovář, Marek; Spíšek, R.; Fučíková, J.

2017-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 1 (2017), s. 1-35, č. článku e1258505. ISSN 2162-4011 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LQ1604; GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0109 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : Caspases * ecto-CALR * ER stress Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology OBOR OECD: Microbiology

Define Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk-Madsen, Andreas

2005-01-01

"Project" is a key concept in IS management. The word is frequently used in textbooks and standards. Yet we seldom find a precise definition of the concept. This paper discusses how to define the concept of a project. The proposed definition covers both heavily formalized projects and informally...... organized, agile projects. Based on the proposed definition popular existing definitions are discussed....

Project Management Methods in Projects Co-financed by EU Funds

OpenAIRE

Kostalova, Jana; Tetrevova, Libena; Patak, Michal

2017-01-01

This paper deals with the management of projects co-financed by European Union funds (structural funds and the Cohesion Fund) in the Czech Republic (EU projects). The authors aimed to analyze and assess the scope of familiarity with basic project management methods and their application within the implementation of EU projects in the Czech Republic in the Programming Period 2007–2013. Based on a questionnaire survey of EU project organisers, the authors evaluate their attitudes to project man...

The impact of project marketing on the projects finality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oxana SAVCIUC

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In the last years we assist at the level of the Republic of Moldova and also at international level at a trend to offer financial support with a special focus on project-based funding. Once with the appearance and development of the project concept, other related concepts are being developed such as project management or newly, we can also speak about the projects marketing. Until recently, the product marketing was intensely discussed; concepts such as services marketing appeared afterwards, but also the specific marketing for various branches, such as agromarketing, political marketing, etc. Given that fact that the projects are a product / service itself, at the moment, more and more often projects marketing is discussed.

Examination of the relationship between project management critical success factors and project success of oil and gas drilling projects

Science.gov (United States)

Alagba, Tonye J.

Oil and gas drilling projects are the primary means by which oil companies recover large volumes of commercially available hydrocarbons from deep reservoirs. These types of projects are complex in nature, involving management of multiple stakeholder interfaces, multidisciplinary personnel, complex contractor relationships, and turbulent environmental and market conditions, necessitating the application of proven project management best practices and critical success factors (CSFs) to achieve success. Although there is some practitioner oriented literature on project management CSFs for drilling projects, none of these is based on empirical evidence, from research. In addition, the literature has reported alarming rates of oil and gas drilling project failure, which is attributable not to technical factors, but to failure of project management. The aim of this quantitative correlational study therefore, was to discover an empirically verified list of project management CSFs, which consistent application leads to successful implementation of oil and gas drilling projects. The study collected survey data online, from a random sample of 127 oil and gas drilling personnel who were members of LinkedIn's online community "Drilling Supervisors, Managers, and Engineers". The results of the study indicated that 10 project management factors are individually related to project success of oil and gas drilling projects. These 10 CSFs are namely; Project mission, Top management support, Project schedule/plan, Client consultation, Personnel, Technical tasks, Client acceptance, Monitoring and feedback, Communication, and Troubleshooting. In addition, the study found that the relationships between the 10 CSFs and drilling project success is unaffected by participant and project demographics---role of project personnel, and project location. The significance of these findings are both practical, and theoretical. Practically, application of an empirically verified CSFs list to oil

A Correlational Study Assessing the Relationships among Information Technology Project Complexity, Project Complication, and Project Success

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, David J.

2011-01-01

The specific problem addressed in this study was the low success rate of information technology (IT) projects in the U.S. Due to the abstract nature and inherent complexity of software development, IT projects are among the most complex projects encountered. Most existing schools of project management theory are based on the rational systems…

A kinetic model of dopamine- and calcium-dependent striatal synaptic plasticity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi Nakano

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Corticostriatal synapse plasticity of medium spiny neurons is regulated by glutamate input from the cortex and dopamine input from the substantia nigra. While cortical stimulation alone results in long-term depression (LTD, the combination with dopamine switches LTD to long-term potentiation (LTP, which is known as dopamine-dependent plasticity. LTP is also induced by cortical stimulation in magnesium-free solution, which leads to massive calcium influx through NMDA-type receptors and is regarded as calcium-dependent plasticity. Signaling cascades in the corticostriatal spines are currently under investigation. However, because of the existence of multiple excitatory and inhibitory pathways with loops, the mechanisms regulating the two types of plasticity remain poorly understood. A signaling pathway model of spines that express D1-type dopamine receptors was constructed to analyze the dynamic mechanisms of dopamine- and calcium-dependent plasticity. The model incorporated all major signaling molecules, including dopamine- and cyclic AMP-regulated phosphoprotein with a molecular weight of 32 kDa (DARPP32, as well as AMPA receptor trafficking in the post-synaptic membrane. Simulations with dopamine and calcium inputs reproduced dopamine- and calcium-dependent plasticity. Further in silico experiments revealed that the positive feedback loop consisted of protein kinase A (PKA, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A, and the phosphorylation site at threonine 75 of DARPP-32 (Thr75 served as the major switch for inducing LTD and LTP. Calcium input modulated this loop through the PP2B (phosphatase 2B-CK1 (casein kinase 1-Cdk5 (cyclin-dependent kinase 5-Thr75 pathway and PP2A, whereas calcium and dopamine input activated the loop via PKA activation by cyclic AMP (cAMP. The positive feedback loop displayed robust bi-stable responses following changes in the reaction parameters. Increased basal dopamine levels disrupted this dopamine-dependent plasticity. The

A Framework for Project Governance in Major Public IT projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harboe, Peter Georg; Riis, Eva

2016-01-01

such a framework. It was developed from the literature on major and mega-projects, both public and private, that concern infrastructure, engineering and IT. The proposed framework for project governance comprises six major elements: governance structure, management approach, stakeholders, value, systems......The rising number of major public IT projects is mirrored by a growing research interest in the management of such projects. Both can benefit from a more complete understanding of project governance that should lead to a practical framework for project governance. The present paper proposes...... integration and complexity. Empirical research has identified a number of characteristics for these project governance elements. In the second part of the paper the framework was tested in a case study of the Danish smart card Rejsekort project. The framework was found to be robust, and that in this case...

A Framework for Project Governance in Major Public IT projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis, Eva; Harboe, Peter Georg

2016-01-01

integration and complexity. Empirical research has identified a number of characteristics for these project governance elements. In the second part of the paper the framework was tested in a case study of the Danish smart card Rejsekort project. The framework was found to be robust, and that in this case......The rising number of major public IT projects is mirrored by a growing research interest in the management of such projects. Both can benefit from a more complete understanding of project governance that should lead to a practical framework for project governance. The present paper proposes...... such a framework. It was developed from the literature on major and mega-projects, both public and private, that concern infrastructure, engineering and IT. The proposed framework for project governance comprises six major elements: governance structure, management approach, stakeholders, value, systems...

Human pursuance of equality hinges on mental processes of projecting oneself into the perspectives of others and into future situations.

Science.gov (United States)

Takesue, Hirofumi; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Sakaiya, Shiro; Fan, Hongwei; Matsuda, Tetsuya; Kato, Junko

2017-07-19

In the pursuance of equality, behavioural scientists disagree about distinct motivators, that is, consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself. However, accumulating data suggest that these motivators may share a common process in the brain whereby perspectives and events that did not arise in the immediate environment are conceived. To examine this, we devised a game imitating a real decision-making situation regarding redistribution among income classes in a welfare state. The neural correlates of redistributive decisions were examined under contrasting conditions, with and without uncertainty, which affects support for equality in society. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the caudate nucleus were activated by equality decisions with uncertainty but by selfless decisions without uncertainty. Activation was also correlated with subjective values. Activation in both the dACC and the caudate nucleus was associated with the attitude to prefer accordance with others, whereas activation in the caudate nucleus reflected that the expected reward involved the prospective calculation of relative income. The neural correlates suggest that consideration of others and prospective calculation for oneself may underlie the support for equality. Projecting oneself into the perspective of others and into prospective future situations may underpin the pursuance of equality.

Trevino Project: a fast-track approach for a small construction project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schick, C.J.; Lynn, N.S.

1982-01-01

The approach to a construction project can vary according to the size, location, and degree of difficulty associated with the project. This paper deals with one approach that can be taken to a small construction project, the fast-track approach. A small construction project can be defined as a project having less than $20 million capital cost or a project with a low degree of difficulty. This approach is very applicable to in-situ leaching uranium projects, small precious metal operations, etc. The approach to the small project is that of fast-tracking the project in order to minimize the time over which capital expenditure occurs and also to reduce the indirect costs of field expense, construction supplies, construction equipment, etc. In order to fast-track a project it is necessary to do a very precise job on the preliminary phases of the project such as preliminary engineering, plant site location, environmental permits, etc. 2 figures, 2 tables

PROJECT - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PROJECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Aleksandrovna Ignat’eva

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the research was to denote a way to solve the problem of education mana-gement ΄s insufficient efficiency considered from the point of view of education opportunities to influence on the formation of mechanisms for sustainable development of society as a whole and its educational component. The concept «project-resource management of innovation in education» regarded on the basis of the anthropological project-transforming paradigm. Conceptually-categorical context presented by conceptual cluster composed of coordinated concepts «project», «resource», «educational reality», «organizational-resource potential», «project commonality». In the theoretical part of the study on the basis of analysis of the normative and exploratory approaches to educational innovations organization and management it was established the search approach ΄s leading role in the methodological substantiation of project-resource management. The study have indicated that in the presence of variable models of innovation management in education, corresponding to various predictive models of continuing education post-industrial society, project-resource management is an universal mechanism for the transition from separate innovation΄s precedents to the an authentic reality of innovative education. In the technological part of the study the main concern was to submit the project-resource management by the management goal’s system, each of which includes the specific management actions, projected results and the organizational forms. The project-resource management ΄s professional – activity context of the study showed evolution of managerial positions: an effective performer – an effective leader – strategist, implemented during the transition from directly directive management to the project management and further to the project-resource management. Based on the findings identified the key factors of initiatively-problem projects

PACTEL OECD project planning (PACO). PACTEL OECD project planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kouhia, V.; Purhonen, H. [Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland)

2004-07-01

OECD launched the SETH project to investigate issues relevant for accident prevention and management and to ensure the existence of integral thermal hydraulic test facilities. The facilities included in the SETH project are PKL from Germany and PANDA from Switzerland. At the early stages of the SETH project an idea was raised to exploit the PACTEL facility in a similar OECD project. Without any external funding the analytical work in the required extent would not be possible within Lappeenranta University of Technology, the party responsible of operating PACTEL. This fact directed the PACO project proposal to be conducted for the SAFIR programme. The aim of the PACO project is to prepare a project proposal to OECD of a PACTEL related project. To attain this objective some preliminary analyses have to be performed to ensure the relevancy of the proposed topic. The low power situation, i.e. midloop state was chosen to be the topic in the PACO studies and project planning basis. The plan is to use PACTEL to examine vertical steam generator behaviour during the midloop operation and the following loss of residual heat removal system transient. Such a possibility is acknowledged with special alterations to PACTEL. The APROS code version 5.04.07 was selected as a tool for the preanalyses. The virtual simulation of the chosen experimental situation would give a preconception on the phenomena to be expected and the progression of the transient. Originally the PACO project was planned to continue only for a few months, ending up with the project proposal to OECD during the summer time 2004. During the pre-calculation process it became obvious that the time expected was not enough to establish good pre-calculation results. The reasons for this relates to time used to learn and adapt the use of the chosen code, improvements and corrections in modelling as well as the code ability to manage the special conditions defined for the project topic. Another aspect on completing a

Project manager attributes influencing project success in the South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

success criteria for building projects in Ghana and concluded that the “current and ... qualifications, profession, leadership style and project team ... and expectations of project management competence between ... 1.d. Sense of teamwork ...

Microsoft project

OpenAIRE

Markić, Lucija; Mandušić, Dubravka; Grbavac, Vitomir

2005-01-01

Microsoft Project je alat čije su prednosti u svakodnevnom radu nezamjenjive. Pomoću Microsoft Projecta omogućeno je upravljanje resursima, stvaranje izvještaja o projektima u vremenu, te analize različitih scenarija. Pojavljuje u tri verzije: Microsoft Project Professional, Microsoft Project Server i Microsoft Project Server Client Access Licenses. Upravo je trend da suvremeni poslovni ljudi zadatke povjeravaju Microsoft Projectu jer on znatno povećava produktivnost rada. Te prednos...

Project stakeholder management

CERN Document Server

Eskerod, Pernille

2013-01-01

Carrying out a project as planned is not a guarantee for success. Projects may fail because project management does not take the requirements, wishes and concerns of stakeholders sufficiently into account. Projects can only be successful though contributions from stakeholders. And in the end, it is the stakeholders that evaluate whether they find that the project is a success. To manage stakeholders effectively, you need to know your stakeholders, their behaviours and attitudes towards the project. In Project Stakeholder Management, the authors give guidance on how to adopt an analytical and s

Project Half Double

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svejvig, Per; Gerstrøm, Anna; Frederiksen, Signe Hedeboe

The Half Double mission: Project Half Double has a clear mission. We want to succeed in finding a project methodology that can increase the success rate of our projects while increasing the development speed of new products and services. We are convinced that by doing so we can strengthen...... the competitiveness of Denmark and play an important role in the battle for jobs and future welfare. The overall goal is to deliver “Projects in half the time with double the impact” where projects in half the time should be understood as half the time to impact (benefit realization, effect is achieved......) and not as half the time for project execution. The Half Double project journey: It all began in May 2013 when we asked ourselves: How do we create a new and radical project paradigm that can create successful projects? Today we are a movement of hundreds of passionate project people, and it grows larger...

Web Project Management

OpenAIRE

Suralkar, Sunita; Joshi, Nilambari; Meshram, B B

2013-01-01

This paper describes about the need for Web project management, fundamentals of project management for web projects: what it is, why projects go wrong, and what's different about web projects. We also discuss Cost Estimation Techniques based on Size Metrics. Though Web project development is similar to traditional software development applications, the special characteristics of Web Application development requires adaption of many software engineering approaches or even development of comple...

Project Documentation as a Risk for Public Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladěna Štěpánková

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the article: The paper presents the different methodologies used for creating documentation and focuses on public projects and their requirements for this documentation. Since documentation is also incorporated in the overall planning of the project and its duration is estimated using expert qualified estimate, can any change in this documentation lead to project delays, or increase its cost as a result of consuming administration, and therefore the documentation is seen as a risk, which may threaten the project as a public contract by which a company trying to achieve and obtains it, and generally any project. Methodology/methods: There are used methods of obtaining information in this paper. These are mainly structured interviews in combination with a brainstorming, furthermore also been used questionnaire for companies dealing with public procurement. As a data processing program was used MS Excel and basic statistical methods based on regression analysis. Scientific aim: The article deals with the construction market in the Czech Republic and examines the impact of changes in project documentation of public projects on their turnover. Findings: In this paper we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of having project documentation. In the case of public contracts and changes in legislation it is necessary to focus on creating documentation in advance, follow the new requirements and try to reach them in the shortest possible time. Conclusions: The paper concludes with recommendations on how to proceed, if these changes and how to reduce costs, which may cause the risk of documentation.

Watchdog Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Rhett [Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., Pullman, WA (United States); Campbell, Jack [CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, TX (United States); Hadley, Mark [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-12-30

The Watchdog Project completed 100% of the project Statement of Project Objective (SOPO). The Watchdog project was a very aggressive project looking to accomplish commercialization of technology that had never been commercialized, as a result it took six years to complete not the original three that were planned. No additional federal funds were requested from the original proposal and SEL contributed the additional cost share required to complete the project. The result of the Watchdog Project is the world’s first industrial rated Software Defined Network (SDN) switch commercially available. This technology achieved the SOPOO and DOE Roadmap goals to have strong network access control, improve reliability and network performance, and give the asset owner the ability to minimize attack surface before and during an attack. The Watchdog project is an alliance between CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL), and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL). SEL is the world’s leader in microprocessor-based electronic equipment for protecting electric power systems. PNNL performs basic and applied research to deliver energy, environmental, and national security for our nation. CenterPoint Energy is the third largest publicly traded natural gas delivery company in the U.S and third largest combined electricity and natural gas delivery company. The Watchdog Project efforts were combined with the SDN Project efforts to produce the entire SDN system solution for the critical infrastructure. The Watchdog project addresses Topic Area of Interest 5: Secure Communications, for the DEFOA- 0000359 by protecting the control system local area network itself and the communications coming from and going to the electronic devices on the local network. Local area networks usually are not routed and have little or no filtering capabilities. Combine this with the fact control system protocols are designed with inherent trust the control

Influence of organizational and project cultures on project success

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berdykulova G. M.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available the article is dedicated to studying the influence of organizational and project cultures on effective project management of the company by knowledge systematization and the comparative analysis of world companies’ practice that allowed to reveal the main factors and criteria of projects success and negative influence of organizational culture on the project; key aspects of corporate culture and cultural integration under the conditions of globalization.

Pac-Rim LNG project : final project report specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

PAC-RIM LNG Inc. has submitted a proposal to the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office, to develop a liquefied natural gas project which would purchase pipeline quality natural gas from sources in northeast British Columbia and Alberta and transport it via a dedicated pipeline system to a LNG processing plant on tidewater on the Pacific coast. The project would include storage and processing facilities and a marine loading terminal. This document sets out the final project report specifications prepared by the Project Committee on the basis of input received from the public, First Nations and federal, provincial and local governments

Does Lean & Agile Project Management Help Coping with Project Complexity?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jalali Sohi, A.; Hertogh, M.J.C.M.; Bosch-Rekveldt, M.G.C.; Blom, R.; Serpell, A.; Ferrada, X.

2016-01-01

Still, projects in the construction sector are delivered with time delays and cost overruns. One of the reasons for poor performance was assigned to project complexity. A combination of lean construction and agile project management are hypothesized as a possible solution to cope with project

Modern project-management

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2003-01-01

This lecture will focus on the following issues: - The current state of the art in Project Management, especially the integration of Project Management with general management activities, and the integrated view of resources allocation. - Overview of the project life cycle, the phases and the deliverables - Necessity and limits of planning in a research environment - Organizational aspects of the projects the roles of the stakeholders - How to get the resources when they are needed - Risk Management in Projects - Earned value - How to keep a project on track (schedule and budget) - Management of the suppliers - Closing of the project

Project ethics

CERN Document Server

Jonasson, Haukur Ingi

2013-01-01

How relevant is ethics to project management? The book - which aims to demystify the field of ethics for project managers and managers in general - takes both a critical and a practical look at project management in terms of success criteria, and ethical opportunities and risks. The goal is to help the reader to use ethical theory to further identify opportunities and risks within their projects and thereby to advance more directly along the path of mature and sustainable managerial practice.

Integrated project support environments the ASPECT project

CERN Document Server

Brown, Alan W

1991-01-01

A major part of software engineering developments involve the use of computing tools which facilitate the management, maintenance, security, and building of long-scale software engineer projects. Consequently, there have been a proliferation of CASE tools and IPSES. This book looks at IPSES in general and the ASPECT project in particular, providing design and implementation details, as well as locating ASPECT in IPSE developments.Survey of integrated project support environments for more efficient software engineering**Description of a large scale IPSE--ASPECT**Evaluation of formal methods in

ASEAN projects reviewed.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-01-01

The ASEAN Population Expert Group met in Manila and was followed by a meeting of the ASEAN heads of population programs, during the period November 5-10, 1979. Heads of population programs from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines attended. The meetings were held to review progress-to-date on phase 1 projects and to consider the development of an expanded population program. 5 projects funded by UNFPA are reviewed in tabular form with the project, the sponsoring country, date of implementation, data analysis, and date of completion. Suggestions were made for improving and extending these projects and it was also suggested that all projects being developed and proposed should include a section on use of research. 7 new projects were proposed as phase 2 projects. The 1st, sponsored by Malaysia, deals with women in development; project 2, lead by Thailand, will investigate population movement and its effect on development; project 3, led by the Philippines, will develop and strengthen national population information systems and networks in ASEAN countries; project 4, led by Indonesia, is directed towards institutional development and exchanges of personnel; project 5, led by the Philippines, will examine population and development dynamics and the man/resources balance; project 6, led by Thailand, will develop ASEAN social indicators; and project 7, led by Indonesia and Malaysia, will make a comprehensive analysis of existing medical/health care and family planning systems. It was recommended that an executive director of the proposed ASEAN population coordination unit should be appointed to expedite the recommendations of the meeting related to preparation and submission of phase 2 project proposals.

Role of DARPP-32 and ARPP-21 in the Emergence of Temporal Constraints on Striatal Calcium and Dopamine Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Bhalla, Upinder S.; Hellgren Kotaleski, Jeanette

2016-01-01

In reward learning, the integration of NMDA-dependent calcium and dopamine by striatal projection neurons leads to potentiation of corticostriatal synapses through CaMKII/PP1 signaling. In order to elicit the CaMKII/PP1-dependent response, the calcium and dopamine inputs should arrive in temporal proximity and must follow a specific (dopamine after calcium) order. However, little is known about the cellular mechanism which enforces these temporal constraints on the signal integration. In this computational study, we propose that these temporal requirements emerge as a result of the coordinated signaling via two striatal phosphoproteins, DARPP-32 and ARPP-21. Specifically, DARPP-32-mediated signaling could implement an input-interval dependent gating function, via transient PP1 inhibition, thus enforcing the requirement for temporal proximity. Furthermore, ARPP-21 signaling could impose the additional input-order requirement of calcium and dopamine, due to its Ca2+/calmodulin sequestering property when dopamine arrives first. This highlights the possible role of phosphoproteins in the temporal aspects of striatal signal transduction. PMID:27584878

Project Half Double

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svejvig, Per; Ehlers, Michael; Adland, Karoline Thorp

activities carried out within the framework of the projects. The formal part of Project Half Double was initiated in June 2015. We started out by developing, refining and testing the Half Double methodology on seven pilot projects in the first phase of the project, which will end June 2016. The current......Project Half Double has a clear mission to succeed in finding a project methodology that can increase the success rate of our projects while increasing the speed at which we generate new ideas and develop new products and services. Chaos and complexity should be seen as a basic condition...... and as an opportunity rather than a threat and a risk. We are convinced that by doing so, we can strengthen Denmark’s competitiveness and play an important role in the battle for jobs and future welfare. The overall goal is to deliver “projects in half the time with double the impact”, where projects in half the time...

Integrated project risk management of nuclear power projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaohui; Xu Yuanhui

2001-01-01

The concept and the features of risks in nuclear power projects are introduced, and in terms of nuclear power projects' own features, the Nuclear Power Project Integrated Risk Management Model is presented. The identification, estimation, evaluation, response plan development, control of risks and the theoretical basis of risk management are discussed. The model has feedback and control functions in order to control and manage the risks dynamically

REPNET: project scheduling and workflow optimization for Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Alvise Bragadin

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Project planning and control are core processes for construction management. In practice project planning is achieved by network - based techniques like Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM.Indeed many researchers and practitioners claims that networking techniques as such do not provide a suitable model for construction projects. Construction process modeling should incorporate for specific features of resource flows through project activities. So an improved resource scheduling method for construction is developed, called REPNET, based on a precedence network plotted on a resource–space chart and presented with a flow-line chart. The heuristics of REPNET are used to carry out resource timing while optimizing processes flows and resource usage. The method has been tested on a sample project.

Capital projects coordination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zubović Jovan

2004-01-01

Full Text Available This paper looks at the difficulties of managing modem capital projects and endeavors to reduce the complexities to simpler and more understandable terms. It examines the project environment, defines project management and discusses points of difference from traditional management. In the second part of the paper are presented fundamentals for project success for different types of projects.

Competency model for the project managers of technical projects

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, William R.

1992-05-01

Traditional job description techniques were developed to support compensation decisions for hourly wage earners in a manufacturing environment. Their resultant focus on activities performed on the job works well in this environment where the ability to perform the activity adequately is objectively verifiable by testing and observation. Although many organizations have adapted these techniques for salaried employees and service environments, the focus on activities performed has never been satisfactory. For example, stating that a project manager `prepares regular project status reports' tells us little about what to look for in a potential project manager or how to determine if a practicing project manager is ready for additional responsibilities. The concept of a `competency model' has been developed within the last decade to address this shortcoming. Competency models focus on what skills are needed to perform the tasks defined by the job description. For example, a project manager must be able to communicate well both orally and in writing in order to `prepare regular project status reports.'

PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yana Derenskaya

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to define the essence of project scope management process, its components, as well as to develop an algorithm of project scope management in terms of pharmaceutical production. Methodology. To carry out the study, available information sources on standards of project management in whole and elements of project scope management in particular are analysed. Methods of system and structural analysis, logical generalization are used to study the totality of subprocesses of project scope management, input and output documents, and to provide each of them. Methods of network planning are used to construct a precedence diagram of project scope management process. Results of the research showed that components of the project scope management are managing the scope of the project product and managing the content of project work. It is the second component is investigated in the presented work as a subject of research. Accordingly, it is defined that project scope management process is to substantiate and bring to the realization the necessary amount of work that ensures the successful implementation of the project (achievement of its goal and objectives of individual project participants. It is also determined that the process of managing the project scope takes into account the planning, definition of the project scope, creation of the structure of project work, confirmation of the scope and management of the project scope. Participants of these subprocesses are: customer, investor, and other project participants – external organizations (contractors of the project; project review committee; project manager and project team. It is revealed that the key element of planning the project scope is the formation of the structure of design work, the justification of the number of works, and the sequence of their implementation. It is recommended to use the following sequence of stages for creating the structure of project work

Project risk management: A review of an institutional project life cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanjiru Gachie

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article is a desktop analysis of project risk management involving a project management institutional restructuring. The pragmatic nature of this research allows for the literature review and the document analysis to be integrated and presented as both a descriptive and analytical research. The analysis demonstrates that the project committee did not proactively manage project risk. The restructuring was a change management project, entailing the implementation of many organisational changes, such as restructuring, lay-off of some part of the administrative workforce, adoption of new technology, provision of new approaches to well-established procedures, and implementation of new performance initiative, the process which should have been managed with an effective integrated risk strategy and plan. Analysis of the restructuring project risk management exhibits little evidence of a systematic (computer based or manual record that should have provided policies, procedures, and structures for managing risk. The article concludes that the restructuring risk process was inadequate and it could not have ensured a successful project. An analysis of the restructuring project risk monitoring and control exhibits a reactive rather than proactive application of risk management procedures. The analysis further indicates that the committee failed to make use of the various project risk management processes, standards, and guidelines. Based on the conclusions, the article recommends that project risk planning, strategy, control, and monitoring should be put in place for future institutional projects. The project management team should also put in place procedures for primary stakeholders engagements, identify and address their nature of interest and power in future risk management projects

How Does a Project Manager's Level of Development Influence Conceptualizations of Project Management and the Project Development Environment?

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Margaret M.

2013-01-01

This study explores the meaning project managers (PMs) make of their project environment, how they lead their teams and have incorporate complexity into their project management approach. The exploration of the PM's developmental level and meaning making offers a different angle on the project management and leadership literature. The study…

Overlapping Boundaries of the Project Time Management and Project Risk Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius PODEAN

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Based on utility function, milestones during project and/or the end of projects or programme may be categorized in what are called soft-deadline and hard-deadline. In contrast with the soft-end projects, the hard-end projects posses a decrease of utility function with a vertical asymptote character around the deadline for project completion. In extreme situations, the utility function itself may fall under zero (projects may generate losses to both constructor and customer. Existing risk analysis methodologies observe risks from monetary terms. The typical risks are correlated with an increase in final project costs. In order to estimate harddeadline milestones and/or end of projects or programme is critical to employ the time dimension rather than the typical cost-based risk analysis. Here, we comprehensively describe a structured methodology that focuses on minimizing and mitigating project specific delay risks. The method may supplement existing cost-based risk analysis in projects. We aim to elegantly combine moderation techniques to reveal the intrinsic risk of the projects. In addition to the technical risks, the moderation techniques are able to bring evidence of risks as the team efficacy, diverse un-correlations or miss-understanding about the roles of the team members in the team – most of the project soft risk. Described methodology encourages the common understanding of risks for participants, crystallizing the essence of what can go wrong in complex situations and where the opportunities can be unlocked.

The USE Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frøkjær, E.; Hornbæk, K.; Høegh, Rune Thaarup

2006-01-01

This paper provides experience from activities in the USE project. The USE project is a research project that aims at bridging the gap between usability evaluation and user interface design. It is conducted from 2005 to 2008 in collaboration between researchers from Aalborg University and Copenha......This paper provides experience from activities in the USE project. The USE project is a research project that aims at bridging the gap between usability evaluation and user interface design. It is conducted from 2005 to 2008 in collaboration between researchers from Aalborg University...... and Copenhagen University, and developers and managers working in software development organizations....

Conjoint utility analysis of technical maturity and project progress of construction project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ma Wei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, taking construction project as the research object, the relationship between the project maturity index calculated by the construction project technical risks with different fine degree and the project progress index is studied, and the equilibrium relationship between the Party A’s utility curve and the Party B’s cost curve of using project maturity index and project progress index as the research variables is analyzed. The results show that, when the construction project technical risk division is more precise, the conjoint utility of the project's technical maturity index and the project progress is higher, and the project’s Party A and Party B two sides are closer to the optimal equilibrium. This shows that the construction project technical risk must be finely divided, and managed and controlled respectively, which will help to improve the conjoint utility of the project Party A and Party B two sides.

Final Project Report Project 10749-4.2.2.1 2007-2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zacher, Alan H.; Holladay, Johnathan E.; Frye, J. G.; Brown, Heather M.; Santosa, Daniel M.; Oberg, Aaron A.

2009-05-11

This is the final report for the DOE Project 10749-4.2.2.1 for the FY2007 - FY2009 period. This report is non-proprietary, and will be submitted to DOE as a final project report. The report covers activities under the DOE Project inside CRADA 269 (Project 53231) as well as project activites outside of that CRADA (Project 56662). This is the final report that is summarized from the non-proprietary quarterlies submitted to DOE over the past 2.5 years, which in turn are summaries from the proprietary technical reporting to UOP.

Heavy Metals Contaminated Soil Project, Resource Recovery Project, and Dynamic Underground Stripping Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-02-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) established the Office of Technology Development (EM-50) (OTD) as an element of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) in November, 1989. OTD has begun to search out, develop, test and demonstrate technologies that can now or in the future be applied to the enormous remediation problem now facing the DOE and the United States public in general. Technology demonstration projects have been designed to attack a separate problem as defined by DOE. The Heavy Metals Contaminated Soil Project was conceived to test and demonstrate off-the-shelf technologies (dominantly from the mining industry) that can be brought to bear on the problem of radionuclide and heavy metal contamination in soils and sediments. The Resource Recovery Project is tasked with identifying, developing, testing, and evaluating new and innovative technologies for the remediation of metal contaminated surface and groundwater. An innovative twist on this project is the stated goal of recovering the metals, formerly disposed of as a waste, for reuse and resale, thereby transforming them into a usable resource. Finally, the Dynamic Underground Stripping Project was developed to demonstrate and remediate underground spills of hydrocarbons from formations that are (1) too deep for excavation, and/or (2) require in-situ remediation efforts of long duration. This project has already been shown effective in reducing the time for remediation by conventional methods from an estimated 200 years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to less than one year. The savings in time and dollars from this technology alone can be immeasurable

Successful project management

CERN Document Server

Young, Trevor L

2016-01-01

Successful Project Management, 5th edition, is an essential guide for anyone who wants to improve the success rate of their projects. It will help managers to maintain a balance between the demands of the customer, the project, the team and the organization. Covering the more technical aspects of a project from start to completion it contains practised and tested techniques, covering project conception and start-up, how to manage stake holders, effective risk management, project planning and launch and execution. Also including a brand new glossary of key terms, it provides help with evaluating your project as well as practical checklists and templates to ensure success for any ambitious project manager. With over one million copies sold, the hugely popular Creating Success series covers a wide variety of topic, with the latest editions including new chapters such as Tough Conversations and Treating People Right. This indispensable business skills collection is suited to a variety of roles, from someone look...

Reflexive project management in high-abition projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loeber, Anne; Vermeulen, T.

2016-01-01

Purpose
The Aristotelian notion of phronèsis inspired innovative work in the realm of project management as well as in literature on sustainability and societal transformations. We argue that both literatures may benefit from a dialogue between the two, especially in view of outlining project

Project brief of pre-contract in project management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Jamil Hashim; Mohd Azmi Sidid Omar; Abdul Rahman Norazumin; Zakaria Dris; Abdul Murad Abu Bakar; Alwi Othman

2010-01-01

Project brief is a comprehensive document used in translating the user needs and requirement for the project implementation. This document is important for the designer as a main guidance towards establishing project details. Research shown that problem usually arises from not well-defined scope and needs by the user. With lack of information the designer tend to assume and interprets wrong translation. Other issues arise from project management are time, cost, budgetary, lack of communication and establishing quality management. Some ideas of improvement were gain by doing cross reference with JKR quality system management, workshop and brainstorming. It shows that an improvement of data collection system has to be integrating with some basic format details, drawings and declaration forms to be established. (author)

IT Project Selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Keld

2016-01-01

for initiation. Most of the research on project selection is normative, suggesting new methods, but available empirical studies indicate that many methods are seldom used in practice. This paper addresses the issue by providing increased understanding of IT project selection practice, thereby facilitating...... the development of methods that better fit current practice. The study is based on naturalistic decision-making theory and interviews with experienced project portfolio managers who, when selecting projects, primarily rely on political skills, experience and personal networks rather than on formal IT project......-selection methods, and these findings point to new areas for developing new methodological support for IT project selection....

The role of project planning in project management

OpenAIRE

Klitsenko, A. I.; Клиценко, А. И.

2013-01-01

This article describes the importance of the process of project planning. The author gives irrefutable arguments concerning crucial role of project planning. This article presents the definition, objects and the main goal of project planning. The purpose of this article is to review such objects of project planning as project scope, risk and human resources. Данная статья описывает важность процесса проектного планирования. Автор дает неопровержимые доводы, касающиеся решающей роли проектн...

ASP project. Dissolved oxygen issues in ASP project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.Y. Bondar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents the latest results of studies about the effect of dissolved oxygen on the efficiency of the ASP flooding project implemented by Salym Petroleum Development N.V.. Pilot project on experimental injection of anionic surfactant solutions, soda and polymer into the reservoir for enhanced oil recovery (ASP project has been implemented since 2016. The stability of one of the components of the ASP polymer is strongly dependent on the presence of iron, stiffness cations and dissolved oxygen in the water. Since the polymer is used for injection at two stages of the project, which are essential and the longest, at the design stage of ASP project a whole complex of polymer protection had been established against negative factors, in particular from the influence of oxygen, which causes not only oxygen corrosion but also irreversible destruction polymer chains. In the paper, studies on the stability of polymer solutions are described, an analysis of viscosity loss with time in the presence of iron and oxygen for polymer solutions is carried out. The choice of chemical deoxygenation method for the control of dissolved oxygen is substantiated. The program of laboratory studies of the ASP project and the analytical instruments used are described. The technological scheme of the ASP process is presented, and recommendations for the implementation of the technology are given.

Projective geometry and projective metrics

CERN Document Server

Busemann, Herbert

2005-01-01

The basic results and methods of projective and non-Euclidean geometry are indispensable for the geometer, and this book--different in content, methods, and point of view from traditional texts--attempts to emphasize that fact. Results of special theorems are discussed in detail only when they are needed to develop a feeling for the subject or when they illustrate a general method. On the other hand, an unusual amount of space is devoted to the discussion of the fundamental concepts of distance, motion, area, and perpendicularity.Topics include the projective plane, polarities and conic sectio

Projective measure without projective Baire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrittesser, David; Friedman, Sy David

We prove that it is consistent (relative to a Mahlo cardinal) that all projective sets of reals are Lebesgue measurable, but there is a ∆13 set without the Baire property. The complexity of the set which provides a counterexample to the Baire property is optimal.......We prove that it is consistent (relative to a Mahlo cardinal) that all projective sets of reals are Lebesgue measurable, but there is a ∆13 set without the Baire property. The complexity of the set which provides a counterexample to the Baire property is optimal....

Project Planning and Implementation: Lessons Learned From the AQBMP Project

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1997-01-01

...). This NSRP report is funded as an addendum to the Air Quality Best Management Practices (AQBMP) project (N1 -944). The AQBMP project was completed using an intensive project planning process using a variety of quality management tools...

One project's waste is another project's resource

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Short, J.

1997-01-01

The author describes the efforts being made toward pollution prevention within the DOE complex, as a way to reduce overall project costs, in addition to decreasing the amount of waste to be handled. Pollution prevention is a concept which is trying to be ingrained into project planning. Part of the program involves the concept that ultimately the responsibility for waste comes back to the generator. Parts of the program involve efforts to reuse materials and equipment on new projects, to recycle wastes to generate offsetting revenue, and to increase awareness, accountability and incentives so as to stimulate action on this plan. Summaries of examples are presented in tables

Reward-related learning via multiple memory systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Mauricio R; Dickerson, Kathryn C

2012-07-15

The application of a neuroeconomic approach to the study of reward-related processes has provided significant insights in our understanding of human learning and decision making. Much of this research has focused primarily on the contributions of the corticostriatal circuitry, involved in trial-and-error reward learning. As a result, less consideration has been allotted to the potential influence of different neural mechanisms such as the hippocampus or to more common ways in human society in which information is acquired and utilized to reach a decision, such as through explicit instruction rather than trial-and-error learning. This review examines the individual contributions of multiple learning and memory neural systems and their interactions during human decision making in both normal and neuropsychiatric populations. Specifically, the anatomical and functional connectivity across multiple memory systems are highlighted to suggest that probing the role of the hippocampus and its interactions with the corticostriatal circuitry via the application of model-based neuroeconomic approaches may provide novel insights into neuropsychiatric populations that suffer from damage to one of these structures and as a consequence have deficits in learning, memory, or decision making. Copyright © 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The amygdala: securing pleasure and avoiding pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anushka B P Fernando

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The amygdala has traditionally been associated with fear, mediating the impact of negative emotions on memory. However, this view does not fully encapsulate the function of the amygdala, nor the impact that processing in this structure has on the motivational limbic corticostriatal circuitry of which it is an important structure. Here we discuss the interactions between different amygdala nuclei with cortical and striatal regions involved in motivation; interconnections and parallel circuitries that have become increasingly understood in recent years. We review the evidence that the amygdala stores memories that allow initially motivationally neutral stimuli to become associated through pavlovian conditioning with motivationally relevant outcomes which, importantly, can be either appetitive (e.g. food or aversive (e.g. electric shock. We also consider how different psychological processes supported by the amygdala such as conditioned reinforcement and punishment, conditioned motivation and suppression, and conditioned approach and avoidance behavior, are not only psychologically but also neurobiologically dissociable, being mediated by distinct yet overlapping neural circuits within the limbic corticostriatal circuitry. Clearly the role of the amygdala goes beyond encoding aversive stimuli to also encode the appetitive, requiring an appreciation of the amygdala’s mediation of both appetitive and fearful behavior through diverse psychological processes.

The role of stress in the pathogenesis and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, T G; Kelmendi, B; Brake, C A; Gruner, P; Badour, C L; Pittenger, C

2018-01-01

Individuals with OCD often identify psychosocial stress as a factor that exacerbates their symptoms, and many trace the onset of symptoms to a stressful period of life or a discrete traumatic incident. However, the pathophysiological relationship between stress and OCD remains poorly characterized: it is unclear whether trauma or stress is an independent cause of OCD symptoms, a triggering factor that interacts with a preexisting diathesis, or simply a nonspecific factor that can exacerbate OCD along with other aspects of psychiatric symptomatology. Nonetheless, preclinical research has demonstrated that stress has conspicuous effects on corticostriatal and limbic circuitry. Specifically, stress can lead to neuronal atrophy in frontal cortices (particularly the medial prefrontal cortex), the dorsomedial striatum (caudate), and the hippocampus. Stress can also result in neuronal hypertrophy in the dorsolateral striatum (putamen) and amygdala. These neurobiological effects mirror reported neural abnormalities in OCD and may contribute to an imbalance between goal-directed and habitual behavior, an imbalance that is implicated in the pathogenesis and expression of OCD symptomatology. The modulation of corticostriatal and limbic circuits by stress and the resultant imbalance between habit and goal-directed learning and behavior offers a framework for investigating how stress may exacerbate or trigger OCD symptomatology.

Ambidextrous Leadership and Sustainability-Based Project Performance: The Role of Project Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junwei Zheng

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Most studies in the project management field emphasized the effects of leaders or managers, but these effects have rarely been examined at the project level. To cover this research gap, this study applies organizational ambidexterity theory to examine the effects among ambidextrous leadership, ambidextrous culture and sustainability-based project performance. Using a valid sample of 217 project leaders and members from Chinese construction projects, the method of multiple linear regression was adopted to assess the direct relationship among ambidextrous leadership, ambidextrous culture and project performance. Moreover, the bootstrapping technique through structural equation modeling, has been used to analyze the mediating effect of ambidextrous culture. Additionally, the sample data was divided into different groups according to the median value of the variables to conduct the ANOVA and to assess the within-group differences. The results indicated a positive and direct relationship that ambidextrous leadership has on project performance and ambidextrous culture. In addition, there was also a mediating impact of ambidextrous leadership on project performance via ambidextrous culture. Thus, ambidextrous leadership combined with transformational leadership as well as transactional leadership likely has a stronger positive impact on project performance through fostering the adaptive culture and consistent culture. Our findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of the role of the leader and culture for project outcomes. The project-based organization in construction projects could train project leaders’ ambidextrous leadership behavior to facilitate the formation of an ambidextrous culture and to increase project performance. Moreover, this study enriches the existing literature on leadership and project management by highlighting the important path of ambidextrous leadership and ambidextrous culture on the performance at the project level

Managing complex, high risk projects a guide to basic and advanced project management

CERN Document Server

Marle, Franck

2016-01-01

Maximizing reader insights into project management and handling complexity-driven risks, this book explores propagation effects, non-linear consequences, loops, and the emergence of positive properties that may occur over the course of a project. This book presents an introduction to project management and analysis of traditional project management approaches and their limits regarding complexity. It also includes overviews of recent research works about project complexity modelling and management as well as project complexity-driven issues. Moreover, the authors propose their own new approaches, new methodologies and new tools which may be used by project managers and/or researchers and/or students in the management of their projects. These new elements include project complexity definitions and frameworks, multi-criteria approaches for project complexity measurement, advanced methodologies for project management (propagation studies to anticipate potential behaviour of the project, and clustering approaches...

Managing a project's legacy: implications for organizations and project management

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Lynne P.; Hecht, Michael H.; Majchrzak, Ann

2003-01-01

Organizations that rely on projects to implement their products must find effective mechanisms for propagating lessons learned on one project throughout the organization. A broad view of what constitutes a project's 'legacy' is presented that includes not just the design products and leftover parts, but new processes, relationships, technology, skills, planning data, and performance metrics. Based on research evaluating knowledge reuse in innovative contexts, this paper presents an approach to project legacy management that focuses on collecting and using legacy knowledge to promote organizational learning and effective reuse, while addressing factors of post-project responsibility, information obsolescence, and the importance of ancillary contextual information. .

The Environmental Management Project Manager's Handbook for improved project definition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-02-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to providing high quality products that satisfy customer needs and are the associated with this goal, DOE personnel must possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure successful job performance. In addition, there must be recognition that the greatest obstacle to proper project performance is inadequate project definition. Without strong project definition, DOE environmental management efforts are vulnerable to fragmented solutions, duplication of effort, and wastes resources. The primary means of ensuring environmental management projects meet cost and schedule milestones is through a structured and graded approach to project definition, which is the focus of this handbook

Lessons Learned from Client Projects in an Undergraduate Project Management Course

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Carol E.

2012-01-01

This work proposes that a subtle combination of three learning methods offering "just in time" project management knowledge, coupled with hands-on project management experience can be particularly effective in producing project management students with employable skills. Students were required to apply formal project management knowledge to gain…

Molecular substrates of action control in cortico-striatal circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiflett, Michael W; Balleine, Bernard W

2011-09-15

The purpose of this review is to describe the molecular mechanisms in the striatum that mediate reward-based learning and action control during instrumental conditioning. Experiments assessing the neural bases of instrumental conditioning have uncovered functional circuits in the striatum, including dorsal and ventral striatal sub-regions, involved in action-outcome learning, stimulus-response learning, and the motivational control of action by reward-associated cues. Integration of dopamine (DA) and glutamate neurotransmission within these striatal sub-regions is hypothesized to enable learning and action control through its role in shaping synaptic plasticity and cellular excitability. The extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) appears to be particularly important for reward-based learning and action control due to its sensitivity to combined DA and glutamate receptor activation and its involvement in a range of cellular functions. ERK activation in striatal neurons is proposed to have a dual role in both the learning and performance factors that contribute to instrumental conditioning through its regulation of plasticity-related transcription factors and its modulation of intrinsic cellular excitability. Furthermore, perturbation of ERK activation by drugs of abuse may give rise to behavioral disorders such as addiction. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Project management. A discipline which contributes to project success

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoch, G.

2008-01-01

The presentation covers the following topics: description of the Project - a contract was signed between KNPP and European Consortium Kozloduy (ECK) consisting of Framatome ANP GmbH as Leader (63%), Framatome ANP S.A.S. (17%), Atomenergoexport (20%) ; Project management in the modernization of NPP Kozloduy units 5 and 6; Project management process within AREVA NP GmbH; current status

Project 2010 For Dummies

CERN Document Server

Muir, Nancy C

2010-01-01

A friendly reference guide to Microsoft Project, the leading enterprise project management software. As project management software, Microsoft Project allows you to oversee your business activities effectively. You can manage resources, share project info, perform modeling and scenario analysis, and standardize reporting processes. This easy-to-understand guide is completely updated to cover the latest changes and newest enhancements to Project 2010 and shows you how to get Project 2010 to work for you. After an introduction to basic project management concepts, you'll discover the mechanics o

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project Preliminary Project Management Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dennis J. Harrell

2006-01-01

This draft preliminary project management plan presents the conceptual framework for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project, consistent with the authorization in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In developing this plan, the Idaho National Laboratory has considered three fundamental project planning options that are summarized in the following section. Each of these planning options is literally compliant with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but each emphasizes different approaches to technology development risks, design, licensing and construction risks, and to the extent of commercialization support provided to the industry. The primary focus of this draft preliminary project management plan is to identify those activities important to Critical Decision-1, at which point a decision on proceeding with the NGNP Project can be made. The conceptual project framework described herein is necessary to establish the scope and priorities for the technology development activities. The framework includes: A reference NGNP prototype concept based on what is judged to be the lowest risk technology development that would achieve the needed commercial functional requirements to provide an economically competitive nuclear heat source and hydrogen production capability. A high-level schedule logic for design, construction, licensing, and acceptance testing. This schedule logic also includes an operational shakedown period that provides proof-of-principle to establish the basis for commercialization decisions by end-users. An assessment of current technology development plans to support Critical Decision-1 and overall project progress. The most important technical and programmatic uncertainties (risks) are evaluated, and potential mitigation strategies are identified so that the technology development plans may be modified as required to support ongoing project development. A rough-order-of-magnitude cost evaluation that provides an initial basis for budget planning. This

From Project Management to Process Management - Effectively Organising Transdisciplinary Projects

OpenAIRE

Moschitz, Heidrun

2013-01-01

In transdisciplinary projects, the roles of researchers change. In addition to being a source of knowledge, they are required to engage in knowledge exchange processes. This results in an alteration at project level: researchers need to creatively manage projects as group processes.

Marlim project finance; 'Project finance' de Marlim

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Almeida, Albino Lopes [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2004-07-01

Project Finance is often used worldwide to raise the funds to develop big projects, particularly in the area of power and infra-structure. It is designed to support a singular project and a specific purpose company is created to obtain the financing. The debt payment is secured by the enterprise's cash flow, avoiding real guarantee requirements. The lenders receive the future revenues and the property of the assets to be built. The risks are mitigated by agreements exhaustively negotiated among the parties. One of the most important Project Finances performed in Brazil is the Marlim Project, structured in order to complete the development of the Marlim oil field. This is the biggest Brazilian oil field, producing more than 500,000 barrels a day, almost 35% of the national production. This paper presents the general concepts related to this type of financing and general information about the project, including its structuring, negotiation and closing. The total commitment reaches US$ 1.5 billion obtained in both domestic and international markets through equity, bridge loan, bonds and commercial papers. Its whole life is 10 years, using 2 special purpose companies in its configuration. (author)

Project Decision Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rolstadås, Asbjørn; Pinto, Jeffrey K.; Falster, Peter

2015-01-01

To add value to project performance and help obtain project success, a new framework for decision making in projects is defined. It introduces the project decision chain inspired by the supply chain thinking in the manufacturing sector and uses three types of decisions: authorization, selection......, and plan decision. A primitive decision element is defined where all the three decision types can be accommodated. Each task in the primitive element can in itself contain subtasks that in turn will comprise new primitive elements. The primitive elements are nested together in a project decision chain....

Project management with dynamic scheduling baseline scheduling, risk analysis and project control

CERN Document Server

Vanhoucke, Mario

2013-01-01

The topic of this book is known as dynamic scheduling, and is used to refer to three dimensions of project management and scheduling: the construction of a baseline schedule and the analysis of a project schedule's risk as preparation of the project control phase during project progress. This dynamic scheduling point of view implicitly assumes that the usability of a project's baseline schedule is rather limited and only acts as a point of reference in the project life cycle.

Pilot Project: analysis, development and projection

OpenAIRE

Tapia Abril, Verónica Emilia; Chérrez Rodas, Karina; García Pesántez, Gabriela Rosana; Maldonado Marchán, María Elisa; Bustamante Montesdeoca, José Luis

2014-01-01

Since the introduction of ICT in architecture and teaching, pedagogies of education have faced their learning paradigms change. Institutes of higher education have folded to this motion and have undergone a process of change by implementing multimedia elements in their subjects. Through the pilot project educational videos that aim to meet the highest standards of educational videos described by Van Dam have been developed. The project expects to generate educational videos for different depa...

Adaptation of Agile Project Management Methodology for Project Team

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasnacis Arturs

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A project management methodology that defines basic processes, tools, techniques, methods, resources and procedures used to manage a project is necessary for effective and successful IT project management. Each company needs to define its own methodology or adapt some of the existing ones. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the possibilities of adapting IT project development methodology according to the company, company employee characteristics and their mutual relations. The adaptation process will be illustrated with a case study at an IT company in Latvia where the developed methodology is based on Agile Scrum, one of the most widespread Agile methods.

False consensus in social context: differential projection and perceived social distance.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Paul E

2004-09-01

The study implicates the notion of perceived social distance as an explanation of why ingroup false consensus exceeds outgroup false consensus. Whilst previous demonstrations are best understood from social identity perspectives, the findings reported here suggest that self-group as well as inter-group comparisons can underlie such effects. In particular, perceived social distance was shown to mediate the effect of social categorisation: ingroup false consensus was greater because more social distance was perceived with the outgroup. The findings also extended to non-student samples and generalised across both opinion and ability items. In addition, examining the effect of item type in conjunction with social categorisation seriously challenged the generality of the false consensus effect.

EBFA project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-01-01

An engineering project office was established during the fall of 1976 to manage and coordinate all of the activities of the Electron Beam Fusion Project. The goal of the project is to develop the Electron Beam Fusion Accelerator (EBFA) and its supporting systems, and integrate these systems into the new Electron Beam Fusion Facility (EBFF). Supporting systems for EBFA include a control/monitor system, a data acquistion/automatic data processing system, the liquid transfer systems, the insulating gas transfer systems, etc. Engineers and technicians were assigned to the project office to carry out the engineering design, initiate procurement, monitor the fabrication, perform the assembly and to assist the pulsed power research group in the activation of the EBFA

Traditional Project Management and the Visual Workplace Environment to Improve Project Success

Science.gov (United States)

Fichera, Christopher E.

2016-01-01

A majority of large IT projects fail to meet scheduled deadlines, are over budget and do not satisfy the end user. Many projects fail in spite of utilizing traditional project management techniques. Research of project management has not identified the use of a visual workspace as a feature affecting or influencing the success of a project during…

The project manager's desk reference: project planning, schedulding, evaluation, control, systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lewis, James P

2007-01-01

In this Third Edition of The Project Manager's Desk Reference, top project management consultant James Lewis arms you with today's most comprehensive and understandable project management resources...

Projectables

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Troels A.; Merritt, Timothy R.

2017-01-01

CNC cutting machines have become essential tools for designers and architects enabling rapid prototyping, model-building and production of high quality components. Designers often cut from new materials, discarding the irregularly shaped remains. We introduce ProjecTables, a visual augmented...... reality system for interactive packing of model parts onto sheet materials. ProjecTables enables designers to (re)use scrap materials for CNC cutting that would have been previously thrown away, at the same time supporting aesthetic choices related to wood grain, avoiding surface blemishes, and other...... relevant material properties. We conducted evaluations of ProjecTables with design students from Aarhus School of Architecture, demonstrating that participants could quickly and easily place and orient model parts reducing material waste. Contextual interviews and ideation sessions led to a deeper...

Cortical Regulation of Striatal Medium Spiny Neuron Dendritic Remodeling in Parkinsonism: Modulation of Glutamate Release Reverses Dopamine Depletion–Induced Dendritic Spine Loss

OpenAIRE

Garcia, Bonnie G.; Neely, M. Diana; Deutch, Ariel Y.

2010-01-01

Striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) receive glutamatergic afferents from the cerebral cortex and dopaminergic inputs from the substantia nigra (SN). Striatal dopamine loss decreases the number of MSN dendritic spines. This loss of spines has been suggested to reflect the removal of tonic dopamine inhibitory control over corticostriatal glutamatergic drive, with increased glutamate release culminating in MSN spine loss. We tested this hypothesis in two ways. We first determined in vivo if dec...

The Ethiopian Flora Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Demissew, Sebsebe; Brochmann, Christian; Kelbessa, Ensermu

2011-01-01

The account reviews and analyses the scietific projects derived from activities in connection with the Ethiopian Flora Project, including the [Ethiopian] Monocot Project, the Afro-alpine "Sky-island" project, the Vegetation and Ecological Conditions of Plantations Project, the Fire Ecology Projec...

Project mechanisms challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perthuis, Ch. de

2005-06-01

The project mechanism complete the quotas systems concerning the carbon dioxide emissions market. The author explains and discusses these mechanisms and provides a panorama of the existing and developing projects. More specially she brings information on the mechanism of clean developments and renewable energies, the coordinated mechanisms, the agricultural projects, the financing of the projects and the exchange systeme of the New south Wales. (A.L.B.)

J-PARC project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagamiya, Shoji

2004-01-01

From Japanese fiscal year JFY01, which started on April 1, 2001, a new accelerator project to provide high-intensity proton beams proceeded into its construction phase. This project, which is now called the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) project, is conducted under a cooperation of two institutions, KEK and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institution. We set a goal to achieve 1 MW proton beams at 3 GeV and 0.75 MW beams at 50 GeV. The project will be completed within six years, with the anticipated first beams in the spring of 2007. In this article I will describe (a) the project itself, (b) sciences to be pursued at this new accelerator complex and (c) the present status and future plans of the project

How to Grow Project Scientists: A Systematic Approach to Developing Project Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Kea, Howard

2011-01-01

The Project Manager is one of the key individuals that can determine the success or failure of a project. NASA is fully committed to the training and development of Project Managers across the agency to ensure that highly capable individuals are equipped with the competencies and experience to successfully lead a project. An equally critical position is that of the Project Scientist. The Project Scientist provides the scientific leadership necessary for the scientific success of a project by insuring that the mission meets or exceeds the scientific requirements. Traditionally, NASA Goddard project scientists were appointed and approved by the Center Science Director based on their knowledge, experience, and other qualifications. However the process to obtain the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities was not documented or done in a systematic way. NASA Goddard's current Science Director, Nicholas White saw the need to create a pipeline for developing new projects scientists, and appointed a team to develop a process for training potential project scientists. The team members were Dr. Harley Thronson, Chair, Dr. Howard Kea, Mr. Mark Goldman, DACUM facilitator and the late Dr. Michael VanSteenberg. The DACUM process, an occupational analysis and evaluation system, was used to produce a picture of the project scientist's duties, tasks, knowledge, and skills. The output resulted in a 3-Day introductory course detailing all the required knowledge, skills and abilities a scientist must develop over time to be qualified for selections as a Project Scientist.

Something of value Governance of Projects in the Project-Based Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis, Eva

2013-01-01

The paper presents a conceptual framework for studying Governance of Projects and issues of value in the project-based organisation. Attempts at exploring and conceptualising the issues in the current literature are reviewed. Issues pertinent to gaining value by Governance of Projects have mainly...... for a better understanding of Governance of Projects and value contribution. The findings presented here form the conceptual foundation for subsequent empirical studies of value by Governance of Projects....... been explored from the perspective of economic theory. Models found in the literature are not typically concerned with value for the implementing organisation as a whole; their scope is limited to the time just after project completion. No valid, empirically-based models of value creation by Governance...

Underestimation of Project Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Harry W.

2015-01-01

Large projects almost always exceed their budgets. Estimating cost is difficult and estimated costs are usually too low. Three different reasons are suggested: bad luck, overoptimism, and deliberate underestimation. Project management can usually point to project difficulty and complexity, technical uncertainty, stakeholder conflicts, scope changes, unforeseen events, and other not really unpredictable bad luck. Project planning is usually over-optimistic, so the likelihood and impact of bad luck is systematically underestimated. Project plans reflect optimism and hope for success in a supposedly unique new effort rather than rational expectations based on historical data. Past project problems are claimed to be irrelevant because "This time it's different." Some bad luck is inevitable and reasonable optimism is understandable, but deliberate deception must be condemned. In a competitive environment, project planners and advocates often deliberately underestimate costs to help gain project approval and funding. Project benefits, cost savings, and probability of success are exaggerated and key risks ignored. Project advocates have incentives to distort information and conceal difficulties from project approvers. One naively suggested cure is more openness, honesty, and group adherence to shared overall goals. A more realistic alternative is threatening overrun projects with cancellation. Neither approach seems to solve the problem. A better method to avoid the delusions of over-optimism and the deceptions of biased advocacy is to base the project cost estimate on the actual costs of a large group of similar projects. Over optimism and deception can continue beyond the planning phase and into project execution. Hard milestones based on verified tests and demonstrations can provide a reality check.

ORGANIZATION OF FUTURE ENGINEERS' PROJECT-BASED LEARNING WHEN STUDYING THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Halyna V. Lutsenko

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The peculiarities of modern world experience of implementation of project-based learning in engineering education have been considered. The potential role and place of projects in learning activity have been analyzed. The methodology of organization of project-based activity of engineering students when studying the project management methodology and computer systems of project management has been proposed. The requirements to documentation and actual results of students' projects have been described in detail. The requirements to computer-aided systems of project management developed by using Microsoft Project in the scope of diary scheduling and resources planning have been formulated.

The Evolution of a Connectionist Model of Situated Human Language Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Mayberry, Marshall R.; Crocker, Matthew W.

The Adaptive Mechanisms in Human Language Processing (ALPHA) project features both experimental and computational tracks designed to complement each other in the investigation of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie situated human utterance processing. The models developed in the computational track replicate results obtained in the experimental track and, in turn, suggest further experiments by virtue of behavior that arises as a by-product of their operation.

Influence of Selected Stakeholders of Construction Investment Projects on the Course of Project

Science.gov (United States)

Bizon-Górecka, Jadwiga; Górecki, Jarosław

2017-10-01

The article presents an entity perspective of the construction investment projects. In a course of the project there are stakeholders who have an indirect influence (e.g. decision-makers in the selection of projects) or a direct influence (e.g. members of the project team). An intuitive opinion about a significant influence of project stakeholders on the project’s course encouraged the authors to undertake a research in this area. The article illustrates the initial phases of the construction project life cycle in a perspective of the entities and, in particular, a role of different stakeholders in making decisions that affect a course of the project. An analysis of the structure of the construction project life cycle makes a substantial involvement of various subjects in the initial phases of the project, i.e. in an initial phase and during a creation of the structures. A key point is to underline the factors of decision-making by the participants of the construction process. It was indicated that the stakeholders have a different impact on the course of the project. In large projects, which have many stakeholders, their role in the implementation of the investment project can vary, depending on the life cycle of the project. They can have positive or negative impacts on achieving the project objectives. The paper presents the results of 100 surveys made among participants of the building processes, executors of the construction projects in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region. The study was conducted in December 2016 and January 2017. It revealed what is the impact of individual stakeholders of the construction projects on the course of the project. A special attention was paid to a complex relationship between objectives of the project and stakeholders’ goals. A great care to the smallest possible number of risks, which may arise from the different objectives of the project and its stakeholders’ goals, should be focused on the augmentation of correlation of

Project Leadership and Quality Performance of Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SPG Buba

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The construction industry in Nigeria, is pigeonholed by poor quality of construction products as a result of the inherent corruption in the country. Lack of purposeful leadership and inappropriate choice of leadership styles in the industry have been attributed to project failure. Abandoned and failed projects are more predominant in the public sector which litters every corner of the country. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of leadership styles on quality performance criteria of public projects in Nigeria. Methodology: A total of 43 questionnaires were distributed to 3 key groups of respondents (Quantity Surveyors, Builders, and Architects who are project managers in Nigeria. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyse the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS. Likert Scale was used to measure the independent variables (leadership style: facilitative, coaching, delegating and directing; and the level of achievement of projects based on the dependent variables (quality and function performance criteria which are: achieving highest aesthetic quality; and functional building that fits its purpose. Findings: The study revealed that Directing is the major leadership style used by project managers in Nigeria. Amongst the leadership styles which has the most impact on quality performance indicators is also directing which has the most relative influence on achieving highest aesthetic quality and functional building that fits its purpose. Conclusion/Recommendation/Way forward: The underlying relationship between Directing leadership styles and the performance criteria of achieving highest aesthetic quality and functional building that fits its purpose will be beneficial to the Nigerian construction environment.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yana Derenskaya

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The present article is aimed at developing a set of recommendations for achieving a higher level of organizational project maturity at a given enterprise. Methodology. For the purposes of the current research, the available information sources on the components of project management system are analysed; the essence of “organizational maturity” and the existing models of organizational maturity are studied. The method of systemic and structural analysis, as well as the method of logical generalization, are employed in order to study the existing models of organizational maturity, to describe levels of organizational maturity, and finally to develop a set of methodological recommendations for achieving a higher level of organizational project maturity at a given enterprise. The results of the research showed that the core elements of project management system are methodological, organizational, programtechnical, and motivational components. Project management encompasses a wide range of issues connected with organizational structure, project team, communication management, project participants, etc. However, the fundamental basis for developing project management concept within a given enterprise starts with defining its level of organizational maturity. The present paper describes various models of organizational maturity (staged, continuous, petal-shaped and their common types (H. Кеrzner Organizational Maturity Model, Berkeley PM Maturity Model, Organizational Project Management Maturity Model, Portfolio, Program & Project Management Maturity Model. The analysis of available theoretic works showed that the notion “organizational project maturity” refers to the capability of an enterprise to select projects and manage them with the intention of achieving its strategic goals in the most effective way. Importantly, the level of maturity can be improved by means of formalizing the acquired knowledge, regulating project-related activities

Impact evaluation in multicultural educational projects : case: ADAPTYKES project

OpenAIRE

Kuusisto, Miika

2014-01-01

The objective of this thesis was to examine the common evaluation concepts of the European Union’s funded projects. Such concepts inter alia are effectiveness, impacts and sustainability. The aim was to study how these are realized in multicultural educational case–project in a context, where the project is funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo DaVinci Programme. Thesis introduces two evaluation approaches, which are Logical Framework Approach and Realistic evaluation model. The fi...

Role of quality assurance vs project manager's responsibility for waste projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solecki, J.

1989-01-01

This paper takes a project manager's perspective and discusses the role of the quality assurance organization in the development, implementation and interface related to the QA program for waste projects. The author describes the role which the QA program plays in allowing project management to assure that the project manager knows what is placed in the repository and the characteristics of the surrounding environment meet closure requirements

BioProject

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The BioProject database provides an organizational framework to access information about research projects with links to data that have been or will be deposited...

Project Management Techniques

OpenAIRE

Mihalache Anita; Salagean Liana

2010-01-01

Project management is a technique that can aid in the planning, scheduling, and monitoring of complex projects characterized by numerous, non repetitive jobs called activities. Examples of projects that would use project management include: - developing a mass rapid – transit system for a metropolitan area; - organizing the relocation of a corporate headquarters; - planning the production of a concert, film, or play; - developing and marketing a new automobile; - constructing a high – rise of...

Choice of large projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harris, R

1978-08-01

Conventional cost/benefit or project analysis has generally not taken into account circumstances in which the project under consideration is large enough that its introduction to the economy would have significant general equilibrium effects. In this paper, rules are examined that would indicate whether such large projects should be accepted or rejected. The rules utilize information yielded by before-project and after-project equilibrium prices and production data. Rules are developed for the undistorted ''first-best'' case, the case in which the fixed costs of the project are covered by distortionary taxation, and for the case of projects producing public goods. 34 references.

Project management best practices: forging win-win partnerships and mitigating power project risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trowsdale, R.

2006-01-01

This paper discusses aspects of project management to mitigate power project risk. end-to-end project development involves development phase, permitting phase, implementation phase, and operational phase. Each phase involves a number of different elements. In renewable energy project good management requires maintaining project discipline and schedule throughout all phases. Project success requires commercial competitiveness, fuel availability, power sales contracts, stake holder support, permitting, effective execution, construction and good technical performance

Harvard Project Physics Newsletter 10. The Project Physics Course, Text.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Harvard Project Physics.

A short description of the availability of Harvard Project Physics course components is given as is a discussion of the growth of the use of Project Physics in schools, including some enrollment data and survey results. Locations of the 1970 and 1971 Summer Institutes are listed. Adaptations of Project Physics course outside the United States are…

Space Projects: Improvements Needed in Selecting Future Projects for Private Financing

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and NASA jointly selected seven projects for commercialization to reduce NASA's fiscal year 1990 budget request and to help achieve the goal of increasing private sector involvement in space. However, the efforts to privately finance these seven projects did not increase the commercial sector's involvement in space to the extent desired. The General Accounting Office (GAO) determined that the projects selected were not a fair test of the potential of increasing commercial investment in space at an acceptable cost to the government, primarily because the projects were not properly screened. That is, neither their suitability for commercialization nor the economic consequences of seeking private financing for them were adequately evaluated before selection. Evaluations and market tests done after selection showed that most of the projects were not viable candidates for private financing. GAO concluded that projects should not be removed from NASA's budget for commercial development until after careful screening has been done to determine whether adequate commercial demand exists, development risks are commercially acceptable and private financing is found or judged to be highly likely, and the cost effectiveness of such a decision is acceptable. Premature removal of projects from NASA's budget ultimately can cause project delays and increased costs when unsuccessful commercialization candidates must be returned to the budget. NASA also needs to ensure appropriate comparisons of government and private financing options for future commercialization projects.

A new approach to cost effective projects: High performance project teams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, N.C.

1994-01-01

In low oil price environment in which environmental conditions are more challenging, reservoir characteristics less favourable and political risk increasing, successful projects are required in such cases. The present paper deals with the visionary process of establishing high performance project teams. According to the author, such project teams embody dynamic recognition of holism. Holism is achieved as an output from the process of establishing the drivers and enablers for success on a project. They are given birth during the unfolding of the operators development plans and contracting strategy. The paper discusses the main drivers of project teams comprising purpose and performance goals, selection, common approach, commitment and accountability, and financial alignment

A new approach to cost effective projects: High performance project teams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chambers, N.C. [Brown and Root Energy Services (United Kingdom)

1994-12-31

In low oil price environment in which environmental conditions are more challenging, reservoir characteristics less favourable and political risk increasing, successful projects are required in such cases. The present paper deals with the visionary process of establishing high performance project teams. According to the author, such project teams embody dynamic recognition of holism. Holism is achieved as an output from the process of establishing the drivers and enablers for success on a project. They are given birth during the unfolding of the operators development plans and contracting strategy. The paper discusses the main drivers of project teams comprising purpose and performance goals, selection, common approach, commitment and accountability, and financial alignment

Project Finance and Projects in the Energy Sector in Developing Countries

OpenAIRE

ERMELA KRIPA; HALIT XHAFA

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to show the importance of using project finance in infrastructure investments in developing countries. The paper will be focused only on one infrastructure sector, which is energy. Structurally, power project finance has involved largely buildown-transfer (BOT) project structures and long-term contracts. The projects largely reflect a rational allocation of risks among public and private participants. Private sponsors and lenders generally assume risks for complet...

A Qualitative Study of the Relationship between a Banking IT Troubled Project and the Executive Project Sponsor's Project Management Maturity Level

Science.gov (United States)

Northcraft, Terry G.

2017-01-01

This qualitative study examined the effect the level of project management maturity a banking IT project sponsor has on project success. Project management maturity is gauged by the amount of modern project management training, knowledge and organizational skills an individual or organization has and applies to their project lifecycle experiences.…

Expedited technology demonstration project (Revised mixed waste management facility project) Project baseline revision 4.0 and FY98 plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamson, M. G.

1997-01-01

The re-baseline of the Expedited Technology Demonstration Project (Revised Mixed Waste Facility Project) is designated as Project Baseline Revision 4.0. The last approved baseline was identified as Project Baseline Revision 3.0 and was issued in October 1996. Project Baseline Revision 4.0 does not depart from the formal DOE guidance followed by, and contained in, Revision 3.0. This revised baseline document describes the MSO and Final Forms testing activities that will occur during FY98, the final year of the ETD Project. The cost estimate for work during FY98 continues to be $2.OM as published in Revision 3.0. However, the funds will be all CENRTC rather than the OPEX/CENTRC split previously anticipated. LLNL has waived overhead charges on ETD Project CENRTC funds since the beginning of project activities. By requesting the $2.OM as all CENTRC a more aggressive approach to staffing and testing can be taken. Due to a cost under- run condition during FY97 procurements were made and work was accomplished, with the knowledge of DOE, in the Feed Preparation and Final Forms areas that were not in the scope of Revision 3.0. Feed preparation activities for FY98 have been expanded to include the drum opening station/enclosure previously deleted

Robust automated knowledge capture.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stevens-Adams, Susan Marie; Abbott, Robert G.; Forsythe, James Chris; Trumbo, Michael Christopher Stefan; Haass, Michael Joseph; Hendrickson, Stacey M. Langfitt

2011-10-01

This report summarizes research conducted through the Sandia National Laboratories Robust Automated Knowledge Capture Laboratory Directed Research and Development project. The objective of this project was to advance scientific understanding of the influence of individual cognitive attributes on decision making. The project has developed a quantitative model known as RumRunner that has proven effective in predicting the propensity of an individual to shift strategies on the basis of task and experience related parameters. Three separate studies are described which have validated the basic RumRunner model. This work provides a basis for better understanding human decision making in high consequent national security applications, and in particular, the individual characteristics that underlie adaptive thinking.

Projects as value constellations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Markus

Creating value has been outlined as very central to projects applying the organizational perspective to projects. It has been suggested that value is created in value constellations or project networks, where actors work together to create value. However, research on the value creation process...... in value constellations is scarce, and through an exploratory study of two project networks in a cultural setting we investigate how value is created in value constellations. We outline how each project may be a distinct type of value constellation, one project creates value for the partners of the network...... as a consortium, and the project creates value primarily for others as a facilitator....

Introduction to the Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhn, Johan M.; Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Sørensen, Anders

In this note a short introduction to the project “Employment Effects of Entrepreneurs” is presented. First, we describe the purpose of the project; second, we present the background; third, we briefly describe the three papers that constitute the output of the project, and fourth, we discuss two ...... important qualifications for the understanding of the contributions and results established in the project.......In this note a short introduction to the project “Employment Effects of Entrepreneurs” is presented. First, we describe the purpose of the project; second, we present the background; third, we briefly describe the three papers that constitute the output of the project, and fourth, we discuss two...

Forecast Inaccuracies in Power Plant Projects From Project Managers' Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Sanabria, Orlando

Guided by organizational theory, this phenomenological study explored the factors affecting forecast preparation and inaccuracies during the construction of fossil fuel-fired power plants in the United States. Forecast inaccuracies can create financial stress and uncertain profits during the project construction phase. A combination of purposeful and snowball sampling supported the selection of participants. Twenty project managers with over 15 years of experience in power generation and project experience across the United States were interviewed within a 2-month period. From the inductive codification and descriptive analysis, 5 themes emerged: (a) project monitoring, (b) cost control, (c) management review frequency, (d) factors to achieve a precise forecast, and (e) factors causing forecast inaccuracies. The findings of the study showed the factors necessary to achieve a precise forecast includes a detailed project schedule, accurate labor cost estimates, monthly project reviews and risk assessment, and proper utilization of accounting systems to monitor costs. The primary factors reported as causing forecast inaccuracies were cost overruns by subcontractors, scope gaps, labor cost and availability of labor, and equipment and material cost. Results of this study could improve planning accuracy and the effective use of resources during construction of power plants. The study results could contribute to social change by providing a framework to project managers to lessen forecast inaccuracies, and promote construction of power plants that will generate employment opportunities and economic development.

Risks management in project planning

OpenAIRE

Stankevičiūtė, Roberta

2017-01-01

Project management consists of two very important aspects – managing the right project and managing the project right. To know that you are managing the right project you need to ensure that your project is based on an actual requirement and that your project goal is relevant and beneficial. And professional project planning assists in managing project the right way. The project planning process is very time consuming and is one of the most important parts of the project management process. T...

FME Senior Project Managers: A Juggling Act of Multiple Projects | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

By Peggy Pearl, Contributing Writer It was not until the 1950s that organizations in the United States began to apply project management tools and techniques to complex construction and engineering projects (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_life_cycle).

Project Risk Management

Science.gov (United States)

Jr., R. F. Miles

1995-01-01

Project risk management is primarily concerned with performance, reliability, cost, and schedule. Environmental risk management is primarily concerned with human health and ecological hazards and likelihoods. This paper discusses project risk management and compares it to environmental risk management, both with respect to goals and implementation. The approach of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to risk management is presented as an example of a project risk management approach that is an extension to NASA NHB 7120.5: Management of Major System Programs and Projects.

Project mobilisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, J.; Limbrick, A.

1996-01-01

This paper identifies and reviews the issues to be addressed and the procedures to be followed during the mobilisation of projects using LFG as an energy source. Knowledge of the procedures involved in project mobilisation, their sequence and probable timescales, is essential for efficient project management. It is assumed that the majority of projects will be situated on existing, licensed landfill sites and, in addition to complying with the relevant conditions of the waste management licence and original planning consent, any proposed developments on the site will require a separate planning consent. Experience in the UK indicates that obtaining planning permission rarely constitutes a barrier to the development of schemes for the utilisation of LFG. Even so, an appreciation of the applicable environmental and planning legislation is essential as this will enable the developer to recognise the main concerns of the relevant planning authority at an early stage of the project, resulting in the preparation of an informed and well-structured application for planning permission. For a LFG utilisation scheme on an existing landfill site, the need to carry out an environmental assessment (EA) as part of the application for planning permission will, in vitually all cases, be discretionary. Even if not deemed necessary by the planning authority, an EA is a useful tool at the planning application stage, to identify and address potential problems and to support discussions with bodies such as the Environment Agency, from whom consents or authorisations may be required. Carrying out an EA can thus provide for more cost-effective project development and enhanced environmental protection. Typically, the principal contractual arrangements, such as the purchase of gas or the sale of electricity, will have been established before the project mobilisation phase. However, there are many other contractural arrangements that must be established, and consents and permits that may be

Project network-oriented materials management policy for complex projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dixit, Vijaya; Srivastava, Rajiv K; Chaudhuri, Atanu

2015-01-01

This work devises a materials management policy integrated with project network characteristics of complex projects. It proposes a relative quantitative measure, overall criticality (OC), for prioritisation of items based on penalty incurred due to their non-availability. In complex projects...... managerial tacit knowledge which provides them enough flexibility to provide information in real form. Computed OC values can be used for items prioritisation and as shortage cost coefficient in inventory models. The revised materials management policy was applied to a shipbuilding project. OC values were......, practicing managers find it difficult to measure OC of items because of the subjective factors and intractable nature of penalties involved. However, using their experience, they can linguistically identify the antecedents and relate them to consequent OC. This work adopts Fuzzy Set Theory to capture...

Building Project Competence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pemsel, Sofia; Wiewiora, Anna

This research investigates the development of project competence, and particularly, three related dynamic capabilities (shifting, adapting, leveraging) that contribute to project competence development. In doing so, we make use of the emerging literature on knowledge governance and theorize how...... of dynamic capability building promoting project competence development....

Organizations, projects and culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. van Cleeff; Pieter van Nispen tot Pannerden

2016-01-01

Purpose: to explore and demonstrate the effects of organizational culture on projects, in particular project culture and project management style. Methodology/approach: descriptive and explorative; through students’ groups. Findings: the cultural relationship between organizations, their projects

The Impact of Project Management Maturity upon IT/IS Project Management Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Carcillo, Anthony Joseph, Jr.

2013-01-01

Although it is assumed that increasing the institutionalization (or maturity) of project management in an organization leads to greater project success, the literature has diverse views. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the correlation between project management maturity and IT/IS project outcomes. The sample consisted of two…

Photovoltaic demonstration projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaut, W [Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Belgium); Gillett, W B; Hacker, R J [Halcrow Gilbert Associates Ltd., Swindon (GB)

1992-12-31

This publication, comprising the proceedings of the fifth contractor`s meeting organized by the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General for Energy, provides an overview of the photovoltaic demonstration projects which have been supported in the framework of the energy demonstration programme since 1983. It includes reports by each of the contractors who submitted proposals in 1987 and 1988, describing progress within their projects. Projects accepted from earlier calls for proposals and not yet completed were reviewed by a rapporteur and are discussed in the summary section. The results of the performance monitoring of all projects and the lessons drawn from the practical experience of the projects are also presented in the summaries and conclusions. Contractors whose projects were submitted in 1989 were also present at the meeting and contributed to the reported discussions. This proceeding is divided into four sessions (General, Housing, technical presentations, other applications) and 24 papers are offered.

Knowledge Management in a Project Environment: Organisational CT and Project Influences

OpenAIRE

Polyaninova, Taya

2011-01-01

During a project implementation various forms of information and experience are generated within the organization. If this accumulated knowledge is not recorded and shared amongst other projects, this knowledge will be lost and no longer be available to assist future projects. This may lead to increased future projects costs as resources, time and money will be wasted on redefining the knowledge that once existed within the company. By not capturing and redeploying this knowledge, the quality...

Using Project Complexity Determinations to Establish Required Levels of Project Rigor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrews, Thomas D.

2015-10-01

This presentation discusses the project complexity determination process that was developed by National Security Technologies, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office for implementation at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The complexity determination process was developed to address the diversity of NNSS project types, size, and complexity; to fill the need for one procedure but with provision for tailoring the level of rigor to the project type, size, and complexity; and to provide consistent, repeatable, effective application of project management processes across the enterprise; and to achieve higher levels of efficiency in project delivery. These needs are illustrated by the wide diversity of NNSS projects: Defense Experimentation, Global Security, weapons tests, military training areas, sensor development and testing, training in realistic environments, intelligence community support, sensor development, environmental restoration/waste management, and disposal of radioactive waste, among others.

Project time boxing and milestones as drivers for open design projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tollestrup, Christian H. T.

2015-01-01

is very positive and that the structure, strict enforcement and rolling project management responsibility in a group work setting really helps them drive the project forward with high motivation. The main challenge lies in the balance between loading the teams with too many challenges and just providing......The Curriculums and programs in Problem Based Learning (PBL) utilizes the project-format in a team based setting for rehearsing the competencies of applying the design-oriented skills and knowledge learned in courses and workshops. If the project period is self-organised, there is a tendency......, because of the facilitated format where ‘disturbances’ are eliminated. If successful the state of creative flow is achieved. So how can we create a sense of urgency in longer project periods, not just workshop format, that would help a team of design students to engage and drive the project from the start...

Projection Models 2010

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Illerup, J. B.; Birr-Pedersen, K.; Mikkelsen, M. H

Models for projection of SO2-, NOx-, NMVOC- and NH3-emissions to the atmosphere have been developed and the Danish emissions have been projected until 2010 from a basis scenario including all implemented and planned measures. The projections of the four pollutants indicate that it may be difficult...

Designing Project Management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heintz, John Linke; Lousberg, L.; Wamelink, J.W.F.; Saari, A.; Huovinen, P.

2016-01-01

In this paper we introduce the concept of Designing Project Management. On the basis of our earlier work, we suggest that there is still a gap between what is known from recent project management literature and what project managers can structurally help in the effectiveness of their work. Assuming

Changing project finance climate; Project finance wo meguru kankyo henka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madono, S. [The Export-Import Bank of Japan, Tokyo (Japan)

1998-03-01

Development of conditions under which project financing (PF) functions is described. PF, a method with which funds are procured for a project on the security of the assets of and the cash flow involving the project, established its position as a popular financial means. Into the 1990, however, PF underwent a complete change, when it came to be actively employed as a means for the procurement of money for what is called `infrastructure building project for invigorating the private sector` in the developing countries. PF has now come to be utilized for the financing of projects in various fields besides the field of resources exploitation. In particular, PF is now utilized in schemes such as BOT (build, operate, transfer) in public enterprises, for instance, electric power utilities in developing countries. The gravest problem found in the private sector invigorating type PF is that the sponsor, operator, exporter, and lender on their respective levels are experiencing rising risks because of intensified competition in the presence of a great number of projects. Such risks involve the exchange rate, the completion of work, and the relations between the borrower and operator. 2 figs.

Ranking the Project Management Success Factors for Construction Project in South India

Science.gov (United States)

Aneesha, K.; Haridharan, M. K.

2017-07-01

In Today’s construction industry, to achieve a greater advantage over the firms, success of each project and efficiency is required. Effective Project Management overcomes these types of challenges. This study identifies the success factors which are important for project management in construction project success. From the literature review, 26 factors were found to be critical. Project managers, construction managers, civil engineers, contractors and site engineers were the respondents. After analyzing the data in SPSS software, the dominant factors from the regression analysis are top management support, competent project team, abilities to solve problems, realistic cost and time estimates, information/communication, competency of the project manager are the 6 factors out of 12 in 26 factors. Effective communication between stakeholders got highest priority and client involvement, good leadership, clarity of project goals got second priority. Informal communication gives better results compared to formal communications like written formats. To remove communication barrier with the stakeholders, informal communication like speaking face-to-face with the language this fits for the stakeholders.

Project plan remove special nuclear material from PFP project plutonium finishing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BARTLETT, W.D.

1999-01-01

This plan presents the overall objectives, description, justification and planning for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Remove Special Nuclear Material (SNM) Materials. The intent of this plan is to describe how this project will be managed and integrated with other facility stabilization and deactivation activities. This plan supplements the overall integrated plan presented in the Plutonium Finishing Plant Integrated Project Management Plan (IPMP), HNF-3617, Rev. 0. This project plan is the top-level definitive project management document for PFP Remove SNM Materials project. It specifies the technical, schedule, requirements and the cost baselines to manage the execution of the Remove SNM Materials project. Any deviations to the document must be authorized through the appropriate change control process

Fast Flux Test Facility, Sodium Storage Facility project-specific project management plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shank, D.R.

1994-01-01

This Project-Specific Project Management Plan describes the project management methods and controls used by the WHC Projects Department to manage Project 03-F-031. The Sodium Storage Facility provides for storage of the 260,000 gallons of sodium presently in the FFTF Plant. The facility will accept the molten sodium transferred from the FFTF sodium systems, and store the sodium in a solid state under an inert cover gas until such time as a Sodium Reaction Facility is available for final disposal of the sodium

Fast Flux Test Facility, Sodium Storage Facility project-specific project management plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shank, D.R.

1994-12-29

This Project-Specific Project Management Plan describes the project management methods and controls used by the WHC Projects Department to manage Project 03-F-031. The Sodium Storage Facility provides for storage of the 260,000 gallons of sodium presently in the FFTF Plant. The facility will accept the molten sodium transferred from the FFTF sodium systems, and store the sodium in a solid state under an inert cover gas until such time as a Sodium Reaction Facility is available for final disposal of the sodium.

Projection: A Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrini, D. T.; Pedrini, Bonnie C.

Sigmund Freud and his associates did much clinical work with the dynamic of projection, especially with regard to paranoid symptoms and syndromes. Much experimental work has also been done with projection. Sears evaluated the results of some of those studies. Murstein and Pryer sub-classified projection and reviewed typical studies. The…

Project Communications Management

OpenAIRE

José C. Santiago-Guevara; Mauricio Rojas-Contreras; Luis A. Esteban-Villamizar

2013-01-01

This article presents a review in relation to the object of study: Communications Management as an important factor in the management of projects. The review includes the most relevant and most renowned authors in the field of project management, focusing on telecommunications projects, which lets you define a communications management model.

Teaching supply chain management through global projects with global project teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kopczak, L.R.; Fransoo, J.C.

2000-01-01

In this article, we describe the Global Project Coordination Course, a course in which project teams composed of three students from each of two overseas universities execute company-sponsored projects dealing with global supply chain management issues. The $75,000 to $100,00 contributed in total by

OMEGA project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibuya, E.H.

1989-01-01

The OMEGA - Observation of Multiple particle production, Exotic Interactions and Gamma-ray Air Shower-project is presented. The project try to associate photosensitive detectors from experiences of hadronic interactions with electronic detectors used by experiences that investigate extensive atmospheric showers. (M.C.K.)

Project Hanford management contract quality improvement project management plan; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ADAMS, D.E.

1999-01-01

On July 13, 1998, the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) Manager transmitted a letter to Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. (FDH) describing several DOE-RL identified failed opportunities for FDH to improve the Quality Assurance (QA) Program and its implementation. In addition, DOE-RL identified specific Quality Program performance deficiencies. FDH was requested to establish a periodic reporting mechanism for the corrective action program. In a July 17, 1998 response to DOE-RL, FDH agreed with the DOE concerns and committed to perform a comprehensive review of the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) QA Program during July and August, 1998. As a result, the Project Hanford Management Contract Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) (FDH-3508) was issued on October 21, 1998. The plan identified corrective actions based upon the results of an in-depth Quality Program Assessment. Immediately following the scheduled October 22, 1998, DOE Office of Enforcement and Investigation (EH-10) Enforcement Conference, FDH initiated efforts to effectively implement the QIP corrective actions. A Quality Improvement Project (QI Project) leadership team was assembled to prepare a Project Management Plan for this project. The management plan was specifically designed to engage a core team and the support of representatives from FDH and the major subcontractors (MSCs) to implement the QIP initiatives; identify, correct, and provide feedback as to the root cause for deficiency; and close out the corrective actions. The QI Project will manage and communicate progress of the process

Scrum Project Management

CERN Document Server

Pries, Kim H

2010-01-01

Scrum, which was originally invented solely for software development, can now be applied to all types of projects. This book shows project managers how to implement Scrum by explaining the artifacts, rituals, and roles used. The text provides Scrum planning methods to control project scope and schedule as well as Scrum tracking methods to focus teams on improving throughput and streamlining communications. The authors show how to combine traditional project methods with Scrum and how to adapt the familiar work breakdown structure to create Scrum backlogs and sprints. They also demonstrate how

Momentum projection and relativistic boost of solitons: Coherent states and projection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luebeck, E.G.; Birse, M.C.; Henley, E.M.; Wilets, L.

1986-01-01

We present a method for calculating center-of-mass corrections to hadron properties in soliton models and we apply the method to the soliton bag model. A coherent state is used to provide a quantum wave function corresponding to the mean-field approximation. This state is projected onto a zero-momentum eigenstate. States of nonzero momentum can be constructed from this with a Lorentz boost operator. Hence center-of-mass corrections can be made in a properly relativistic way. The energy of the projected zero-momentum state is the hadron mass with spurious center-of-mass energy removed. We apply a variational principle to our projected state and use three ''virial theorems'' to test our approximate solution. We also study projection of general one-mode states. Projection reduces the nucleon energy by up to 25%. Variation after projection gives a further reduction of less than 20%. Somewhat larger reductions in the energy are found for meson states

Project delivery system (PDS)

CERN Document Server

2001-01-01

As business environments become increasingly competitive, companies seek more comprehensive solutions to the delivery of their projects. "Project Delivery System: Fourth Edition" describes the process-driven project delivery systems which incorporates the best practices from Total Quality and is aligned with the Project Management Institute and ISO Quality Standards is the means by which projects are consistently and efficiently planned, executed and completed to the satisfaction of clients and customers.

Alterations to dendritic spine morphology, but not dendrite patterning, of cortical projection neurons in Tc1 and Ts1Rhr mouse models of Down syndrome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matilda A Haas

Full Text Available Down Syndrome (DS is a highly prevalent developmental disorder, affecting 1/700 births. Intellectual disability, which affects learning and memory, is present in all cases and is reflected by below average IQ. We sought to determine whether defective morphology and connectivity in neurons of the cerebral cortex may underlie the cognitive deficits that have been described in two mouse models of DS, the Tc1 and Ts1Rhr mouse lines. We utilised in utero electroporation to label a cohort of future upper layer projection neurons in the cerebral cortex of developing mouse embryos with GFP, and then examined neuronal positioning and morphology in early adulthood, which revealed no alterations in cortical layer position or morphology in either Tc1 or Ts1Rhr mouse cortex. The number of dendrites, as well as dendrite length and branching was normal in both DS models, compared with wildtype controls. The sites of projection neuron synaptic inputs, dendritic spines, were analysed in Tc1 and Ts1Rhr cortex at three weeks and three months after birth, and significant changes in spine morphology were observed in both mouse lines. Ts1Rhr mice had significantly fewer thin spines at three weeks of age. At three months of age Tc1 mice had significantly fewer mushroom spines--the morphology associated with established synaptic inputs and learning and memory. The decrease in mushroom spines was accompanied by a significant increase in the number of stubby spines. This data suggests that dendritic spine abnormalities may be a more important contributor to cognitive deficits in DS models, rather than overall neuronal architecture defects.

Project management case studies

CERN Document Server

Kerzner, Harold R

2013-01-01

A new edition of the most popular book of project management case studies, expanded to include more than 100 cases plus a ""super case"" on the Iridium Project Case studies are an important part of project management education and training. This Fourth Edition of Harold Kerzner''s Project Management Case Studies features a number of new cases covering value measurement in project management. Also included is the well-received ""super case,"" which covers all aspects of project management and may be used as a capstone for a course. This new edition:Contains 100-plus case studies drawn from re

Your Project Management Coach Best Practices for Managing Projects in the Real World

CERN Document Server

Biafore, Bonnie

2012-01-01

A pragmatic approach to project management Many projects fail to deliver on time or on budget, or even to deliver a workable product that satisfies the customer. While good project management goes a long way towards ensuring success, managers often fail to follow the plans they implement. This unique guide helps you understand and successfully handle project management, once and for all. Covering practical ways to solve problems you'll typically face when managing actual projects, this pragmatic book takes you through a full project management lifecycle. You'll find ample tips, tricks, and bes

Strategy as Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund Pedersen, Carsten; Ritter, Thomas; Andersen, Torben Juul

This paper proposes the adoption of a project-based view to analyze strategy formation and strategic renewal over time. Projects are resource-committing, empirically-tracable investments, and as such, particularly suitable for the analysis of different manifestations of intended strategies as well...... as post-hoc manifestations of deviant, even rebellious, actions taken in opposition to the initial strategy announcement. The paper presents an analytical framework (a 5x2 matrix) of ten different project categories that together allows researchers to investigate how strategic renewal is realized through...... the enactment of different types of project initiatives throughout the organization. The developed framework is validated by two field studies that outline the robustness of the proposed matrix. In addition to the demonstration of the advantages of the framework, we discuss the limitations of the strategy-as-projects...

Project quality assurance plant: Sodium storage facility, project F-031

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shultz, J.W.; Shank, D.R.

1994-11-01

The Sodium Storage Facility Project Quality Assurance Plan delineates the quality assurance requirements for construction of a new facility, modifications to the sodium storage tanks, and tie-ins to the FFTF Plant. This plan provides direction for the types of verifications necessary to satisfy the functional requirements within the project scope and applicable regulatory requirements determined in the Project Functional Design Criteria (FDC), WHC-SD-FF-FDC-009

Bi-project management in engineering complex industrial construction projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Velde, Robert R. van der; Donk, Dirk Pieter van

2000-01-01

Engineering large industrial construction projects is usually a complex task with several co-operating actors. This paper investigates such projects, characterised by two main actors: the owner of the installation (the client organisation) responsible for the engineering of the production process,

Beyond theory : Towards a probabilistic causation model to support project governance in infrastructure projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chivatá Cárdenas, Ibsen; Voordijk, Johannes T.; Dewulf, Geert

2017-01-01

A new project governance model for infrastructure projects is described in this paper. This model contains causal mechanisms that relate a number of project governance variables to project performance. Our proposed model includes relevant variables for measuring project governance in construction

Researchers' experience with project management in health and medical research: Results from a post-project review

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Project management is widely used to deliver projects on time, within budget and of defined quality. However, there is little published information describing its use in managing health and medical research projects. We used project management in the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project (2006-2008) http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/alcoholandpregnancy and in this paper report researchers' opinions on project management and whether it made a difference to the project. Methods A national interdisciplinary group of 20 researchers, one of whom was the project manager, formed the Steering Committee for the project. We used project management to ensure project outputs and outcomes were achieved and all aspects of the project were planned, implemented, monitored and controlled. Sixteen of the researchers were asked to complete a self administered questionnaire for a post-project review. Results The project was delivered according to the project protocol within the allocated budget and time frame. Fifteen researchers (93.8%) completed a questionnaire. They reported that project management increased the effectiveness of the project, communication, teamwork, and application of the interdisciplinary group of researchers' expertise. They would recommend this type of project management for future projects. Conclusions Our post-project review showed that researchers comprehensively endorsed project management in the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project and agreed that project management had contributed substantially to the research. In future, we will project manage new projects and conduct post-project reviews. The results will be used to encourage continuous learning and continuous improvement of project management, and provide greater transparency and accountability of health and medical research. The use of project management can benefit both management and scientific outcomes of health and medical research projects. PMID:21635721

The Impact of Project Organizational Culture on the Performance of Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luong Hai Nguyen

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Cultural influence has recently received significant attention from academics due to its vital role in the success or failure of a project. In the construction industry, several empirical investigations have examined the influence of culture on project management. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of project organizational culture on the performance of construction projects. A total of 199 completed construction projects in Vietnam with specific data gathering through questionnaires were analyzed. The findings reveal that contractor commitment to contract agreements is the most significant cultural factor affecting project performance. Goal alignment and reliance, contractor commitment, and worker orientation (i.e., commitment to workers contribute to improved overall performance and participant satisfaction. Contractor commitment and cooperative orientation enhance labor productivity, whereas goal alignment and trust and contractor commitment ensure learning performance (i.e., learning from experience. The findings of this study may assist construction professionals in implementing practices that can contribute to the sustainability and success of construction projects.

Project of the Year Submittal SY-101 Surface Level Rise Remediation Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BAUER, R.E.

2001-01-01

CH2M HILL Hanford Group is pleased to nominate the SY-101 Surface Level Rise Remediation Project (SLRRP) for the Project Management Institute's consideration as International Project of the Year for 2001. We selected this project as being our best recent example of effective project management, having achieved and exceeded our client's expectations in resolving urgent safety issues related to the storage of high level nuclear waste. In reflection, we consider the SY-101 SLRRP to be a prime example of safe and effective project delivery. The pages that follow present the tools and techniques employed to manage this complex and technically challenging project. Our objective in submitting this nomination is twofold--to share the lessons we have learned with other organizations, and to honor the men and women who contributed to this endeavor. It was by their diligent effort that the successes we relate here were accomplished 10 months ahead of schedule and one million dollars below the authorized budget

New Accelerator Projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delahaye, J.P.

2010-01-01

There is large number of ambitious accelerator projects with promising performances in the near (and short term) future which aims at exploring energy and/or luminosity frontiers and Complementary aspects of various particles species. High Energy Physics requirements are extremely demanding with challenging parameters: entering into the new territories of the tera-scale data, high Energy or/and High (Integrated) Luminosity, high performance, high availability, long lifetime, luminosity leveling etc.. New projects are more and more challenging: larger, more powerful, more expensive, technology above present standard. Innovative ideas and breakthrough on novel technologies are key for HEP adventure. Aggressive R and D is imperative on beam and Technology related, on cost and power consumption mitigation.. There is ambitious Test Facilities to address feasibility. More and more time and (M and P) resources are required from first ideas to project proposal: it is of prime importance to launch R and D early, explore all possible options of schemes and technologies (anticipating future Physics requests), make realistic status and schedule estimates (preserve credibility and make reasonable plans). Global Collaboration is mandatory from the R and D phase to the construction and operation in order to make best use of limited resources and available expertise as inspired from successful collaborations on Detectors. The global strategy of new accelerator projects in truly world-wide collaboration aims at: - defining all various Projects and Technology options worth exploring, - taking advantage of global teams made of world-wide experts, and of synergies to address common issues (generic R and D) of various projects, - preparing together plethora of project proposals to cover Physics Landscape (ready for window opportunity), - developing Collaborative/Competition (Experts in Collaboration, Technology and Projects options in Competition), - Joining resources on (few) selected

Freedom Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandra Suarez

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Freedom Project trains prisoners in nonviolent communication and meditation. Two complementary studies of its effects are reported in this article. The first study is correlational; we found decreased recidivism rates among prisoners trained by Freedom Project compared with recidivism rates in Washington state. The second study compared trained prisoners with a matched-pair control group and found improvement in self-reported anger, self-compassion, and certain forms of mindfulness among the trained group. Ratings of role-plays simulating difficult interactions show increased social skills among the group trained by Freedom Project than in the matched controls.

Project Finance: Basic Components

OpenAIRE

Alfieri Li Ojeda, Jaime

2015-01-01

The natural speed of the contemporary world demands large investment projects which require specialized financial techniques such as Project Finance, defined as a fund to finance investment projects of great magnitude. Every Project Finance involves a wide range of elements such as promoters, government, contractors andsuppliers, among others, that will ensure project success. La rapidez del mundo contemporáneo exige que los grandes proyectos de inversión requieran de técnicas financieras ...

Managing externally financed projects: the Integrated Primary Health Care Project in Bolivia.

Science.gov (United States)

Homedes, N

2001-12-01

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Health indicators are very poor, communicable diseases are prevalent and, coupled with malnutrition, remain the major killers of children under 5 years old. The Integrated Primary Health Care Project (PROISS) was a US$39 million project executed by the Ministry of Health (MOH), 50% financed by the World Bank and aimed at improving primary health care in the four largest Bolivian municipalities. The implementation of the project started in 1990 and ended in 1997. During implementation it went through three distinct phases: Phase 1 (1990-94) was a period characterized by conflict and confusion; Phase 2 (1995-mid-1996) documented major improvements in coverage and service quality; and Phase 3 (mid-1996-97) witnessed the decline of the project. This paper explores the factors that contributed to the success and the decline of the project, draws lessons for project managers and international agencies involved in the definition and implementation of social sector projects, and discusses the unlikelihood that externally financed projects can have a sustainable impact on the development of the health sector of recipient countries.

MANAGING MULTICULTURAL PROJECT TEAMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cezar SCARLAT

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article is based on literature review and authors’ own recent experience in managing multicultural project teams, in international environment. This comparative study considers two groups of projects: technical assistance (TA projects versus information technology (IT projects. The aim is to explore the size and structure of the project teams – according to the team formation and its lifecycle, and to identify some distinctive attributes of the project teams – both similarities and differences between the above mentioned types of projects. Distinct focus of the research is on the multiculturalism of the project teams: how the cultural background of the team members influences the team performance and team management. Besides the results of the study are the managerial implications: how the team managers could soften the cultural clash, and avoid inter-cultural misunderstandings and even conflicts – in order to get a better performance. Some practical examples are provided as well.

Earned value project management

CERN Document Server

Fleming, Quentin W

2010-01-01

Organizations that follow the principles of good Earned Value Management (EVM) create an environment that allows teams to successfully operate and thrive ? even in the face of challenges that could negatively impact their projects. Earned Value Project Management (EVPM) is a methodology used to measure and communicate the real physical progress of a project taking into account the work completed, the time taken and the costs incurred to complete that work. As a result, EVPM allows more educated and effective management decision-making, which helps evaluate and control project risk by measuring project progress in monetary terms. In the first two editions of Earned Value Project Management, Quentin W. Fleming and Joel M. Koppelman provided guidance for project management practitioners already familiar with EVPM, was well as those who were new to the use of this technique. The third edition expanded the information available on of EVPM for medium and smaller projects while still being relevant for larger projec...

Clustering ERP implementation project activities: a foundation for project size definition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssens, G.; Kusters, R.J.; Heemstra, F.J.; Sadiq, A.; Reichert, M.; Schultz, K.; Trienekens, J.J.M.; Moller, C.; Kusters, R.J.

2007-01-01

The size of an ERP project can be a useful measurement for predicting the effort needed to complete an ERP implementation project. Because this measurement does not exist, research is needed to find a set of variables which can define the size of an ERP implementation project. This paper shows 21

Scheduling for decommissioning projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podmajersky, O.E.

1987-01-01

This paper describes the Project Scheduling system being employed by the Decommissioning Operations Contractor at the Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project (SSDP). Results from the planning system show that the project continues to achieve its cost and schedule goals. An integrated cost and schedule control system (C/SCS) which uses the concept of earned value for measurement of performance was instituted in accordance with DOE orders. The schedule and cost variances generated by the C/SCS system are used to confirm management's assessment of project status. This paper describes the types of schedules and tools used on the SSDP project to plan and monitor the work, and identifies factors that are unique to a decommissioning project that make scheduling critical to the achievement of the project's goals. 1 fig

Managing Distributed Software Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Persson, John Stouby

Increasingly, software projects are becoming geographically distributed, with limited face-toface interaction between participants. These projects face particular challenges that need careful managerial attention. This PhD study reports on how we can understand and support the management...... of distributed software projects, based on a literature study and a case study. The main emphasis of the literature study was on how to support the management of distributed software projects, but also contributed to an understanding of these projects. The main emphasis of the case study was on how to understand...... the management of distributed software projects, but also contributed to supporting the management of these projects. The literature study integrates what we know about risks and risk-resolution techniques, into a framework for managing risks in distributed contexts. This framework was developed iteratively...

Innovations in project activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serbskaya O.V.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available this article considers the ways of project management, models of project management: classical model and the model of flexible designing Agile, pays more attention to the process of project management using Agile model and to the problems of using the project management models in modern conditions.

The Llama Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganzel, Candy; Stuglik, Jan

2003-01-01

At a suburban Indiana elementary school, the Project Approach serves as the basis of the curriculum in all Kindergarten classrooms. The four classes of 5- and 6-year-old children at this school chose to study llamas. This article discusses how the project evolved, describes the three phases of the project, and provides teachers' reflections on the…

Power supply projects a collection of innovative and practical design projects

CERN Document Server

Maplin

1996-01-01

Using circuit diagrams, PCB layouts, parts lists and clear construction and installation details, this book provides everything someone with a basic knowledge of electronics needs to know in order to put that knowledge into practice.This latest collection of Maplin projects are a variety of power supply projects, the necessary components for which are readily available from the Maplin catalogue or any of their high street shops. Projects include, laboratory power supply projects for which there are a wide range of applications for the hobbyist, from servicing portable audio and video equipment

Ultra advanced projects. ; Naming hyper-hightech projects. (Cho) no tsuku project. ; Naming no shikumi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goto, Y. (Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Tokyo (Japan))

1992-10-05

Significance of using 'super' for naming a project of technological development is discussed. Functions of naming are classified into (1) recognition, (2) display and (3) sales-promotion, whereby mechanism of naming of merchandise that is developed through the technique of 3 is considered. Further, the mechanism of naming is discussed in relation to marketing. It is pointed out that naming of merchandise is determined on the basis of (1) concept of planned goods and (2) marketing-mixes composed of goods, price, sales-roots and sales-promotion. The same mechanism works also in a project for technological development. Technical trends are caught and projects are targetted by taking supposed regimes into account, thereby the most suitable mix is formed. The mix in the technological development is assumed to be composed of purpose, specification, regime and sales-promotion. Two examples of the governmental projects by Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 'the big regime for research and development on industrial technologies' and 'the regime for development of the fundamental technologies in the next generation' are introduced and the significance of their naming is described. 2 tabs.

The IT project manager competencies that impact project success – A qualitative research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cíntia Cristina Silva de Araújo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Since there is a lack of studies about the relationship of IT project manager competencies and project success, this paper will address the following research question: Which competencies should IT project managers develop in order to achieve success in IT projects? To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative research with an exploratory approach. To collect data, twelve (12 in-depth interviews were done with Brazilian project managers from different companies from several business sectors. The analysis results pointed out that for our respondents the most needed category of competencies are team management, business domain knowledge,  communication, project management and people skills. As other authors have affirmed, technical skills were considered to be less relevant to project success than interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies.

The HGF strategy project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knebel, J.U.; Fellmoser, F.; Lefhalm, C.; Mack, K.; Pettan, C.; Piecha, H.; Konys, J.; Adelhelm, C.; Glasbrenner, H.; Muscher, H.; Novotny, J.; Voss, Z.; Wedemeyer, O.; Mueller, G.; Heinzel, A.; Schumacher, G.; Huber, R.; Zimmermann, F.; Groetzbach, G.; Dorr, B.; Carteciano, L.N.

2000-01-01

Within the Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF) an HGF-Strategy Fund Project entitled 'Innovative Technologies to Reduce Radiotoxicity' is funded since October 1999. The objectives of this HGF-Strategy Fund Project is the development of new methods and technologies to design and manufacture thin-walled and highly thermally-loaded surfaces which are cooled by a corrosive heavy liquid metal (lead-bismuth eutectic). The result of this project will be the basic scientific-technical tool which allows the conception and the design of a European Demonstrator of an ADS system (cf. 32.23.05). The work performed at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe is embedded in a broad European research and development programme on ADS systems. The project is divided in three sub-projects: Sub-Project 1: Thermalhydraulic Investigations, Sub-Project 2: Material Specific Investigations, Sub-Project 3: Oxygen Control System. This progress report gives a general description of the project and its envisaged objectives. As a selection of the results achieved, first, FLUTAN calculations for the COULI beam window design and, second, the oxygen control system for the KArlsruhe Lead LAboratory KALLA are described in detail. Finally, the design and status of KALLA is given. (orig.)

IT Project Management Metrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Many software and IT projects fail in completing theirs objectives because different causes of which the management of the projects has a high weight. In order to have successfully projects, lessons learned have to be used, historical data to be collected and metrics and indicators have to be computed and used to compare them with past projects and avoid failure to happen. This paper presents some metrics that can be used for the IT project management.

Distributed Project Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borch, Ole; Kirkegaard, B.; Knudsen, Morten

1998-01-01

for information exchange in the traditional project environment is performed. A group of teachers and a student group using small project examples test the method. The first test group used a prototype for testing and found the new activity synchronization difficult to adapt, so the method was finally adjusted...... to be very precises and with success used on the second test group. Distributed project work is coming pretty soon and with little improvement in server tools, projects in different topics with a large and inhomogeneous profile of users are realistic.......Project work has been used for many years at Aalborg University to improve learning of theory and methods given in courses. In a closed environment where the students are forming a group in a single room, the interaction behaviour is more or less given from the natural life. Group work...

Bioenergy/Biotechnology projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Napper, Stan [Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA (United States); Palmer, James [Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA (United States); Wilson, Chester [Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA (United States); Guilbeau, Eric [Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA (United States); Allouche, Erez [Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston, LA (United States)

2012-06-30

This report describes the progress of five different projects. The first is an enzyme immobilization study of cellulase to reduce costs of the cellulosic ethanol process. High reusability and use of substrates applicable to large scale production were focus areas for this study. The second project was the development of nanostructured catalysts for conversion of syngas to diesel. Cobalt nanowire catalyst was used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The third project describes work on developing a microfluidic calorimeter to measure reaction rates of enzymes. The fourth project uses inorganic polymer binders that have the advantage of a lower carbon footprint than Portland cement while also providing excellent performance in elevated temperature, high corrosion resistance, high compressive and tensile strengths, and rapid strength gains. The fifth project investigates the potential of turbines in drop structures (such as sewer lines in tall buildings) to recover energy.

Statistical Techniques for Project Control

CERN Document Server

Badiru, Adedeji B

2012-01-01

A project can be simple or complex. In each case, proven project management processes must be followed. In all cases of project management implementation, control must be exercised in order to assure that project objectives are achieved. Statistical Techniques for Project Control seamlessly integrates qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques for project control. It fills the void that exists in the application of statistical techniques to project control. The book begins by defining the fundamentals of project management then explores how to temper quantitative analysis with qualitati

Project Management Communication 2.0

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berggreen, Line; Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

2015-01-01

How can we understand project management communication practices for developing effective practices in professional and technical communication? In this article we explore an approach to project management that focuses on projects as having a technical documentation structure with content...... that is developed through social or interpersonal communication practices. Looking at the broader picture of project management which besides the implementation phase also includes conception, planning and closure, we see a project management framework that brings together both technical and social aspects...... of project communication. To understand how this works, we interviewed project managers about their understanding and strategy in communicating about the projects they lead. Findings demonstrate that more experienced project managers have a more nuanced understanding of project communication as both...

Four Approaches to Project Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Markus; Svejvig, Per; Rode, Anna Le Gerstrøm

. Each of the framework’s four approaches provides a distinct evaluation that sheds light on some issues while leaving others unattended. Following these lines, the paper calls for more multi-faceted project evaluations. Introducing a framework that can help analyze existing evaluations and structure......There are many theoretical and practical reasons for evaluating projects – including explorative arguments focusing on expanding descriptive knowledge on project work as well as normative arguments focusing on improving prescriptive models of project performance. Despite the need for project...... management methodologies that work and combat project failure, and research methods that can assess effective project management and methodologies, as well as empirical research on the actuality of projects as practice, evaluation research on projects including project management and methodologies is scarce...

Salt Repository Project: FY 85 technical project plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-07-01

The FY 85 technical plan for the Salt Repository Project is briefly presented. The objectives of the project in relation to the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program are discussed, and the technical activities directed toward accomplishing these objectives are detailed. A budget is presented for each of the Level 2 work breakdown structure tasks (Systems, Waste Package, Site, Repository, Regulatory and Institutional, Exploratory Shaft, Test Facilities, Land Acquisition, and Project Management) in the various sections. An overall description, current status, and planned activities are presented for each of the subtasks which make up the above-mentioned Level 2 tasks. A strategy diagram and a master schedule are included and each of the milestones is also listed chronologically in the sections

MORE. Management of Requirements in NPP modernisation projects - Project report 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thunem, A.P.J.; Fredriksen, R.; Thunem, H.P.J.; Ventae, O.; Valkonen, J.; Holmberg, J.E.

2006-04-01

The overall objective of the project MORE is to improve the means for managing the large amounts of evolving requirements in Nordic NPP modernisation projects. In accordance to this objective, the activity will facilitate the industrial utilisation of the research results from the project TACO. On the basis of experiences in the Nordic countries, the overall aim of the TACO project has been to identify the best practices and most important criteria for ensuring effective communication in relation to requirements elicitation and analysis, understandability of requirements to all parties, and traceability of requirements. The project resulted in the development of a traceability model for handling requirements from their origins and through their final shapes. Particular emphasis for the MORE project in 2005 was put on utilising a prototype of a tool (TRACE) intended to support an adopted approach to dependable requirements engineering, suitable for modelling and handling large amounts of requirements related to all stages of the systems development process and not only those traditionally including requirements at high-level stages. (au)

MORE. Management of Requirements in NPP modernisation projects - Project report 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thunem, A.P.J.; Fredriksen, R.; Thunem, H.P.J. [IFE (Norway); Ventae, O.; Valkonen, J.; Holmberg, J.E. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland)

2006-04-15

The overall objective of the project MORE is to improve the means for managing the large amounts of evolving requirements in Nordic NPP modernisation projects. In accordance to this objective, the activity will facilitate the industrial utilisation of the research results from the project TACO. On the basis of experiences in the Nordic countries, the overall aim of the TACO project has been to identify the best practices and most important criteria for ensuring effective communication in relation to requirements elicitation and analysis, understandability of requirements to all parties, and traceability of requirements. The project resulted in the development of a traceability model for handling requirements from their origins and through their final shapes. Particular emphasis for the MORE project in 2005 was put on utilising a prototype of a tool (TRACE) intended to support an adopted approach to dependable requirements engineering, suitable for modelling and handling large amounts of requirements related to all stages of the systems development process and not only those traditionally including requirements at high-level stages. (au)

Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 8: Project analysis and integration

Science.gov (United States)

Mcguire, P.; Henry, P.

1986-01-01

Project Analysis and Integration (PA&I) performed planning and integration activities to support management of the various Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project R&D activities. Technical and economic goals were established by PA&I for each R&D task within the project to coordinate the thrust toward the National Photovoltaic Program goals. A sophisticated computer modeling capability was developed to assess technical progress toward meeting the economic goals. These models included a manufacturing facility simulation, a photovoltaic power station simulation and a decision aid model incorporating uncertainty. This family of analysis tools was used to track the progress of the technology and to explore the effects of alternative technical paths. Numerous studies conducted by PA&I signaled the achievement of milestones or were the foundation of major FSA project and national program decisions. The most important PA&I activities during the project history are summarized. The PA&I planning function is discussed and how it relates to project direction and important analytical models developed by PA&I for its analytical and assessment activities are reviewed.

Methodologies of Project Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wojciech Macek

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents comparison of three most popular project management standardsbelonging to a wider group of models (for example, PMBOK, Prince 2, CMMI, ISO 10006,BS 6079, IPMA Competence Baseline, European Commission Project Cycle ManagementGuidelines. The author discusses methods of project management according to PMBoK,Prince 2 and ISO 10006, some chosen criteria and fields of knowledge, such as generalregulations of standards, project range management, resources management, and processesconnected with risk, systems of project quality management.

MRS project management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doman, J.W.; Vlahakis, J.

1992-01-01

Management of projects under the control of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management within the Department of Energy is subject to overview by a variety of internal and external entities. This paper reports that effective project management often requires balancing of conflicting directions and conflicting agendas of the different entities in order to proceed with implementation of the Monitored Retrievable Storage project

The Canada Goose Project: A First Project with Children under 3

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Ruth A.

2010-01-01

This project report describes how five children (an infant, three toddlers, and a preschooler) enrolled at a private day care home engaged in their first journey into project work through a study of Canada geese living on a nearby body of water. Prior to the experience described in this paper, the author had used the Project Approach only with…

Project-based fieldwork: perspectives of graduate entry students and project sponsors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fortune, Tracy; McKinstry, Carol

2012-08-01

This article builds on an earlier viewpoint regarding the need for project-focussed fieldwork. It presents the findings of an evaluative study into the value of project placements undertaken by final year graduate entry master's students as part of a capstone subject. The authors argue that provision of project placements enable impending graduates to develop and implement macro level strategies to develop prevention, resource and service development skills often required of contemporary occupational therapy practitioners. A qualitative approach is adopted. Student cohorts from 2005 and 2006 completed open-ended, written questionnaires, and agency project sponsors were interviewed to obtain their perspectives of the project placement experience. Despite some concern that project placements might be undertaken at the expense of 'clinical' placements these findings reveal that projects managed by students were perceived by services to add great value enabling them to advance important priorities. Students and sponsors highlighted a range of positive learning outcomes, including the ability to work collaboratively with supervisors and develop advanced communication skills and political acumen. The success of such placements depends on supportive supervision from academic staff. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The findings promote project placements as a highly authentic aspect of work integrated learning enabling learners to draw together a range of attributes that support the ability to manage complex issues that have occupational relevance at a macro level. In addition, such experiences help learners to develop agency and political acumen both increasingly important capabilities for the contemporary workplace. © 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012 Occupational Therapy Australia.

The virtual GULLIVER project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trappl, R.; Nijholt, Antinus; Stuk, M.; Zwiers, Jakob

2002-01-01

In this paper we discuss our virtual reality project Gulliver. This project is part of a more comprehensive project conceived by two artists, Matjaž Štuk and Alena Hudcovicová, called “Gulliver’s Museum of Living Art��?. Our part of the project involves a virtual reality version of Swift’s Gulliver

Earth System Science Project

Science.gov (United States)

Rutherford, Sandra; Coffman, Margaret

2004-01-01

For several decades, science teachers have used bottles for classroom projects designed to teach students about biology. Bottle projects do not have to just focus on biology, however. These projects can also be used to engage students in Earth science topics. This article describes the Earth System Science Project, which was adapted and developed…

Interactions of the NAEG information support project with other projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfuderer, H.A.

1976-01-01

In the past year the Information Support Project to the Nevada Applied Ecology Group has interacted with many other research projects on the transuranics and other radionuclides. Group interactions through symposiums, workshops, and responding to search requests have proven to be mutually beneficial. The NAEG Information Support Project will draw on the information resources of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to produce a bibliography of the radionuclides (other than the transuranics) of interest to the Nevada Test Site

Preliminary Project Execution Plan for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David Duncan

2011-05-01

This preliminary project execution plan (PEP) defines U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project objectives, roles and responsibilities of project participants, project organization, and controls to effectively manage acquisition of capital funds for construction of a proposed remote-handled low-level waste (LLW) disposal facility at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The plan addresses the policies, requirements, and critical decision (CD) responsibilities identified in DOE Order 413.3B, 'Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets.' This plan is intended to be a 'living document' that will be periodically updated as the project progresses through the CD process to construction and turnover for operation.

Preliminary Project Execution Plan for the Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, David

2011-01-01

This preliminary project execution plan (PEP) defines U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project objectives, roles and responsibilities of project participants, project organization, and controls to effectively manage acquisition of capital funds for construction of a proposed remote-handled low-level waste (LLW) disposal facility at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The plan addresses the policies, requirements, and critical decision (CD) responsibilities identified in DOE Order 413.3B, 'Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets.' This plan is intended to be a 'living document' that will be periodically updated as the project progresses through the CD process to construction and turnover for operation.

The Human Genome Diversity Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavalli-Sforza, L. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

1994-12-31

The Human Genome Diversity Project (HGD Project) is an international anthropology project that seeks to study the genetic richness of the entire human species. This kind of genetic information can add a unique thread to the tapestry knowledge of humanity. Culture, environment, history, and other factors are often more important, but humanity`s genetic heritage, when analyzed with recent technology, brings another type of evidence for understanding species` past and present. The Project will deepen the understanding of this genetic richness and show both humanity`s diversity and its deep and underlying unity. The HGD Project is still largely in its planning stages, seeking the best ways to reach its goals. The continuing discussions of the Project, throughout the world, should improve the plans for the Project and their implementation. The Project is as global as humanity itself; its implementation will require the kinds of partnerships among different nations and cultures that make the involvement of UNESCO and other international organizations particularly appropriate. The author will briefly discuss the Project`s history, describe the Project, set out the core principles of the Project, and demonstrate how the Project will help combat the scourge of racism.

MORE: Management of requirements in NPP modernisation projects. Project report 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredriksen, R.; Katta, V.; Raspotnig, C.; Valkonen, J.

2008-03-01

This report documents the work and related activities of the MORE project in the period January 1 - December 31 in 2007. The focus of this report is on improvements of the former project results, to identify and apply a couple of case studies from NPP projects, and activities in order to initiate and implement the industrial take-up and utilisation of the research results in real modernisation projects. The report also provides a brief description of the extended industrial network and disseminations of the results in Nordic and NKS related events such as seminars and workshops. (au)

MORE: Management of requirements in NPP modernisation projects. Project report 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fredriksen, R.; Katta, V.; Raspotnig, C. [Institutt for energiteknikk (IFE) (Norway); Valkonen, J. [Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) (Finland)

2008-03-15

This report documents the work and related activities of the MORE project in the period January 1 - December 31 in 2007. The focus of this report is on improvements of the former project results, to identify and apply a couple of case studies from NPP projects, and activities in order to initiate and implement the industrial take-up and utilisation of the research results in real modernisation projects. The report also provides a brief description of the extended industrial network and disseminations of the results in Nordic and NKS related events such as seminars and workshops. (au)

Scaffolding Project-Based Learning with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK[R])

Science.gov (United States)

van Rooij, Shahron Williams

2009-01-01

This paper reports the results of a study of the extent to which processes and procedures from the discipline of project management can scaffold online project-based learning in a graduate-level instructional technology course, by facilitating intra-team interaction, enhancing project outcomes and promoting a positive project team experience. With…

The 100 People Project

Science.gov (United States)

McLeod, Keri

2007-01-01

This article describes the 100 People Project and how the author integrates the project in her class. The 100 People Project is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. The organization poses the question: If there were only 100 people in the world, what would the world look like? Through the project, students were taught about ethics in…

Have we been ignoring the elephant in the room? Seven arguments for considering the cerebellum as part of addiction circuitry.

Science.gov (United States)

Miquel, Marta; Vazquez-Sanroman, Dolores; Carbo-Gas, María; Gil-Miravet, Isis; Sanchis-Segura, Carla; Carulli, Daniela; Manzo, Jorge; Coria-Avila, Genaro A

2016-01-01

Addiction involves alterations in multiple brain regions that are associated with functions such as memory, motivation and executive control. Indeed, it is now well accepted that addictive drugs produce long-lasting molecular and structural plasticity changes in corticostriatal-limbic loops. However, there are brain regions that might be relevant to addiction other than the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus and basal ganglia. In addition to these circuits, a growing amount of data suggests the involvement of the cerebellum in many of the brain functions affected in addicts, though this region has been overlooked, traditionally, in the addiction field. Therefore, in the present review we provide seven arguments as to why we should consider the cerebellum in drug addiction. We present and discuss compelling evidence about the effects of drugs of abuse on cerebellar plasticity, the involvement of the cerebellum in drug-induced cue-related memories, and several findings showing that the instrumental memory and executive functions also recruit the cerebellar circuitry. In addition, a hypothetical model of the cerebellum's role relative to other areas within corticostriatal-limbic networks is also provided. Our goal is not to review animal and human studies exhaustively but to support the inclusion of cerebellar alterations as a part of the physiopathology of addiction disorder. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative autoradiographic characterization of GA-BAB receptors in mammalian central nervous system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, D.Chin-Mei.

1989-01-01

The inhibitory effects of the amino acid neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) within the nervous system appear to be mediated through two distinct classes of receptors: GABA A and GABA B receptors. A quantitative autoradiographic method with 3 H-GABA was developed to examine the hypotheses that GABA A and GABA B sites have distinct anatomical distributions, pharmacologic properties, and synaptic localizations within the rodent nervous system. The method was also applied to a comparative study of these receptors in postmortem human brain from individuals afflicted with Alzheimer's disease and those without neurologic disease. The results indicated that GABA B receptors occur in fewer numbers and have a lower affinity for GABA than GABA A receptors in both rodent and human brain. Within rodent brain, the distribution of these two receptor populations were clearly distinct. GABA B receptors were enriched in the medial habenula, interpeduncular nucleus, cerebellar molecular layer and olfactory glomerular layer. After selective lesions of postsynaptic neurons of the corticostriatal and perforant pathway, both GABA B and GABA A receptors were significantly decreased in number. Lesions of the presynaptic limbs of the perforant but not the corticostriatal pathway resulted in upregulation of both GABA receptors in the area of innervation. GABA B receptors were also upregulated in CA3 dendritic regions after destruction of dentate granule neurons

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING: INTERSECTIONS FOR STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT IN PROJECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronielton Rezende Oliveira

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Projects development is essential for organizations. Among the factors originated in projects that influence performance is quality. This variable must be managed to meet the expectations of the stakeholders and this can only be achieved through effective monitoring and control. It can be seen that relationship marketing is relevant to the competitive reality of contemporary organizations. With the purpose of contributing to organizational studies, this theoretical essay proposes to approach project management in relationship marketing. In the context of integrated management, it is discussed how management action can be applied to engage and involve stakeholders in projects, in order to create value and achieve the expectations sustained by the execution of the projects. Based on the reflection, the quality of relationship management is pointed out as a construct of higher order, composed of at least two dimensions: trust and satisfaction.

How Agile Methods Conquers General Project Management - The Project Half Double Initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tordrup Heeager, Lise; Svejvig, Per; Schlichter, Bjarne Rerup

2016-01-01

Increased complexity in projects has forced new project management initiatives. In software development several agile methods have emerged and methods such as Scrum are today highly implemented in practice. General project management practice has been inspired by agile software development...

Innovative Project Activities in Science [From the NSTA Study of Innovative Project Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Science Teacher, 1975

1975-01-01

Describes four projects chosen as innovative project activities in science which exhibited identification of unique or novel problems and creative approaches to their solutions. Projects included a study of fish in Lake Erie, a goat raising project, an analysis of terrestrial plant ecology and soil composition, and a study of marine and wetlands…

LEX Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damkilde, Lars; Larsen, Torben J.; Walbjørn, Jacob

This document is aimed at helping all parties involved in the LEX project to get a common understanding of words, process, levels and the overall concept.......This document is aimed at helping all parties involved in the LEX project to get a common understanding of words, process, levels and the overall concept....

Managing Projects with KPRO

Science.gov (United States)

Braden, Barry M.

2004-01-01

How does a Project Management Office provide: Consistent, familiar, easily used scheduling tools to Project Managers and project team members? Provide a complete list of organization resources available for use on the project? Facilitate resource tracking and visibility? Provide the myriad reports that the organization requires? Facilitate consistent budget planning and cost performance information? Provide all of this to the entire organization? Provide for the unique requirement of the organization? and get people to use it? Answer: Implementation of the Kennedy space Center Projects and Resources Online (KPRO), a modified COTS solution.

Project studies and engaged scholarship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geraldi, Joana; Söderlund, Jonas

2016-01-01

and to rejuvenate these research directions. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose the umbrella term: “project studies” to denote the research related to projects and temporary organizing. Project studies is conceived not only as a body of research, but also as a social process embedded in research...... scholars, who’s “job” goes beyond the writing of articles and research applications, and includes shaping discourses of project research, nurturing new project scholars, contributing to project practice and carefully considering the legacy of projects and project studies in society. Originality......Purpose In 2006, the “Rethinking Project Management” network called for a paradigm shift in project research, and proposed five research directions. The directions inspired research and marked a milestone in the development of the field. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the past decade...

Relationship between Deleterious Variation, Genomic Autozygosity, and Disease Risk: Insights from The 1000 Genomes Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Pemberton, Trevor J; Szpiech, Zachary A

2018-04-05

Genomic regions of autozygosity (ROAs) represent segments of individual genomes that are homozygous for haplotypes inherited identical-by-descent (IBD) from a common ancestor. ROAs are nonuniformly distributed across the genome, and increased ROA levels are a reported risk factor for numerous complex diseases. Previously, we hypothesized that long ROAs are enriched for deleterious homozygotes as a result of young haplotypes with recent deleterious mutations-relatively untouched by purifying selection-being paired IBD as a consequence of recent parental relatedness, a pattern supported by ROA and whole-exome sequence data on 27 individuals. Here, we significantly bolster support for our hypothesis and expand upon our original analyses using ROA and whole-genome sequence data on 2,436 individuals from The 1000 Genomes Project. Considering CADD deleteriousness scores, we reaffirm our previous observation that long ROAs are enriched for damaging homozygotes worldwide. We show that strongly damaging homozygotes experience greater enrichment than weaker damaging homozygotes, while overall enrichment varies appreciably among populations. Mendelian disease genes and those encoding FDA-approved drug targets have significantly increased rates of gain in damaging homozygotes with increasing ROA coverage relative to all other genes. In genes implicated in eight complex phenotypes for which ROA levels have been identified as a risk factor, rates of gain in damaging homozygotes vary across phenotypes and populations but frequently differ significantly from non-disease genes. These findings highlight the potential confounding effects of population background in the assessment of associations between ROA levels and complex disease risk, which might underlie reported inconsistencies in ROA-phenotype associations. Copyright © 2018 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction to the Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhn, Johan M.; Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Sørensen, Anders

In this note a short introduction to the project “Employment Effects of Entrepreneurs” is presented. First, we describe the purpose of the project; second, we present the background; third, we briefly describe the three papers that constitute the output of the project, and fourth, we discuss two...... important qualifications for the understanding of the contributions and results established in the project....

Angiogenic imbalance and diminished matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 underlie regional decreases in uteroplacental vascularization and feto-placental growth in hypertensive pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias-Junior, Carlos A; Chen, Juanjuan; Cui, Ning; Chiang, Charles L; Zhu, Minglin; Ren, Zongli; Possomato-Vieira, Jose S; Khalil, Raouf A

2017-12-15

Preeclampsia is a form of hypertension-in-pregnancy (HTN-Preg) with unclear mechanism. Generalized reduction of uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) could be an initiating event leading to uteroplacental ischemia, angiogenic imbalance, and HTN-Preg. Additional regional differences in uteroplacental blood flow could further affect the pregnancy outcome and increase the risk of preeclampsia in twin or multiple pregnancy, but the mechanisms involved are unclear. To test the hypothesis that regional differences in angiogenic balance and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) underlie regional uteroplacental vascularization and feto-placental development, we compared fetal and placental growth, and placental and myoendometrial vascularization in the proximal, middle and distal regions of the uterus (in relation to the iliac bifurcation) in normal pregnant (Preg) and RUPP rats. Maternal blood pressure and plasma anti-angiogenic soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1)/placenta growth factor (PIGF) ratio were higher, and average placentae number, placenta weight, litter size, and pup weight were less in RUPP than Preg rats. The placenta and pup number and weight were reduced, while the number and diameter of placental and adjacent myoendometrial arteries, and MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels/activity were increased, and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio was decreased in distal vs proximal uterus of Preg rats. In RUPP rats, the placenta and pup number and weight, the number and diameter of placental and myoendometrial arteries, and MMP-2 and -9 levels/activity were decreased, and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio was increased in distal vs proximal uterus. Treatment with sFlt-1 or RUPP placenta extract decreased MMP-2 and MMP-9 in distal segments of Preg uterus, and treatment with PIGF or Preg placenta extract restored MMP levels in distal segments of RUPP uterus. Thus, in addition to the general reduction in placental and fetal growth during uteroplacental ischemia, localized angiogenic imbalance and diminished MMP-2

The New Mexico Technology Deployment Pilot Project: A technology reinvestment project. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-11-01

The New Mexico Technology Deployment Project (NMTDP) has been in operation for slightly more than two years. As one of the original TRP projects, NMTDP had the charter to develop and validate a new model for technology extraction which emphasized focused technology collaboration, early industry involvement, and a strong dual use commercialization and productization emphasis. Taken in total, the first two years of the NMTDP have been exceptionally successful, surpassing the goals of the project. This report describes the accomplishments and evolution of the NMTDP to date and discusses the future potential of the project. Despite the end of federal funding, and a subsequent reduction in level of effort, the project partners are committed to continuation of the project.

Project plan remove special nuclear material from PFP project plutonium finishing plant; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BARTLETT, W.D.

1999-01-01

This plan presents the overall objectives, description, justification and planning for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Remove Special Nuclear Material (SNM) Materials. The intent of this plan is to describe how this project will be managed and integrated with other facility stabilization and deactivation activities. This plan supplements the overall integrated plan presented in the Plutonium Finishing Plant Integrated Project Management Plan (IPMP), HNF-3617,Rev. 0. This project plan is the top-level definitive project management document for PFP Remove SNM Materials project. It specifies the technical, schedule, requirements and the cost baselines to manage the execution of the Remove SNM Materials project. Any deviations to the document must be authorized through the appropriate change control process

Project management plan for the 105-C Reactor interim safe storage project. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, R.L.

1997-01-01

In 1942, the Hanford Site was commissioned by the US Government to produce plutonium. Between 1942 and 1955, eight water-cooled, graphite-moderated reactors were constructed along the Columbia River at the Hanford Site to support the production of plutonium. The reactors were deactivated from 1964 to 1971 and declared surplus. The Surplus Production Reactor Decommissioning Project (BHI 1994b) will decommission these reactors and has selected the 105-C Reactor to be used as a demonstration project for interim safe storage at the present location and final disposition of the entire reactor core in the 200 West Area. This project will result in lower costs, accelerated schedules, reduced worker exposure, and provide direct benefit to the US Department of Energy for decommissioning projects complex wide. This project sets forth plans, organizational responsibilities, control systems, and procedures to manage the execution of the Project Management Plan for the 105-C Reactor Interim Safe Storage Project (Project Management Plan) activities to meet programmatic requirements within authorized funding and approved schedules. The Project Management Plan is organized following the guidelines provided by US Department of Energy Order 4700.1, Project Management System and the Richland Environmental Restoration Project Plan (DOE-RL 1992b)

Project Management Plan for the Isotopes Facilities Deactivation Project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-04-01

The purpose of the Isotopes Facilities Deactivation Project (IFDP) is to place former isotopes production facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in a safe, stable, and environmentally sound condition suitable for an extended period of minimum surveillance and maintenance (S ampersand M) and as quickly and economically as possible. Implementation and completion of the deactivation project will further reduce the already small risks to the environment and to public safety and health. Furthermore, the project should result in significant S ampersand M cost savings in the future. The IFDP management plan has been prepared to document the project objectives, define organizational relationships and responsibilities, and outline the management control systems to be employed in the management of the project. The project has adopted a strategy to deactivate the simple facilities first, to reduce the scope of the project, and to gain experience before addressing more difficult facilities. A decision support system is being developed to identify those activities, that best promote the project mission and result in largest cost savings. The Work Plan for the Isotopes Facilities Deactivation Project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Energy Systems 1994) defines the project schedule, the cost estimate, and the technical approach for the project

We Scrum Every Day: Using Scrum Project Management Framework for Group Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Pope-Ruark, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Collaborative group projects have documented learning benefits, yet collaboration is challenging for students because the educational system values individual achievement. This article explores Scrum, an approach to framing, planning, and managing group projects used in Web-software development. Designed for multi-faceted projects, this approach…

Why does project planning fail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foley, M.; Luciano, G.

1991-01-01

The technology of project controls have become increasingly sophisticated. Some say that the technological advancements of the Nineteen-Eighties represented a maturation of project control tools. Others say that the advancements were merely bells and whistles that added little or nothing to the project management process. Above it all, as we enter the Nineties, there is a popular outcry to get back to the basics of planning. The genesis of this outcry is the sobering impact of significant cost overruns and schedule extensions, even on projects that have employed the most advanced project control tools and systems. This paper examines the merits of taking a strategic approach to the project planning process. Within that context, there are basic goals of planning which are enduring through the life cycle of the project. Key reasons for failure and inability to achieve the goals of project planning are explained. By examining the goals of project planning and the reasons for failure, insight is provided into the role of project controls specialists and sophisticated project control tools in meeting the challenges of complex project management in the 1990's

MANAGING LARGE INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN GORJ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CÎRNU DORU

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Currently, the concept of project management is considered to be the best concept for efficient management of a project, so it is used all over the world, and most recently in our country. This concept is designed with all the general characteristics of project management, but adapted to the large investment projects. This paper presents the project management concept and project management organization for capital projects. This concept is conceived with all general characteristics of project management, but adopted to the condition of large investment projects. The concept also includes the project team and the project manager, the person authorized and responsible for achieving the objectives planned in the project. For efficient managing by project, it is necessary to insure a good compozition of project team, as a team of people who, in collaboration with project manager, work directly on managing the project. To effectively manage the project, it is necessary to ensure a proper composition of the project team, a team of people who, in collaboration with the project manager to work directly for project management. It is a particularly good method of achieving the objectives planned projects, which means a project with a certain level of performance required in a planned time, with planned costs.

Project management for profit a failsafe guide to keeping projects on track and on budget

CERN Document Server

Knight, Joe; Angus, Brad; Case, John

2012-01-01

If your work involves projects, then this book is for you. It will show every company owner and project manager—at businesses large and small—how to run projects differently. You’ll benefit if you’ve ever: • been over budget on a project • exceeded a timeline on a project • worked on a project that completely stalled as you neared the finish line • lost money on a sure-thing project and had no idea why • noticed that scope and feature creep held you back • watched a project take three times as long as planned • felt too embarrassed to perform a review of your successes and failures • wondered whether your project actually made any money By the time you finish the book, you’ll be ready to implement Project Management for Profit in your own company—and be prepared to keep your projects on track and on budget.

Relationships and project marketing success

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skaates, Maria Anne; Tikkanen, Henrikki; Lindblom, Jarno

2002-01-01

Project operations are a dominating mode of international business. Managing relationships and networks is crucial to project marketing success both at the level of the individual project and at the level of multiple projects. This article first defines key characteristics of project business, id...

PROJECT FINANCE AS A TOOL FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. V. Vsyakih

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the reasons for the insufficient use of project financing in the Russian Federation, the brief historical background for the project financing in Russia, as well as the main principles, types and stages of project financing. For results was used theoretical methods associated with the study of general and specialized literature, as well as methods of analysis and synthesis.

An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Project Finance on Project Risk Management : How the Distinguishing Attributes of Project Finance affects the Prevailing Risk Factor?

OpenAIRE

Chan, Ka Fai

2011-01-01

Project finance is a financing arrangement for projects, and it is characterised by the creation of a legally independent project company financed with non- or limited recourse loans. It is observed that the popularity of project finance is increasing in the recent decades, despite of the impact of Asian financial crisis. Especially in emerging markets, project finance is very common among the public-private partnership projects. It is possible that project finance yields some benefits in pro...

Project Management in Real Time: A Service-Learning Project

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Erik; Drexler, John A., Jr.

2010-01-01

This article describes a service-learning assignment for a project management course. It is designed to facilitate hands-on student learning of both the technical and the interpersonal aspects of project management, and it involves student engagement with real customers and real stakeholders in the creation of real events with real outcomes. As…

HDAC1 and HDAC3 underlie dynamic H3K9 acetylation during embryonic neurogenesis and in schizophrenia-like animals

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Veceřa, J.; Bártová, Eva; Krejčí, Jana; Legartová, Soňa; Komůrková, Denisa; Rudá-Kučerová, J.; Štark, T.; Dražanová, Eva; Kašpárek, T.; Šulcová, A.; Dekker, F.J.; Szymanski, W.; Seiser, C.; Weitzer, G.; Mechoulam, R.; Micale, V.; Kozubek, Stanislav

2018-01-01

Roč. 233, č. 1 (2018), s. 530-548 ISSN 0021-9541 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP302/12/G157 Institutional support: RVO:68081707 ; RVO:68081731 Keywords : cell-adhesion molecule * histone deacetylase inhibitors * neuronal differentiation Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Cell biology Impact factor: 4.080, year: 2016

Fundamentals of Project Management

CERN Document Server

Heagney, Joseph

2011-01-01

With sales of more than 160,000 copies, Fundamentals of Project Management has helped generations of project managers navigate the ins and outs of every aspect of this complex discipline. Using a simple step-by-step approach, the book is the perfect introduction to project management tools, techniques, and concepts. Readers will learn how to: ò Develop a mission statement, vision, goals, and objectives ò Plan the project ò Create the work breakdown structure ò Produce a workable schedule ò Understand earned value analysis ò Manage a project team ò Control and evaluate progress at every stage.

Visualizations as Projection Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harty, Chris; Holm Jacobsen, Peter; Tryggestad, Kjell

The aim of this paper is to inquire into the role of project visualizations in shaping healthcare spaces and practices. The study draws upon an ethnographic field study from a large on-going hospital construction project in Denmark, and focuses on the early phases of on-boarding the design team...... into the project organization. During the on-boarding visualizations multiplies in form, content and purpose, ranging from paper and digitally based projections of clinical work spaces and practices for the future hospital building in use, to paper and digitally based projections of the cost budget and time...

Agile Project Management For Dummies

CERN Document Server

Layton, Mark C

2012-01-01

Be flexible and faster with Agile project management As mobile and web technologies continue to evolve rapidly, there is added pressure to develop and implement software projects in weeks instead of months. Agile Project Management For Dummies can make that happen. This is the first book to provide a simple, step-by-step guide to Agile Project Management approaches, tools, and techniques. With the fast pace of mobile and web technology development, software project development must keep pace; Agile Project Management enables developers to complete and implement projects more quickly and this b

Three domains of project organising

OpenAIRE

Winch, Graham M.

2014-01-01

It has become axiomatic in research on project organising that projects are temporary organisations. Yet there are a number of challenges to this axiom: research on matrix organisation, the embeddedness of projects in project ecologies, and projectification all emphasise the relationship of the project to permanent organisations. Similarly, research on project-based firms and owner organisations which are relatively permanent challenges this axiom. This paper develops a conceptual framework w...

1995 project of the year Hanford Environmental compliance project nomination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelly, J.R.

1996-02-01

The completion of the Hanford Environmental Compliance (HEC) Project in December 1995 brought to a successful close a long line of major contributions to environmental cleanup. Not since the early days of the Hanford Site during and shortly after World War 11 had such a large group of diverse construction activities, with a common goal, been performed at Hanford. Key to this success was the unique combination of 14 subprojects under the HEC Project which afforded the flexibility to address evolving subproject requirements. This strategy resulted in the accomplishment of the HEC Project stakeholders` objectives on an aggressive schedule, at a $33 million cost savings to the customer. The primary objectives of the HEC Project were to upgrade selected Hanford Site facilities and systems to bring them into compliance with current environmental standards and regulations. The HEC Project contributed significantly towards the Hanford site compliance with Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements. It provided, in part, those construction activities required to comply with those requirements in the areas of liquid and solid waste treatment and disposal, waste characterization, and groundwater monitoring.

1995 project of the year Hanford Environmental compliance project nomination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.R.

1996-02-01

The completion of the Hanford Environmental Compliance (HEC) Project in December 1995 brought to a successful close a long line of major contributions to environmental cleanup. Not since the early days of the Hanford Site during and shortly after World War 11 had such a large group of diverse construction activities, with a common goal, been performed at Hanford. Key to this success was the unique combination of 14 subprojects under the HEC Project which afforded the flexibility to address evolving subproject requirements. This strategy resulted in the accomplishment of the HEC Project stakeholders' objectives on an aggressive schedule, at a $33 million cost savings to the customer. The primary objectives of the HEC Project were to upgrade selected Hanford Site facilities and systems to bring them into compliance with current environmental standards and regulations. The HEC Project contributed significantly towards the Hanford site compliance with Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements. It provided, in part, those construction activities required to comply with those requirements in the areas of liquid and solid waste treatment and disposal, waste characterization, and groundwater monitoring

Multi-Role Project (MRP): A New Project-Based Learning Method for STEM

Science.gov (United States)

Warin, Bruno; Talbi, Omar; Kolski, Christophe; Hoogstoel, Frédéric

2016-01-01

This paper presents the "Multi-Role Project" method (MRP), a broadly applicable project-based learning method, and describes its implementation and evaluation in the context of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) course. The MRP method is designed around a meta-principle that considers the project learning activity…

Efficient and Effective Project Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusan Pene

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to investigate different authorities and responsibilities of a project manager and of a project leader. Considering the fact that nowadays the project management is becoming the important factor in performing and leading the investments which are modified by modern leadership theories, we can say that the key element is the sovereign leadership of a manager and a project leader. The current multi-project environments and modern techniques at the project management area need the interdisciplinary leadership approach and at the same time they enable the strengthening of company’s competitive features so they are consistently satisfying high project expectations of the project investor or a client.

The Dwarf Project: Vidojevica

Science.gov (United States)

Vince, O.

2013-05-01

The DWARF project is an important international project for observing eclipsing binary stars and searching for third companion which orbit around both stars. Recently, a group of researchers at the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade joined this project using the 60 cm telescope at the Astronomical Station Vidojevica for observations. All the equipment and the human potential involved with this project from Serbia will be described in this paper.

Process-based project proposal risk management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alok Kumar

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We all are aware of the organizational omnipresence. Projects within the organizations are ubiquitous too. Projects achieve their goals successfully if they are planned, scheduled, controlled and implemented well. The project lifecycle of initiating, planning, scheduling, controlling and implementing are very well-planned by project managers and the organizations. Successful projects have well-developed risk management plans to deal with situations impacting projects. Like any other organisation, a university does try to access funds for different purposes too. For such organisations, running a project is not the issue, rather getting a project proposal approved to fund a project is the key. Project proposal processing is done by the nodal office in every organisation. Usually, these nodal offices help in administration and submission of a project proposal for accessing funds. Seldom are these nodal project offices within the organizations facilitate a project proposal approval by proactively reaching out to the project managers. And as project managers prepare project proposals, little or no attention is made to prepare a project proposal risk plan so as to maximise project acquisition. Risk plans are submitted while preparing proposals but these risk plans cater to a requirement to address actual projects upon approval. Hence, a risk management plan for project proposal is either missing or very little effort is made to treat the risks inherent in project acquisition. This paper is an integral attempt to highlight the importance of risk treatment for project proposal stage as an extremely important step to preparing the risk management plan made for projects corresponding to their lifecycle phases. Several tools and techniques have been proposed in the paper to help and guide either the project owner (proposer or the main organisational unit responsible for project management. Development of tools and techniques to further enhance project

Servant leadership behaviors of aerospace and defense project managers and their relation to project success

Science.gov (United States)

Dominik, Michael T.

The success of a project is dependent in part on the skills, knowledge, and behavior of its leader, the project manager. Despite advances in project manager certifications and professional development, the aerospace and defense industry has continued to see highly visible and expensive project failures partially attributable to failures in leadership. Servant leadership is an emerging leadership theory whose practitioners embrace empowerment, authenticity, humility, accountability, forgiveness, courage, standing back, and stewardship, but has not yet been fully examined in the context of the project manager as leader. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between servant leadership behaviors demonstrated by aerospace and defense project managers and the resulting success of their projects. Study participants were drawn from aerospace and defense oriented affinity groups from the LinkedInRTM social media web system. The participants rated their project managers using a 30-item servant leadership scale, and rated the success of their project using a 12-item project success scale. One hundred and fifteen valid responses were analyzed from 231 collected samples from persons who had worked for a project manager on an aerospace and defense project within the past year. The results of the study demonstrated statistically significant levels of positive correlation to project success for all eight servant leadership factors independently evaluated. Using multiple linear regression methods, the servant leadership factors of empowerment and authenticity were determined to be substantial and statistically significant predictors of project success. The study results established the potential application of servant leadership as a valid approach for improving outcomes of projects.

Comprehensive assessment of the status scientific and technical projects using Technology Project Readiness Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. N. Petrov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The balanced methodology for assessing the Technology Project Readiness Level for commercialization (TPRL is proposed. TPRL allows to determine the dynamics and balance of development projects that use the standardized approaches used in assessing the readiness of the technology. Validation of the methodology undertaken for the projects of Federal target programs “Research and development on priority directions of development of scientific-technological complex of Russia for 2007–2013” and “Research and development on priority directions of development of scientific-technological complex of Russia for 2014–2020”. The obtained results showed the possibility of application of the methodology for the evaluation of projects, improving efficiency of expert activity in the evaluation of projects, monitoring the status of individual project and group of projects (portfolio. The application of the methodology allowed us to improve the management of individual project and portfolio of projects.Methodology TPRL will allow the implementers, industry partners, investors, and innovative industrial companies to improve the efficiency of its activities.

Project-Management Tools for Libraries: A Planning and Implementation Model Using Microsoft Project 2000

OpenAIRE

Ying Zhang; Corinne Bishop

2005-01-01

This paper discusses how Microsoft Project 2000 was utilized at the University of Central Florida Libraries to manage an e-reference implementation project. As libraries today adopt more information technologies, efficiently managing projects can be challenging. The authors’ experience in the implementation of QuestionPoint e-reference software in October 2003 is described. Their conclusion illustrates that project-management tools, such as Microsoft Project 2000, offer practical workflow-man...

The Impact of Project Manager on Project Success – The Case of ICT Sector

OpenAIRE

Blaskovics, Bálint

2016-01-01

The project management literature on project success is rich. Numerous papers focus on the evolution of the understanding of project success, identification of success criteria and critical success factors. Critical success factors increase the potential for achieving project success, while project success can be evaluated with the help of success criteria. Although the interrelationships between critical success factors and success criteria are rarely analyzed, yet there is a strong demand f...

Projective relativity, cosmology and gravitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arcidiacono, G.

1986-01-01

This book describes the latest applications of projective geometry to cosmology and gravitation. The contents of the book are; the Poincare group and Special Relativity, the thermodynamics and electromagnetism, general relativity, gravitation and cosmology, group theory and models of universe, the special projective relativity, the Fantappie group and Big-Bang cosmology, a new cosmological projective mechanics, the plasma physics and cosmology, the projective magnetohydrodynamics field, projective relativity and waves propagation, the generalizations of the gravitational field, the general projective relativity, the projective gravitational field, the De Sitter Universe and quantum physics, the conformal relativity and Newton gravitation

Improving Project Manufacturing Coordination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korpivaara Ville

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to develop firms’ project manufacturing coordination. The development will be made by centralizing the manufacturing information flows in one system. To be able to centralize information, a deep user need assessment is required. After user needs have been identified, the existing system will be developed to match these needs. The theoretical background is achieved through exploring the literature of project manufacturing, development project success factors and different frameworks and tools for development project execution. The focus of this research is rather in customer need assessment than in system’s technical expertise. To ensure the deep understanding of customer needs this study is executed by action research method. As a result of this research the information system for project manufacturing coordination was developed to respond revealed needs of the stakeholders. The new system improves the quality of the manufacturing information, eliminates waste in manufacturing coordination processes and offers a better visibility to the project manufacturing. Hence it provides a solid base for the further development of project manufacturing.

Financing of Chamera project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jain, A.K.; Chakraborty, D.K.

1994-01-01

Chamera Hydroelectric Project was selected by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) as a pilot project for accelerated development of hydro-power in the country. This project was considered to have certain distinct specialties from different aspects in comparison with other projects. In the first place, the field investigation for the project was completed in a record time of only eight months by deploying the most modern techniques. Secondly, Chamera was the first NHPC project with external aid both technically and financially. The third and most important of all the specialties was in the planned reduction of construction period to 6 years from the original estimate of 8 years. Such reduction of gestation period was considered to be the direct outcome of modern method of management, monitoring and improved imported technology. The investment decision in the project was taken in April '84 with an estimated cost of energy at busbar 44.12 paise/unit exclusive of return on equity capital and royalty payable to the home state. The all inclusive rate of power was estimated 75.86 paise/unit. (author). 4 tabs

SDN Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Rhett [Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc, Pullman, WA (United States)

2016-12-23

The SDN Project completed on time and on budget and successfully accomplished 100% of the scope of work outlined in the original Statement of Project Objective (SOPO). The SDN Project formed an alliance between Ameren Corporation, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign (UIUC), Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL), and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL). The objective of the SDN Project is to address Topic Area of Interest 2: Sustain critical energy delivery functions while responding to a cyber-intrusion under Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000797. The goal of the project is to design and commercially release technology that provides a method to sustain critical energy delivery functions during a cyber intrusion and to do this control system operators need the ability to quickly identify and isolate the affected network areas, and re-route critical information and control flows around. The objective of the SDN Project is to develop a Flow Controller that monitors, configures, and maintains the safe, reliable network traffic flows of all the local area networks (LANs) on a control system in the Energy sector. The SDN team identified the core attributes of a control system and produced an SDN flow controller that has the same core attributes enabling networks to be designed, configured and deployed that maximize the whitelisted, deny-bydefault and purpose built networks. This project researched, developed and commercially released technology that: Enables all field networks be to configured and monitored as if they are a single asset to be protected; Enables greatly improved and even precalculated response actions to reliability and cyber events; Supports pre-configured localized response actions tailored to provide resilience against failures and centralized response to cyber-attacks that improve network reliability and availability; Architecturally enables the right subject matter experts, who are usually the information

Tank waste remediation system privatization Phase 1 infrastructure, project W-519, project execution plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parazin, R.J.

1998-01-01

This Project Execution Plan (PEP) defines the overall strategy, objectives, and contractor management requirements for the execution phase of Project W-519 (98-D403), Privatization Phase 1 Infrastructure Support, whose mission is to effect the required Hanford site infrastructure physical changes to accommodate the Privatization Contractor facilities. This plan provides the project scope, project objectives and method of performing the work scope and achieving objectives. The plan establishes the work definitions, the cost goals, schedule constraints and roles and responsibilities for project execution. The plan also defines how the project will be controlled and documented

Photovoltaic Programme, Edition 2006. Summary report. Project list. Annual project reports 2005 (abstracts)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nowak, S.

2006-07-01

This comprehensive, illustrated report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents an overview of the work done as part of the 2005 research programme, along with the abstracts of the annual reports of the project leaders on research projects. It presents the programme's main points of focus, discusses the work done and the results obtained. Areas covered include cell technology (13 reports), solar modules and building integration (3 reports) , system technology (4 reports) as well as various further projects (5) that are connected with photovoltaics. Four further reports concern international co-operation. Further, several pilot and demonstration (P+D) projects are discussed. Lists of all research and development projects and pilot and demonstration projects are supplied. Work done at several institutions in Switzerland and at leading commercial companies is described.

Isotopes Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dairiki, J.M.; Browne, E.; Firestone, R.B.; Lederer, C.M.; Shirley, V.S.

1984-01-01

The Isotopes Project compiles and evaluates nuclear structure and decay data and disseminates these data to the scientific community. From 1940-1978 the Project had as its main objective the production of the Table of Isotopes. Since publication of the seventh (and last) edition in 1978, the group now coordinates its nuclear data evaluation efforts with those of other data centers via national and international nuclear data networks. The group is currently responsible for the evaluation of mass chains A = 167-194. All evaluated data are entered into the International Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF) and are published in Nuclear Data Sheets. In addition to the evaluation effort, the Isotopes Project is responsible for production of the Radioactivity Handbook

Essays in the Economics of Procurement,

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

Their support, encouragement, and critical reviews of draft articles were invaluable. Other notable contributions over the course of the project were...the period-by-period capital asset pricing model ( CAPM ). The period-by-period CAPM is common in applied work but the assumptions that underlie it are...may in turn mean that the data are inconsistent with application of the period-by-period CAPM ; see Fama (1977). For discussion of other problems in

Guidelines for Automation Project Execution

OpenAIRE

Takkinen, Heidi

2011-01-01

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to create instructions for executing an automation project. Sarlin Oy Ab needed directions on how to execute an automation project. Sarlin is starting up a new business area offering total project solutions for customers. Sarlin focuses on small and minor automation projects on domestic markets. The thesis represents issues related to project execution starting from the theory of the project to its kick-off and termination. Site work is one importan...

The Role of the Project Management Office on Information Technology Project Success

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Jacob S.

2010-01-01

The rate of failed and challenged Information Technology (IT) projects is too high according to the CHAOS Studies by the Standish Group and the literature on project management (Standish Group, 2008). The CHAOS Studies define project success as meeting the triple constraints of scope, time, and cost. Assessing critical success factors is another…

Project evaluation: main characteristics

OpenAIRE

Moutinho, Nuno

2010-01-01

— The evaluation process of real investment projects must consider not only the traditional financial approach, but also non-financial aspects. Non financial analysis can provide additional relevant information about projects. We investigate financial and non-financial areas most relevant in project appraisal. We present main critical success factors and areas of analysis that lead to the perception of project success. Finally, companies are segmented to verify its financial and non-financial...

Draft project management update to the Iowa DOT Project Development Manual : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

This work supported drafting project management guidance for the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). The goal is to : incorporate a greater focus on project management in their project development process. : A technical advisory committee (TAC) ...

Richland Environmental Restoration Project Baseline Multi Year Work Plan Volume 1 Richland Environmental Restoration Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wintczak, T.M.

2001-01-01

The purpose of this project specification is to provide an overall scoping and document for the Environmental Restoration project, and to provide a link between the overall Hanford Site scope and the ER project. The purpose of this project specification is to provide an overall scoping document for the ER Project, and to provide a link between the overall Hanford Site scope and the ER Project. Additionally, this specification provides an integrated and consolidated source of information for the Richland ER Project. It identifies the ER Project vision, mission, and goals, as well as the operational history of the Hanford Site, along with environmental setting and hazards. This ER Project Specification is part of the overall ER Project baseline

I-15 North Project

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-05

Goals of this project were as follows: (1) Conduct a comprehensive evaluation study on Nevada's I-15 North Design Build Project; (2) Analyze project implementation with respect to construction zone rules by which the contractor had to abide; (3) Anal...

Fitting the project into the environment : Gulf Heavy Oil Red Cross Projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakires, D.G.; Johannesen, D.V.

1998-01-01

A reservoir delineation project by Gulf Canada's Heavy Oil Division was reviewed. The six well drilling program was completed in 1997 with minimal negative environmental impacts. The program, dubbed the Red Cross project, took place in the Northern Boreal Forest of Saskatchewan. Its success is attributed to the early involvement of the regulatory agencies in Saskatchewan, on-site environmental investigations, the development of an environmental protection plan, conscientious construction practices, a monitoring program during construction, and a pro-active reclamation plan. The project area is identified as being environmentally sensitive and important as a wildlife habitat area. This successful project demonstrated the usefulness of pre-project planning and team work between industry and the regulators. Details of the planning, construction and planned remedial reclamation actions are described. 11 refs., 2 tabs

The ARCHER Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knol, S.; Roelofs, F.; Fütterer, M.A.; Kohtz, N.; Laurie, M.; Buckthorpe, D.; Scheuermann, W.

2014-01-01

The European HTR R&D project ARCHER (Advanced High-Temperature Reactors for Cogeneration of Heat and Electricity R&D) builds on a solid HTR technology foundation in Europe, established through former national UK and German HTR programs and in European programs. ARCHER runs from 2011 to 2015 and targets selected HTR R&D subjects that would specifically support demonstration, with a focus on experimental effort. In line with the R&D and deployment strategy of the European Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNETP) ARCHER contributes to maintaining, strengthening and expanding the HTR knowledge base in Europe to lay the foundations for demonstration of nuclear cogeneration with HTR systems. The project consortium encompasses conventional and nuclear industry, utilities, Technical Support Organizations, R&D organizations and academia. ARCHER shares results with international partners in the Generation IV International Forum and collaborates directly with related projects in the US, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and South Africa. The ARCHER project is in its final year, and the paper comprises an overview of the achievements thus far for the different Sub Projects. (author)

Project management process.

Science.gov (United States)

2007-03-01

This course provides INDOT staff with foundational knowledge and skills in project management principles and methodologies. INDOTs project management processes provide the tools for interdisciplinary teams to efficiently and effectively deliver pr...

"Cheesy Pizza": The Pizza Project

Science.gov (United States)

Gallick, Barbara; Lee, Lisa

2009-01-01

A class of 3- to 5-year-old children in a midwestern child care center chose to study pizza restaurants as a group project. This article discusses how the project evolved, describes the three phases of the project, and provides the teachers' reflections on the project. Photos taken during the project and children's sketches are included. (Contains…

Management of research and development project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Go, Seok Hwa; Hong Jeong Yu; Hyun, Byeong Hwan

2010-12-01

This book introduces summary on management of research and development project, prepare of research and development with investigation and analysis of paper, patent and trend of technology, structure of project, management model, management of project, management of project range, management of project time, management of project cost, management of project goods, management of project manpower, management of communication, management of project risk, management of project supply, management of outcome of R and D, management of apply and enroll of patent and management of technology transfer.

Waste Management Project Contingency Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edward L. Parsons, Jr.

1999-01-01

The purpose of this report is to provide the office of Waste Management (WM) with recommended contingency calculation procedures for typical WM projects. Typical projects were defined as conventional construction-type activities that use innovative elements when necessary to meet the project objectives. Projects involve treatment, storage, and disposal of low level, mixed low level, hazardous, transuranic, and high level waste. Cost contingencies are an essential part of Total Cost Management. A contingency is an amount added to a cost estimate to compensate for unexpected expenses resulting from incomplete design, unforeseen and unpredictable conditions, or uncertainties in the project scope (DOE 1994, AACE 1998). Contingency allowances are expressed as percentages of estimated cost and improve cost estimates by accounting for uncertainties. The contingency allowance is large at the beginning of a project because there are more uncertainties, but as a project develops, the allowance shrinks to adjust for costs already incurred. Ideally, the total estimated cost remains the same throughout a project. Project contingency reflects the degree of uncertainty caused by lack of project definition, and process contingency reflects the degree of uncertainty caused by use of new technology. Different cost estimation methods were reviewed and compared with respect to terminology, accuracy, and Cost Guide standards. The Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) methods for cost estimation were selected to represent best industry practice. AACE methodology for contingency analysis can be readily applied to WM Projects, accounts for uncertainties associated with different stages of a project, and considers both project and process contingencies and the stage of technical readiness. As recommended, AACE contingency allowances taper off linearly as a project nears completion

Project management v praxi

OpenAIRE

Králová, Eliška

2013-01-01

Project management approaches are commonly used to write and implement business plans. In this thesis standard project management tools and methods are applied to a real project, which aims to improve the properties of the product it offers (an online educational game). This project is unique in that it is based on a voluntary basis, has limited resources and is very responsive to market demands. Project management is broken down into four stages according to the project life cycle: initiatio...

Rethinking Project Management in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svejvig, Per

2012-01-01

. The chapter argues for a rethinking process due to pervasiveness and complexity in the contemporary project environment where rethinking is needed in order to stay competitive. The suggested approach for the rethinking project management is a framing process where body of ideas is established......Projects are everywhere across different sectors, industries and countries. Project management is no longer a sub-discipline of engineering and other rather technical disciplines but is also used for many other purposes. Even though practice has changed dramatically over the years, the models...... and methodologies for project management has been fairly static and has therefore received substantial criticism for a lack of relevance to practice. Several scholars have therefore started to think more widely about projects and project management conceptualized as rethinking project management. However this theme...

Nuclear safety projects 1995