Ethical issues in action-oriented research in Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rachmawaty, Rini

2017-09-01

Action-oriented research is one of the most frequent research types implemented to transform community health in Indonesia. Three researchers and 11 graduate students from a developed country in East Asia conducted a fieldwork program in a remote area in South Sulawesi Province. Although the project was completed, whether or not the international standards for human subject research were applied into that study remains unclear. This study aimed to examine ethical issues raised from that case, analyze constraints to the problems, and recommend alternatives to protect vulnerable populations from being exploited by local/international researchers. A problem-solving approach was used in this study. It began with problem identification, evaluation of the action-oriented research goal, investigation of the constraints to the problem, and recommendation of some relevant alternatives to address the central issue. Ethical Consideration: The approval for conducting the action-oriented research that being investigated in this work was only obtained from the Head of local district. Some ethical issues were found in this case. No special protection for this population, no informed consent was obtained from the participants, exposure to social and economic risks, no future benefits for the subjects, and conflict of interests. Lack of control from the local research ethics committee and lack of competence of local researchers on human subject research were considered as the constraints to the problems. Creating an independent research ethics committee, providing research ethics training to the local researchers, obtaining written/video consents from underserved populations, and meeting local health needs were recommended alternatives to solve these problems. Indonesian government bodies should reform their international collaborative system on research involving human subjects. Exploitation may not occur if all participants as well as all local and national governing bodies

Transformation Strategies between Block-Oriented and Graph-Oriented Process Modelling Languages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mendling, Jan; Lassen, Kristian Bisgaard; Zdun, Uwe

2006-01-01

Much recent research work discusses the transformation between different process modelling languages. This work, however, is mainly focussed on specific process modelling languages, and thus the general reusability of the applied transformation concepts is rather limited. In this paper, we aim...... to abstract from concrete transformation strategies by distinguishing two major paradigms for representing control flow in process modelling languages: block-oriented languages (such as BPEL and BPML) and graph-oriented languages (such as EPCs and YAWL). The contribution of this paper are generic strategies...... for transforming from block-oriented process languages to graph-oriented languages, and vice versa....

Summarising the 7 Dimensions of an Action-Oriented Framework for Video Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Cardoso

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article summarises our Ph.D. thesis – an analytical view on the player-game relationship through the lens of an action-oriented framework, centred on fundamental entities defined as actors, entities through which action is enacted in the game and of which the player and the game system are a part of. With this in mind, the grounding principles of this framework are seeded in a transition of action into experience, based on communicational systems that structure the dynamic formation of networks of actors from which distinct behaviours emerge, which, in turn, promote the enactment of diverse sequences of events establishing narrative, which is a source of experience of the player. Chronology, responsiveness, thinking and actuation, transcoding, focus, depth, and traversal are the 7 dimensions we unveiled through the lens of this action-oriented framework. This work proposes that video games can be regarded as action-based artefacts and a call to awareness for game designers that when designing for action they are working with the foundations on which video games are built upon. 

Oriented color centres being formed in anisotropic action of optical radiation on sodium-silicate glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barinova, N.A.; Glebov, L.B.; Dokuchaev, V.G.; Savel'ev, V.L.

1992-01-01

A study was made of anisotropy of absorption of hole colour centres appearing in sodium-silicate glass due to anisotropic action of UV radiation. In case of such action in the field of long-wave edge of their fundamental absorption oriented hole colour centres occurs with maximum of absorption bands to 2.0, 2.8, 4.1 eV. Principal direction of hole colour centres orientation in this case coincides with orientation of ionized glass matrix centres. Orientation of such kind is connected with selective ionization of disorderedly oriented centres forming edge of fundamental absorption. Value of guided dichroism of colour centres absorption is determined by hole migration

Cyclic Solvent Vapor Annealing for Rapid, Robust Vertical Orientation of Features in BCP Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Paradiso, Sean; Delaney, Kris; Fredrickson, Glenn

2015-03-01

Methods for reliably controlling block copolymer self assembly have seen much attention over the past decade as new applications for nanostructured thin films emerge in the fields of nanopatterning and lithography. While solvent assisted annealing techniques are established as flexible and simple methods for achieving long range order, solvent annealing alone exhibits a very weak thermodynamic driving force for vertically orienting domains with respect to the free surface. To address the desire for oriented features, we have investigated a cyclic solvent vapor annealing (CSVA) approach that combines the mobility benefits of solvent annealing with selective stress experienced by structures oriented parallel to the free surface as the film is repeatedly swollen with solvent and dried. Using dynamical self-consistent field theory (DSCFT) calculations, we establish the conditions under which the method significantly outperforms both static and cyclic thermal annealing and implicate the orientation selection as a consequence of the swelling/deswelling process. Our results suggest that CSVA may prove to be a potent method for the rapid formation of highly ordered, vertically oriented features in block copolymer thin films.

Spontaneous in-flight accommodation of hand orientation to unseen grasp targets: A case of action blindsight.

Science.gov (United States)

Prentiss, Emily K; Schneider, Colleen L; Williams, Zoë R; Sahin, Bogachan; Mahon, Bradford Z

2018-03-15

The division of labour between the dorsal and ventral visual pathways is well established. The ventral stream supports object identification, while the dorsal stream supports online processing of visual information in the service of visually guided actions. Here, we report a case of an individual with a right inferior quadrantanopia who exhibited accurate spontaneous rotation of his wrist when grasping a target object in his blind visual field. His accurate wrist orientation was observed despite the fact that he exhibited no sensitivity to the orientation of the handle in a perceptual matching task. These findings indicate that non-geniculostriate visual pathways process basic volumetric information relevant to grasping, and reinforce the observation that phenomenal awareness is not necessary for an object's volumetric properties to influence visuomotor performance.

Action experience changes attention to kinematic cues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Courtney eFilippi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The current study used remote corneal reflection eye-tracking to examine the relationship between motor experience and action anticipation in 13-month-old infants. To measure online anticipation of actions infants watched videos where the actor’s hand provided kinematic information (in its orientation about the type of object that the actor was going to reach for. The actor’s hand orientation either matched the orientation of a rod (congruent cue or did not match the orientation of the rod (incongruent cue. To examine relations between motor experience and action anticipation, we used a 2 (reach first vs. observe first x 2 (congruent kinematic cue vs. incongruent kinematic cue between-subjects design. We show that 13-month-old infants in the observe first condition spontaneously generate rapid online visual predictions to congruent hand orientation cues and do not visually anticipate when presented incongruent cues. We further demonstrate that the speed that these infants generate predictions to congruent motor cues is correlated with their own ability to pre-shape their hands. Finally, we demonstrate that following reaching experience, infants generate rapid predictions to both congruent and incongruent hand shape cues—suggesting that short-term experience changes attention to kinematics.

Using Rapid Improvement Events for Disaster After-Action Reviews: Experience in a Hospital Information Technology Outage and Response.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Charles M; McStay, Christopher; Oeth, Justin; Koehler, April; Bookman, Kelly

2018-02-01

The use of after-action reviews (AARs) following major emergency events, such as a disaster, is common and mandated for hospitals and similar organizations. There is a recurrent challenge of identified problems not being resolved and repeated in subsequent events. A process improvement technique called a rapid improvement event (RIE) was used to conduct an AAR following a complete information technology (IT) outage at a large urban hospital. Using RIE methodology to conduct the AAR allowed for the rapid development and implementation of major process improvements to prepare for future IT downtime events. Thus, process improvement methodology, particularly the RIE, is suited for conducting AARs following disasters and holds promise for improving outcomes in emergency management. Little CM , McStay C , Oeth J , Koehler A , Bookman K . Using rapid improvement events for disaster after-action reviews: experience in a hospital information technology outage and response. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):98-100.

Transformation Strategies between Block-Oriented and Graph-Oriented Process Modelling Languages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mendling, Jan; Lassen, Kristian Bisgaard; Zdun, Uwe

to abstract from concrete transformationstrategies by distinguishing two major paradigms for process modelling languages:block-oriented languages (such as BPEL and BPML) and graph-oriented languages(such as EPCs and YAWL). The contribution of this paper are generic strategiesfor transforming from block......Much recent research work discusses the transformation between differentprocess modelling languages. This work, however, is mainly focussed on specific processmodelling languages, and thus the general reusability of the applied transformationconcepts is rather limited. In this paper, we aim......-oriented process languages to graph-oriented languages,and vice versa. We also present two case studies of applying our strategies....

Who throws good money after bad? Action vs. state orientation moderates the sunk cost fallacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marijke van Putten

2010-02-01

Full Text Available The sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to continue an endeavour once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made. We studied how people's chronic orientation to cope with failing projects (i.e., action vs. state orientation influences the occurrence of this sunk cost effect. We found that people with a state orientation, who have a tendency to ruminate about past events and have a hard time to let go of them, were especially prone to fall in the sunk cost trap. People with an action orientation, who more easily let go of past events, were not susceptible to the sunk cost effect. We discuss the implications of these results for the sunk cost fallacy literature.

Management oriented process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

ANAV decided to implement process-oriented management by adopting the U. S. NEI (Nuclear Electric Industry) model. The article describes the initial phases of the project, its current status and future prospects. The project has been considered as an improvement in the areas of organization and human factors. Recently, IAEA standard drafts are including processes as an accepted management model. (Author)

Rapid, all-optical crystal orientation imaging of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, Sabrina N.; Zhai, Yao; Zande, Arend M. van der; O'Brien, Kevin; Huang, Pinshane Y.; Chenet, Daniel A.; Hone, James C.; Zhang, Xiang; Yin, Xiaobo

2015-01-01

Two-dimensional (2D) atomic materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted significant research and industrial interest for their electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. While large-area crystal growth techniques such as chemical vapor deposition have been demonstrated, the presence of grain boundaries and orientation of grains arising in such growths substantially affect the physical properties of the materials. There is currently no scalable characterization method for determining these boundaries and orientations over a large sample area. We here present a second-harmonic generation based microscopy technique for rapidly mapping grain orientations and boundaries of 2D TMDCs. We experimentally demonstrate the capability to map large samples to an angular resolution of ±1° with minimal sample preparation and without involved analysis. A direct comparison of the all-optical grain orientation maps against results obtained by diffraction-filtered dark-field transmission electron microscopy plus selected-area electron diffraction on identical TMDC samples is provided. This rapid and accurate tool should enable large-area characterization of TMDC samples for expedited studies of grain boundary effects and the efficient characterization of industrial-scale production techniques

Response selection difficulty modulates the behavioral impact of rapidly learnt action effects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uta eWolfensteller

2014-12-01

Full Text Available It is well established that we can pick up action effect associations when acting in a free-choice intentional mode. However, it is less clear whether and when action effect associations are learnt and actually affect behavior if we are acting in a forced-choice mode, applying a specific stimulus-response (S-R rule. In the present study, we investigated whether response selection difficulty imposed by S-R rules influences the initial rapid learning and the behavioral expression of previously learnt but weakly practiced action effect associations when those are re-activated by effect exposure. Experiment 1 showed that the rapid acquisition of action effect associations is not directly influenced by response selection difficulty. By contrast, the behavioral expression of re-activated action effect associations is prevented when actions are directly activated by highly over-learnt response cues and thus response selection difficulty is low. However, all three experiments showed that if response selection difficulty is sufficiently high during re-activation, the same action effect associations do influence behavior. Experiment 2 and 3 revealed that the effect of response selection difficulty cannot be fully reduced to giving action effects more time to prime an action, but seems to reflect competition during response selection. Finally, the present data suggest that when multiple novel rules are rapidly learnt in succession, which requires a lot of flexibility, action effect associations continue to influence behavior only if response selection difficulty is sufficiently high. Thus, response selection difficulty might modulate the impact of experiencing multiple learning episodes on action effect expression and learning, possibly via inducing different strategies.

Emotion regulation, depression and self-harming behaviours in people with borderline personality disorder: the moderating role of action vs. state orientation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sybilla Blasczyk-Schiep

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background The aim of this research is to determine the level of emotion regulation, studied through the method of variable action orientation vs. state and its relationship with depressiveness and dimension of the reasons for living and self-harming behaviour of patients with borderline personality disorder. Participants and procedure The research studied 61 patients diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality of borderline type. The research used the Polish adaptation of tests to measure the action vs. state orientation (SSI-K, the self-harming behaviour (SHI, depression (BDI and the reasons for living vs. suicidal tendency (RFL-I. Results In people with borderline personality disorder, the level of emotion regulation (action vs. state orientation, reasons for living and depression are predictors of self-harming behaviour. The experience of a depressive episode or lack thereof does not have a relationship with the increase of self-harming. Analysis of the interaction between variables showed that the reasons for living and the action orientation after failure are related to the reduction of self-harming behaviour in all subjects. In depressed people, state orientation is associated with an increase in the action orientation with decreased self-destructive behaviours. Conclusions High levels of reasons for living in interaction with the action orientation have a negative relationship with the self-harming behaviour of patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Among those subjects, depressive patients, a statistically lower level of self-harm is related to the action orientation. These results suggest that therapeutic treatment is important to activate both reasons for living as well as action orientation as effective dimensions in preventing self-harming.

Using Science to Take a Stand: Action-Oriented Learning in an Afterschool Science Club

Science.gov (United States)

Hagenah, Sara

This dissertation study investigates what happens when students participate in an afterschool science club designed around action-oriented science instruction, a set of curriculum design principles based on social justice pedagogy. Comprised of three manuscripts written for journal publication, the dissertation includes 1) Negotiating community-based action-oriented science teaching and learning: Articulating curriculum design principles, 2) Middle school girls' socio-scientific participation pathways in an afterschool science club, and 3) Laughing and learning together: Productive science learning spaces for middle school girls. By investigating how action-oriented science design principles get negotiated, female identity development in and with science, and the role of everyday social interactions as students do productive science, this research fills gaps in the understanding of how social justice pedagogy gets enacted and negotiated among multiple stakeholders including students, teachers, and community members along what identity development looks like across social and scientific activity. This study will be of interest to educators thinking about how to enact social justice pedagogy in science learning spaces and those interested in identity development in science.

An object-oriented description method of EPMM process

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zuo; Yang, Fan

2017-06-01

In order to use the object-oriented mature tools and language in software process model, make the software process model more accord with the industrial standard, it’s necessary to study the object-oriented modelling of software process. Based on the formal process definition in EPMM, considering the characteristics that Petri net is mainly formal modelling tool and combining the Petri net modelling with the object-oriented modelling idea, this paper provides this implementation method to convert EPMM based on Petri net into object models based on object-oriented description.

How to implement process-oriented care: a case study on the implementation of process-oriented in-hospital stroke care.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vos, L.; Oostenbrugge, R.J. van; Limburg, M.; Merode, G.G. van; Groothuis, S.

2009-01-01

Dutch hospitals are in the midst of a transition towards process-oriented organisation to realise optimal and undisturbed care processes. Between 2004 and 2007, the University Hospital of Maastricht conducted a case study implementing process-oriented in-hospital stroke unit care. The case study

Rapid-action valve especially for liquid metal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velek, V.; Cejka, J.; Jakl, J.

1976-01-01

A rapid-action large-diameter valve and control fitting was designed for cooling circuits of nuclear power plants with fast liquid metal cooled reactors, namely sodium cooled. The design meets the requirements for axial symmetry about the flow axis and secures the equilibrium of hydraulic and hydrodynamic forces observing the uniformity of the thickness of the fitting walls which is a pre-requisite for good resistance to thermal shock. (F.M.)

Action oriented training of natural resource management : case study of community- based natural resource management in Wodebeyesus Village, Debaitilatgin Woreda, Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kassa, H.S.

2008-01-01

Development is largely perceived as a process of building capacities, hence empowering people through training is to able to handle their affairs by them selves. The research examined the practical significance of action oriented training as a basic approach for sustainable management of natural

Improving Orientation Outcomes: Implementation of Phased Orientation Process in an Intermediate Special Care Nursery.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, Emily K; Shedenhelm, Heidi J; Gibbs, Ardyce L

2015-01-01

In response to changing needs of registered nurse orientees, the staff education committee in the Intermediate Special Care Nursery has implemented a phased orientation process. This phased process includes a mentoring experience postorientation to support a new nurse through the first year of employment. Since implementing the phased orientation process in the Intermediate Special Care Nursery, orientee satisfaction and preparation to practice have increased, and length of orientation has decreased.

Action-oriented characterization at Argonne National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moos, L.P.; Swale, R.E.

1995-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory-East and the US Department of Energy have initiated a voluntary corrective action strategy to characterize and clean up some of the on-site solid waste management units that are subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action process. This strategy is designed for the current atmosphere of reduced funding levels and, increased demands for cleanup actions. A focused characterization program is used to identify and roughly delineate the areas of greatest risk, relying as much as possible on existing data about the site; then, removal or interim remedial actions are implemented, where appropriate. Two interim cleanup operations were completed in 1994. Two additional interim actions are planned for 1995. Future actions may include decontamination operations, soil remediation, and construction of containment barriers

Resilient actions in the diagnostic process and system performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michael W; Davis Giardina, Traber; Murphy, Daniel R; Laxmisan, Archana; Singh, Hardeep

2013-12-01

Systemic issues can adversely affect the diagnostic process. Many system-related barriers can be masked by 'resilient' actions of frontline providers (ie, actions supporting the safe delivery of care in the presence of pressures that the system cannot readily adapt to). We explored system barriers and resilient actions of primary care providers (PCPs) in the diagnostic evaluation of cancer. We conducted a secondary data analysis of interviews of PCPs involved in diagnostic evaluation of 29 lung and colorectal cancer cases. Cases covered a range of diagnostic timeliness and were analysed to identify barriers for rapid diagnostic evaluation, and PCPs' actions involving elements of resilience addressing those barriers. We rated these actions according to whether they were usual or extraordinary for typical PCP work. Resilient actions and associated barriers were found in 59% of the cases, in all ranges of timeliness, with 40% involving actions rated as beyond typical. Most of the barriers were related to access to specialty services and coordination with patients. Many of the resilient actions involved using additional communication channels to solicit cooperation from other participants in the diagnostic process. Diagnostic evaluation of cancer involves several resilient actions by PCPs targeted at system deficiencies. PCPs' actions can sometimes mitigate system barriers to diagnosis, and thereby impact the sensitivity of 'downstream' measures (eg, delays) in detecting barriers. While resilient actions might enable providers to mitigate system deficiencies in the short run, they can be resource intensive and potentially unsustainable. They complement, rather than substitute for, structural remedies to improve system performance. Measures to detect and fix system performance issues targeted by these resilient actions could facilitate diagnostic safety.

Process-oriented instruction: Some considerations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, F.P.C.M. de

1995-01-01

This paper does not attempt to be an introduction on process-oriented instruction by providing all the assumptions and key principles. It rather highlights the necessary epistemological shift in education from learning as a receptive process towards learning as a constructive process. The basis for

Adaptive multiparameter control: application to a Rapid Thermal Processing process; Commande Adaptative Multivariable: Application a un Procede de Traitement Thermique Rapide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morales Mago, S J

1995-12-20

In this work the problem of temperature uniformity control in rapid thermal processing is addressed by means of multivariable adaptive control. Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) is a set of techniques proposed for semiconductor fabrication processes such as annealing, oxidation, chemical vapour deposition and others. The product quality depends on two mains issues: precise trajectory following and spatial temperature uniformity. RTP is a fabrication technique that requires a sophisticated real-time multivariable control system to achieve acceptable results. Modelling of the thermal behaviour of the process leads to very complex mathematical models. These are the reasons why adaptive control techniques are chosen. A multivariable linear discrete time model of the highly non-linear process is identified on-line, using an identification scheme which includes supervisory actions. This identified model, combined with a multivariable predictive control law allows to prevent the controller from systems variations. The control laws are obtained by minimization of a quadratic cost function or by pole placement. In some of these control laws, a partial state reference model was included. This reference model allows to incorporate an appropriate tracking capability into the control law. Experimental results of the application of the involved multivariable adaptive control laws on a RTP system are presented. (author) refs

The nursing process in crisis-oriented psychiatric home care.

Science.gov (United States)

Boomsma, J; Dingemans, C A; Dassen, T W

1997-08-01

Crisis-oriented psychiatric home care is a recent development in the Dutch mental health care system. Because of the difference between psychiatric care in the home and in the hospital, an action research project was initiated. This project was directed at the nursing process and the nurses' role and skills in psychiatric home care. The main goal of the project was to describe and to standardize nursing diagnoses and interventions used in crisis-oriented and long-term psychiatric home care. The development of supporting methods of assessment and intervention were also important aspects of this project. In this article a crisis-oriented psychiatric home care programme and the first developmental research activities within this programme are described. To support the nursing process, the development of a nursing record and an assessment-format, based on Gordon's Functional Health Patterns (FHP), took place. By means of content analysis of 61 nursing records, the most frequently stated nursing diagnoses, based upon the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) taxonomy, were identified. The psychiatric diagnostic categories of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) were also collected. The most common categories found were those of mood disorders and schizophrenia or psychotic disorders. Seventy-five per cent of the nursing diagnoses showed up within four FHP: role-relationship, coping-stress tolerance, self-perception/self-concept and activity-exercise. The nursing diagnosis of 'ineffective individual coping' was stated most frequently. This is not surprising because of the similarities in the definitions of this nursing diagnosis and the concept of 'crisis' to which the psychiatric home care programme is oriented. Further research activities will be focused on standardization of nursing diagnosis and the interventions that nurses undertake in this type of care.

Orientation of rapid thermally annealed lead zirconate titanate thin films on (111) Pt substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brooks, K.G.; Reaney, I.M.; Klissurska, R.; Huang, Y.; Bursill, L.A.; Setter, N.

1994-01-01

The nucleation, growth and orientation of lead zirconate titanate thin films prepared from organometallic precursor solutions by spin coating on (111) oriented platinum substrates and crystallized by rapid thermal annealing was investigated. The effects of pyrolysis temperature, post-pyrolysis thermal treatments, excess lead addition, and Nb dopant substitution are reported. The use of post pyrolysis oxygen anneals at temperatures in the regime of 350-450 deg C was found to strongly effect the kinetics of subsequent amorphous-pyrochlore perovskite crystallization by rapid thermal annealing. It has also allowed films of reproducible microstructure and textures (both (100) and (111)) to be prepared by rapid thermal annealing. It is suggested that such anneals and pyrolysis temperature affect the oxygen concentration/average Pb valence in the amorphous films prior to annealing. The changes in Pb valence state then affect the stability of the transient pyrochlore phase and thus the kinetics of perovskite crystallization. Nb dopant was also found to influence the crystallization kinetics. 28 refs., 18 figs

Adolescent Decision-Making Processes regarding University Entry: A Model Incorporating Cultural Orientation, Motivation and Occupational Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Jae Yup

2013-01-01

This study tested a newly developed model of the cognitive decision-making processes of senior high school students related to university entry. The model incorporated variables derived from motivation theory (i.e. expectancy-value theory and the theory of reasoned action), literature on cultural orientation and occupational considerations. A…

Orienting and Onboarding Clinical Nurse Specialists: A Process Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Mayra G; Watt, Jennifer L; Falder-Saeed, Karie; Lewis, Brennan; Patton, Lindsey

Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) have a unique advanced practice role. This article describes a process useful in establishing a comprehensive orientation and onboarding program for a newly hired CNS. The project team used the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists core competencies as a guide to construct a process for effectively onboarding and orienting newly hired CNSs. Standardized documents were created for the orientation process including a competency checklist, needs assessment template, and professional evaluation goals. In addition, other documents were revised to streamline the orientation process. Standardizing the onboarding and orientation process has demonstrated favorable results. As of 2016, 3 CNSs have successfully been oriented and onboarded using the new process. Unique healthcare roles require special focus when onboarding and orienting into a healthcare system. The use of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists core competencies guided the project in establishing a successful orientation and onboarding process for newly hired CNSs.

Advances in oriental document analysis and recognition techniques

CERN Document Server

Lee, Seong-Whan

1999-01-01

In recent years, rapid progress has been made in computer processing of oriental languages, and the research developments in this area have resulted in tremendous changes in handwriting processing, printed oriental character recognition, document analysis and recognition, automatic input methodologies for oriental languages, etc. Advances in computer processing of oriental languages can also be seen in multimedia computing and the World Wide Web. Many of the results in those domains are presented in this book.

a New Process-Oriented and Spatiotemporal Data Model for GIS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Y.

2018-04-01

With the rapid development of wireless sensor and information technology, there is a trend of transition from "digital monitoring" to "intelligence monitoring" advancing process. The traditional model cannot completely match the dynamic data to accurately describe changes of geographical and environmental changes. In this paper, we try to build a process-oriented and real-time spatiotemporal data model to meet the demands. With various types of monitoring devices, detection methods and the utilization of new technologies, the model can simulate the possible waterlog area in a specific year by analyzing the given data. By testing and modifying the spatiotemporal model, we can come to a rational conclusion that our model can forecast the actual situation in certain extent.

Engaging Chicago residents in climate change action: Results from Rapid Ethnographic Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Lynne M. Westphal; Jennifer. Hirsch

2010-01-01

Addressing climate change requires action at all levels of society, from neighborhood to international levels. Using Rapid Ethnography rooted in Asset Based Community Development theory, we investigated climate-friendly attitudes and behaviors in two Chicago neighborhoods in order to assist the City with implementation of its Climate Action Plan. Our research suggests...

Work Process in Primary Health Care: action research with Community Health Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordeiro, Luciana; Soares, Cassia Baldini

2015-11-01

The aim of this article was to describe and analyze the work of community health workers (CHW). The main objective of study was to analyze the development process of primary health care practices related to drug consumption. The study is based on the Marxist theoretical orientation and the action research methodology, which resulted in the performance of 15 emancipatory workshops. The category work process spawned the content analysis. It exposed the social abandonment of the environment in which the CHWs work is performed. The latter had an essential impact on the identification of the causes of drug-related problems. These findings made it possible to criticize the reiterative, stressful actions that are being undertaken there. Such an act resulted in raising of the awareness and creating the means for political action. The CHWs motivated themselves to recognize the object of the work process in primary health care, which they found to be the disease or addiction in the case of drug users. They have criticized this categorization as well as discussed the social division of work and the work itself whilst recognizing themselves as mere instruments in the work process. The latter has inspired the CHW to become subjects, or co-producers of transformations of social needs.

Getting a grip on your feelings: Effects of action orientation and external demands on intuitive affect regulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koole, S.L.; Jostmann, N.B.

2004-01-01

The authors propose that volitional action is supported by intuitive affect regulation, defined as flexible, efficient, and nonrepressive control of own affective states. Intuitive affect regulation should be most apparent among action-oriented individuals under demanding conditions. Consistent with

Study on a Process-oriented Knowledge Management Model

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Lingling; Li, Jun; Zheng, Xiuyu; Li, Xingsen; Shi, Yong

2007-01-01

Now knowledge has become the most important resource of enterprises. Process-oriented knowledge management (POKM) is a new and valuable research field. It may be the most practical method to deal with difficulties in knowledge management. The paper analyzes background, hypothesis and proposes of POKM, define the process knowledge, and give a process-oriented knowledge management model. The model integrates knowledge, process, human, and technology. It can improve the decision support capabili...

Process-Oriented Parallel Programming with an Application to Data-Intensive Computing

OpenAIRE

Givelberg, Edward

2014-01-01

We introduce process-oriented programming as a natural extension of object-oriented programming for parallel computing. It is based on the observation that every class of an object-oriented language can be instantiated as a process, accessible via a remote pointer. The introduction of process pointers requires no syntax extension, identifies processes with programming objects, and enables processes to exchange information simply by executing remote methods. Process-oriented programming is a h...

Effects of annealing schedule on orientation of Bi3.2Nd0.8Ti3O12 ferroelectric film prepared by chemical solution deposition process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, H.Y.; Huang, J.F.; Cao, L.Y.; Wang, L.S.

2006-01-01

Fatigue-free Bi 3.2 Nd 0.8 Ti 3 O 12 ferroelectric thin films were successfully prepared on p-Si(1 1 1) substrate using chemical solution deposition process. The orientation and formation of thin film under different annealing schedules were studied. XRD analysis indicated that (2 0 0)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (200) /I (117) = 2.097 and 0.466 were obtained by preannealing for 10 min at 400 deg. C followed by rapid thermal annealing for 3, 10 and 20 min at 700 deg. C, respectively (0 0 8)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (008) /I (117) = 1.706 were obtained by rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C without preannealing, and (0 0 8)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (008) /I (117) = 0.719 were obtained by preheating the film from room temperature at 20 deg. C/min followed by annealing for 10 min at 700 deg. C. The a-axis and c-axis orientation decreased as increase of annealing time due to effects of (1 1 1)-oriented substrate. AFM analysis further indicated that preannealing at 400 deg. C for 10 min followed by rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C resulted in formation of platelike crystallite parallel to substrate surface, however rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C without preannealing resulted in columnar crystallite perpendicular to substrate surface

Human cortical activity evoked by contextual processing in attentional orienting.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Shuo; Li, Chunlin; Uono, Shota; Yoshimura, Sayaka; Toichi, Motomi

2017-06-07

The ability to assess another person's direction of attention is paramount in social communication, many studies have reported a similar pattern between gaze and arrow cues in attention orienting. Neuroimaging research has also demonstrated no qualitative differences in attention to gaze and arrow cues. However, these studies were implemented under simple experiment conditions. Researchers have highlighted the importance of contextual processing (i.e., the semantic congruence between cue and target) in attentional orienting, showing that attentional orienting by social gaze or arrow cues could be modulated through contextual processing. Here, we examine the neural activity of attentional orienting by gaze and arrow cues in response to contextual processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results demonstrated that the influence of neural activity through contextual processing to attentional orienting occurred under invalid conditions (when the cue and target were incongruent versus congruent) in the ventral frontoparietal network, although we did not identify any differences in the neural substrates of attentional orienting in contextual processing between gaze and arrow cues. These results support behavioural data of attentional orienting modulated by contextual processing based on the neurocognitive architecture.

Development of functionally-oriented technological processes of electroerosive processing

Science.gov (United States)

Syanov, S. Yu

2018-03-01

The stages of the development of functionally oriented technological processes of electroerosive processing from the separation of the surfaces of parts and their service functions to the determination of the parameters of the process of electric erosion, which will provide not only the quality parameters of the surface layer, but also the required operational properties, are described.

Radiology image orientation processing for workstation display

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chung-Fu; Hu, Kermit; Wilson, Dennis L.

1998-06-01

Radiology images are acquired electronically using phosphor plates that are read in Computed Radiology (CR) readers. An automated radiology image orientation processor (RIOP) for determining the orientation for chest images and for abdomen images has been devised. In addition, the chest images are differentiated as front (AP or PA) or side (Lateral). Using the processing scheme outlined, hospitals will improve the efficiency of quality assurance (QA) technicians who orient images and prepare the images for presentation to the radiologists.

Cognitive, perceptual and action-oriented representations of falling objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Zago, Myrka; Lacquaniti, Francesco

2005-01-01

We interact daily with moving objects. How accurate are our predictions about objects' motions? What sources of information do we use? These questions have received wide attention from a variety of different viewpoints. On one end of the spectrum are the ecological approaches assuming that all the information about the visual environment is present in the optic array, with no need to postulate conscious or unconscious representations. On the other end of the spectrum are the constructivist approaches assuming that a more or less accurate representation of the external world is built in the brain using explicit or implicit knowledge or memory besides sensory inputs. Representations can be related to naive physics or to context cue-heuristics or to the construction of internal copies of environmental invariants. We address the issue of prediction of objects' fall at different levels. Cognitive understanding and perceptual judgment of simple Newtonian dynamics can be surprisingly inaccurate. By contrast, motor interactions with falling objects are often very accurate. We argue that the pragmatic action-oriented behaviour and the perception-oriented behaviour may use different modes of operation and different levels of representation.

Fast and accurate edge orientation processing during object manipulation

Science.gov (United States)

Flanagan, J Randall; Johansson, Roland S

2018-01-01

Quickly and accurately extracting information about a touched object’s orientation is a critical aspect of dexterous object manipulation. However, the speed and acuity of tactile edge orientation processing with respect to the fingertips as reported in previous perceptual studies appear inadequate in these respects. Here we directly establish the tactile system’s capacity to process edge-orientation information during dexterous manipulation. Participants extracted tactile information about edge orientation very quickly, using it within 200 ms of first touching the object. Participants were also strikingly accurate. With edges spanning the entire fingertip, edge-orientation resolution was better than 3° in our object manipulation task, which is several times better than reported in previous perceptual studies. Performance remained impressive even with edges as short as 2 mm, consistent with our ability to precisely manipulate very small objects. Taken together, our results radically redefine the spatial processing capacity of the tactile system. PMID:29611804

Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet

Science.gov (United States)

F. Stuart Chapin; Stephen R. Carpenter; Gary P. Kofinas; Carl Folke; Nick Abel; William C. Clark; Per Olsson; D. Mark Stafford Smith; Brian Walker; Oran R. Young; Fikret Berkes; Reinette Biggs; J. Morgan Grove; Rosamond L. Naylor; Evelyn Pinkerton; Will Steffen; Frederick J. Swanson

2010-01-01

Ecosystem stewardship is an action-oriented framework intended to foster the social-ecological sustainability of a rapidly changing planet. Recent developments identify three strategies that make optimal use of current understanding in an environment of inevitable uncertainty and abrupt change: reducing the magnitude of, and exposure and sensitivity to, known stresses...

Modeling the Object-Oriented Software Process: OPEN and the Unified Process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, Klaas; Aksit, Mehmet; van den Broek, P.M.

A short introduction to software process modeling is presented, particularly object-oriented modeling. Two major industrial process models are discussed: the OPEN model and the Unified Process model. In more detail, the quality assurance in the Unified Process tool (formally called Objectory) is

Modeling the Object-Oriented Software Process: OPEN and the Unified Process

OpenAIRE

van den Berg, Klaas; Aksit, Mehmet; van den Broek, P.M.

1999-01-01

A short introduction to software process modeling is presented, particularly object-oriented modeling. Two major industrial process models are discussed: the OPEN model and the Unified Process model. In more detail, the quality assurance in the Unified Process tool (formally called Objectory) is reviewed.

The Potential of Deweyan-Inspired Action Research

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, Jody L.

2014-01-01

In its broadest sense, pragmatism could be said to be the philosophical orientation of all action research. Action research is characterized by research, action, and participation grounded in democratic principles and guided by the aim of social improvement. Furthermore, action research is an active process of inquiry that does not admit…

Rapidly processable radiographic material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brabandere, L.A. de; Borginon, H.A.; Pattyn, H.A.; Pollet, R.J.

1981-01-01

A new rapidly processable radiographic silver halide material is described for use in mammography and non-destructive testing of industrial materials. The radiographic material is used for direct exposure to penetrating radiation without the use of fluorescent-intensifying screens. It consists of a transparent support with a layer of hydrophilic colloid silver halide emulsion on one or both sides. Examples of the preparation of three different silver halide emulsions are given including the use of different chemical sensitizers. These new radiographic materials have good resistance to the formation of pressure marks in rapid processing apparatus and they have improved sensitivity for direct exposure to penetrating radiation compared to conventional radiographic emulsions. (U.K.)

Rain: A New Concurrent Process-Oriented Programming Language

OpenAIRE

Brown, Neil C.C.

2006-01-01

This paper details the design of a new concurrent process-oriented programming language, Rain. The language borrows heavily from occam-p and C++ to create a new language based on process-oriented programming, marrying channel-based communication, a clear division between statement and expression, and elements of functional programming. An expressive yet simple type system, coupled with templates, underpins the language. Modern features such as Unicode support and 64-bit integers are included ...

Aspect-Oriented Business Process Modeling with AO4BPMN

Science.gov (United States)

Charfi, Anis; Müller, Heiko; Mezini, Mira

Many crosscutting concerns in business processes need to be addressed already at the business process modeling level such as compliance, auditing, billing, and separation of duties. However, existing business process modeling languages including OMG's Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) lack appropriate means for expressing such concerns in a modular way. In this paper, we motivate the need for aspect-oriented concepts in business process modeling languages and propose an aspect-oriented extension to BPMN called AO4BPMN. We also present a graphical editor supporting that extension.

Multicomponent domino processes based on the organocatalytic generation of conjugated acetylides: efficient synthetic manifolds for diversity-oriented molecular construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Tejedor, David; González-Cruz, David; Santos-Expósito, Alicia; Marrero-Tellado, Jose Juan; de Armas, Pedro; García-Tellado, Fernando

2005-06-06

The organocatalytic generation of a strong base by the action of a good nucleophile is the base for the in situ catalytic generation of conjugated acetylides in the presence of aldehydes or activated ketones. The method is affordable in a multicomponent, domino format able to generate a chemically diverse set of multifunctionalized adducts that are very well suited for diversity-oriented molecular construction. The domino process involves a nucleophile as catalyst and a terminal conjugated alkyne (H-C[triple chemical bond]C-Z) and an aldehyde or activated ketone as building blocks. The chemical outcome of this process changes dramatically as a function of the nucleophile (tertiary amine or phosphine), temperature, stoichiometry, and solvent. These multicomponent domino processes achieve molecular construction with good atom economy and, very importantly, with an exquisite chemo-differentiating incorporation of identical starting units into the products (nondegenerated chemical output). These properties convert the H-C[triple chemical bond]C-Z unit into a specific building block for diversity-oriented molecular construction. Applications to the modular and diversity-oriented synthesis of relevant heterocycles are discussed. A protocol involving two coupled domino processes linked in a one-pot manner will be discussed as an efficient synthetic manifold for the modular and diversity-oriented construction of multisubstituted nitrogen-containing heterocycles.

The coaching on lifestyle (CooL) intervention for obesity, a study protocol for an action-oriented mixed-methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rinsum, Celeste E; Gerards, Sanne M P L; Rutten, Geert M; van de Goor, Ien A M; Kremers, Stef P J

2018-01-08

Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) have proved to be effective in changing and maintaining behavioural lifestyle changes and reducing overweight and obesity, in clinical and real-world settings. In this CLI, lifestyle coaches are expected to promote lifestyle changes of participants regarding physical activity and diet. In the Coaching on Lifestyle (CooL) intervention, which takes a period of 8 to 10 months, lifestyle coaches counsel adults and children aged 4 years and older (and their parents) who are obese or are overweight with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or type II diabetes. In group and individual sessions, themes such as physical activity, dietary behaviours, sleep and stress are addressed. The aim of the present study is to monitor the implementation process of the CooL intervention and to examine how the lifestyle coaches contribute to a healthier lifestyle of the participants. This action-oriented study involves monitoring the implementation process of the CooL intervention and examining the lifestyle changes achieved by participants over time, in a one-group pre-post design using mixed methods. Methods include semi-structured interviews, observations, document analysis, biomedical parameters and questionnaires. The added value of the CooL study lies in its action-oriented approach and the use of mixed methods, including both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The long-term coaching used in the CooL intervention is expected to have beneficial effects on sustained lifestyle changes. NTR6208 ; date registered: 13-01-2017.

With you or against you: social orientation dependent learning signals guide actions made for others.

Science.gov (United States)

Christopoulos, George I; King-Casas, Brooks

2015-01-01

In social environments, it is crucial that decision-makers take account of the impact of their actions not only for oneself, but also on other social agents. Previous work has identified neural signals in the striatum encoding value-based prediction errors for outcomes to oneself; also, recent work suggests that neural activity in prefrontal cortex may similarly encode value-based prediction errors related to outcomes to others. However, prior work also indicates that social valuations are not isomorphic, with social value orientations of decision-makers ranging on a cooperative to competitive continuum; this variation has not been examined within social learning environments. Here, we combine a computational model of learning with functional neuroimaging to examine how individual differences in orientation impact neural mechanisms underlying 'other-value' learning. Across four experimental conditions, reinforcement learning signals for other-value were identified in medial prefrontal cortex, and were distinct from self-value learning signals identified in striatum. Critically, the magnitude and direction of the other-value learning signal depended strongly on an individual's cooperative or competitive orientation toward others. These data indicate that social decisions are guided by a social orientation-dependent learning system that is computationally similar but anatomically distinct from self-value learning. The sensitivity of the medial prefrontal learning signal to social preferences suggests a mechanism linking such preferences to biases in social actions and highlights the importance of incorporating heterogeneous social predispositions in neurocomputational models of social behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Action-oriented use of ergonomic checkpoints for healthy work design in different settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Kogi, Kazutaka

2007-12-01

Recent experiences in the action-oriented use of ergonomic checkpoints in different work settings are reviewed. The purpose is to know what features are useful for healthy work design adjusted to each local situation. Based on the review results, common features of ergonomic checkpoints used in participatory training programs for improving workplace conditions in small enterprises, construction sites, home work and agriculture in industrially developing countries in Asia are discussed. These checkpoints generally compile practical improvement options in a broad range of technical areas, such as materials handling, workstation design, physical environment and work organization. Usually, "action checklists" comprising the tiles of the checkpoints are used together. A clear focus is placed on readily applicable low-cost options. Three common features of these various checkpoints appear to be important. First, the checkpoints represent typical good practices in multiple areas. Second, each how-to section of these checkpoints presents simple improvements reflecting basic ergonomic principles. Examples of these principles include easy reach, fewer and faster transport, elbow-level work, coded displays, isolated or screened hazards and shared teamwork. Third, the illustrated checkpoints accompanied by corresponding checklists are used as group work tools in short-term training courses. Many practical improvements achieved are displayed in websites for inter-country work improvement networks. It is suggested to promote the use of locally adjusted checkpoints in various forms of participatory action-oriented training in small-scale workplaces and in agriculture particularly in industrially developing countries.

Process-oriented semantic web search

CERN Document Server

Tran, DT

2011-01-01

The book is composed of two main parts. The first part is a general study of Semantic Web Search. The second part specifically focuses on the use of semantics throughout the search process, compiling a big picture of Process-oriented Semantic Web Search from different pieces of work that target specific aspects of the process.In particular, this book provides a rigorous account of the concepts and technologies proposed for searching resources and semantic data on the Semantic Web. To collate the various approaches and to better understand what the notion of Semantic Web Search entails, this bo

Social Workers’ Orientation Toward the Evidence-Based Practice Process

Science.gov (United States)

Kolmer, Deirdre M. Beneken genaamd; Schalk, René

2014-01-01

Objectives: This study assesses social workers’ orientation toward the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and explores which specific variables (e.g. age) are associated. Methods: Data were collected from 341 Dutch social workers through an online survey which included a Dutch translation of the EBP Process Assessment Scale (EBPPAS), along with 13 background/demographic questions. Results: The overall level of orientation toward the EBP process is relatively low. Although respondents are slightly familiar with it and have slightly positive attitudes about it, their intentions to engage in it and their actual engagement are relatively low. Respondents who followed a course on the EBP process as a student are more oriented toward it than those who did not. Social workers under 29 are more familiar with the EBP process than those over 29. Conclusions: We recommend educators to take a more active role in teaching the EBP process to students and social workers. PMID:27630517

The effects of process-oriented organizational design on firm performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kohlbacher, M.; Reijers, H.A.

2013-01-01

Purpose – Several organizations choose a process-oriented organizational design as a source for competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically the relationship between process orientation (PO) and firm performance. The paper considers PO as a multidimensional construct

Flow Kinematics and Particle Orientations during Composite Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiba, Kunji

2007-01-01

The mechanism of orientation of fibers or thin micro-particles in various flows involving the processing of composite materials has not been fully understood although it is much significant to obtain the knowledge of the processing operations of particle reinforced composites as well as to improve the properties of the advanced composites. The objective of this paper is to introduce and well understand the evolution of the particle orientation in a suspension flow and flow kinematics induced by suspended particles by means of our two research work

Models for Trustworthy Service and Process Oriented Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lopez, Hugo Andres

2010-01-01

Service and process-oriented systems promise to provide more efective business and work processes and more flexible and adaptable enterprise IT systems. However, the technologies and standards are still young and unstable, making research in their theoretical foundations increasingly important. Our...... studies focus on two dichotomies: the global/local views of service interactions, and their imperative/declarative specification. A global view of service interactions describes a process as a protocol for interactions, as e.g. an UML sequence diagram or a WS-CDL choreography. A local view describes...... thesis is that we can provide a theoretical framework based on typed concurrent process and concurrent constraint calculi for the specication, analysis and verication of service and process oriented system designs which bridges the global and local view and combines the imperative and declarative...

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, James N; Howard, Ian S; Flanagan, J Randall; Wolpert, Daniel M

2011-09-01

Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field) perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar object dynamics

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James N Ingram

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar

Using action research to build mentor capacity to improve orientation and quality of nursing students' aged care placements: what to do when the phone rings.

Science.gov (United States)

Lea, Emma J; Andrews, Sharon; Stronach, Megan; Marlow, Annette; Robinson, Andrew L

2017-07-01

To describe whether an action research approach can be used to build capacity of residential aged care facility staff to support undergraduate nursing students' clinical placements in residential aged care facilities, using development of an orientation programme as an exemplar. Aged care facilities are unpopular sites for nursing students' clinical placements. A contributing factor is the limited capacity of staff to provide students with a positive placement experience. Strategies to build mentor capability to shape student placements and support learning and teaching are critical if nursing students are to have positive placements that attract them to aged care after graduation, an imperative given the increasing care needs of the ageing population worldwide. Action research approach employing mixed-methods data collection (primarily qualitative with a quantitative component). Aged care facility staff (n = 32) formed a mentor group at each of two Tasmanian facilities and met regularly to support undergraduate nursing students (n = 40) during placements. Group members planned, enacted, reviewed and reflected on orientation procedures to welcome students, familiarise them with the facility and prepare them for their placement. Data comprised transcripts from these and parallel student meetings, and orientation data from student questionnaires from two successive placement periods (2011/2012). Problems were identified in the orientation processes for the initial student placements. Mentors implemented a revised orientation programme. Evaluation demonstrated improved programme outcomes for students regarding knowledge of facility operations, their responsibilities and emergency procedures. Action research provides an effective approach to engage aged care facility staff to build their capacity to support clinical placements. Building capacity in the aged care workforce is vital to provide appropriate care for residents with increasing care needs. © 2016 John

Rapid thermal processing of semiconductors

CERN Document Server

Borisenko, Victor E

1997-01-01

Rapid thermal processing has contributed to the development of single wafer cluster processing tools and other innovations in integrated circuit manufacturing environments Borisenko and Hesketh review theoretical and experimental progress in the field, discussing a wide range of materials, processes, and conditions They thoroughly cover the work of international investigators in the field

Covert rapid action-memory simulation (CRAMS): a hypothesis of hippocampal-prefrontal interactions for adaptive behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jane X; Cohen, Neal J; Voss, Joel L

2015-01-01

Effective choices generally require memory, yet little is known regarding the cognitive or neural mechanisms that allow memory to influence choices. We outline a new framework proposing that covert memory processing of hippocampus interacts with action-generation processing of prefrontal cortex in order to arrive at optimal, memory-guided choices. Covert, rapid action-memory simulation (CRAMS) is proposed here as a framework for understanding cognitive and/or behavioral choices, whereby prefrontal-hippocampal interactions quickly provide multiple simulations of potential outcomes used to evaluate the set of possible choices. We hypothesize that this CRAMS process is automatic, obligatory, and covert, meaning that many cycles of action-memory simulation occur in response to choice conflict without an individual's necessary intention and generally without awareness of the simulations, leading to adaptive behavior with little perceived effort. CRAMS is thus distinct from influential proposals that adaptive memory-based behavior in humans requires consciously experienced memory-based construction of possible future scenarios and deliberate decisions among possible future constructions. CRAMS provides an account of why hippocampus has been shown to make critical contributions to the short-term control of behavior, and it motivates several new experimental approaches and hypotheses that could be used to better understand the ubiquitous role of prefrontal-hippocampal interactions in situations that require adaptively using memory to guide choices. Importantly, this framework provides a perspective that allows for testing decision-making mechanisms in a manner that translates well across human and nonhuman animal model systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Rapid mask prototyping for microfluidics.

Science.gov (United States)

Maisonneuve, B G C; Honegger, T; Cordeiro, J; Lecarme, O; Thiry, T; Fuard, D; Berton, K; Picard, E; Zelsmann, M; Peyrade, D

2016-03-01

With the rise of microfluidics for the past decade, there has come an ever more pressing need for a low-cost and rapid prototyping technology, especially for research and education purposes. In this article, we report a rapid prototyping process of chromed masks for various microfluidic applications. The process takes place out of a clean room, uses a commercially available video-projector, and can be completed in less than half an hour. We quantify the ranges of fields of view and of resolutions accessible through this video-projection system and report the fabrication of critical microfluidic components (junctions, straight channels, and curved channels). To exemplify the process, three common devices are produced using this method: a droplet generation device, a gradient generation device, and a neuro-engineering oriented device. The neuro-engineering oriented device is a compartmentalized microfluidic chip, and therefore, required the production and the precise alignment of two different masks.

A Christian educational perspective on the process oriented approach to intrinsic motivation

OpenAIRE

Mechaéla Scott

1992-01-01

Within the classroom context, albeit school or university, intrinsic motivation can effectively be described and changed if a process-oriented approach is employed. The question is posed whether a process-oriented approach to motivation is acceptable to Christian education. To answer this question, intrinsic motivation and the process-oriented approach to motivation are described. A Christian view of self-knowledge and control, which are the main components of a process-oricnted approach to m...

Implementing BPM systems: the role of process orientation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reijers, H.A.

2006-01-01

Purpose – The presentation and validation of a checklist that can be used to determine an organization's process orientation prior to a business process management systems (BPMS) implementation. Its aim is to help predict the success of BPMS implementation on the basis of the identified process

Review on CNC-Rapid Prototyping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

M Nafis O Z; Nafrizuan M Y; Munira M A; Kartina J

2012-01-01

This article reviewed developments of Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) technology in rapid prototyping process. Rapid prototyping (RP) can be classified into three major groups; subtractive, additive and virtual. CNC rapid prototyping is grouped under the subtractive category which involves material removal from the workpiece that is larger than the final part. Richard Wysk established the use of CNC machines for rapid prototyping using sets of 2½-D tool paths from various orientations about a rotary axis to machine parts without refixturing. Since then, there are few developments on this process mainly aimed to optimized the operation and increase the process capabilities to stand equal with common additive type of RP. These developments include the integration between machining and deposition process (hybrid RP), adoption of RP to the conventional machine and optimization of the CNC rapid prototyping process based on controlled parameters. The article ended by concluding that the CNC rapid prototyping research area has a vast space for improvement as in the conventional machining processes. Further developments and findings will enhance the usage of this method and minimize the limitation of current approach in building a prototype.

Climate Action Planning Process | Climate Neutral Research Campuses | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Action Planning Process Climate Action Planning Process For research campuses, NREL has developed a five-step process to develop and implement climate action plans: Determine baseline energy consumption Analyze technology options Prepare a plan and set priorities Implement the climate action plan Measure and

Towards a Web-Based Handbook of Generic, Process-Oriented Learning Designs

Science.gov (United States)

Marjanovic, Olivera

2005-01-01

Process-oriented learning designs are innovative learning activities that include a set of inter-related learning tasks and are generic (could be used across disciplines). An example includes a problem-solving process widely used in problem-based learning today. Most of the existing process-oriented learning designs are not documented, let alone…

LCA as a Tool for Assessing Product and Process Oriented Eco-Innovations Undertaken by Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rybaczewska-Błażejowska Magdalena

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the application of life cycle assessment (LCA as an approach to foster the product and process oriented eco- innovation of enterprises, using the fruit and vegetable processing plant as an example. LCA, which is traditionally used to assess the impacts of a single product system on the environment, was applied in the enterprise context. This was made possible by forming an indicator describing the environmental profile of an enterprise, which is calculated by the sum of the multiplication of the environmental impact assessment (LCIA results for individual unit processes within a particular impact category and their weights reflecting the structure of production in an enterprise. In order to distinguish and indicate the direction in which an enterprise should undertake its eco-innovative actions (implementing eco-innovations within the product or production process the LCIA results are presented individually for products and production processes. The research was conducted in full compliance with the LCA methodology. LCA proved that the analysed enterprise has the largest negative impacts on the environment in the following impact categories: marine eco-toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity and natural land transformation. They result primarily from the consumption of thermal and electric energy in the production processes. Therefore, to improve energy efficiency, the enterprise should take eco-innovative actions in the processes applied.

Effective action for the Regge processes in gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lipatov, L.N. [Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Gatchina, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Hamburg Univ. (Germany). 2. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik

2011-05-15

It is shown, that the effective action for the reggeized graviton interactions can be formulated in terms of the reggeon fields A{sup ++} and A{sup --} and the metric tensor g{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}} in such a way, that it is local in the rapidity space and has the property of general covariance. The corresponding effective currents j{sup -} and j{sup +} satisfy the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for a massless particle moving in the gravitational field. These currents are calculated explicitly for the shock wave-like fields and a variation principle for them is formulated. As an application, we reproduce the effective lagrangian for the multi-regge processes in gravity together with the graviton Regge trajectory in the leading logarithmic approximation with taking into account supersymmetric contributions. (orig.)

Joint Contribution of Left Dorsal Premotor Cortex and Supramarginal Gyrus to Rapid Action Reprogramming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartwigsen, Gesa; Siebner, Hartwig R

2015-01-01

human subjects performed a spatially-precued reaction time task. RESULTS: Relative to sham rTMS, effective online perturbation of left PMd significantly impaired both the response speed and accuracy in trials that were invalidly pre-cued and required the subject to reprogram the prepared action......BACKGROUND: The rapid adaptation of actions to changes in the environment is crucial for survival. We previously demonstrated a joint contribution of left dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) to action reprogramming. However, we did not probe the contribution of PMd...... to the speed and accuracy of action reprogramming and how the functional relevance of PMd changes in the presence of a dysfunctional SMG. OBJECTIVE: This study further dissociated the unique contribution of left PMd and SMG to action reprogramming. Specifically, we tested whether the critical contribution...

BPMN as a Communication Language for the Process- and Event-Oriented Perspectives in Fact-Oriented Conceptual Models

Science.gov (United States)

Bollen, Peter

In this paper we will show how the OMG specification of BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) can be used to model the process- and event-oriented perspectives of an application subject area. We will illustrate how the fact-oriented conceptual models for the information-, process- and event perspectives can be used in a 'bottom-up' approach for creating a BPMN model in combination with other approaches, e.g. the use of a textual description. We will use the common doctor's office example as a running example in this article.

The implementation of process orientation at a Swedish hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Fältholm, Ylva; Jansson, Anna

2008-01-01

During the last decade, as a response to the need for inter- as well as intra-organizational integration, management models initially developed for industry have been spread to health care organizations. Based on 62 in-depth interviews, this qualitative study aims at describing and analyzing the limited success of implementation of process orientation at a Swedish hospital and in doing so, the traditional and the critical approaches are combined. Applying a traditional approach, the limited success of the implementation of process orientation is explained in terms of difficulties to challenge deeply institutionalized organizational routines and the inter-disciplinary boundaries. This might be condensed to the dilemma of how to maintain and develop the specialization of the medical profession while focusing process rather than function and how to enhance inter-organizational integration without hampering intra-organizational collaboration. Applying a critical approach, the limited success is explained in terms of a differentiated translation process and in terms of separation of talk and practice. This means that process orientation, notwithstanding that it might be an efficient tool for the type of integration needed, might be regarded as part of a change discourse, aiming at conveying a picture of an efficient and modern organization.

Behavior of Goss, {411}<148>, and {111}<112> Oriented Grains During Recrystallization and Decarburization After Cold-rolling of Fe-3.1% GrainOriented Electrical Steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Sung-Ji; Park, No-Jin [Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi (Korea, Republic of); Joo, Hyung-Don; Park, Jong-Tae [POSCO, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-07-15

Grain-oriented electrical steel is used as a core material in transformers and motors. To obtain improved magnetic properties from the grain-oriented electrical steel, the steel should have a strong {110}<001> Goss texture. Recently, controlled manufacturing processes have been employed for developing electrical steels with a strong Goss texture. It is important to carry out research on the {411}<148> and {111}<112> oriented grains in relation to coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries, as they have an effect on the easy growth of the Goss grains upon secondary recrystallization. In this study, the behavior of the{411}<148> and {111}<112> oriented grains, which are neighbored with Goss grains after recrystallization with rapid and typical heating rates, and after decarburization, was examined by using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements. In the decarburized specimen, the Goss grains encroached the {411}<148> and {111}<112> oriented grains to a greater extent with a rapid heating rate than with a typical heating rate, and larger Goss grains were observed with the rapid heating rate. The {111}<112> oriented grains especially affect the easy growth of the Goss grains, as they are located near the Goss grains. Therefore, larger Goss grains can be produced at rapid heating rates, and the product is estimated to exhibit improved magnetic properties after secondary recrystallization.

THE USE OF UAS FOR RAPID 3D MAPPING IN GEOMATICS EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T.-A. Teo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available With the development of technology, UAS is an advance technology to support rapid mapping for disaster response. The aim of this study is to develop educational modules for UAS data processing in rapid 3D mapping. The designed modules for this study are focused on UAV data processing from available freeware or trial software for education purpose. The key modules include orientation modelling, 3D point clouds generation, image georeferencing and visualization. The orientation modelling modules adopts VisualSFM to determine the projection matrix for each image station. Besides, the approximate ground control points are measured from OpenStreetMap for absolute orientation. The second module uses SURE and the orientation files from previous module for 3D point clouds generation. Then, the ground point selection and digital terrain model generation can be archived by LAStools. The third module stitches individual rectified images into a mosaic image using Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor. The last module visualizes and measures the generated dense point clouds in CloudCompare. These comprehensive UAS processing modules allow the students to gain the skills to process and deliver UAS photogrammetric products in rapid 3D mapping. Moreover, they can also apply the photogrammetric products for analysis in practice.

A novice's process of object-oriented programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caspersen, Michael Edelgaard; Kölling, Michael

2006-01-01

Exposing students to the process of programming is merely implied but not explicitly addressed in texts on programming which appear to deal with 'program' as a noun rather than as a verb.We present a set of principles and techniques as well as an informal but systematic process of decomposing...... a programming problem. Two examples are used to demonstrate the application of process and techniques.The process is a carefully down-scaled version of a full and rich software engineering process particularly suited for novices learning object-oriented programming. In using it, we hope to achieve two things...

Action-State Orientation and the Theory of Planned Behavior: A Study of Job Search in China

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zhaoli; Wanberg, Connie; Niu, Xiongying; Xie, Yizhong

2006-01-01

Job search is an important element of people's careers and is especially critical for unemployed individuals. The current study surveyed a sample of 328 unemployed job seekers in China to test hypotheses related to the theory of planned behavior and action-state orientation theory. Results of the three-wave longitudinal study demonstrated that the…

A Christian educational perspective on the process oriented approach to intrinsic motivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mechaéla Scott

1992-03-01

Full Text Available Within the classroom context, albeit school or university, intrinsic motivation can effectively be described and changed if a process-oriented approach is employed. The question is posed whether a process-oriented approach to motivation is acceptable to Christian education. To answer this question, intrinsic motivation and the process-oriented approach to motivation are described. A Christian view of self-knowledge and control, which are the main components of a process-oricnted approach to motivation, is subsequently given and the process-oriented approach to motivation is subjected to a Christian evaluation. The conclusions are drawn that this approach can fruitfully be used in Christian education, given that self-knowledge and control arc interpreted within the context of the concept of the student as God’s representative on earth and the fact that God equipped him adequately with cognitive, affective and conative abilities to respond to His call to discover, develop and rule the earth actively.

Rapid DNA analysis for automated processing and interpretation of low DNA content samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Turingan, Rosemary S; Vasantgadkar, Sameer; Palombo, Luke; Hogan, Catherine; Jiang, Hua; Tan, Eugene; Selden, Richard F

2016-01-01

Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis of casework samples with low DNA content include those resulting from the transfer of epithelial cells from the skin to an object (e.g., cells on a water bottle, or brim of a cap), blood spatter stains, and small bone and tissue fragments. Low DNA content (LDC) samples are important in a wide range of settings, including disaster response teams to assist in victim identification and family reunification, military operations to identify friend or foe, criminal forensics to identify suspects and exonerate the innocent, and medical examiner and coroner offices to identify missing persons. Processing LDC samples requires experienced laboratory personnel, isolated workstations, and sophisticated equipment, requires transport time, and involves complex procedures. We present a rapid DNA analysis system designed specifically to generate STR profiles from LDC samples in field-forward settings by non-technical operators. By performing STR in the field, close to the site of collection, rapid DNA analysis has the potential to increase throughput and to provide actionable information in real time. A Low DNA Content BioChipSet (LDC BCS) was developed and manufactured by injection molding. It was designed to function in the fully integrated Accelerated Nuclear DNA Equipment (ANDE) instrument previously designed for analysis of buccal swab and other high DNA content samples (Investigative Genet. 4(1):1-15, 2013). The LDC BCS performs efficient DNA purification followed by microfluidic ultrafiltration of the purified DNA, maximizing the quantity of DNA available for subsequent amplification and electrophoretic separation and detection of amplified fragments. The system demonstrates accuracy, precision, resolution, signal strength, and peak height ratios appropriate for casework analysis. The LDC rapid DNA analysis system is effective for the generation of STR profiles from a wide range of sample types. The technology broadens the range of sample

Mathematical Processes: A Viewpoint-oriented Manipulation Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badie, Farshad

2008-01-01

View-point oriented manipulation of concepts can be helpful for generating new ideas in basic sciences and in the meantime, justifying the processes that are principally meaningful to the related disciplines. Mathematics, as a major ground for basic sciences, seems to be an appropriate exemplar t...

Process-oriented Design Methodology for the (Inter-) Organizational Intellectual Capital Management

OpenAIRE

Galeitzke, Mila; Oertwig, Nicole; Orth, Ronald; Kohl, Holger

2016-01-01

The development of a process-oriented design methodology for the visualization of intellectual capital in organisational business processes is described in this contribution. A tangible and intangible resource-oriented taxonomy in an integrated enterprise modelling environment is established. The comprehensive assessment, allocation and referencing of intellectual capital (human, structural and relational capital) counters the underutilization of available intellectual capital and allows for ...

Automating the Object-Oriented Software Development Process: Workshop Report

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aksit, Mehmet; Tekinerdogan, B.

1998-01-01

Cost-effective realization of robust, adaptable and reusable software systems demands efficient and effective management of the overall software production process. Current object-oriented methods are not completely formalized and lack the ability of reasoning about the quality of processes and

Automating the Object-Oriented Software Development Process: Workshop Report

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aksit, Mehmet; Demeyer, S.; Bosch, H.G.P.; Tekinerdogan, B.

Cost-effective realization of robust, adaptable and reusable software systems demands efficient and effective management of the overall software production process. Current object-oriented methods are not completely formalized and lack the ability of reasoning about the quality of processes and

Behavioral Recommendations in Health Research News as Cues to Action: Self-Relevancy and Self-Efficacy Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chingching

2016-08-01

This study argues that behavioral recommendations in health news function as cues to action. A proposed self-oriented model seeks to explore the impacts of behavioral recommendations in health research news as cues to action through their influences on self-relevancy and self-efficacy. A content analysis (Study 1) first establishes that health research news commonly features behavioral recommendations. A message experiment (Study 2) then explores the utility of behavioral recommendations as cues to action by demonstrating a self-relevancy effect: Health research news with, as opposed to without, behavioral recommendations increases the self-relevancy of advocated health behaviors, which then improve people's attitudes toward and intentions to adopt those behaviors. A second message experiment (Study 3) tests whether varying presentations of behavioral recommendations alter their effectiveness as cues to action and thus people's behavioral intentions through a dual effect process. In addition to the previously demonstrated self-relevancy effect, this experiment shows that concrete, as opposed to abstract, behavioral recommendations trigger a self-efficacy effect, increasing perceived self-efficacy and further improving behavioral intentions.

Capability-oriented agent theory and its applications in dependable systems and process engineering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thunem, Atoosa P-J.

2004-04-15

During the rapid growth of computerised systems in the past 15 years, the variety of services and their efficiency have been the strongest deciding factors in design and development of the systems within various industrial branches. At the same time, the introduction and popularity of emerging design and development techniques seems to have forced the industry to include these in their product development process. Unfortunately, too many examples of lack of use or erroneous use of these techniques within industries such as telecommunications, telemedicine, aerospace and indeed the energy sector indicate that a common understanding of and belief in the rationale behind the techniques and their solution domains has not been obtained. At the same time, a tremendous increase in the number of emerging techniques has made such an understanding difficult to gain, especially when the techniques share the same application field, but differ in few yet important issues. Finally, the lack of knowledge about system aspects and the integration of various abstraction levels to describe them have added even more to the confusion on how to use different techniques. The work resulting in the Capability-Oriented Agent Theory began while trying to find more descriptive system models, taking into account a wider selection of system aspects. Although related to object-oriented and agent-oriented principles, the theory differs from such principles in many respects. Among others, its focal point is on a category of system aspects neither addressed nor recognised within such principles before. Additionally, the theory opposes the well-established idea of distinct separation between requirement, design, implementation and test specifications, but suggests a systematic integration of the related activities, hence to increase their traceability and intercommunication in both a top-down and a bottom-up manner along the development process. (Author)

Rapid prototyping using robot welding : process description

OpenAIRE

Ribeiro, António Fernando; Norrish, John

1997-01-01

Rapid Prototyping is a relatively recent technique to produce component prototypes for industry in a much shorter period of time, since the time to market a product is essential to its success. A new Rapid Prototyping process which uses metal as the raw material had been under development at Cranfield University in the last few years. The process uses a Gas Metal Arc fusion welding robot which deposits successive layers of metal in such way that it forms a 3D solid component. Firstly, a CAD s...

Rapid thermal processing by stamping

Science.gov (United States)

Stradins, Pauls; Wang, Qi

2013-03-05

A rapid thermal processing device and methods are provided for thermal processing of samples such as semiconductor wafers. The device has components including a stamp (35) having a stamping surface and a heater or cooler (40) to bring it to a selected processing temperature, a sample holder (20) for holding a sample (10) in position for intimate contact with the stamping surface; and positioning components (25) for moving the stamping surface and the stamp (35) in and away from intimate, substantially non-pressured contact. Methods for using and making such devices are also provided. These devices and methods allow inexpensive, efficient, easily controllable thermal processing.

Designing dependable process-oriented software - a CSP-based approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jovanovic, D.S.

2006-01-01

This thesis advocates dependability as a crucial aspect of software quality. Process orientation,as it is defined in this thesis, concentrates on the notion of a process as a basic building component of a dataflow-centred software architecture. The dependability approach in the proposed variant of

Career-Oriented Performance Tasks in Chemistry: Effects on Students Integrated Science Process Skills

OpenAIRE

Allen A. Espinosa; Sheryl Lyn C. Monterola; Amelia E. Punzalan

2013-01-01

The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach against the traditional teaching approach (TTA) in enhancing students’ integrated science process skills. Specifically, it sought to find out if students exposed to COPT have higher integrated science process skills than those students exposed to the traditional teaching approach (TTA). Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach aims to integrate career-oriented examples and inquiry-b...

Rapid thermal processing and beyond applications in semiconductor processing

CERN Document Server

Lerch, W

2008-01-01

Heat-treatment and thermal annealing are very common processing steps which have been employed during semiconductor manufacturing right from the beginning of integrated circuit technology. In order to minimize undesired diffusion, and other thermal budget-dependent effects, the trend has been to reduce the annealing time sharply by switching from standard furnace batch-processing (involving several hours or even days), to rapid thermal processing involving soaking times of just a few seconds. This transition from thermal equilibrium, to highly non-equilibrium, processing was very challenging a

Effects of the Angle of Approaching a Spot for a Manufacturing Action on Whole-body Orientation and Position

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chang, S.W.; Wang, M.J.; Delleman, N.J.

2007-01-01

In general manufacturing consists of a sequence of actions on different spots. Depending on the sequence, workers may have to approach a spot from varying angles. The purpose of the study conducted was to describe the whole-body orientation and position when approaching a spot for a manufacturing

Spontaneous processing of functional and non-functional action sequences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielbo, Kristoffer Laigaard; Sørensen, Jesper

2011-01-01

as sub-categories of non-functional behavior (i.e., actions lacking causal coherence and a necessary integration between subparts). New insights in human action processing can help us explain how cognition might vary depending on the type of behavior processed. Using an event segmentation paradigm, we...... conducted two experiments eliciting differences in participants' response patterns to functional and non-functional actions. Participants consistently segmented non-functional action sequences into smaller units indicating either an attentional shift to the level of gesture analysis or a problem...... of representational integration. Experimental studies of non-functional behavior can strengthen explanations of recurrent features of human action processing, such as ritual and ritualized behavior, as well as indicate potential sources and effects of breakdown of the system....

Attention, biological motion, and action recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, James; Parasuraman, Raja

2012-01-02

Interacting with others in the environment requires that we perceive and recognize their movements and actions. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies have indicated that a number of brain regions, particularly the superior temporal sulcus, are involved in a number of processes essential for action recognition, including the processing of biological motion and processing the intentions of actions. We review the behavioral and neuroimaging evidence suggesting that while some aspects of action recognition might be rapid and effective, they are not necessarily automatic. Attention is particularly important when visual information about actions is degraded or ambiguous, or if competing information is present. We present evidence indicating that neural responses associated with the processing of biological motion are strongly modulated by attention. In addition, behavioral and neuroimaging evidence shows that drawing inferences from the actions of others is attentionally demanding. The role of attention in action observation has implications for everyday social interactions and workplace applications that depend on observing, understanding and interpreting actions. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Neurohormones, Brain, and Behavior: A Comparative Approach to Understanding Rapid Neuroendocrine Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Calisi, Rebecca M; Saldanha, Colin J

2015-08-01

The definition of a hormone has been in part delineated by its journey to distant receptor targets. Following activation of a receptor, a subsequent reaction facilitates the regulation of physiology and, ultimately, behavior. However, a growing number of studies report that hormones can influence these events at a previously underappreciated high speed. With the potential to act as neurotransmitters, the definition of a hormone and its mechanisms of action are evolving. In this symposium, we united scientists who use contemporary molecular, electrophysiological, and biochemical approaches to study aspects of rapid hormone action in a broad array of systems across different levels of biological organization. What emerged was an overwhelming consensus that the use of integrative and comparative approaches fuels discovery and increases our understanding of de novo hormone synthesis, local actions of neurohormones, and subsequent effects on neuroplasticity and behavior. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Action

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korsgaard, Steffen T.; Anderson, Alistair

Abstract Objectives - This paper explores how entrepreneurial action can lead to environmental sustainability. It builds on the assumption that the creation of sustainble practices is one of the most important challenges facing the global society, and that entrepreneurial action is a vital......: resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurial action.  Approach - The paper uses a case study approach to build deeper theoretical knowledge of environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship.  Results - The paper identifies and analyses a distinct form of sustainable entrepreneurship -  resource oriented...... entrepreneurship - which uses bricolage in various ways to create sustainable solutions. Implications and value - The concept of resource oriented sustainable entrepreneurship contributes to the theoretical understanding of how entrepreneurial action can support sustainability, Furthermore the case study has...

Super-rapid medical film processing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honda, C.; Iwata, M.; Nozaki, H.

1988-01-01

A new super-rapid medical film processing system cuts processing time from 90 to 45 seconds, a critical advantage in traumatic injury, surgical operation, and other time-vital applications. The system consists of new films new processing chemicals (developer and fixer), and a new high-speed medical film processor. The system's creation is made possible by three new technologies. In film, multilayered monodispersed grains reduce processing time. In processing chemicals, an innovative design maximizes processing speed. And in the processor itself, a new drying apparatus increases drying efficiency. Together, these technologies achieve 45-second processing without degradation of image quality

Precursor processes of human self-initiated action.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalighinejad, Nima; Schurger, Aaron; Desantis, Andrea; Zmigrod, Leor; Haggard, Patrick

2018-01-15

A gradual buildup of electrical potential over motor areas precedes self-initiated movements. Recently, such "readiness potentials" (RPs) were attributed to stochastic fluctuations in neural activity. We developed a new experimental paradigm that operationalized self-initiated actions as endogenous 'skip' responses while waiting for target stimuli in a perceptual decision task. We compared these to a block of trials where participants could not choose when to skip, but were instead instructed to skip. Frequency and timing of motor action were therefore balanced across blocks, so that conditions differed only in how the timing of skip decisions was generated. We reasoned that across-trial variability of EEG could carry as much information about the source of skip decisions as the mean RP. EEG variability decreased more markedly prior to self-initiated compared to externally-triggered skip actions. This convergence suggests a consistent preparatory process prior to self-initiated action. A leaky stochastic accumulator model could reproduce this convergence given the additional assumption of a systematic decrease in input noise prior to self-initiated actions. Our results may provide a novel neurophysiological perspective on the topical debate regarding whether self-initiated actions arise from a deterministic neurocognitive process, or from neural stochasticity. We suggest that the key precursor of self-initiated action may manifest as a reduction in neural noise. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toward actionable science: Empowering ecologists to engage in the process of translation through decision-maker and stakeholder partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Enquist, C.; Jackson, S. T.; Garfin, G. M.

2017-12-01

Translational ecology is an approach by which ecologists, stakeholders, and decision-makers work collaboratively to develop and deliver ecological research that, ideally, results in actionable science that leads to improved environmental decision-making. We analyzed a diverse array of real-world case studies and distilled six principles that characterize the practice of translational ecology: communication, commitment, collaboration, engagement, process, and decision-framing. In this talk, we highlight a subset of the case studies that illustrate these principles. Notably, we found that translational ecology is distinct from both basic and applied ecological research. As a practice, the approach deliberately extends research beyond theory or opportunistic applications, motivated by a search for outcomes that directly serve the needs of natural resource managers and decision-makers. Translational ecology is also distinct from knowledge co-production in that it does not require deep engagement between collaborators, although incorporating differing modes of co-production relative to the decision context, associated time frame, and available financial resources can greatly enhance the translational approach. Although there is a need for incentives to pursue in this type of work, we found that the creativity and context-specific knowledge of resource managers, practitioners, and decision-makers informs and enriches the scientific process, helping shape actionable science. Moreover, the process of addressing research questions arising from on-the-ground management issues, rather than from the top-down or expert-oriented perspectives of traditional science, can foster the long-term trust and commitment that is critical for long-term, sustained engagement between partners. Now, perhaps more than ever, the climate and environmental issues facing society are complex, often politicized, and value-laden. We argue that ecological science should play a key role in informing

The Generalized Support Software (GSS) Domain Engineering Process: An Object-Oriented Implementation and Reuse Success at Goddard Space Flight Center

Science.gov (United States)

Condon, Steven; Hendrick, Robert; Stark, Michael E.; Steger, Warren

1997-01-01

The Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) recently embarked on a far-reaching revision of its process for developing and maintaining satellite support software. The new process relies on an object-oriented software development method supported by a domain specific library of generalized components. This Generalized Support Software (GSS) Domain Engineering Process is currently in use at the NASA GSFC Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL). The key facets of the GSS process are (1) an architecture for rapid deployment of FDD applications, (2) a reuse asset library for FDD classes, and (3) a paradigm shift from developing software to configuring software for mission support. This paper describes the GSS architecture and process, results of fielding the first applications, lessons learned, and future directions

Market Orientation Capabilities: A Study of Learning Processes in Market-Oriented Companies

OpenAIRE

Silkoset, Ragnhild

2009-01-01

The literature operates with three perspectives on market orientation. These include market orientation as behavior (Kohli and Jaworski 1990; Narver and Slater 1990), market orientation as a unique resource (Hunt and Morgan 1995) and market orientation as a dynamic learning capability (Sinkula 1994; Day 1994b). A company's level of market orientation will vary with regard to the perspectives, including factors affecting a company’s degree of market orientation and the effect...

Tuned by experience: How orientation probability modulates early perceptual processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Jabar, Syaheed B; Filipowicz, Alex; Anderson, Britt

2017-09-01

Probable stimuli are more often and more quickly detected. While stimulus probability is known to affect decision-making, it can also be explained as a perceptual phenomenon. Using spatial gratings, we have previously shown that probable orientations are also more precisely estimated, even while participants remained naive to the manipulation. We conducted an electrophysiological study to investigate the effect that probability has on perception and visual-evoked potentials. In line with previous studies on oddballs and stimulus prevalence, low-probability orientations were associated with a greater late positive 'P300' component which might be related to either surprise or decision-making. However, the early 'C1' component, thought to reflect V1 processing, was dampened for high-probability orientations while later P1 and N1 components were unaffected. Exploratory analyses revealed a participant-level correlation between C1 and P300 amplitudes, suggesting a link between perceptual processing and decision-making. We discuss how these probability effects could be indicative of sharpening of neurons preferring the probable orientations, due either to perceptual learning, or to feature-based attention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enactment versus observation: item-specific and relational processing in goal-directed action sequences (and lists of single actions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janette Schult

Full Text Available What are the memory-related consequences of learning actions (such as "apply the patch" by enactment during study, as compared to action observation? Theories converge in postulating that enactment encoding increases item-specific processing, but not the processing of relational information. Typically, in the laboratory enactment encoding is studied for lists of unrelated single actions in which one action execution has no overarching purpose or relation with other actions. In contrast, real-life actions are usually carried out with the intention to achieve such a purpose. When actions are embedded in action sequences, relational information provides efficient retrieval cues. We contrasted memory for single actions with memory for action sequences in three experiments. We found more reliance on relational processing for action-sequences than single actions. To what degree can this relational information be used after enactment versus after the observation of an actor? We found indicators of superior relational processing after observation than enactment in ordered pair recall (Experiment 1A and in emerging subjective organization of repeated recall protocols (recall runs 2-3, Experiment 2. An indicator of superior item-specific processing after enactment compared to observation was recognition (Experiment 1B, Experiment 2. Similar net recall suggests that observation can be as good a learning strategy as enactment. We discuss possible reasons why these findings only partly converge with previous research and theorizing.

Perceptions of Sexual Orientation From Minimal Cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Rule, Nicholas O

2017-01-01

People derive considerable amounts of information about each other from minimal nonverbal cues. Apart from characteristics typically regarded as obvious when encountering another person (e.g., age, race, and sex), perceivers can identify many other qualities about a person that are typically rather subtle. One such feature is sexual orientation. Here, I review the literature documenting the accurate perception of sexual orientation from nonverbal cues related to one's adornment, acoustics, actions, and appearance. In addition to chronicling studies that have demonstrated how people express and extract sexual orientation in each of these domains, I discuss some of the basic cognitive and perceptual processes that support these judgments, including how cues to sexual orientation manifest in behavioral (e.g., clothing choices) and structural (e.g., facial morphology) signals. Finally, I attend to boundary conditions in the accurate perception of sexual orientation, such as the states, traits, and group memberships that moderate individuals' ability to reliably decipher others' sexual orientation.

Ceramic microfabrication by rapid prototyping process chains

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Ceramic microfabrication by rapid prototyping process chains ... is nearly impossible, shaping has to be done by a replication step in the green, unfired state. ... This process chain combines the fast and inexpensive supply of master models by ...

Furnace for rapid thermal processing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roozeboom, F.; Duine, P.A.; Sluis, P. van der

2001-01-01

A Method (1) for Rapid Thermal Processing of a wafer (7), wherein the wafer (7) is heated by lamps (9), and the heat radiation is reflected by an optical switching device (15,17) which is in the reflecting state during the heating stage. During the cooling stage of the wafer (7), the heat is

ActionScript 30 Design Patterns Object Oriented Programming Techniques

CERN Document Server

Sanders, William

2008-01-01

If you're an experienced Flash or Flex developer ready to tackle sophisticated programming techniques with ActionScript 3.0, this hands-on introduction to design patterns takes you step by step through the process. You learn about various types of design patterns and construct small abstract examples before trying your hand at building full-fledged working applications outlined in the book.

[Emotional regulation in aspect of action vs. state orientation, stress and self - injurious behavior among people with borderline personality disorder].

Science.gov (United States)

Blasczyk-Schiep, Sybilla; Rabska, Ewelina; Jaworska-Andryszewska, Paulina; Laso, Agnieszka

2015-06-01

In the bordeline personality disorder a large role ascribe to biopsychosocial factors. Studies have shown that more than 70% patients BPD reported experiencing traumatic events in childhood. The findings are confirming that making self-harming is a frequent symptom of bordeline disorder and 70-75% patients show at least one act of self-harming. Selfharming can be a reaction to maladaptive emotional regulation. Moreover a lowered tolerance level is characteristic of them to the stress and determined course learning dysfunctional patterns of behavior. The aim of this study is to determine the level of emotional regulation through the variable action vs state orientation and to investigate their relation to stress, self-harming and suicidal behavior. In study participated 45 persons with emotionally unstable borderline personality diagnosis. In the group was 33 women and 12 men in age 19-43. A Polish adaptation of standardized questionnaires was used to measure stress and action vs state orientation (SSI-K), self-injurious behavior (SHI) and suicidal tendencies (RFL-I). By patients with borderline personality disorder the level of action control, reasons for living and stress are predictors of selfharming behavior. The mediation analyze showed, that stress and reasons for living are mediators between action vs. state control and the level of self-harming behavior. A high level of stress correlates positively with self-harming and negatively with action control in patients with borderline personality disorder, and a high level of reasons for living correlates positively with action control and negatively with self-harming in people with BPD. © 2015 MEDPRESS.

Classical Process diagrams and Service oriented Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Mišovič

2013-01-01

Full Text Available SOA (Service Oriented Architecture has played in the last two decades a very useful role in the design philosophy of the target software. The basic units of software for which the mentioned philosophy is valid are called services. Generally it is counted that the advance implementation of services is given by using so–called Web services that are on the platform of the Internet 2.0. Naturally, there has been counted also with the fact that the services will be used in software applications designed by professional programmers. Later, the concept of software services was supported by the enterprise concept of the SOE type (Service oriented Enterprise and by the creation of the SOA paradigm.Many computer scientists, including Thomas Erl – doyen of SOA, do not understand SOA either as an integrated technology or as a development methodology. Proofs of this statement are in the following definitions.SOA is a form of technology architecture that adheres to the principles of service – orientation. When realized through the Web services technology platform, SOA establishes the potential to support and promote these principles throughout the business processes and automation domains of an enterprise (Erl, 2006. Thomas Erl (Erl, 2007 has expressed the idea of SOA implementation using the following definition.SOA establishes an architectural model that aides to enhance the efficiency, agility, and productivity of an enterprise by positioning services as the primary means through which solution logic is represented in support of the realization of strategic goals associated with service-oriented computing. Nevertheless the key principles, on which SOA is constructed (Erl, 2006, are not significantly reflected in any of the previous definitions. Some of the mentioned principles are still included at least in the more free definitions of SOA, for example (Barry, 2003.A service-oriented architecture is essentially a collection of services. These

Located actions in process algebra with timing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergstra, J.A.; Middelburg, C.A.

2004-01-01

We propose a process algebra obtained by adapting the process algebra with continuous relative timing from Baeten and Middelburg [Process Algebra with Timing, Springer, 2002, Chap. 4] to spatially located actions. This process algebra makes it possible to deal with the behaviour of systems with a

Mirror-Image Confusions: Implications for Representation and Processing of Object Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Emma; McCloskey, Michael

2010-01-01

Perceiving the orientation of objects is important for interacting with the world, yet little is known about the mental representation or processing of object orientation information. The tendency of humans and other species to confuse mirror images provides a potential clue. However, the appropriate characterization of this phenomenon is not…

Rapid, high-resolution measurement of leaf area and leaf orientation using terrestrial LiDAR scanning data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, Brian N; Mahaffee, Walter F

2017-01-01

The rapid evolution of high performance computing technology has allowed for the development of extremely detailed models of the urban and natural environment. Although models can now represent sub-meter-scale variability in environmental geometry, model users are often unable to specify the geometry of real domains at this scale given available measurements. An emerging technology in this field has been the use of terrestrial LiDAR scanning data to rapidly measure the three-dimensional geometry of trees, such as the distribution of leaf area. However, current LiDAR methods suffer from the limitation that they require detailed knowledge of leaf orientation in order to translate projected leaf area into actual leaf area. Common methods for measuring leaf orientation are often tedious or inaccurate, which places constraints on the LiDAR measurement technique. This work presents a new method to simultaneously measure leaf orientation and leaf area within an arbitrarily defined volume using terrestrial LiDAR data. The novelty of the method lies in the direct measurement of the fraction of projected leaf area G from the LiDAR data which is required to relate projected leaf area to total leaf area, and in the new way in which radiation transfer theory is used to calculate leaf area from the LiDAR data. The method was validated by comparing LiDAR-measured leaf area to (1) ‘synthetic’ or computer-generated LiDAR data where the exact area was known, and (2) direct measurements of leaf area in the field using destructive sampling. Overall, agreement between the LiDAR and reference measurements was very good, showing a normalized root-mean-squared-error of about 15% for the synthetic tests, and 13% in the field. (paper)

Rapid development of scalable scientific software using a process oriented approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friborg, Rune Møllegaard; Vinter, Brian

2011-01-01

Scientific applications are often not written with multiprocessing, cluster computing or grid computing in mind. This paper suggests using Python and PyCSP to structure scientific software through Communicating Sequential Processes. Three scientific applications are used to demonstrate the features...... of PyCSP and how networks of processes may easily be mapped into a visual representation for better understanding of the process workflow. We show that for many sequential solutions, the difficulty in implementing a parallel application is removed. The use of standard multi-threading mechanisms...

Serotonin(4) (5-HT(4)) receptor agonists are putative antidepressants with a rapid onset of action

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lucas, Guillaume; Rymar, Vladimir V; Du, Jenny

2007-01-01

parameters considered to be key markers of antidepressant action, but that are observed only after 2-3 week treatments with classical molecules: desensitization of 5-HT(1A) autoreceptors, increased tonus on hippocampal postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptors, and enhanced phosphorylation of the CREB protein...... intake consecutive to a chronic mild stress. These findings point out 5-HT(4) receptor agonists as a putative class of antidepressants with a rapid onset of action. Udgivelsesdato: 2007-Sep-6...

Manufacturing of ceramic microcomponents by a rapid prototyping process chain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knitter, R.; Bauer, W.; Goehring, D.; Hausselt, J.

2001-01-01

Manufacturing of new ceramic components may be improved significantly by the use of rapid prototyping processes especially in the development of miniaturized or micropatterned components. Most known generative ceramic molding processes do not provide a sufficient resolution for the fabrication of microstructured components. In contrast to this, a rapid prototyping process chain that for example, combines micro-stereolithography and low-pressure injection molding, allows the rapid manufacturing of ceramic microcomponents from functional models to preliminary or small-lot series. (orig.)

Rapid Thermal Processing to Enhance Steel Toughness.

Science.gov (United States)

Judge, V K; Speer, J G; Clarke, K D; Findley, K O; Clarke, A J

2018-01-11

Quenching and Tempering (Q&T) has been utilized for decades to alter steel mechanical properties, particularly strength and toughness. While tempering typically increases toughness, a well-established phenomenon called tempered martensite embrittlement (TME) is known to occur during conventional Q&T. Here we show that short-time, rapid tempering can overcome TME to produce unprecedented property combinations that cannot be attained by conventional Q&T. Toughness is enhanced over 43% at a strength level of 1.7 GPa and strength is improved over 0.5 GPa at an impact toughness of 30 J. We also show that hardness and the tempering parameter (TP), developed by Holloman and Jaffe in 1945 and ubiquitous within the field, is insufficient for characterizing measured strengths, toughnesses, and microstructural conditions after rapid processing. Rapid tempering by energy-saving manufacturing processes like induction heating creates the opportunity for new Q&T steels for energy, defense, and transportation applications.

Rapid processing of haptic cues for postural control in blind subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Schieppati, Marco; Schmid, Monica; Sozzi, Stefania

2014-07-01

Vision and touch rapidly lead to postural stabilization in sighted subjects. Is touch-induced stabilization more rapid in blind than in sighted subjects, owing to cross-modal reorganization of function in the blind? We estimated the time-period elapsing from onset of availability of haptic support to onset of lateral stabilization in a group of early- and late-onset blinds. Eleven blind (age 39.4 years±11.7SD) and eleven sighted subjects (age 30.0 years±10.0SD), standing eyes closed with feet in tandem position, touched a pad with their index finger and withdrew the finger from the pad in sequence. EMG of postural muscles and displacement of centre of foot pressure were recorded. The task was repeated fifty times, to allow statistical evaluation of the latency of EMG and sway changes following the haptic shift. Steady-state sway (with or without contact with pad, no haptic shift) did not differ between blind and sighted. On adding the haptic stimulus, EMG and sway diminished in both groups, but at an earlier latency (by about 0.5 s) in the blinds (p blinds. When the haptic stimulus was withdrawn, both groups increased EMG and sway at equally short delays. Blinds are rapid in implementing adaptive postural modifications when granted an external haptic reference. Fast processing of the stabilizing haptic spatial-orientation cues may be favoured by cortical plasticity in blinds. These findings add new information to the field of sensory-guided dynamic control of equilibrium in man. Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

When you have to climb downhill to reach the top: the effect of action versus state orientation on solvinga goal-subgoal conflict in the Tower of Hanoi task.

Science.gov (United States)

Jostmann, Nils B; Gieselmann, Annika

2014-01-01

Complex problems often include a response conflict between a subgoal and a final goal. The present experiment investigated the roles of situational demands and individual differences in self-regulation on solving goal-subgoal conflicts in a computerized Tower of Hanoi task. Action-oriented versus state-oriented individuals were randomly assigned to a demanding condition in which they deliberated about a personal decision problem, or to a nondemanding control condition. In line with expectations state-oriented individuals had greater difficulties to solve goal-subgoal conflicts in the demanding compared to the nondemanding condition. Action-oriented individuals performed well in both conditions. In line with Personality Systems Interactions theory (Kuhl, 2000) the findings show that complex problem solving depends on how well people are able to deal with situational demands.

Evidence for the role of self-priming in epistemic action: expertise and the effective use of memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Maglio, Paul P; Wenger, Michael J; Copeland, Angelina M

2008-01-01

Epistemic actions are physical actions people take to simplify internal problem solving rather than to move closer to an external goal. When playing the video game Tetris, for instance, experts routinely rotate falling shapes more than is strictly needed to place the shapes. Maglio and Kirsh [Kirsh, D., & Maglio, P. (1994). On distinguishing epistemic from pragmatic action. Cognitive Science, 18, 513-549; Maglio, P. P. (1995). The computational basis of interactive skill. PhD thesis, University of California, San Diego] proposed that such actions might serve the purpose of priming memory by external means, reducing the need for internal computation (e.g., mental rotation), and resulting in performance improvements that exceed the cost of taking additional actions. The present study tests this priming hypothesis in a set of four experiments. The first three explored precisely the conditions under which priming produces benefits. Results showed that presentation of multiple orientations of a shape led to faster responses than did presentation of a single orientation, and that this effect depended on the interval between preview and test. The fourth explored whether the benefit of seeing shapes in multiple orientations outweighs the cost of taking the extra actions to rotate shapes physically. Benefits were measured using a novel statistical method for mapping reaction-time data onto an estimate of the increase in processing capacity afforded by seeing multiple orientations. Cost was measured using an empirical estimate of time needed to take action in Tetris. Results showed that indeed the increase in internal processing capacity obtained from seeing shapes in multiple orientations outweighed the time to take extra actions.

Practicing natural resource management with a policy orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Tim W.

1992-07-01

All natural resource managers want to contribute to successful conservation programs. Having and applying an explicit policy orientation is indispensable. The policy sciences are described and a case is made that, if natural resource managers utilize this set of conceptual and applied tools in their natural resource work, their effectiveness could be enhanced. The policy sciences offer a contextual, problem-oriented, and multimethod approach to meeting complex problems. Two kinds of knowledge are needed to solve problems—substantive knowledge about the resource and process knowledge about the decision and policy processes used to derive courses of management action. The interplay of science, analysis, and politics are examined. The wildlife management community is used to illustrate many points, including the important role implementation plays in the overall policy process.

Roles of Participatory Action-oriented Programs in Promoting Safety and Health at Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kogi Kazutaka

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Reflecting the current international trends toward proactive risk assessment and control at work with practical procedures, participatory action-oriented approaches are gaining importance in various sectors. The roles of these approaches in promoting the safety and health at work are discussed based on their recent experiences in preventing work-related risks and improving the quality of work life, particularly in small-scale workplaces. The emphasis placed on the primary prevention at the initiative of workers and managers is commonly notable. Participatory steps, built on local good practices, can lead to many workplace improvements when the focus is on locally feasible low-cost options in multiple aspects. The design and use of locally adjusted action toolkits play a key role in facilitating these improvements in each local situation. The effectiveness of participatory approaches relying on these toolkits is demonstrated by their spread to many sectors and by various intervention studies. In the local context, networks of trainers are essential in sustaining the improvement activities. With the adequate support of networks of trainers trained in the use of these toolkits, participatory approaches will continue to be the key factor for proactive risk management in various work settings.

A study on the effectiveness of the orientation process and cross-cultural training for the expatriate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxwell Agabu Phiri

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the effectiveness of the orientation process and cross-cultural training (CCT and its impact on cross-cultural adjustment for the expatriate. The objective of the study on which this paper is based is to evaluate the effectiveness of the orientation process for expatriates and to determine the need for a separate orientation and culture training. By improving the orientation process and identifying a need for culture specific training, the company can thus eliminate relocation and replacement costs. The main objective of this research is to design a guideline for the implementation of a culture specific orientation process for the expatriate. This will be done based on the recommendations made by the respondents of the survey. The paper reviews different writings in the areas of cross-cultural training, cross-cultural adjustment, the orientation process and the expatriate. The study highlights specific issues regarding cultural training, assignment failure and success, and the expatriate experiences. The research is motivated by the need to reduce assignment failure and the subsequent costs associated with engaging expatriation, and ensure smooth transition into a new culture. The research methodology utilized was qualitative, based on structured questionnaires and personal interviews. The study attempts to recommend, based on the findings, a culture centered orientation process for the expatriate

Visual search is modulated by action intentions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bekkering, H; Neggers, SFW

The influence of action intentions on visual selection processes was investigated in a visual search paradigm. A predefined target object with a certain orientation and color was presented among distractors, and subjects had to either look and point at the target or look at and grasp the target.

Improving Process Quality by Means of Accurate and Traceable Calibration of Flow Devices with Process-oriented Liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Bissig, Hugo; Tschannen, Martin; de Huu, Marc

2018-03-30

Calibration of flow devices is important in several areas of pharmaceutical, flow chemistry and health care applications where volumetric dosage or delivery at given flow rates are crucial for the process. Although most of the flow devices are measuring flow rates of process-oriented liquids, their calibrations are often performed with water as calibration liquid. It is recommended to perform the calibrations of the flow devices with process-oriented liquids as the liquid itself might influence the performance of the flow devices. Therefore, METAS has developed facilities with METAS flow generators to address the issue of measuring with process-oriented liquids for flow rates from 400 ml/min down to 50 nl/min with uncertainties from 0.07-0.9 %. Traceability is guaranteed through the calibration of the generated flow rates of the METAS flow generators by means of the dynamic gravimetric method where a liquid of well-known density and a well-controlled evaporation rate is used. The design of the milli-flow facility will be discussed as well as first measurement results of the METAS flow generators in the range of micro-flow and milli-flow using water and other liquids.

Construction the organizational structure of the MTE oriented on the business-processes management

OpenAIRE

Kohut, Y.

2011-01-01

The methodical recommendations for the construction the organizational structure of the MTE oriented on the business-processes management has been developed by substantiating of basic works, maintenance, sequence and orientation, and also methods and receptions of their realization.

Prediction of particle orientation in simple upsetting process of NdFeB magnets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Chao-Cheng; Hsiao, Po-Jen [Department of Mold and Die Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, 415 Chien-Kung Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung 80778, Taiwan (China); You, Jr-Shiang; Chen, Yen-Ju; Chang, Can-Xun [Metal Forming Technology Section, Metal Processing R and D Department, Metal Industries Research and Development Centre, 1001 Kaonan Highway, Kaohsiung 81160, Taiwan (China)

2013-12-16

The magnetic properties of NdFeB magnets are strongly affected by crystallographic texture which is highly associated with particle orientation. This study proposed a method for predicting the particle orientation in the simple upsetting process of NdFeB magnets. The method is based on finite element simulation with flow net analysis. The magnets in a cylindrical form were compressed by two flat dies in a chamber filled with argon at 750°C. Three forming speeds were taken into account in order to obtain flow stress curves used in simulations. The micrographs of the cross sections of the deformed magnets show that the particle deformation significantly increases with the compression. The phenomenon was also predicted by the proposed method. Both simulated and experimental results show that the inhomogeneity of the texture of the NdFeB magnets can be increased by the simple upsetting process. The predicted particle orientations were in a good agreement with those examined in the deformed magnets. The proposed method for predicting particle orientations can also be used in other forming processes of NdFeB magnets.

Prediction of particle orientation in simple upsetting process of NdFeB magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Chao-Cheng; Hsiao, Po-Jen; You, Jr-Shiang; Chen, Yen-Ju; Chang, Can-Xun

2013-01-01

The magnetic properties of NdFeB magnets are strongly affected by crystallographic texture which is highly associated with particle orientation. This study proposed a method for predicting the particle orientation in the simple upsetting process of NdFeB magnets. The method is based on finite element simulation with flow net analysis. The magnets in a cylindrical form were compressed by two flat dies in a chamber filled with argon at 750°C. Three forming speeds were taken into account in order to obtain flow stress curves used in simulations. The micrographs of the cross sections of the deformed magnets show that the particle deformation significantly increases with the compression. The phenomenon was also predicted by the proposed method. Both simulated and experimental results show that the inhomogeneity of the texture of the NdFeB magnets can be increased by the simple upsetting process. The predicted particle orientations were in a good agreement with those examined in the deformed magnets. The proposed method for predicting particle orientations can also be used in other forming processes of NdFeB magnets

ACTION OF UNIFORM SEARCH ALGORITHM WHEN SELECTING LANGUAGE UNITS IN THE PROCESS OF SPEECH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ирина Михайловна Некипелова

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to research of action of uniform search algorithm when selecting by human of language units for speech produce. The process is connected with a speech optimization phenomenon. This makes it possible to shorten the time of cogitation something that human want to say, and to achieve the maximum precision in thoughts expression. The algorithm of uniform search works at consciousness  and subconsciousness levels. It favours the forming of automatism produce and perception of speech. Realization of human's cognitive potential in the process of communication starts up complicated mechanism of self-organization and self-regulation of language. In turn, it results in optimization of language system, servicing needs not only human's self-actualization but realization of communication in society. The method of problem-oriented search is used for researching of optimization mechanisms, which are distinctive to speech producing and stabilization of language.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-4-50

Proposing a Process-Oriented Systems Research for Systems Thinking Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Eon Yu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses systems thinking development from Churchman’s systems ideas related to critical systems practice that appreciates the use of systems methods from sociolinguistic perspectives and poststructuralist thought. Systems research enabled us to understand and reinterpret Churchman’s philosophy and systems approach through the works of Deleuze and Foucault. Based upon the interpretation of Churchman’s philosophy and systems approach, I propose ‘process-oriented systems research’ developed from the use of social appreciative process and Churchman’s metasystem approach. By applying a metasystem approach into practice, I basically appreciate Deleuzian ethics and Foucault’s theory of discourse in order to deal with issues of power and knowledge, and metaethics or moral epistemology, where the meaning of good or bad is discussed. A detailed account of an application of process-oriented systems research is given to demonstrate how I use systems methods to examine the usefulness of the systems research in practice.

Expert reasoning within an object-oriented framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohn, S.J.; Pennock, K.A.

1991-10-01

A large number of contaminated waste sites across the United States await site remediation efforts. These sites can be physically complex, composed of multiple, possibly interacting, contaminants distributed throughout one or more media. The Remedial Action Assessment System (RAAS) is being designed and developed to support decisions concerning the selection of remediation alternatives. The goal of this system is to broaden the consideration of remediation alternatives, while reducing the time and cost of making these considerations. The Remedial Action Assessment System was designed and constructed using object-oriented techniques. It is a hybrid system which uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative reasoning to consider and suggest remediation alternatives. the reasoning process that drives this application is centered around an object-oriented organization of remediation technology information. This paper briefly describes the waste remediation problem and then discusses the information structure and organization RAAS utilizes to address it. 4 refs., 4 figs

An application of object-oriented programming to process simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, J.T.; Otaduy, P.J.

1988-01-01

This paper discusses the application of object-oriented programming to dynamic simulation of continuous processes. Processes may be modeled using this technique as a collection of objects which communicate with each other via message passing. Arriving messages invoke methods that describe the state and/or dynamic behavior of the receiving object. The objects fall into four broad categories actual plant components such as pumps, pipes, and tanks, abstract objects such as heat sources and conductors, plant systems such as flow loops, and simulation control and interface objects. This technique differs from traditional approaches to process simulation, in which the process is represented by either a system of differential equations or a block diagram of mathematical operators. The use of objects minimizes the representational gap between the model and actual process. From the users point of view, construction of a simulation model becomes equivalent to drawing a plant schematic. As an example application, a package developed for the simulation of nuclear power plants is described. The package allows users to build simulation models by selecting iconic representations of plant components from a menu and connecting them with a mouse. Objects for generating a mathematical model of the system and for controlling the simulation are automatically generated, freeing the user to concentrate on describing his process. This example illustrates the use of object-oriented programming to create a highly interactive and automated simulation environment. 2 figs

People-oriented Information Visualization Design

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhiyong; Zhang, Bolun

2018-04-01

In the 21st century with rapid development, in the wake of the continuous progress of science and technology, human society enters the information era and the era of big data, and the lifestyle and aesthetic system also change accordingly, so the emerging field of information visualization is increasingly popular. Information visualization design is the process of visualizing all kinds of tedious information data, so as to quickly accept information and save time-cost. Along with the development of the process of information visualization, information design, also becomes hotter and hotter, and emotional design, people-oriented design is an indispensable part of in the design of information. This paper probes information visualization design through emotional analysis of information design based on the social context of people-oriented experience from the perspective of art design. Based on the three levels of emotional information design: instinct level, behavior level and reflective level research, to explore and discuss information visualization design.

A Model-driven and Service-oriented framework for the business process improvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Delgado

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Business Process Management (BPM importance and benefits for organizations to focus on their business processes is nowadays broadly recognized, as business and technology areas are embracing and adopting the paradigm. The Service Oriented Computing (SOC paradigm bases software development on services to realize business processes. The implementation of business processes as services helps in reducing the gap between these two areas, easing the communication and understanding of business needs. The Model Driven Development (MDD paradigm bases software development in models, metamodels and languages that allow transformation between them. The automatic generation of service models from business process models is a key issue to support the separation of its definition from its technical implementation. In this article, we present MINERVA framework which applies Model Driven Development (MDD and Service Oriented Computing (SOC paradigms to business processes for the continuous business process improvement in organizations, giving support to the stages defined in the business process lifecycle from modeling to evaluation of its execution.

Strategic orientations and cooperation of external agents in the innovation process of rural enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Francisco dos Reis Neto

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This article provides empirical evidence for the relationship between the market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and collaboration of external actors in the processes of incremental and radical innovations in rural enterprises. The research tested two sets of assumptions: first, the relation between contributions of strategic orientation and innovation processes; and second, collaborations of external stakeholders in the implementation of innovation processes. Data were collected from 208 rural enterprises and analyzed with the use of techniques of partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results showed that the market orientation contributes to the development of incremental innovation, and that the entrepreneurial orientation contributes to the implementation of the incremental and radical innovations. Specific agents (buyers, suppliers of goods and services, consultants, and others producers, collaborate positively in implementing incremental innovation; however, generic agents do not. The generic agents (universities and specialized public organizations are the ones that most intervene in radical innovations. The use of consistent theory in the areas of strategy, marketing and management in identifying that some of their causal relationships are confirmed for rural businesses unlike others, due to the structure of the market and the products produced by them.

Process parameters, orientation, and functional properties of melt-processed bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakharchenko, I.V.; Terryll, K.M.; Rao, K.V.; Balachandran, U.

1995-03-01

This study compared the microstructure, texturing, and functional properties (critical currents) of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x -based bulk pellets that were prepared by the quench-melt-growth-process (QMGP), melt-textured growth (MTG), and conventional solid-state reaction (SSR) approaches. Using two X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods, θ-2θ, and rocking curves, the authors found that the individual grains of two melt-processed pellets exhibited remarkable preferred orientational alignment (best rocking curve width = 3.2 degree). However, the direction of the preferred orientation among the grains was random. Among the three types of bulk materials studied, the QMGP sample was found to have the best J c values, ∼ 4,500 A/cm 2 at 77 K in a field of 2 kG, as determined from SQUID magnetic data

Agroecology Education: Action-Oriented Learning and Research

Science.gov (United States)

Lieblein, Geir; Breland, Tor Arvid; Francis, Charles; Ostergaard, Edvin

2012-01-01

Purpose: This article examines and evaluates the potential contributions from action learning and action research with stakeholders to higher education in agriculture and food systems. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on our experiences over the past two decades of running PhD courses and an MSc degree programme in Agroecology in…

We really need to talk: adapting FDA processes to rapid change.

Science.gov (United States)

Lykken, Sara

2013-01-01

The rapidly evolving realm of modern commerce strains traditional regulatory paradigms. This paper traces the historical evolution of FDA crisis-response regulation and provides examples of ways in which the definitions and procedures resulting from that past continue to be challenged by new products as market entrants, some in good faith and others not, take actions that create disconnects between actual product and marketing controls and those that consumers might expect. The paper then explores some of the techniques used by other federal agencies that have faced similar challenges in environments characterized by rapid innovation, and draws from this analysis suggestions for improvement of the FDA's warning letter system.

Rapid neural discrimination of communicative gestures.

Science.gov (United States)

Redcay, Elizabeth; Carlson, Thomas A

2015-04-01

Humans are biased toward social interaction. Behaviorally, this bias is evident in the rapid effects that self-relevant communicative signals have on attention and perceptual systems. The processing of communicative cues recruits a wide network of brain regions, including mentalizing systems. Relatively less work, however, has examined the timing of the processing of self-relevant communicative cues. In the present study, we used multivariate pattern analysis (decoding) approach to the analysis of magnetoencephalography (MEG) to study the processing dynamics of social-communicative actions. Twenty-four participants viewed images of a woman performing actions that varied on a continuum of communicative factors including self-relevance (to the participant) and emotional valence, while their brain activity was recorded using MEG. Controlling for low-level visual factors, we found early discrimination of emotional valence (70 ms) and self-relevant communicative signals (100 ms). These data offer neural support for the robust and rapid effects of self-relevant communicative cues on behavior. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Process-oriented cost calculation in interventional radiology. A case study].

Science.gov (United States)

Mahnken, A H; Bruners, P; Günther, R W; Rasche, C

2012-01-01

Currently used costing methods such as cost centre accounting do not sufficiently reflect the process-based resource utilization in medicine. The goal of this study was to establish a process-oriented cost assessment of percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation of liver and lung metastases. In each of 15 patients a detailed task analysis of the primary process of hepatic and pulmonary RF ablation was performed. Based on these data a dedicated cost calculation model was developed for each primary process. The costs of each process were computed and compared with the revenue for in-patients according to the German diagnosis-related groups (DRG) system 2010. The RF ablation of liver metastases in patients without relevant comorbidities and a low patient complexity level results in a loss of EUR 588.44, whereas the treatment of patients with a higher complexity level yields an acceptable profit. The treatment of pulmonary metastases is profitable even in cases of additional expenses due to complications. Process-oriented costing provides relevant information that is needed for understanding the economic impact of treatment decisions. It is well suited as a starting point for economically driven process optimization and reengineering. Under the terms of the German DRG 2010 system percutaneous RF ablation of lung metastases is economically reasonable, while RF ablation of liver metastases in cases of low patient complexity levels does not cover the costs.

Assembly of multicomponent nanoframes via the synergistic actions of graphene oxide space confinement effect and oriented cation exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yanguo; Zhao, Yanyan; Sun, Hongyu; Zhang, Beibei; Cao, Sufeng; Xu, Xiaobin; Wang, Zhihong; Arandiyan, Hamidreza

2015-01-01

Multicomponent nanoframes (NFs) with a hollow structural character have shown the potential to be applied in many fields. Here we report a novel strategy to synthesize Zn_xCd_1_−_xS NFs via the synergistic actions of the graphene oxide (GO) confinement effect and oriented cation exchange. The obtained samples have been systematically characterized by x-ray diffractometry (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray photospectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectrometry. The results show that the two dimensional space confinement effect induced by GO and the oriented cation exchange reaction are responsible for the formation of the multicomponent NFs. The high photoelectrochemical activity and the low cost of the starting materials will make the multicomponent NFs applicable in photoelectronic and photoelectrocatalytic fields. (paper)

Selective enhancement of orientation tuning before saccades.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohl, Sven; Kuper, Clara; Rolfs, Martin

2017-11-01

Saccadic eye movements cause a rapid sweep of the visual image across the retina and bring the saccade's target into high-acuity foveal vision. Even before saccade onset, visual processing is selectively prioritized at the saccade target. To determine how this presaccadic attention shift exerts its influence on visual selection, we compare the dynamics of perceptual tuning curves before movement onset at the saccade target and in the opposite hemifield. Participants monitored a 30-Hz sequence of randomly oriented gratings for a target orientation. Combining a reverse correlation technique previously used to study orientation tuning in neurons and general additive mixed modeling, we found that perceptual reports were tuned to the target orientation. The gain of orientation tuning increased markedly within the last 100 ms before saccade onset. In addition, we observed finer orientation tuning right before saccade onset. This increase in gain and tuning occurred at the saccade target location and was not observed at the incongruent location in the opposite hemifield. The present findings suggest, therefore, that presaccadic attention exerts its influence on vision in a spatially and feature-selective manner, enhancing performance and sharpening feature tuning at the future gaze location before the eyes start moving.

Evolution of microstructure, texture and inhibitor along the processing route for grain-oriented electrical steels using strip casting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Hai-Tao, E-mail: liuht@ral.neu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, P.O. Box 105, Shenyang 110819 (China); Institute of Research of Iron and Steel, Shasteel, Zhangjiagang 215625, Jiangsu (China); Yao, Sheng-Jie [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, 264209 (China); Sun, Yu; Gao, Fei; Song, Hong-Yu; Liu, Guo-Huai [State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, P.O. Box 105, Shenyang 110819 (China); Li, Lei; Geng, Dian-Qiao [Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819 (China); Liu, Zhen-Yu; Wang, Guo-Dong [State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, P.O. Box 105, Shenyang 110819 (China)

2015-08-15

In the present work, a regular grade GO sheet was produced successively by strip casting, hot rolling, normalizing annealing, two-stage cold rolling with intermediate annealing, primary recrystallization annealing, secondary recrystallization annealing and purification. The aim of this paper was to characterize the evolution of microstructure, texture and inhibitor along the new processing route by comprehensive utilization of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that a fine microstructure with the ferrite grain size range of 7–12 μm could be obtained in the primary recrystallization annealed sheet though a very coarse microstructure was produced in the initial as-cast strip. The main finding was that the “texture memory” effect on Goss texture started on the through-thickness intermediate annealed strip after first cold rolling, which was not similar to the “texture memory” effect on Goss texture starting on the surface layers of the hot rolled strip in the conventional production route. As a result, the origin of Goss nuclei capable of secondary recrystallization lied in the grains already presented in Goss orientation in the intermediate annealed strip after first cold rolling. Another finding was that fine and dispersive inhibitors (mainly AlN) were easy to be produced in the primary recrystallization microstructure due to the initial rapid solidification during strip casting and the subsequent rapid cooling, and the very high temperature reheating usually used before hot rolling in the conventional production route could be avoided. - Highlights: • A regular grade grain-oriented electrical steel was produced. • Evolution of microstructure, texture and inhibitor was characterized. • Origin of Goss nuclei lied in the intermediate annealed strip. • A fine primary recrystallization microstructure could be produced. • Effective inhibitors were easy to be obtained in the new processing route.

Research on Process-oriented Spatio-temporal Data Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

XUE Cunjin

2016-02-01

Full Text Available According to the analysis of the present status and existing problems of spatio-temporal data models developed in last 20 years,this paper proposes a process-oriented spatio-temporal data model (POSTDM,aiming at representing,organizing and storing continuity and gradual geographical entities. The dynamic geographical entities are graded and abstracted into process objects series from their intrinsic characteristics,which are process objects,process stage objects,process sequence objects and process state objects. The logical relationships among process entities are further studied and the structure of UML models and storage are also designed. In addition,through the mechanisms of continuity and gradual changes impliedly recorded by process objects,and the modes of their procedure interfaces offered by the customized ObjcetStorageTable,the POSTDM can carry out process representation,storage and dynamic analysis of continuity and gradual geographic entities. Taking a process organization and storage of marine data as an example,a prototype system (consisting of an object-relational database and a functional analysis platform is developed for validating and evaluating the model's practicability.

An Aspect-Oriented Framework for Business Process Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Pourshahid, Alireza; Mussbacher, Gunter; Amyot, Daniel; Weiss, Michael

Recently, many organizations invested in Business Process Management Systems (BPMSs) in order to automate and monitor their processes. Business Activity Monitoring is one of the essential modules of a BPMS as it provides the core monitoring capabilities. Although the natural step after process monitoring is process improvement, most of the existing systems do not provide the means to help users with the improvement step. In this paper, we address this issue by proposing an aspect-oriented framework that allows the impact of changes to business processes to be explored with what-if scenarios based on the most appropriate process redesign patterns among several possibilities. As the four cornerstones of a BPMS are process, goal, performance and validation views, these views need to be aligned automatically by any approach that intends to support automated improvement of business processes. Our framework therefore provides means to reflect process changes also in the other views of the business process. A health care case study presented as a proof of concept suggests that this novel approach is feasible.

25 CFR 175.62 - Utility actions pending the appeal process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Utility actions pending the appeal process. 175.62 Section 175.62 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER INDIAN ELECTRIC POWER UTILITIES Appeals § 175.62 Utility actions pending the appeal process. Pending an appeal, utility...

A systems approach to traditional oriental medicine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Hyun Uk; Ryu, Jae Yong; Lee, Jong Ok

2015-01-01

Analyzing structural similarities between compounds derived from traditional oriental medicine and human metabolites is a systems-based approach that can help identify mechanisms of action and suggest approaches to reduce toxicity.......Analyzing structural similarities between compounds derived from traditional oriental medicine and human metabolites is a systems-based approach that can help identify mechanisms of action and suggest approaches to reduce toxicity....

A Petri Net-Based Software Process Model for Developing Process-Oriented Information Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yu; Oberweis, Andreas

Aiming at increasing flexibility, efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of information processing and resource deployment in organizations to ensure customer satisfaction and high quality of products and services, process-oriented information systems (POIS) represent a promising realization form of computerized business information systems. Due to the complexity of POIS, explicit and specialized software process models are required to guide POIS development. In this chapter we characterize POIS with an architecture framework and present a Petri net-based software process model tailored for POIS development with consideration of organizational roles. As integrated parts of the software process model, we also introduce XML nets, a variant of high-level Petri nets as basic methodology for business processes modeling, and an XML net-based software toolset providing comprehensive functionalities for POIS development.

Object-oriented design and programming in medical decision support.

Science.gov (United States)

Heathfield, H; Armstrong, J; Kirkham, N

1991-12-01

The concept of object-oriented design and programming has recently received a great deal of attention from the software engineering community. This paper highlights the realisable benefits of using the object-oriented approach in the design and development of clinical decision support systems. These systems seek to build a computational model of some problem domain and therefore tend to be exploratory in nature. Conventional procedural design techniques do not support either the process of model building or rapid prototyping. The central concepts of the object-oriented paradigm are introduced, namely encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism, and their use illustrated in a case study, taken from the domain of breast histopathology. In particular, the dual roles of inheritance in object-oriented programming are examined, i.e., inheritance as a conceptual modelling tool and inheritance as a code reuse mechanism. It is argued that the use of the former is not entirely intuitive and may be difficult to incorporate into the design process. However, inheritance as a means of optimising code reuse offers substantial technical benefits.

Product-oriented Software Certification Process for Software Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Stacy; Fischer, Bernd; Denney, Ewen; Schumann, Johann; Richardson, Julian; Oh, Phil

2004-01-01

The purpose of this document is to propose a product-oriented software certification process to facilitate use of software synthesis and formal methods. Why is such a process needed? Currently, software is tested until deemed bug-free rather than proving that certain software properties exist. This approach has worked well in most cases, but unfortunately, deaths still occur due to software failure. Using formal methods (techniques from logic and discrete mathematics like set theory, automata theory and formal logic as opposed to continuous mathematics like calculus) and software synthesis, it is possible to reduce this risk by proving certain software properties. Additionally, software synthesis makes it possible to automate some phases of the traditional software development life cycle resulting in a more streamlined and accurate development process.

Interocular suppression in amblyopia for global orientation processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jiawei; Huang, Pi-Chun; Hess, Robert F

2013-04-22

We developed a dichoptic global orientation coherence paradigm to quantify interocular suppression in amblyopia. This task is biased towards ventral processing and allows comparison with two other techniques-global motion processing, which is more dorsally biased, and binocular phase combination, which most likely reflects striate function. We found a similar pattern for the relationship between coherence threshold and interocular contrast curves (thresholds vs. interocular contrast ratios or TvRs) in our new paradigm compared with those of the previous dichoptic global motion coherence paradigm. The effective contrast ratios at balance point (where the signals from the two eyes have equal weighting) in our new paradigm were larger than those of the dichoptic global motion coherence paradigm but less than those of the binocular phase combination paradigm. The measured effective contrast ratios in the three paradigms were also positively correlated with each other, with the two global coherence paradigms having the highest correlation. We concluded that: (a) The dichoptic global orientation coherence paradigm is effective in quantifying interocular suppression in amblyopia; and (b) Interocular suppression, while sharing a common suppression mechanism at the early stage in the pathway (e.g., striate cortex), may have additional extra-striate contributions that affect both dorsal and ventral streams differentially.

Deferred Action: Theoretical model of process architecture design for emergent business processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patel, N.V.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available E-Business modelling and ebusiness systems development assumes fixed company resources, structures, and business processes. Empirical and theoretical evidence suggests that company resources and structures are emergent rather than fixed. Planning business activity in emergent contexts requires flexible ebusiness models based on better management theories and models . This paper builds and proposes a theoretical model of ebusiness systems capable of catering for emergent factors that affect business processes. Drawing on development of theories of the ‘action and design’class the Theory of Deferred Action is invoked as the base theory for the theoretical model. A theoretical model of flexible process architecture is presented by identifying its core components and their relationships, and then illustrated with exemplar flexible process architectures capable of responding to emergent factors. Managerial implications of the model are considered and the model’s generic applicability is discussed.

A membrane glucocorticoid receptor mediates the rapid/non-genomic actions of glucocorticoids in mammalian skeletal muscle fibres.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, María Hernández-Alcalá; Cormack, Jonathan; Mallinson, David; Mutungi, Gabriel

2013-10-15

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are steroid hormones released from the adrenal gland in response to stress. They are also some of the most potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs currently in clinical use. They exert most of their physiological and pharmacological actions through the classical/genomic pathway. However, they also have rapid/non-genomic actions whose physiological and pharmacological functions are still poorly understood. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the rapid/non-genomic effects of two widely prescribed glucocorticoids, beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) and prednisolone acetate (PDNA), on force production in isolated, intact, mouse skeletal muscle fibre bundles. The results show that the effects of both GCs on maximum isometric force (Po) were fibre-type dependent. Thus, they increased Po in the slow-twitch fibre bundles without significantly affecting that of the fast-twitch fibre bundles. The increase in Po occurred within 10 min and was insensitive to the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D. Also, it was maximal at ∼250 nM and was blocked by the glucocorticoid receptor (GCR) inhibitor RU486 and a monoclonal anti-GCR, suggesting that it was mediated by a membrane (m) GCR. Both muscle fibre types expressed a cytosolic GCR. However, a mGCR was present only in the slow-twitch fibres. The receptor was more abundant in oxidative than in glycolytic fibres and was confined mainly to the periphery of the fibres where it co-localised with laminin. From these findings we conclude that the rapid/non-genomic actions of GCs are mediated by a mGCR and that they are physiologically/therapeutically beneficial, especially in slow-twitch muscle fibres.

Creating a market-oriented product innovation process : A contingency approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kok, R.A.W.; Biemans, W.G.

This study analyzes how and why a firm's change program to create a market-oriented innovation process depends on its environmental, innovational and organizational context. Based on an organizational-learning capabilities framework, the results from a multiple case study indicate how a firm's

ParticipACTION: Overview and introduction of baseline research on the "new" ParticipACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig Cora L

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper provides a brief overview of the Canadian physical activity communications and social marketing organization "ParticipACTION"; introduces the "new" ParticipACTION; describes the research process leading to the collection of baseline data on the new ParticipACTION; and outlines the accompanying series of papers in the supplement presenting the detailed baseline data. Methods Information on ParticipACTION was gathered from close personal involvement with the organization, from interviews and meetings with key leaders of the organization, from published literature and from ParticipACTION archives. In 2001, after nearly 30 years of operation, ParticipACTION ceased operations because of inadequate funding. In February 2007 the organization was officially resurrected and the launch of the first mass media campaign of the "new" ParticipACTION occurred in October 2007. The six-year absence of ParticipACTION, or any equivalent substitute, provided a unique opportunity to examine the impact of a national physical activity social marketing organization on important individual and organizational level indicators of success. A rapid response research team was established in January 2007 to exploit this natural intervention research opportunity. Results The research team was successful in obtaining funding through the new Canadian Institutes of Health Research Intervention Research (Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention Funding Program. Data were collected on individuals and organizations prior to the complete implementation of the first mass media campaign of the new ParticipACTION. Conclusion Rapid response research and funding mechanisms facilitated the collection of baseline information on the new ParticipACTION. These data will allow for comprehensive assessments of future initiatives of ParticipACTION.

Recommendations for citizen-oriented risk communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fertmann, R.

2005-01-01

The purpose of recommendations for citizen-oriented risk communication should be to provide ''banisters'' which leave the players their freedom of action and allow them to adapt communicative structures to the situation at hand. Uncertainty and controversial issues at the levels of information, participation and assessment are identified as potential stumbling blocks in risk communication. The experiences gained in Hamburg shed a light on a diversity of processes in risk communication, which the present paper proceeds to evaluate. One of its essential recommendations is to have dialogic processes develop into forms of participation. A guide on risk communication which was formulated in the USA has been adapted to conditions as they prevail in Germany. The adapted version is more practically oriented than the rules of the EPA or the more recent CDC recommendations. Suitable success criteria include a fair procedure, a common baseline of what is known and not known, the acceptance of different assessment criteria, and the exchange of the pros and cons of different options

Action processing and mirror neuron function in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an fMRI study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Jelsone-Swain

Full Text Available Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS is a highly debilitating and rapidly fatal neurodegenerative disease. It has been suggested that social cognition may be affected, such as impairment in theory of mind (ToM ability. Despite these findings, research in this area is scarce and the investigation of neural mechanisms behind such impairment is absent. Nineteen patients with ALS and eighteen healthy controls participated in this study. Because the mirror neuron system (MNS is thought to be involved in theory of mind, we first implemented a straightforward action-execution and observation task to assess basic MNS function. Second, we examined the social-cognitive ability to understand actions of others, which is a component of ToM. We used fMRI to assess BOLD activity differences between groups during both experiments. Theory of mind was also measured behaviorally using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RME. ALS patients displayed greater BOLD activity during the action-execution and observation task, especially throughout right anterior cortical regions. These areas included the right inferior operculum, premotor and primary motor regions, and left inferior parietal lobe. A conjunction analysis showed significantly more co-activated voxels during both the observation and action-execution conditions in the patient group throughout MNS regions. These results support a compensatory response in the MNS during action processing. In the action understanding experiment, healthy controls performed better behaviorally and subsequently recruited greater regions of activity throughout the prefrontal cortex and middle temporal gyrus. Lastly, action understanding performance was able to cluster patients with ALS into high and lower performing groups, which then differentiated RME performance. Collectively, these data suggest that social cognition, particularly theory of mind, may be affected in a subset of patients with ALS. This impairment may be related to

Selection-for-action in visual search.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannus, Aave; Cornelissen, Frans W; Lindemann, Oliver; Bekkering, Harold

2005-01-01

Grasping an object rather than pointing to it enhances processing of its orientation but not its color. Apparently, visual discrimination is selectively enhanced for a behaviorally relevant feature. In two experiments we investigated the limitations and targets of this bias. Specifically, in Experiment 1 we were interested to find out whether the effect is capacity demanding, therefore we manipulated the set-size of the display. The results indicated a clear cognitive processing capacity requirement, i.e. the magnitude of the effect decreased for a larger set size. Consequently, in Experiment 2, we investigated if the enhancement effect occurs only at the level of behaviorally relevant feature or at a level common to different features. Therefore we manipulated the discriminability of the behaviorally neutral feature (color). Again, results showed that this manipulation influenced the action enhancement of the behaviorally relevant feature. Particularly, the effect of the color manipulation on the action enhancement suggests that the action effect is more likely to bias the competition between different visual features rather than to enhance the processing of the relevant feature. We offer a theoretical account that integrates the action-intention effect within the biased competition model of visual selective attention.

Hierarchical processing in music, language, and action: Lashley revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitch, W Tecumseh; Martins, Mauricio D

2014-05-01

Sixty years ago, Karl Lashley suggested that complex action sequences, from simple motor acts to language and music, are a fundamental but neglected aspect of neural function. Lashley demonstrated the inadequacy of then-standard models of associative chaining, positing a more flexible and generalized "syntax of action" necessary to encompass key aspects of language and music. He suggested that hierarchy in language and music builds upon a more basic sequential action system, and provided several concrete hypotheses about the nature of this system. Here, we review a diverse set of modern data concerning musical, linguistic, and other action processing, finding them largely consistent with an updated neuroanatomical version of Lashley's hypotheses. In particular, the lateral premotor cortex, including Broca's area, plays important roles in hierarchical processing in language, music, and at least some action sequences. Although the precise computational function of the lateral prefrontal regions in action syntax remains debated, Lashley's notion-that this cortical region implements a working-memory buffer or stack scannable by posterior and subcortical brain regions-is consistent with considerable experimental data. © 2014 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.

Action research methodology in clinical pharmacy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Lotte Stig; Sørensen, Ellen Westh

2016-01-01

Introduction The focus in clinical pharmacy practice is and has for the last 30-35 years been on changing the role of pharmacy staff into service orientation and patient counselling. One way of doing this is by involving staff in change process and as a researcher to take part in the change process...... by establishing partnerships with staff. On the background of the authors' widespread action research (AR)-based experiences, recommendations and comments for how to conduct an AR-study is described, and one of their AR-based studies illustrate the methodology and the research methods used. Methodology AR...... is defined as an approach to research which is based on a problem-solving relationship between researchers and clients, which aims at both solving a problem and at collaboratively generating new knowledge. Research questions relevant in AR-studies are: what was the working process in this change oriented...

Unconscious processing of facial attractiveness: invisible attractive faces orient visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Shao-Min; Nieh, Chih-Hsuan; Hsieh, Po-Jang

2016-11-16

Past research has proven human's extraordinary ability to extract information from a face in the blink of an eye, including its emotion, gaze direction, and attractiveness. However, it remains elusive whether facial attractiveness can be processed and influences our behaviors in the complete absence of conscious awareness. Here we demonstrate unconscious processing of facial attractiveness with three distinct approaches. In Experiment 1, the time taken for faces to break interocular suppression was measured. The results showed that attractive faces enjoyed the privilege of breaking suppression and reaching consciousness earlier. In Experiment 2, we further showed that attractive faces had lower visibility thresholds, again suggesting that facial attractiveness could be processed more easily to reach consciousness. Crucially, in Experiment 3, a significant decrease of accuracy on an orientation discrimination task subsequent to an invisible attractive face showed that attractive faces, albeit suppressed and invisible, still exerted an effect by orienting attention. Taken together, for the first time, we show that facial attractiveness can be processed in the complete absence of consciousness, and an unconscious attractive face is still capable of directing our attention.

Improvements of sensorimotor processes during action cascading associated with changes in sensory processing architecture-insights from sensory deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gohil, Krutika; Hahne, Anja; Beste, Christian

2016-06-20

In most everyday situations sensorimotor processes are quite complex because situations often require to carry out several actions in a specific temporal order; i.e. one has to cascade different actions. While it is known that changes to stimuli affect action cascading mechanisms, it is unknown whether action cascading changes when sensory stimuli are not manipulated, but the neural architecture to process these stimuli is altered. In the current study we test this hypothesis using prelingually deaf subjects as a model to answer this question. We use a system neurophysiological approach using event-related potentials (ERPs) and source localization techniques. We show that prelingually deaf subjects show improvements in action cascading. However, this improvement is most likely not due to changes at the perceptual (P1-ERP) and attentional processing level (N1-ERP), but due to changes at the response selection level (P3-ERP). It seems that the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is important for these effects to occur, because the TPJ comprises overlapping networks important for the processing of sensory information and the selection of responses. Sensory deprivation thus affects cognitive processes downstream of sensory processing and only these seem to be important for behavioral improvements in situations requiring complex sensorimotor processes and action cascading.

Tuning polymorphism and orientation in organic semiconductor thin films via post-deposition processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiszpanski, Anna M; Baur, Robin M; Kim, Bumjung; Tremblay, Noah J; Nuckolls, Colin; Woll, Arthur R; Loo, Yueh-Lin

2014-11-05

Though both the crystal structure and molecular orientation of organic semiconductors are known to impact charge transport in thin-film devices, separately accessing different polymorphs and varying the out-of-plane molecular orientation is challenging, typically requiring stringent control over film deposition conditions, film thickness, and substrate chemistry. Here we demonstrate independent tuning of the crystalline polymorph and molecular orientation in thin films of contorted hexabenzocoronene, c-HBC, during post-deposition processing without the need to adjust deposition conditions. Three polymorphs are observed, two of which have not been previously reported. Using our ability to independently tune the crystal structure and out-of-plane molecular orientation in thin films of c-HBC, we have decoupled and evaluated the effects that molecular packing and orientation have on device performance in thin-film transistors (TFTs). In the case of TFTs comprising c-HBC, polymorphism and molecular orientation are equally important; independently changing either one affects the field-effect mobility by an order of magnitude.

Sex differences in face processing are mediated by handedness and sexual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewster, Paul W H; Mullin, Caitlin R; Dobrin, Roxana A; Steeves, Jennifer K E

2011-03-01

Previous research has demonstrated sex differences in face processing at both neural and behavioural levels. The present study examined the role of handedness and sexual orientation as mediators of this effect. We compared the performance of LH (left-handed) and RH (right-handed) heterosexual and homosexual male and female participants on a face recognition memory task. Our main findings were that homosexual males have better face recognition memory than both heterosexual males and homosexual women. We also demonstrate better face processing in women than in men. Finally, LH heterosexual participants had better face recognition than LH homosexual participants and also tended to be better than RH heterosexual participants. These findings are consistent with differences in the organisation and laterality of face-processing mechanisms as a function of sex, handedness, and sexual orientation.

Reduced thermal budget processing of Y-Ba-Cu-O films by rapid isothermal processing assisted metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, R.; Sinha, S.; Hsu, N.J.; Ng, J.T.C.; Chou, P.; Thakur, R.P.S.; Narayan, J.

1991-01-01

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has the potential of emerging as a viable technique to fabricate ribbons, tapes, coated wires, and the deposition of films of high-temperature superconductors, and related materials. As a reduced thermal budget processing technique, rapid isothermal processing (RIP) based on incoherent radiation as the source of energy can be usefully coupled to conventional MOCVD. In this paper we report on the deposition and characterization of high quality superconducting thin films of Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) on yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates by RIP assisted MOCVD. Using O 2 gas as the source of oxygen, YBCO films deposited initially at 600 degree C for 1 min and at 745 degree C for 25 min followed by deposition at 780 degree C for 45 s are primarily c-axis oriented and zero resistance is observed at 89--90 K. The zero magnetic field current density at 53 and 77 K are 1.2x10 6 and 3x10 5 A/cm 2 , respectively. By using a mixture of N 2 O and O 2 as the oxygen source substrate temperature was further reduced in the deposition of YBCO films. The films deposited initially at 600 degree C for 1 min and than at 720 degree C for 30 min are c-axis oriented and with zero resistance being observed at 91 K. The zero magnetic field current densities at 53 and 77 K are 3.4x10 6 and 1.2x10 6 A/cm 2 , respectively. To the best of our knowledge this is the highest value of critical current density, J c for films deposited by MOCVD at a substrate temperature as low as 720 degree C. It is envisioned that high energy photons from the incoherent light source and the use of a mixture of N 2 O and O 2 as the oxygen source, assist chemical reactions and lower overall thermal budget for processing of these films

Rapid process development of chromatographic process using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry as a process analytical technology tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Binjun; Chen, Teng; Xu, Zhilin; Qu, Haibin

2014-06-01

The concept of quality by design (QbD) is widely applied in the process development of pharmaceuticals. However, the additional cost and time have caused some resistance about QbD implementation. To show a possible solution, this work proposed a rapid process development method, which used direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for studying the chromatographic process of Ginkgo biloba L., as an example. The breakthrough curves were fast determined by DART-MS at-line. A high correlation coefficient of 0.9520 was found between the concentrations of ginkgolide A determined by DART-MS and HPLC. Based on the PAT tool, the impacts of process parameters on the adsorption capacity were discovered rapidly, which showed a decreased adsorption capacity with the increase of the flow rate. This work has shown the feasibility and advantages of integrating PAT into QbD implementation for rapid process development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of cold work and processing orientation on the SCC behavior of Alloy 600

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moshier, W.C.; Brown, C.M.

1999-01-01

Cold work accelerates SCC growth rates in Alloy 600. However, the variation in crack growth rates generated from cold worker material has been significant, and the effect has been difficult to quantify. A study was performed in hydrogenated water adjusted to pH 10.2 to systematically evaluate the effect of cold work on Alloy 600 as a function of temperature, amount of cold work, stress intensity factor, and processing orientation. Cold work was introduced into the material by either tensile prestraining or cold rolling plate product. Crack growth rates were determined between 252 and 360 C, stress intensity factors between 21 and 55 MPa√m, and yield strengths between 201 and 827 MPa. The material with the highest yield strength was cold rolled and tested in the longitudinal-transverse (LT) and short-transverse (ST) orientations. Crack growth rates increased with increasing temperature, stress intensity factor, and yield strength. Furthermore, crack growth rates were a strong function of the processing orientation in the cold rolled plate, with growth rates being approximately an order of magnitude greater in the ST orientation compared to the LT orientation. Crack growth rates in the LT orientation were measured between 0.003 and 1.95 x 10 -9 m/s and between 0.066 and 6.3 x 10 -9 m/s in the ST orientation. Activation energies were slightly greater in the ST orientation, ranging from 154 to 191 kcal/mole, compared to activation energies between 126 and 157 kJ/mole in the LT orientation. The results of this study demonstrate that although cold work can be used to accelerate SCC, the orientation of crack growth can significantly affect the results, and must be taken into account when analyzing data from cold worked material

FRET measurements of kinesin neck orientation reveal a structural basis for processivity and asymmetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Douglas S; Fathi, Reza; Mitchison, Timothy J; Gelles, Jeff

2010-03-23

As the smallest and simplest motor enzymes, kinesins have served as the prototype for understanding the relationship between protein structure and mechanochemical function of enzymes in this class. Conventional kinesin (kinesin-1) is a motor enzyme that transports cargo toward the plus end of microtubules by a processive, asymmetric hand-over-hand mechanism. The coiled-coil neck domain, which connects the two kinesin motor domains, contributes to kinesin processivity (the ability to take many steps in a row) and is proposed to be a key determinant of the asymmetry in the kinesin mechanism. While previous studies have defined the orientation and position of microtubule-bound kinesin motor domains, the disposition of the neck coiled-coil remains uncertain. We determined the neck coiled-coil orientation using a multidonor fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique to measure distances between microtubules and bound kinesin molecules. Microtubules were labeled with a new fluorescent taxol donor, TAMRA-X-taxol, and kinesin derivatives with an acceptor fluorophore attached at positions on the motor and neck coiled-coil domains were used to reconstruct the positions and orientations of the domains. FRET measurements to positions on the motor domain were largely consistent with the domain orientation determined in previous studies, validating the technique. Measurements to positions on the neck coiled-coil were inconsistent with a radial orientation and instead demonstrated that the neck coiled-coil is parallel to the microtubule surface. The measured orientation provides a structural explanation for how neck surface residues enhance processivity and suggests a simple hypothesis for the origin of kinesin step asymmetry and "limping."

An object-oriented software interface to VME

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, Timothy L; Gottlieb, Eric; Gold, Michael

1996-01-01

In the next millennium, data acquisition tasks for high energy physics will increasingly rely on distributed processing and the VME bus. To provide transparent, general-purpose access to VME hardware modules through a VME-embedded processor, we have created a simple, portable, easily configured object-oriented interface to the VME bus. This software is particularly well-suited for hardware development, providing rapid engineering level access to the VME interface of prototype modules. (author)

Highly oriented Bi-system bulk sample prepared by a decomposition-crystallization process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi Zhengping; Zhou Lian; Ji Chunlin

1992-01-01

A decomposition-crystallization method, preparing highly oriented Bi-system bulk sample is reported. The effects of processing parameter, decomposition temperature, cooling rate and post-treatment condition on texture and superconductivity are investigated. The method has successfully prepared highly textured Bi-system bulk samples. High temperature annealing does not destroy the growing texture, but the cooling rate has some effect on texture and superconductivity. Annealing in N 2 /O 2 atmosphere can improve superconductivity of the textured sample. The study on the superconductivity of the Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O bulk material has been reported in numerous papers. The research on J c concentrates on the tape containing the 2223 phase, with very few studies on the J c of bulk sample. The reason for the lack of studies is that the change of superconducting phases at high temperatures has not been known. The authors have reported that the 2212 phase incongruently melted at about 875 degrees C and proceeded to orient the c-axis perpendicular to the surface in the process of crystallization of the 2212 phase. Based on that result, a decomposition-crystallization method was proposed to prepare highly oriented Bi-system bulk sample. In this paper, the process is described in detail and the effects of processing parameters on texture and superconductivity are reported

The processing of actions and action-words in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Papeo, Liuba; Cecchetto, Cinzia; Mazzon, Giulia; Granello, Giulia; Cattaruzza, Tatiana; Verriello, Lorenzo; Eleopra, Roberto; Rumiati, Raffaella I

2015-03-01

(frontal) motor centers and the executive-control machinery housed in the frontal brain, and the implications of executive dysfunctions in tasks such as action processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual processing in rapid-chase systems: Image processing, attention, and awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas eSchmidt

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Visual stimuli can be classified so rapidly that their analysis may be based on a single sweep of feedforward processing through the visuomotor system. Behavioral criteria for feedforward processing can be evaluated in response priming tasks where speeded pointing or keypress responses are performed towards target stimuli which are preceded by prime stimuli. We apply this method to several classes of complex stimuli. 1 When participants classify natural images into animals or non-animals, the time course of their pointing responses indicates that prime and target signals remain strictly sequential throughout all processing stages, meeting stringent behavioral criteria for feedforward processing (rapid-chase criteria. 2 Such priming effects are boosted by selective visual attention for positions, shapes, and colors, in a way consistent with bottom-up enhancement of visuomotor processing, even when primes cannot be consciously identified. 3 Speeded processing of phobic images is observed in participants specifically fearful of spiders or snakes, suggesting enhancement of feedforward processing by long-term perceptual learning. 4 When the perceived brightness of primes in complex displays is altered by means of illumination or transparency illusions, priming effects in speeded keypress responses can systematically contradict subjective brightness judgments, such that one prime appears brighter than the other but activates motor responses as if it was darker. We propose that response priming captures the output of the first feedforward pass of visual signals through the visuomotor system, and that this output lacks some characteristic features of more elaborate, recurrent processing. This way, visuomotor measures may become dissociated from several aspects of conscious vision. We argue that "fast" visuomotor measures predominantly driven by feedforward processing should supplement "slow" psychophysical measures predominantly based on visual

Local Sustainability and Cooperation Actions in the Mediterranean Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiberio Daddi

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The populations of the Middle East and Africa are increasing rapidly, contributing to rapid urban growth. This paper describes a two-year action research process involving diverse public, private, and community stakeholders. The actions aimed to develop and strengthen the capabilities of three Mediterranean cities (Marrakech, Morocco; Sin el Fil, Lebanon; and Bodrum, Turkey in managing and promoting local sustainable development. The needs and priorities of each Mediterranean partner were identified and pilot actions were elaborated to promote urban sustainability, the exploitation of local resources, and the enhancement of local tangible and intangible assets. The paper describes the outputs of pilot actions carried out in these cities, highlighting how these experiences contribute to the current debate on urban sustainability. Broad implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Rapid realist review of the evidence: achieving lasting change when mental health rehabilitation staff undertake recovery-oriented training.

Science.gov (United States)

Gee, Melanie; Bhanbhro, Sadiq; Cook, Sarah; Killaspy, Helen

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to identify the factors contributing to lasting change in practice following a recovery-based training intervention for inpatient mental health rehabilitation staff. Staff training may help nurses and other staff groups in inpatient mental health rehabilitative settings to increase their recovery-oriented practice. There are no published reviews on the effectiveness of such training and few long-term evaluations. This review informed a realist evaluation of a specific intervention (GetREAL). Rapid realist review methodology was used to generate and prioritize programme theories. ASSIA, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature searches were performed in September 2014-March 2015 with no date restrictions. Stakeholders suggested further documents. GetREAL project documentation was consulted. Programme theory development took place iteratively with literature identification. Stakeholders validated and prioritized emerging programme theories and the prioritized theories were refined using literature case studies. Fifty-one relevant documents fed into 49 programme theories articulating seven mechanisms for lasting change. Prioritized mechanisms were: staff receptiveness to change; and staff feeling encouraged, motivated and supported by colleagues and management to change. Seven programme theories were prioritized and refined using data from four case studies. Lasting change can be facilitated by collaborative action planning, regular collaborative meetings, appointing a change agent, explicit management endorsement and prioritization and modifying organizational structures. Conversely, a challenging organizational climate, or a prevalence of 'change fatigue', may block change. Pre-intervention exploration may help identify any potential barriers to embedding recovery in the organizational culture. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Implementation of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Elliot P.; Chiu, Chu-Chuan

2013-01-01

This paper describes implementation and testing of an active learning, team-based pedagogical approach to instruction in engineering. This pedagogy has been termed Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), and is based upon the learning cycle model. Rather than sitting in traditional lectures, students work in teams to complete worksheets…

Infants in control: rapid anticipation of action outcomes in a gaze-contingent paradigm.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quan Wang

Full Text Available Infants' poor motor abilities limit their interaction with their environment and render studying infant cognition notoriously difficult. Exceptions are eye movements, which reach high accuracy early, but generally do not allow manipulation of the physical environment. In this study, real-time eye tracking is used to put 6- and 8-month-old infants in direct control of their visual surroundings to study the fundamental problem of discovery of agency, i.e. the ability to infer that certain sensory events are caused by one's own actions. We demonstrate that infants quickly learn to perform eye movements to trigger the appearance of new stimuli and that they anticipate the consequences of their actions in as few as 3 trials. Our findings show that infants can rapidly discover new ways of controlling their environment. We suggest that gaze-contingent paradigms offer effective new ways for studying many aspects of infant learning and cognition in an interactive fashion and provide new opportunities for behavioral training and treatment in infants.

Characteristics of products generated by selective sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes

Science.gov (United States)

Cariapa, Vikram

1993-01-01

The trend in the modern global economy towards free market policies has motivated companies to use rapid prototyping technologies to not only reduce product development cycle time but also to maintain their competitive edge. A rapid prototyping technology is one which combines computer aided design with computer controlled tracking of focussed high energy source (eg. lasers, heat) on modern ceramic powders, metallic powders, plastics or photosensitive liquid resins in order to produce prototypes or models. At present, except for the process of shape melting, most rapid prototyping processes generate products that are only dimensionally similar to those of the desired end product. There is an urgent need, therefore, to enhance the understanding of the characteristics of these processes in order to realize their potential for production. Currently, the commercial market is dominated by four rapid prototyping processes, namely selective laser sintering, stereolithography, fused deposition modelling and laminated object manufacturing. This phase of the research has focussed on the selective laser sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes. A theoretical model for these processes is under development. Different rapid prototyping sites supplied test specimens (based on ASTM 638-84, Type I) that have been measured and tested to provide a data base on surface finish, dimensional variation and ultimate tensile strength. Further plans call for developing and verifying the theoretical models by carefully designed experiments. This will be a joint effort between NASA and other prototyping centers to generate a larger database, thus encouraging more widespread usage by product designers.

Action Learning--A Process Which Supports Organisational Change Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Pauline

2012-01-01

This paper reflects on how action learning sets (ALSs) were used to support organisational change initiatives. It sets the scene with contextualising the inclusion of change projects in a masters programme. Action learning is understood to be a dynamic process where a team meets regularly to help individual members address issues through a highly…

Biomimetic processing of oriented crystalline ceramic layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cesarano, J.; Shelnutt, J.A.

1997-10-01

The aim of this project was to develop the capabilities for Sandia to fabricate self assembled Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of various materials and to exploit their two-dimensional crystalline structure to promote the growth of oriented thin films of inorganic materials at room temperature. This includes the design and synthesis of Langmuir-active (amphiphilic) organic molecules with end groups offering high nucleation potential for various ceramics. A longer range goal is that of understanding the underlying principles, making it feasible to use the techniques presented in this report to fabricate unique oriented films of various materials for electronic, sensor, and membrane applications. Therefore, whenever possible, work completed in this report was completed with the intention of addressing the fundamental phenomena underlying the growth of crystalline, inorganic films on template layers of highly organized organic molecules. This problem was inspired by biological processes, which often produce exquisitely engineered structures via templated growth on polymeric layers. Seashells, for example, exhibit great toughness owing to their fine brick-and-mortar structure that results from templated growth of calcium carbonate on top of layers of ordered organic proteins. A key goal in this work, therefore, is to demonstrate a positive correlation between the order and orientation of the template layer and that of the crystalline ceramic material grown upon it. The work completed was comprised of several parallel efforts that encompassed the entire spectrum of biomimetic growth from solution. Studies were completed on seashells and the mechanisms of growth for calcium carbonate. Studies were completed on the characterization of LB films and the capability developed for the in-house fabrication of these films. Standard films of fatty acids were studied as well as novel polypeptides and porphyrins that were synthesized.

Normative Action Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baboroglu, Oguz; Ravn, Ib

1992-01-01

This paper presents an argument for an enrichment of action research methodology. To the current state of action research, we add a constructivist epistemological argument, as well as a crucial inspiration from some futures-oriented planning approaches. Within the domain of social....... They are generated jointly by the stakeholders of a system and the involved action researchers and are tested every time that the prescriptions for action contained in them are followed by a system's stakeholders....

Comparative analysis of gradient-field-based orientation estimation methods and regularized singular-value decomposition for fringe pattern processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Qi; Fu, Shujun

2017-09-20

Fringe orientation is an important feature of fringe patterns and has a wide range of applications such as guiding fringe pattern filtering, phase unwrapping, and abstraction. Estimating fringe orientation is a basic task for subsequent processing of fringe patterns. However, various noise, singular and obscure points, and orientation data degeneration lead to inaccurate calculations of fringe orientation. Thus, to deepen the understanding of orientation estimation and to better guide orientation estimation in fringe pattern processing, some advanced gradient-field-based orientation estimation methods are compared and analyzed. At the same time, following the ideas of smoothing regularization and computing of bigger gradient fields, a regularized singular-value decomposition (RSVD) technique is proposed for fringe orientation estimation. To compare the performance of these gradient-field-based methods, quantitative results and visual effect maps of orientation estimation are given on simulated and real fringe patterns that demonstrate that the RSVD produces the best estimation results at a cost of relatively less time.

Neurocognitive mechanisms of perception-action coordination: a review and theoretical integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Ridderinkhof, K Richard

2014-10-01

The present analysis aims at a theoretical integration of, and a systems-neuroscience perspective on, a variety of historical and contemporary views on perception-action coordination (PAC). We set out to determine the common principles or lawful linkages between sensory and motor systems that explain how perception is action-oriented and how action is perceptually guided. To this end, we analyze the key ingredients to such an integrated framework, examine the architecture of dual-system conjectures of PAC, and endeavor in an historical analysis of the key characteristics, mechanisms, and phenomena of PACs. This analysis will reveal that dual-systems views are in need of fundamental re-thinking, and its elements will be amalgamated with current views on action-oriented predictive processing into a novel integrative theoretical framework (IMPPACT: Impetus, Motivation, and Prediction in Perception-Action Coordination theory). From this framework and its neurocognitive architecture we derive a number of non-trivial predictions regarding conative, motive-driven PAC. We end by presenting a brief outlook on how IMPPACT might present novel insights into certain pathologies and into action expertise. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Process orientation as a tool of strategic approaches to corporate governance and integrated management systems].

Science.gov (United States)

Sens, Brigitte

2010-01-01

The concept of general process orientation as an instrument of organisation development is the core principle of quality management philosophy, i.e. the learning organisation. Accordingly, prestigious quality awards and certification systems focus on process configuration and continual improvement. In German health care organisations, particularly in hospitals, this general process orientation has not been widely implemented yet - despite enormous change dynamics and the requirements of both quality and economic efficiency of health care processes. But based on a consistent process architecture that considers key processes as well as management and support processes, the strategy of excellent health service provision including quality, safety and transparency can be realised in daily operative work. The core elements of quality (e.g., evidence-based medicine), patient safety and risk management, environmental management, health and safety at work can be embedded in daily health care processes as an integrated management system (the "all in one system" principle). Sustainable advantages and benefits for patients, staff, and the organisation will result: stable, high-quality, efficient, and indicator-based health care processes. Hospitals with their broad variety of complex health care procedures should now exploit the full potential of total process orientation. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Does case-mix based reimbursement stimulate the development of process-oriented care delivery?

Science.gov (United States)

Vos, Leti; Dückers, Michel L A; Wagner, Cordula; van Merode, Godefridus G

2010-11-01

Reimbursement based on the total care of a patient during an acute episode of illness is believed to stimulate management and clinicians to reduce quality problems like waiting times and poor coordination of care delivery. Although many studies already show that this kind of case-mix based reimbursement leads to more efficiency, it remains unclear whether care coordination improved as well. This study aims to explore whether case-mix based reimbursement stimulates development of care coordination by the use of care programmes, and a process-oriented way of working. Data for this study were gathered during the winter of 2007/2008 in a survey involving all Dutch hospitals. Descriptive and structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses were conducted. SEM reveals that adoption of the case-mix reimbursement within hospitals' budgeting processes stimulates hospitals to establish care programmes by the use of process-oriented performance measures. However, the implementation of care programmes is not (yet) accompanied by a change in focus from function (the delivery of independent care activities) to process (the delivery of care activities as being connected to a chain of interdependent care activities). This study demonstrates that hospital management can stimulate the development of care programmes by the adoption of case-mix reimbursement within hospitals' budgeting processes. Future research is recommended to confirm this finding and to determine whether the establishment of care programmes will in time indeed lead to a more process-oriented view of professionals. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Workers' Orientation toward the Evidence-Based Practice Process: A Dutch Survey

Science.gov (United States)

van der Zwet, Renske J. M.; Kolmer, Deirdre M. Beneken genaamd; Schalk, René

2016-01-01

Objectives: This study assesses social workers' orientation toward the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and explores which specific variables (e.g. age) are associated. Methods: Data were collected from 341 Dutch social workers through an online survey which included a Dutch translation of the EBP Process Assessment Scale (EBPPAS), along with…

Visual Speed of Processing and Publically Observable Feedback in Video-Game Players

OpenAIRE

Patten, James William

2016-01-01

Time spent playing action-oriented video-games has been proposed to improve the functioning of visual attention and perception in a number of areas. These benefits are not always consistently reported, however. It was hypothesized that an improvement to visual Speed of Processing (SOP) in action-oriented Video-Game Players (VGPs) underlies many of the benefits of action video-game play, and furthermore the expression of this improvement was modulated by a Hawthorne effect (individuals behavin...

Combined object-oriented approach for development of process control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonova, I.; Batchkova, I.

2013-01-01

Full text: The traditional approaches for development of software control system in automation an information technology based on a directly code creation are no longer effective and successful enough. The response to these challenges is the Model Driven Engineering (MDE) or its counter part in the field of architectures Model Driven Architecture (MDA). One of the most promising approach supporting MDE and MDA is UML. It does not specify a methodology for software or system design but aims to provide an integrated modeling framework for structural, functional and behavior descriptions. The success of UML in many object-oriented approaches led to an idea of applying UML to design of multi agent systems. The approach proposed in this paper applies modified Harmony methodology and is based on the combined use of UML profile for system engineering, IEC61499 standard and FIPA standard protocols. The benefits of object-oriented paradigm and the models of IEC61499 standard are extended with UML/SysML and FIPA notations. The development phases are illustrated with the UML models of a simple process control system. The main benefits of using the proposed approach can be summarized as: it provides consistency in the syntax and underlying semantics; increases the potential and likelihood of reuse; supports the whole software development life cycle in the field of process control. Including the SysML features, based on extended activity and parametric diagrams, flow ports and items to the proposed approach opens the possibilities for modeling of continuous system and support the development in field of process control. Another advantage, connected to the UML/MARTE profile is the possibility for analysis of the designed system and detailed design of the hardware and software platform of the modeled application. Key words: object-oriented modeling, control system, UML, SysML, IEC 61499

Developing Agent-Oriented Video Surveillance System through Agent-Oriented Methodology (AOM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheah Wai Shiang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Agent-oriented methodology (AOM is a comprehensive and unified agent methodology for agent-oriented software development. Although AOM is claimed to be able to cope with a complex system development, it is still not yet determined up to what extent this may be true. Therefore, it is vital to conduct an investigation to validate this methodology. This paper presents the adoption of AOM in developing an agent-oriented video surveillance system (VSS. An intruder handling scenario is designed and implemented through AOM. AOM provides an alternative method to engineer a distributed security system in a systematic manner. It presents the security system at a holistic view; provides a better conceptualization of agent-oriented security system and supports rapid prototyping as well as simulation of video surveillance system.

The effects of an action video game on visual and affective information processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Kira; West, Robert

2013-04-04

Playing action video games can have beneficial effects on visuospatial cognition and negative effects on social information processing. However, these two effects have not been demonstrated in the same individuals in a single study. The current study used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to examine the effects of playing an action or non-action video game on the processing of emotion in facial expression. The data revealed that 10h of playing an action or non-action video game had differential effects on the ERPs relative to a no-contact control group. Playing an action game resulted in two effects: one that reflected an increase in the amplitude of the ERPs following training over the right frontal and posterior regions that was similar for angry, happy, and neutral faces; and one that reflected a reduction in the allocation of attention to happy faces. In contrast, playing a non-action game resulted in changes in slow wave activity over the central-parietal and frontal regions that were greater for targets (i.e., angry and happy faces) than for non-targets (i.e., neutral faces). These data demonstrate that the contrasting effects of action video games on visuospatial and emotion processing occur in the same individuals following the same level of gaming experience. This observation leads to the suggestion that caution should be exercised when using action video games to modify visual processing, as this experience could also have unintended effects on emotion processing. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Action and object processing in brain-injured speakers of Chinese.

Science.gov (United States)

Arévalo, Analia L; Lu, Ching-Ching; Huang, Lydia B-Y; Bates, Elizabeth A; Dronkers, Nina F

2011-11-01

To see whether action and object processing across different tasks and modalities differs in brain-injured speakers of Chinese with varying fluency and lesion locations within the left hemisphere. Words and pictures representing actions and objects were presented to a group of 33 participants whose native and/or dominant language was Mandarin Chinese: 23 patients with left-hemisphere lesions due to stroke and 10 language-, age- and education-matched healthy control participants. A set of 120 stimulus items was presented to each participant in three different forms: as black and white line drawings (for picture-naming), as written words (for reading) and as aurally presented words (for word repetition). Patients were divided into groups for two separate analyses: Analysis 1 divided and compared patients based on fluency (Fluent vs. Nonfluent) and Analysis 2 compared patients based on lesion location (Anterior vs. Posterior). Both analyses yielded similar results: Fluent, Nonfluent, Anterior, and Posterior patients all produced significantly more errors when processing action (M = 0.73, SD = 0.45) relative to object (M = 0.79, SD = 0.41) stimuli, and this effect was strongest in the picture-naming task. As in our previous study with English-speaking participants using the same experimental design (Arévalo et al., 2007, Arévalo, Moineau, Saygin, Ludy, & Bates, 2005), we did not find evidence for a double-dissociation in action and object processing between groups with different lesion and fluency profiles. These combined data bring us closer to a more informed view of action/object processing in the brain in both healthy and brain-injured individuals.

Object-oriented software design in semiautomatic building extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Guelch, Eberhard; Mueller, Hardo

1997-08-01

Developing a system for semiautomatic building acquisition is a complex process, that requires constant integration and updating of software modules and user interfaces. To facilitate these processes we apply an object-oriented design not only for the data but also for the software involved. We use the unified modeling language (UML) to describe the object-oriented modeling of the system in different levels of detail. We can distinguish between use cases from the users point of view, that represent a sequence of actions, yielding in an observable result and the use cases for the programmers, who can use the system as a class library to integrate the acquisition modules in their own software. The structure of the system is based on the model-view-controller (MVC) design pattern. An example from the integration of automated texture extraction for the visualization of results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.

Rapid decay of vacancy islands at step edges on Ag(111): step orientation dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Mingmin; Thiel, P A; Jenks, Cynthia J; Evans, J W

2010-01-01

Previous work has established that vacancy islands or pits fill much more quickly when they are in contact with a step edge, such that the common boundary is a double step. The present work focuses on the effect of the orientation of that step, with two possibilities existing for a face centered cubic (111) surface: A- and B-type steps. We find that the following features can depend on the orientation: (1) the shapes of islands while they shrink; (2) whether the island remains attached to the step edge; and (3) the rate of filling. The first two effects can be explained by the different rates of adatom diffusion along the A- and B-steps that define the pit, enhanced by the different filling rates. The third observation-the difference in the filling rate itself-is explained within the context of the concerted exchange mechanism at the double step. This process is facile at all regular sites along B-steps, but only at kink sites along A-steps, which explains the different rates. We also observe that oxygen can greatly accelerate the decay process, although it has no apparent effect on an isolated vacancy island (i.e. an island that is not in contact with a step).

Rapid deposition process for zinc oxide film applications in pyroelectric devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsiao, Chun-Ching; Yu, Shih-Yuan

2012-01-01

Aerosol deposition (AD) is a rapid process for the deposition of films. Zinc oxide is a low toxicity and environmentally friendly material, and it possesses properties such as semiconductivity, pyroelectricity and piezoelectricity without the poling process. Therefore, AD is used to accelerate the manufacturing process for applications of ZnO films in pyroelectric devices. Increasing the temperature variation rate in pyroelectric films is a useful method for enhancing the responsivity of pyroelectric devices. In the present study, a porous ZnO film possessing the properties of large heat absorption and high temperature variation rate is successfully produced by the AD rapid process and laser annealing for application in pyroelectric devices. (paper)

Religiosity and parenting: recent directions in process-oriented research.

Science.gov (United States)

Goeke-Morey, Marcie C; Cummings, E Mark

2017-06-01

Most faith traditions, in principle, promote family life and positive parent-child relationships. In recent years, research has moved beyond questions of whether religion supports positive parenting towards addressing more nuanced process-oriented questions, including how, why, and when religion is linked with adaptive or maladaptive parenting. Relations between religion and multiple specific parenting behaviors (e.g., involvement, warmth, authoritative parenting, communication) are identified, including contexts for when and why relations between religion and parenting are adaptive or maladaptive. A next step for research is the development and testing of theoretical models to more comprehensively account for process relations between religion and parenting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Posture-based processing in visual short-term memory for actions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vicary, Staci A; Stevens, Catherine J

2014-01-01

Visual perception of human action involves both form and motion processing, which may rely on partially dissociable neural networks. If form and motion are dissociable during visual perception, then they may also be dissociable during their retention in visual short-term memory (VSTM). To elicit form-plus-motion and form-only processing of dance-like actions, individual action frames can be presented in the correct or incorrect order. The former appears coherent and should elicit action perception, engaging both form and motion pathways, whereas the latter appears incoherent and should elicit posture perception, engaging form pathways alone. It was hypothesized that, if form and motion are dissociable in VSTM, then recognition of static body posture should be better after viewing incoherent than after viewing coherent actions. However, as VSTM is capacity limited, posture-based encoding of actions may be ineffective with increased number of items or frames. Using a behavioural change detection task, recognition of a single test posture was significantly more likely after studying incoherent than after studying coherent stimuli. However, this effect only occurred for spans of two (but not three) items and for stimuli with five (but not nine) frames. As in perception, posture and motion are dissociable in VSTM.

The ActionScript 30 Quick Reference Guide

CERN Document Server

Stiller, David; deHaan, Jen; Richardson, Darren

2008-01-01

"No matter what your background, the pages that follow will provide you with some excellent knowledge, insight, and even a little bit of wisdom in the realm of Flash and ActionScript. Happy learning!"-- Branden Hall, from the ForewordWritten by Flash insiders with extensive knowledge of the technology, this guide is designed specifically to help Flash designers and developers make the leap from ActionScript 2.0 to the new object-oriented ActionScript 3.0 quickly and painlessly. Formatted so you can find any topic easily, ActionScript 3.0 Quick Reference Guide explains:Object-oriented programmi

Unleashing the Effectiveness of Process-oriented Information Systems: Problem Analysis, Critical Success Factors, Implications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mutschler, B.B.; Reichert, M.U.; Bumiller, J.

2008-01-01

Process-oriented information systems (IS) aim at the computerized support of business processes. So far, contemporary IS have often fail to meet this goal. To better understand this drawback, to systematically identify its rationales, and to derive critical success factors for business process

Designing an economic-driven evaluation framework for process-oriented software technologies.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mutschler, B.B.; Bumiller, J.; Reichert, M.U.

2006-01-01

During the last decade there has been a dramatic increase in the number of paradigms, standards and tools that can be used to realize process-oriented information systems. A major problem neglected in software engineering research so far has been the systematic determination of costs, benefits, and

Experience with case tools in the design of process-oriented software

Science.gov (United States)

Novakov, Ognian; Sicard, Claude-Henri

1994-12-01

In Accelerator systems such as the CERN PS complex, process equipment has a life time which may exceed the typical life cycle of its related software. Taking into account the variety of such equipment, it is important to keep the analysis and design of the software in a system-independent form. This paper discusses the experience gathered in using commercial CASE tools for analysis, design and reverse engineering of different process-oriented software modules, with a principal emphasis on maintaining the initial analysis in a standardized form. Such tools have been in existence for several years, but this paper shows that they are not fully adapted to our needs. In particular, the paper stresses the problems of integrating such a tool into an existing data-base-dependent development chain, the lack of real-time simulation tools and of Object-Oriented concepts in existing commercial packages. Finally, the paper gives a broader view of software engineering needs in our particular context.

Hospital marketing orientation and managed care processes: are they coordinated?

Science.gov (United States)

White, K R; Thompson, J M; Patel, U B

2001-01-01

The hospital marketing function has been widely adopted as a way to learn about markets, attract sufficient resources, develop appropriate services, and communicate the availability of such goods to those who may be able to purchase such services. The structure, tasks, and effectiveness of the marketing function have been the subject of increased inquiry by researchers and practitioners alike. A specific understanding of hospital marketing in a growing managed care environment and the relationship between marketing and managed care processes in hospitals is a growing concern. Using Kotler and Clarke's framework for assessing marketing orientation, we examined the marketing orientation of hospitals in a single state at two points in time--1993 and 1999. Study findings show that the overall marketing orientation score decreased from 1993 to 1999 for the respondent hospitals. The five elements of the Kotler and Clarke definition of marketing orientation remained relatively stable, with slightly lower scores related to customer philosophy. In addition, we evaluated the degree to which selected managed care activities are carried out as part of its marketing function. A significant (p marketing function was evident from 1993 to 1999. With increasing numbers of managed care plan enrollees, hospitals are likely focusing on organizational buyers as important customers. In order to appeal to organizational buyers, hospital executives may be focusing more on clinical quality and cost efficiency in the production of services, which will improve a hospital's position with organizational buyers.

Employee Orientation: A Process, Not a Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Zemke, Ron

1989-01-01

No or poor orientation can reduce new employees' effectiveness and contribute to dissatisfaction and turnover, costing the company money. The orientation programs of large companies such as Disney, Texas Instruments, and Corning Glass are successful due to high expectations, supervisor and senior management involvement, anxiety reduction, and…

Management of Multi-projects In a Process oriented Organization

OpenAIRE

Macheridis, Nikos; Nilsson, Carl-Henrik

2006-01-01

When projects are used as an organisational platform to conduct business, a project can be the only project in the organisation or one amongst several others. The latter case is called multi-project organisation. Usually an organization with a multi-project environment has a base organisation, which can be functional, matrix structure or another. The purpose of this article is to develop a model based on a process oriented organization as a complement to functional or matrix organizational st...

Air quality: ADEME's strategic orientations - Period 2015-2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

This publication presents orientations which are to be implemented by the ADEME at the national and regional level between 2015 and 2020 regarding outdoor and indoor air quality. These strategic orientations aim at developing knowledge and necessary tools for the implementation of efficient actions of preservation and improvement of air quality, at contributing to the implementation of innovative actions for the preservation and improvement of air quality in territories and at diffusing good practices, and at better taking air quality into account in all the actions undertaken by the Agency. After an overview of the present status of air quality, and of related planning and regulations, this report elaborates these orientations for the different sectors: transport and mobility, building and land planning, agriculture and forest, and industry. The last part addresses the operation implementation in territories, the system for outdoor air quality monitoring, the evolution of actions undertaken by the ADEME, and the implementation of R and D actions

Civic consciousness: A viable concept for advancing students’ ability to orient themselves to possible futures?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Sandahl

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In history didactics the concept of historical consciousness has become an important theoretical framework in developing a meaningful history education. One significant aspect of historical consciousness is to give students a “usable past” to orient to possible futures. Previous research has shown that history is important when students think about the future but that their use of history in meaning-making is simplistic and based on present-day-thinking. Much research has focused on advancing students’ ability to use history in orientation to possible futures, but less attention has been focused on contemporary studies and its role in the process of orientation. By introducing a tentative concept, civic consciousness, the issue of students’ orientation is explored by studying students’ perspectives on democracy in past-present-future. The data consists of 142 narratives and reveals a pattern of normative stances, process orientation and action orientation. These aspects are considered to be important components of civic consciousness and these have implications for how social studies educators should address the challenges of preparing students for the future.

The implementation of a market orientation. Designing frameworks for managerial action

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Raaij, E.M.

2001-01-01

Many managers aspire to improve the degree of market orientation of their organization. In concordance with popular belief, there is scientific evidence to support the proposition that higher degrees of market orientation are associated with higher returns on investment. In this book, the author

Crystallographic orientation analysis in HDDR process of anisotropic Nd-Fe-B magnet powders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takizawa, Rina, E-mail: 3ES15002M@s.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Science for Electronics and Materials, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga 816-8580 (Japan); Itakura, Masaru [Department of Applied Science for Electronics and Materials, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Katayama, Nobuhiro; Morimoto, Koichiro [R& D Division, Toda Kogyo Corp., 1-4 Meijishinkai, Otake, Hiroshima 739-0652 (Japan)

2017-07-01

Highlights: • Over 70% of the Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B grains after the HDDR process are aligned within 30°. • The c-axis alignment of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B slightly deteriorates by the Nd-rich phase formation. • α-Fe grains possess a uniaxial and 〈1 1 3〉 oriented texture in the decomposed stage. • α-Fe is most likely to induce the texture development of recombined Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B. - Abstract: Microstructural changes and crystallographic orientation information in the hydrogenation-decomposition-desorption-recombination (HDDR) process of Nd-Fe-B alloy were investigated using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and precession electron diffraction (PED) in order to understand the mechanism of anisotropy inducement in the HDDR process. Recombined Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B grains were found to nucleate at the interfaces between NdH{sub 2} and α-Fe grains and to have a [0 0 1]-oriented texture from the beginning of the recombination reaction. The Fe grains form with alignment of one of the 〈1 1 3〉 directions at decomposed stage. This suggests that α-Fe most likely induces texture development of recombined Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B.

Cognitive processing of orientation discrimination in anisometropic amblyopia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianglan Wang

Full Text Available Cognition is very important in our daily life. However, amblyopia has abnormal visual cognition. Physiological changes of the brain during processes of cognition could be reflected with ERPs. So the purpose of this study was to investigate the speed and the capacity of resource allocation in visual cognitive processing in orientation discrimination task during monocular and binocular viewing conditions of amblyopia and normal control as well as the corresponding eyes of the two groups with ERPs. We also sought to investigate whether the speed and the capacity of resource allocation in visual cognitive processing vary with target stimuli at different spatial frequencies (3, 6 and 9 cpd in amblyopia and normal control as well as between the corresponding eyes of the two groups. Fifteen mild to moderate anisometropic amblyopes and ten normal controls were recruited. Three-stimulus oddball paradigms of three different spatial frequency orientation discrimination tasks were used in monocular and binocular conditions in amblyopes and normal controls to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs. Accuracy (ACC, reaction time (RT, the latency of novelty P300 and P3b, and the amplitude of novelty P300 and P3b were measured. Results showed that RT was longer in the amblyopic eye than in both eyes of amblyopia and non-dominant eye in control. Novelty P300 amplitude was largest in the amblyopic eye, followed by the fellow eye, and smallest in both eyes of amblyopia. Novelty P300 amplitude was larger in the amblyopic eye than non-dominant eye and was larger in fellow eye than dominant eye. P3b latency was longer in the amblyopic eye than in the fellow eye, both eyes of amblyopia and non-dominant eye of control. P3b latency was not associated with RT in amblyopia. Neural responses of the amblyopic eye are abnormal at the middle and late stages of cognitive processing, indicating that the amblyopic eye needs to spend more time or integrate more resources to process

Effect of Thermomechanical Processing and Crystallographic Orientation on the Corrosion Behavior of API 5L X70 Pipeline Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Ohaeri, Enyinnaya; Omale, Joseph; Eduok, Ubong; Szpunar, Jerzy

2018-04-01

This work presents the electrochemical response of X70 pipeline steel substrates thermomechanically processed at different conditions. The WE sample was hot rolled at a temperature range of 850 °C to 805 °C and cooled at a rate of 42.75 °C/s. Another sample WD was hot rolled from 880 °C to 815 °C and cooled at a faster rate of 51.5 °C/s. Corrosion tests were conducted electrochemically by potentiodynamic polarization in hydrogen-charged and non-hydrogen-charged environments. A lower corrosion rate was measured with hydrogen charging due to the rapid formation of corrosion product film on pipeline substrate, but WE specimen emerged as the most susceptible to corrosion with and without hydrogen charging. Variations in thermomechanical rolling conditions influenced grain orientation, protective film properties, corrosion, and cracking behavior on both specimens. Cracks were seen in both specimens after hydrogen charging, but specimen WE experienced a more intense deterioration of protective corrosion product film and subsequent cracking. A large part of specimen WD retained its protective corrosion product film after the polarization test, and sites where spalling occurred resulted in pitting with less cracking. Despite weak crystallographic texture noticed in both specimens, WD showed a higher intensity of corrosion-resistant 111||ND-oriented grains, while WE showed a more random distribution of 111||ND-, 011||ND-, and 001||ND-oriented grains with a lower intensity.

Effect of Thermomechanical Processing and Crystallographic Orientation on the Corrosion Behavior of API 5L X70 Pipeline Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Ohaeri, Enyinnaya; Omale, Joseph; Eduok, Ubong; Szpunar, Jerzy

2018-06-01

This work presents the electrochemical response of X70 pipeline steel substrates thermomechanically processed at different conditions. The WE sample was hot rolled at a temperature range of 850 °C to 805 °C and cooled at a rate of 42.75 °C/s. Another sample WD was hot rolled from 880 °C to 815 °C and cooled at a faster rate of 51.5 °C/s. Corrosion tests were conducted electrochemically by potentiodynamic polarization in hydrogen-charged and non-hydrogen-charged environments. A lower corrosion rate was measured with hydrogen charging due to the rapid formation of corrosion product film on pipeline substrate, but WE specimen emerged as the most susceptible to corrosion with and without hydrogen charging. Variations in thermomechanical rolling conditions influenced grain orientation, protective film properties, corrosion, and cracking behavior on both specimens. Cracks were seen in both specimens after hydrogen charging, but specimen WE experienced a more intense deterioration of protective corrosion product film and subsequent cracking. A large part of specimen WD retained its protective corrosion product film after the polarization test, and sites where spalling occurred resulted in pitting with less cracking. Despite weak crystallographic texture noticed in both specimens, WD showed a higher intensity of corrosion-resistant 111|| ND-oriented grains, while WE showed a more random distribution of 111|| ND-, 011|| ND-, and 001|| ND-oriented grains with a lower intensity.

Possibilities of the Integration of the Method of the Ecologically Oriented Independent Scientific Research in the Study Process

Science.gov (United States)

Grizans, Jurijs; Vanags, Janis

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is to analyse possibilities of the integration of the method of the ecologically oriented independent scientific research in the study process. In order to achieve the set aim, the following scientific research methods were used: analysis of the conceptual guidelines for the development of environmentally oriented entrepreneurship, interpretation of the experts' evaluation of the ecologically oriented management, analysis of the results of the students' ecologically oriented independent scientific research, as well as monographic and logically constructive methods. The results of the study give an opportunity to make conclusions and to develop conceptual recommendations on how to introduce future economics and business professionals with the theoretical and practical aspects of ecologically oriented management during the study process.

Light Video Game Play is Associated with Enhanced Visual Processing of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation Targets.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Christina J; Wilding, Robert; Guest, Duncan

2017-02-01

There is mixed evidence that video game players (VGPs) may demonstrate better performance in perceptual and attentional tasks than non-VGPs (NVGPs). The rapid serial visual presentation task is one such case, where observers respond to two successive targets embedded within a stream of serially presented items. We tested light VGPs (LVGPs) and NVGPs on this task. LVGPs were better at correct identification of second targets whether they were also attempting to respond to the first target. This performance benefit seen for LVGPs suggests enhanced visual processing for briefly presented stimuli even with only very moderate game play. Observers were less accurate at discriminating the orientation of a second target within the stream if it occurred shortly after presentation of the first target, that is to say, they were subject to the attentional blink (AB). We find no evidence for any reduction in AB in LVGPs compared with NVGPs.

Food allergies in school: design and evaluation of a teacher-oriented training action.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravarotto, Licia; Mascarello, Giulia; Pinto, Anna; Schiavo, Maria Rita; Bagni, Marina; Decastelli, Lucia

2014-12-04

Food allergies are perceived as a significant problem in school environments; as a result, a teacher's ability to recognise and deal with allergic reactions is of fundamental importance to protect children's health. This paper includes the results of a study conducted for the purposes of designing, implementing and monitoring a specific set of teacher-oriented communication actions. The study involved designing, implementing and assessing five workshops. These workshops were designed on the basis of the analysis of perceptions and information needs investigated by three focus groups (25 teachers). The level of the teachers' knowledge and appreciation of the workshops was evaluated by using two structured questionnaires (n = 158). The teachers feel that they are insufficiently informed about food allergies; this knowledge gap is confirmed by an analysis of their knowledge before participating in the workshops. According to the teachers, the information which would be most useful to them has to do with the practical management of allergies in school. They feel that there is a lack of a professional contact person for precise and reliable information on health issues. The workshops seem to be appreciated as an information method. In addition, there appears to be a need to involve all children in awareness raising activities and education projects on this subject. There is an urgent need for training actions on food allergies in Italian schools, in particular the communication of practical information regarding the management of allergies and emergencies. More communication between the medical and school staff is, in particular, advisable.

QUANTIFYING WILDLIFE ORIENTATION

African Journals Online (AJOL)

environment (P);. Attitudes expressed towards the natural environment (A);. Activity, or the involvement of a person in conservation actions in the broader sense {I). Different combinations of these functions give rise to four typologies of orientation. (Newgard et al., 1986) in the following way: TYPOLOGY. CHARACTERISTICS.

The axiological orientation of students’ personalities

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Sergey I. Kudinov

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background. Our empirical research and analysis revealed characteristics of the axiological orientation of students’ personalities. Objective.We identified the principal types of orientation, dominant values, and attitudes of the personality in the motivational-needs sphere through a variety of validated and reliable techniques and methods. Design We understand the axiological orientation of the personality as a relatively stable set of values, motivations, needs, and moral structures produced through the lens of actions, in and through various spheres of social life, which describes complex system of a person’s perception of him-/herself, his or her perceptions of others, and his or her attitude towards work and other activities. Results. The results of the empirical research demonstrate that a set of axiological, motivational, and need characteristics form pragmatic-professional, social-communicative, or individual-egoistic types of axiological orientation of the personality, which in turn describe the subject’s attitude to the surrounding external reality and to him/herself. The pragmatic-professional type of person is dominated by values such as work, results, money, and process. The least attractive value to this type appears to be power. Respondents with a social-communicative type of axiological orientation have altruism, result and money as their main personal values. Values such as egocentrism, power, money, and freedom are a distinguishing mark of those with the individual-egoistic axiological orientation. Conclusion. This study also addresses how and through what patterns and mechanisms the axiological orientation of students’ personalities is expressed, which could enable professionals to develop educational programs aimed at harmonizing and aligning societal values and the individual’s attitudes.

Broca’s area processes the hierarchical organization of observed action

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Masumi eWakita

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Broca’s area has been suggested as the area responsible for the domain-general hierarchical processing of language and music. Although meaningful action shares a common hierarchical structure with language and music, the role of Broca’s area in this domain remains controversial. To address the involvement of Broca’s area in the processing action hierarchy, the activation of Broca’s area was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy. Measurements were taken while participants watched silent movies that featured hand movements playing familiar and unfamiliar melodies. The unfamiliar melodies were reversed versions of the familiar melodies. Additionally, to investigate the effect of a motor experience on the activation of Broca’s area, the participants were divided into well-trained and less-trained groups. The results showed that Broca’s area in the well-trained participants demonstrated a significantly larger activation in response to the hand motion when an unfamiliar melody was played than when a familiar melody was played. However, Broca’s area in the less-trained participants did not show a contrast between conditions despite identical abilities of the two participant groups to identify the melodies by watching key pressing actions. These results are consistent with previous findings that Broca’s area exhibits increased activation in response to grammatically violated sentences and musically deviated chord progressions as well as the finding that this region does not represent the processing of grammatical structure in less-proficient foreign language speakers. Thus, the current study suggests that Broca’s area represents action hierarchy and that sufficiently long motor training is necessary for it to become sensitive to motor syntax. Therefore, the notion that hierarchical processing in Broca’s area is a common function shared between language and music may help to explain the role of Broca’s area in action perception.

Language for action: Motor resonance during the processing of human and robotic voices.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Cesare, G; Errante, A; Marchi, M; Cuccio, V

2017-11-01

In this fMRI study we evaluated whether the auditory processing of action verbs pronounced by a human or a robotic voice in the imperative mood differently modulates the activation of the mirror neuron system (MNs). The study produced three results. First, the activation pattern found during listening to action verbs was very similar in both the robot and human conditions. Second, the processing of action verbs compared to abstract verbs determined the activation of the fronto-parietal circuit classically involved during the action goal understanding. Third, and most importantly, listening to action verbs compared to abstract verbs produced activation of the anterior part of the supramarginal gyrus (aSMG) regardless of the condition (human and robot) and in the absence of any object name. The supramarginal gyrus is a region considered to underpin hand-object interaction and associated to the processing of affordances. These results suggest that listening to action verbs may trigger the recruitment of motor representations characterizing affordances and action execution, coherently with the predictive nature of motor simulation that not only allows us to re-enact motor knowledge to understand others' actions but also prepares us for the actions we might need to carry out. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Copper-base alloys processed by rapid solidification and ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, J.V.; Elvidge, C.J.; Johnson, E.; Johansen, A.; Sarholt-Kristensen, L.; Henriksen, O.

1985-01-01

Alloys of Cu-Sn and Cu-B have been processed by both melt spinning and ion implantation. In some instances (e.g. Cu-Sn alloys) rapidly solidified ribbons have been subjected to further implantation. This paper describes the similarities and differences in structure of materials subjected to a dynamic and contained process. For example in Cu-B alloys (up to 2wt% Boron) extended solubility is found in implanted alloys which is not present to the same degree in rapidly solidified alloys of the same composition. Likewise the range and nature of the reversible martensitic transformation is different in both cases as examined by electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. (orig.)

BPMN4SOA : A service oriented process modelling language

OpenAIRE

Bergstøl, Eivind

2010-01-01

Service oriented architectures have become very popular the last few years. The abstraction of computer systems into a service paradigm bring many new solutions, both for cross business processes to aid interoperability and the reuse of existing legacy systems in a new network centric world. In the wake of this, service modelling has become a part of OMGs Model Driven Architecture and new modelling languages that are based on past experience for the new paradigm are emerging. BPMN 2.0 and...

Postural orientation and equilibrium processes associated with increased postural sway in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zheng; Hallac, Rami R; Conroy, Kaitlin C; White, Stormi P; Kane, Alex A; Collinsworth, Amy L; Sweeney, John A; Mosconi, Matthew W

2016-01-01

Increased postural sway has been repeatedly documented in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Characterizing the control processes underlying this deficit, including postural orientation and equilibrium, may provide key insights into neurophysiological mechanisms associated with ASD. Postural orientation refers to children's ability to actively align their trunk and head with respect to their base of support, while postural equilibrium is an active process whereby children coordinate ankle dorsi-/plantar-flexion and hip abduction/adduction movements to stabilize their upper body. Dynamic engagement of each of these control processes is important for maintaining postural stability, though neither postural orientation nor equilibrium has been studied in ASD. Twenty-two children with ASD and 21 age and performance IQ-matched typically developing (TD) controls completed three standing tests. During static stance, participants were instructed to stand as still as possible. During dynamic stances, participants swayed at a comfortable speed and magnitude in either anterior-posterior (AP) or mediolateral (ML) directions. The center of pressure (COP) standard deviation and trajectory length were examined to determine if children with ASD showed increased postural sway. Postural orientation was assessed using a novel virtual time-to-contact (VTC) approach that characterized spatiotemporal dimensions of children's postural sway (i.e., body alignment) relative to their postural limitation boundary, defined as the maximum extent to which each child could sway in each direction. Postural equilibrium was quantified by evaluating the amount of shared or mutual information of COP time series measured along the AP and ML directions. Consistent with prior studies, children with ASD showed increased postural sway during both static and dynamic stances relative to TD children. In regard to postural orientation processes, children with ASD demonstrated reduced spatial

From Rail-Oriented to Automobile-Oriented Urban Development and Back. 100 Years of Paradigm Change and Transport Policy in Berlin

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Friedemann Kunst

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Transport and its side effects are major problems in rapidly growing cities. Car traffic dominates these cities and pollutes the environment without being able to sufficiently secure the mobility of the urban population and goods. A paradigm shift in urban and transport policy will be necessary to change this situation. In spite of its different development dynamics, Berlin is an interesting example to discuss development strategies for rapidly growing cities because in the course of more than 100 years, a twofold paradigm shift has occurred in the city both conceptually and practically:  Berlin has shifted from a city dominated by rail traffic  to an automobile-oriented city,  and has then gradually transformed back into a city in which  an intertwined system of public and non-motorized individual means of transport secures the mobility of the urban population. The interdependencies on the conceptual level between urban planning and transport policies as well as on a practical level between urban structures and transport systems can be studied using the example of Berlin. Experiences with the implementation of automobile-oriented planning and the special conditions in the first decade after reunification led to protests, reflection, and a revision of the transport policy. A strategically designed process of integrated planning has brought about a trend reversal, and steered the development of transport in the direction of clearly formulated sustainability-oriented objectives. In this process, the reintegration of transport and spatial planning and a reorganization of institutional structures at the administrative level was of particular importance. Compact, rail-oriented settlement structures like in the metropolitan region of Berlin make it easier to dispense with automobiles than sprawled structures. The residual role that qualitatively improved automobiles will take in the cities of the future will have to be determined by research and

The importance of sensory integration processes for action cascading

Science.gov (United States)

Gohil, Krutika; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian

2015-01-01

Dual tasking or action cascading is essential in everyday life and often investigated using tasks presenting stimuli in different sensory modalities. Findings obtained with multimodal tasks are often broadly generalized, but until today, it has remained unclear whether multimodal integration affects performance in action cascading or the underlying neurophysiology. To bridge this gap, we asked healthy young adults to complete a stop-change paradigm which presented different stimuli in either one or two modalities while recording behavioral and neurophysiological data. Bimodal stimulus presentation prolonged response times and affected bottom-up and top-down guided attentional processes as reflected by the P1 and N1, respectively. However, the most important effect was the modulation of response selection processes reflected by the P3 suggesting that a potentially different way of forming task goals operates during action cascading in bimodal vs. unimodal tasks. When two modalities are involved, separate task goals need to be formed while a conjoint task goal may be generated when all stimuli are presented in the same modality. On a systems level, these processes seem to be related to the modulation of activity in fronto-polar regions (BA10) as well as Broca's area (BA44). PMID:25820681

Energy-oriented planning of enterprises. Energieorientierte Unternehmensplanung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffmann, H

1983-01-01

The book first of all analysis, from an energy point of view, the planning field, which can be characterized by factors relating to the enterprise, environmental factors and the basic business policy pursued. Chapter 2 deals with the enterprise parameters that form the object of planning. Different variables of action are pointed out: aims, strategies (and/or stratetic paths), and actions related to certain areas of function. The aims to be fixed are closely connected with the basic business policy and are discussed in this context. In the part dealing with strategies, particular attention is paid to the efficiency-oriented path ''rational energy utilization'' and the effectiveness-oriented path ''energy-oriented product and market design''. Both strategic framework concepts are viewed in close relation to the aims envisaged, the basic business policy and the environmental and business analysis, and are worked out in this connection. The general strategy discussion covering all sectors is followed by a detailed analysis of the action potential specific to certain areas of function. The physical transformation stages procurement, production and sale are chosen as areas of function to be investigated. Finally the book discusses questions related to the realization of energy concepts. These are, besides implementation conditions and control tasks, resistances encountered and the limits of energy-oriented planning.

Motivational orientation modulates the neural response to reward.

Science.gov (United States)

Linke, Julia; Kirsch, Peter; King, Andrea V; Gass, Achim; Hennerici, Michael G; Bongers, André; Wessa, Michèle

2010-02-01

Motivational orientation defines the source of motivation for an individual to perform a particular action and can either originate from internal desires (e.g., interest) or external compensation (e.g., money). To this end, motivational orientation should influence the way positive or negative feedback is processed during learning situations and this might in turn have an impact on the learning process. In the present study, we thus investigated whether motivational orientation, i.e., extrinsic and intrinsic motivation modulates the neural response to reward and punishment as well as learning from reward and punishment in 33 healthy individuals. To assess neural responses to reward, punishment and learning of reward contingencies we employed a probabilistic reversal learning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation were assessed with a self-report questionnaire. Rewarding trials fostered activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) as well as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, whereas for punishment an increased neural response was observed in the medial and inferior prefrontal cortex, the superior parietal cortex and the insula. High extrinsic motivation was positively correlated to increased neural responses to reward in the ACC, amygdala and putamen, whereas a negative relationship between intrinsic motivation and brain activation in these brain regions was observed. These findings show that motivational orientation indeed modulates the responsiveness to reward delivery in major components of the human reward system and therefore extends previous results showing a significant influence of individual differences in reward-related personality traits on the neural processing of reward. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of deformation process on the improvement of non-oriented electrical steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, O.; Schneider, J.

2003-01-01

World-wide there is a trend to develop higher permeability grades of non-oriented electrical steels. The paper discusses the practical relevance of these developments and describes the progress in higher permeability materials utilizing optimized hot rolling and cold rolling processes

Facilitating Work Based Learning Projects: A Business Process Oriented Knowledge Management Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miao, Yongwu; Sloep, Peter; Koper, Rob

2009-01-01

Miao, Y., Sloep, P. B., & Koper, R. (2009). Facilitating Work Based Learning Projects: A Business Process Oriented Knowledge Management Approach. Presented at the 'Open workshop of TENCompetence - Rethinking Learning and Employment at a Time of Economic Uncertainty-event'. November, 19, 2009,

Pre-Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Process-oriented Information Systems in Healthcare (ProHealth'07)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reichert, M.U.; Peleg, M.; Lenz, R.

These pre-proceedings contain the presentations given at the 1st Int'l Workshop on Process-oriented Information Systems in Healthcare (ProHealth'07). Formal proceedings will be published in Springer's LNCS series. Process-oriented information systems have been demanded for more than 20 years and

Interaction between Task Oriented and Affective Information Processing in Cognitive Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Haazebroek, Pascal; van Dantzig, Saskia; Hommel, Bernhard

There is an increasing interest in endowing robots with emotions. Robot control however is still often very task oriented. We present a cognitive architecture that allows the combination of and interaction between task representations and affective information processing. Our model is validated by comparing simulation results with empirical data from experimental psychology.

Efficacy of an ICALL Tutoring System and Process-Oriented Corrective Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Inn-Chull

2016-01-01

A Web-based form-focused intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) tutoring system equipped with a process-oriented corrective feedback function was developed to investigate the extent to which such a program may serve as a viable method of teaching grammar to Korean secondary and elementary students. The present study was also…

Molecular Orientation of Conjugated Polymer Chains in Nanostructures and Thin Films: Review of Processes and Application to Optoelectronics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varun Vohra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Semiconducting polymers are composed of elongated conjugated polymer backbones and side chains with high solubility and mechanical properties. The combination of these two features results in a high processability and a potential to orient the conjugated backbones in thin films and nanofibers. The thin films and nanofibers are usually composed of highly crystalline (high charge transport and amorphous parts. Orientation of conjugated polymer can result in enhanced charge transport or optical properties as it induces increased crystallinity or preferential orientation of the crystallites. After summarizing the potential strategies to exploit molecular order in conjugated polymer based optoelectronic devices, we will review some of the fabrication processes to induce molecular orientation. In particular, we will review the cases involving molecular and interfacial interactions, unidirectional deposition processes, electrospinning, and postdeposition mechanical treatments. The studies presented here clearly demonstrate that process-controlled molecular orientation of the conjugated polymer chains can result in high device performances (mobilities over 40 cm2·V−1·s−1 and solar cells with efficiencies over 10%. Furthermore, the peculiar interactions between molecularly oriented polymers and polarized light have the potential not only to generate low-cost and low energy consumption polarized light sources but also to fabricate innovative devices such as solar cell integrated LCDs or bipolarized LEDs.

An ergonomics action research demonstration: integrating human factors into assembly design processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Village, J; Greig, M; Salustri, F; Zolfaghari, S; Neumann, W P

2014-01-01

In action research (AR), the researcher participates 'in' the actions in an organisation, while simultaneously reflecting 'on' the actions to promote learning for both the organisation and the researchers. This paper demonstrates a longitudinal AR collaboration with an electronics manufacturing firm where the goal was to improve the organisation's ability to integrate human factors (HF) proactively into their design processes. During the three-year collaboration, all meetings, workshops, interviews and reflections were digitally recorded and qualitatively analysed to inform new 'actions'. By the end of the collaboration, HF tools with targets and sign-off by the HF specialist were integrated into several stages of the design process, and engineers were held accountable for meeting the HF targets. We conclude that the AR approach combined with targeting multiple initiatives at different stages of the design process helped the organisation find ways to integrate HF into their processes in a sustainable way. Researchers acted as a catalyst to help integrate HF into the engineering design process in a sustainable way. This paper demonstrates how an AR approach can help achieve HF integration, the benefits of using a reflective stance and one method for reporting an AR study.

Aspect-Oriented Programming is Quantification and Obliviousness

Science.gov (United States)

Filman, Robert E.; Friedman, Daniel P.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This paper proposes that the distinguishing characteristic of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) systems is that they allow programming by making quantified programmatic assertions over programs written by programmers oblivious to such assertions. Thus, AOP systems can be analyzed with respect to three critical dimensions: the kinds of quantifications allowed, the nature of the actions that can be asserted, and the mechanism for combining base-level actions with asserted actions. Consequences of this perspective are the recognition that certain systems are not AOP and that some mechanisms are expressive enough to allow programming an AOP system within them. A corollary is that while AOP can be applied to Object-Oriented Programming, it is an independent concept applicable to other programming styles.

Rapid radiochemical procedures for a process support laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beals, D.M.

1998-01-01

An on-site mobile laboratory has been installed near a groundwater treatment facility, and rapid analytical procedures have been deployed for determining sample activity in the process support laboratory. The required analyses to support the remediation project include gross alpha/, gross nonvolatile beta, 90 Sr, 99 Tc, 137 Cs and total Ra (226 + 228). The present mission of the Savannah River Site (SRS), a US Department of Energy nuclear production facility, is one of nuclear waste stabilization and of environmental restoration and remediation. Because of previous practices of disposing low-level radioactive waste to seepage basins, some of the groundwater under the SRS has become contaminated with radioactive species. A water treatment facility has been installed to remediate the groundwater below the old F and H areas' seepage basins. Groundwater is pumped from the contaminated aquifer through a series of filtration, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis steps and when cleaned is reinjected back into the aquifer. Samples are pulled from various points in the treatment facility to ensure that the process is working as designed. In order to minimize turnaround time for these analyses, a process control station (i.e., a mobile on-site laboratory) has been installed at the F area water treatment unit, and rapid radioanalytical procedures have been deployed

Neural regions supporting lexical processing of objects and actions: A case series analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonnie L Breining

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Linking semantic representations to lexical items is an important cognitive process for both producing and comprehending language. Past research has suggested that the bilateral anterior temporal lobes are critical for this process (e.g. Patterson, Nestor, & Rogers, 2007. However, the majority of studies focused on object concepts alone, ignoring actions. The few that considered actions suggest that the temporal poles are not critical for their processing (e.g. Kemmerer et al., 2010. In this case series, we investigated the neural substrates of linking object and action concepts to lexical labels by correlating the volume of defined regions of interest with behavioral performance on picture-word verification and picture naming tasks of individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA. PPA is a neurodegenerative condition with heterogeneous neuropathological causes, characterized by increasing language deficits for at least two years in the face of relatively intact cognitive function in other domains (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011. This population displays appropriate heterogeneity of performance and focal atrophy for investigating the neural substrates involved in lexical semantic processing of objects and actions. Method. Twenty-one individuals with PPA participated in behavioral assessment within six months of high resolution anatomical MRI scans. Behavioral assessments consisted of four tasks: picture-word verification and picture naming of objects and actions. Performance on these assessments was correlated with brain volume measured using atlas-based analysis in twenty regions of interest that are commonly atrophied in PPA and implicated in language processing. Results. Impaired performance for all four tasks significantly correlated with atrophy in the right superior temporal pole, left anterior middle temporal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus. No regions were identified in which volume correlated with performance for both

A theory-informed, process-oriented Resident Scholarship Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Thammasitboon, Satid; Darby, John B; Hair, Amy B; Rose, Karen M; Ward, Mark A; Turner, Teri L; Balmer, Dorene F

2016-01-01

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires residency programs to provide curricula for residents to engage in scholarly activities but does not specify particular guidelines for instruction. We propose a Resident Scholarship Program that is framed by the self-determination theory (SDT) and emphasize the process of scholarly activity versus a scholarly product. The authors report on their longitudinal Resident Scholarship Program, which aimed to support psychological needs central to SDT: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. By addressing those needs in program aims and program components, the program may foster residents' intrinsic motivation to learn and to engage in scholarly activity. To this end, residents' engagement in scholarly processes, and changes in perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness were assessed. Residents engaged in a range of scholarly projects and expressed positive regard for the program. Compared to before residency, residents felt more confident in the process of scholarly activity, as determined by changes in increased perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Scholarly products were accomplished in return for a focus on scholarly process. Based on our experience, and in line with the SDT, supporting residents' autonomy, competence, and relatedness through a process-oriented scholarship program may foster the curiosity, inquisitiveness, and internal motivation to learn that drives scholarly activity and ultimately the production of scholarly products.

Maturation of Rapid Auditory Temporal Processing and Subsequent Nonword Repetition Performance in Children

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Allison M.; Reid, Corinne L.; Anderson, Mike; Richardson, Cassandra; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

2012-01-01

According to the rapid auditory processing theory, the ability to parse incoming auditory information underpins learning of oral and written language. There is wide variation in this low-level perceptual ability, which appears to follow a protracted developmental course. We studied the development of rapid auditory processing using event-related…

Predicting plot soil loss by empirical and process-oriented approaches: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Soil erosion directly affects the quality of the soil, its agricultural productivity and its biological diversity. Many mathematical models have been developed to estimate plot soil erosion at different temporal scales. At present, empirical soil loss equations and process-oriented models are consid...

Facilitating Work Based Learning Projects: A Business Process Oriented Knowledge Management Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miao, Yongwu; Sloep, Peter; Koper, Rob

2009-01-01

Miao, Y., Sloep, P. B., & Koper, R. (2010). Facilitating Work Based Learning Projects: A Business Process Oriented Knowledge Management Approach. In D. Griffiths & R. Koper (Eds.), Rethinking Learning and Employment at a Time of Economic Uncertainty. Proceedings of the 6th TENCompetence Open

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Internationalisation Process: The Theoretical Foundations of International Entrepreneurship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krzysztof Wach

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The main goal of the article is to discuss and elaborate on the basics of international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO, its fundamentals and principles. The paper reviews these three important terms by trying to link them and suggests a holistic framework. The article is of descriptive character, thus it is based on literature review and its constructive critics. The article is an attempted synthesis of the concept of international entrepreneurial orientation. It focuses on IEO as the implementation of one of the most important research theme in the theory of entrepreneurship, which is entrepreneurial orientation (EO into the studies of international entrepreneurship (IE. Findings: Firstly, international entrepreneurial process was discussed from the international entrepreneurship perspective. Secondly, the paper introduces the conceptualisation of entrepreneurial orientation from both three- and multidimensional perspectives. Thirdly, IEO is conceptualised and operationalised from the perspective of entrepreneurial internationalisation of firms. Implications & Recommendations: IEO is a multi-dimensional concept. IEO can be considered both an individual and firm-level construct. IEO enables business to identify and exploit internationalisation opportunities. IEO reflects the firms overall proactiveness and aggressiveness in its pursuit of international markets.

New guideline represents 'processed-oriented' approach for ISO 9000.

Science.gov (United States)

2001-02-01

Hospitals that have been tracking the development of ISO 9000 in the health care industry should pay close attention to a new guideline about to emerge. According to Laura Preole, health care services manager of SGS International Certification Services based in Rutherford, NJ, the new guideline is the latest step in an effort to establish a more 'process-oriented' method of looking at the health care environment from the moment a patient walks into a facility to the moment he or she is discharged.

Risk Factors in ERP Implementation Projects for Process Oriented

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Partyka

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This paper present review and analysis of risk factors, which could affect successful implementation of ERP system, for project performed in project oriented organizations. Presented risk breakdown structure and the list of common risk factors, are well-suited for ERP implementation projects. Considered risk categories allow for complex risk analysis. Additionally, mapping of risk importance for particular implementation phases is presented. Making presented model an important input for project risk management process, especially for the beginning phases which require identification of risk factors.

Process-oriented performance indicators for measuring ecodesign management practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodrigues, Vinicius Picanco; Pigosso, Daniela Cristina Antelmi; McAloone, Tim C.

2016-01-01

In order to support ecodesign performance measurement from a business perspective, this paper performs an exploration of available process-oriented indicators to be applied to ecodesign management practices. With the Ecodesign Maturity Model as a background framework, a systematic literature review...... coupled with a cross-content analysis was carried out to assign proper indicators to the practices. Results show that the currently available indicators do not fully reflect the characteristics of ecodesign and there is significant room for improving the development of tailor-made indicators....

Sexual Orientation (For Parents)

Science.gov (United States)

... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Sexual Orientation KidsHealth / For Parents / Sexual Orientation What's in this ... orientation is part of that process. What Is Sexual Orientation? The term sexual orientation refers to the gender ( ...

Market-oriented new product development: How can a means-end chain approach affect the process?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, Helle Alsted

2005-01-01

. The resukts also indicate that MEC data are most valuable to the team in the early stages of the development process and that lack of a learning orientation may inhibit the effects of a MEC approach. Originality/value - The MEC approach shows clear advantages for market oriented product development.......Purpose - Aims to ascertain whether a well-known theory within consumer research - a means-end chain (MEC) - can be used as a catalyst to achieve market oriented product development. Design/methodology/approach - Describes a case study, involving a Danish food manufacturer, where a MEC approach...... was introduced to a cross-functional development team at two different stages of the development process. Findings - Results show that MEC data is perceived as a good way of gaining knowledge about consumers; that the information serves well as the basis of discussions and for keeping project goals fixed...

Color vision predicts processing modes of goal activation during action cascading.

Science.gov (United States)

Jongkees, Bryant J; Steenbergen, Laura; Colzato, Lorenza S

2017-09-01

One of the most important functions of cognitive control is action cascading: the ability to cope with multiple response options when confronted with various task goals. A recent study implicates a key role for dopamine (DA) in this process, suggesting higher D1 efficiency shifts the action cascading strategy toward a more serial processing mode, whereas higher D2 efficiency promotes a shift in the opposite direction by inducing a more parallel processing mode (Stock, Arning, Epplen, & Beste, 2014). Given that DA is found in high concentration in the retina and modulation of retinal DA release displays characteristics of D2-receptors (Peters, Schweibold, Przuntek, & Müller, 2000), color vision discrimination might serve as an index of D2 efficiency. We used color discrimination, assessed with the Lanthony Desaturated Panel D-15 test, to predict individual differences (N = 85) in a stop-change paradigm that provides a well-established measure of action cascading. In this task it is possible to calculate an individual slope value for each participant that estimates the degree of overlap in task goal activation. When the stopping process of a previous task goal has not finished at the time the change process toward a new task goal is initiated (parallel processing), the slope value becomes steeper. In case of less overlap (more serial processing), the slope value becomes flatter. As expected, participants showing better color vision were more prone to activate goals in a parallel manner as indicated by a steeper slope. Our findings suggest that color vision might represent a predictor of D2 efficiency and the predisposed processing mode of goal activation during action cascading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social workers’ orientation toward the evidence-based practice process : A Dutch survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Zwet, R.J.M.; Beneken Genaamd Kolmer, D.M.; Schalk, R.

2016-01-01

Objectives: This study assesses social workers’ orientation toward the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and explores which specific variables (e.g. age) are associated. Methods: Data were collected from 341 Dutch social workers through an online survey which included a Dutch translation of the

Orientation selection process during the early stage of cubic dendrite growth: A phase-field crystal study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Sai; Wang Zhijun; Guo Yaolin; Wang Jincheng; Yu Yanmei; Zhou Yaohe

2012-01-01

Using the phase-field crystal model, we investigate the orientation selection of the cubic dendrite growth at the atomic scale. Our simulation results reproduce how a face-centered cubic (fcc) octahedral nucleus and a body-centered cubic (bcc) truncated-rhombic dodecahedral nucleus choose the preferred growth direction and then evolve into the dendrite pattern. The interface energy anisotropy inherent in the fcc crystal structure leads to the fastest growth velocity in the 〈1 0 0〉 directions. New { 1 1 1} atomic layers prefer to nucleate at positions near the tips of the fcc octahedron, which leads to the directed growth of the fcc dendrite tips in the 〈1 0 0〉 directions. A similar orientation selection process is also found during the early stage of bcc dendrite growth. The orientation selection regime obtained by phase-field crystal simulation is helpful for understanding the orientation selection processes of real dendrite growth.

ABOUT THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF THE UNIVERSAL STORAGE SYSTEM AND PRACTICE-ORIENTED DATA PROCESSING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. V. Rudikova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Approaches evolution and concept of data accumulation in warehouse and subsequent Data Mining use is perspective due to the fact that, Belarusian segment of the same IT-developments is organizing. The article describes the general concept for creation a system of storage and practice-oriented data analysis, based on the data warehousing technology. The main aspect in universal system design on storage layer and working with data is approach uses extended data warehouse, based on universal platform of stored data, which grants access to storage and subsequent data analysis different structure and subject domains have compound’s points (nodes and extended functional with data structure choice option for data storage and subsequent intrasystem integration. Describe the universal system general architecture of storage and analysis practice-oriented data, structural elements. Main components of universal system for storage and processing practice-oriented data are: online data sources, ETL-process, data warehouse, subsystem of analysis, users. An important place in the system is analytical processing of data, information search, document’s storage and providing a software interface for accessing the functionality of the system from the outside. An universal system based on describing concept will allow collection information of different subject domains, get analytical summaries, do data processing and apply appropriate Data Mining methods and algorithms.

Conceptual framework of public health surveillance and action and its application in health sector reform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alemu Wondi

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Because both public health surveillance and action are crucial, the authors initiated meetings at regional and national levels to assess and reform surveillance and action systems. These meetings emphasized improved epidemic preparedness, epidemic response, and highlighted standardized assessment and reform. Methods To standardize assessments, the authors designed a conceptual framework for surveillance and action that categorized the framework into eight core and four support activities, measured with indicators. Results In application, country-level reformers measure both the presence and performance of the six core activities comprising public health surveillance (detection, registration, reporting, confirmation, analyses, and feedback and acute (epidemic-type and planned (management-type responses composing the two core activities of public health action. Four support activities – communications, supervision, training, and resource provision – enable these eight core processes. National, multiple systems can then be concurrently assessed at each level for effectiveness, technical efficiency, and cost. Conclusions This approach permits a cost analysis, highlights areas amenable to integration, and provides focused intervention. The final public health model becomes a district-focused, action-oriented integration of core and support activities with enhanced effectiveness, technical efficiency, and cost savings. This reform approach leads to sustained capacity development by an empowerment strategy defined as facilitated, process-oriented action steps transforming staff and the system.

[Participative action research; self-care education for the mature adult, a dialogic and empowered process].

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez Gomez, Sheila; Medina Moya, José Luis; Mendoza Pérez de Mendiguren, Beatriz; Ugarte Arena, Ana Isabel; Martínez de Albéniz Arriaran, Mercedes

2015-11-01

Explore and transform dialogic-reflexive learning processes oriented to self-care, capacitation, empowerment and health promotion for "mature-adult" collective. Participative action research on a qualitative and sociocritic approach. Data generation methods are SITE: Field work focuses on the development of the educational program "Care is in your hands" that takes place in two villages (Primary Care. Comarca Araba). Through a theoretical sampling involved people who are in a "mature-adult" life stage and three nurses with extensive experience in development health education programs. Participant observation where health education sessions are recorded in video and group reflection on action. To triangulate the data, have been made in-depth interviews with 4 participants. Carried out a content and discourse analysis. Participant and nurses' Previous Frameworks, and these last ones' discourses as well, reveal a current technical rationality (unidirectional, informative,.) yet in practice that perpetuates the role of passive recipient of care. Educational keys constructed from a viewpoint of Dialogic Learning emerge as elements that facilitate overcoming these previous frames limitations. Finally, Reflective Learning launched, has provided advance in professional knowledge and improve health education. Dialogical learning emerges as key to the training and empowerment, where we have seen how practical-reflexive, and not technical, rationality is meanly useful confronting ambiguous and complex situations of self-care practice and education. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

UMTRA Surface Project management action process document: Final. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-06-01

Title 1 of the UMTRCA authorized the DOE to undertake remedial actions at these designed sites and associated vicinity properties (VP), which contain uranium mill tailings and other residual radioactive materials (RRM) derived from the processing sites. Title 2 of the UMTRCA addresses uranium mill sites that were licensed at the time the UMTRCA was enacted. Cleanup of these Title 2 sites is the responsibility of the licensees. The cleanup of the Title 1 sites has been split into two separate projects: the Surface Project, which deals with the mill buildings, tailings, and contaminated soils at the sites and VPs; and the Ground Water Project, which is limited to the contaminated ground water at the sites. This management action process (MAP) document discusses the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Surface Project. Since its inception through March 1996, the Surface Project (hereinafter called the Project) has cleaned up 16 of the 24 designated processing sites and approximately 5,000 VPs, reducing the risk to human health and the environment posed by the uranium mill tailings. Two of the 24 sites, Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota, will not be remediated at the request of the state, reducing the total number of sites to 22. By the start of FY1998, the remaining 6 processing sites and associated VPs will be cleaned up. The remedial action activities to be funded in FY1998 by the FY1998 budget request are remediation of the remaining Grand Junction, Colorado, VPs; closure of the Cheney disposal cell in Grand Junction, Colorado; and preparation of the completion reports for 4 completed sites

UMTRA Surface Project management action process document: Final. Revision 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-06-01

Title 1 of the UMTRCA authorized the DOE to undertake remedial actions at these designed sites and associated vicinity properties (VP), which contain uranium mill tailings and other residual radioactive materials (RRM) derived from the processing sites. Title 2 of the UMTRCA addresses uranium mill sites that were licensed at the time the UMTRCA was enacted. Cleanup of these Title 2 sites is the responsibility of the licensees. The cleanup of the Title 1 sites has been split into two separate projects: the Surface Project, which deals with the mill buildings, tailings, and contaminated soils at the sites and VPs; and the Ground Water Project, which is limited to the contaminated ground water at the sites. This management action process (MAP) document discusses the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Surface Project. Since its inception through March 1996, the Surface Project (hereinafter called the Project) has cleaned up 16 of the 24 designated processing sites and approximately 5,000 VPs, reducing the risk to human health and the environment posed by the uranium mill tailings. Two of the 24 sites, Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota, will not be remediated at the request of the state, reducing the total number of sites to 22. By the start of FY1998, the remaining 6 processing sites and associated VPs will be cleaned up. The remedial action activities to be funded in FY1998 by the FY1998 budget request are remediation of the remaining Grand Junction, Colorado, VPs; closure of the Cheney disposal cell in Grand Junction, Colorado; and preparation of the completion reports for 4 completed sites.

Future-Oriented LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving; Borup, Mads; Andersen, Per Dannemand

2018-01-01

LCA is often applied for decision-making that concerns actions reaching near or far into the future. However, traditional life cycle assessment methodology must be adjusted for the prospective and change-oriented purposes, but no standardised way of doing this has emerged yet. In this chapter some...... challenges are described and some learnings are derived. Many of the future-oriented LCAs published so far perform relatively short-term prediction of simple comparisons. But for more long-term time horizons foresight methods can be of help. Scenarios established by qualified experts about future...... technological and economic developments are indispensable in future technology assessments. The uncertainties in future-oriented LCAs are to a large extent qualitative and it is important to emphasise that LCA of future technologies will provide a set of answers and not ‘the’ answer....

Rapid microwave processing of epoxy nanocomposites using carbon nanotubes

OpenAIRE

Luhyna, Nataliia; Inam, Fawad; Winnington, Ian

2013-01-01

Microwave processing is one of the rapid processing techniques for manufacturing nanocomposites. There is very little work focussing on the addition of CNTs for shortening the curing time of epoxy nanocomposites. Using microwave energy, the effect of CNT addition on the curing of epoxy nanocomposites was researched in this work. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine the degree of cure for epoxy and nanocomposite samples. CNT addition significantly reduced the duration ...

Body-part specific interactions of action verb processing with motor behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Klepp, Anne; Niccolai, Valentina; Sieksmeyer, Jan; Arnzen, Stephanie; Indefrey, Peter; Schnitzler, Alfons; Biermann-Ruben, Katja

2017-06-15

The interaction of action-related language processing with actual movement is an indicator of the functional role of motor cortical involvement in language understanding. This paper describes two experiments using single action verb stimuli. Motor responses were performed with the hand or the foot. To test the double dissociation of language-motor facilitation effects within subjects, Experiments 1 and 2 used a priming procedure where both hand and foot reactions had to be performed in response to different geometrical shapes, which were preceded by action verbs. In Experiment 1, the semantics of the verbs could be ignored whereas Experiment 2 included semantic decisions. Only Experiment 2 revealed a clear double dissociation in reaction times: reactions were facilitated when preceded by verbs describing actions with the matching effector. In Experiment 1, by contrast, there was an interaction between verb-response congruence and a semantic variable related to motor features of the verbs. Thus, the double dissociation paradigm of semantic motor priming was effective, corroborating the role of the motor system in action-related language processing. Importantly, this effect was body part specific. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of generic service for complex user task support in business processes

OpenAIRE

Hrovat, Sebastjan

2009-01-01

Reliability, efficiency and flexibility demands of business systems in business environment are increasing. Therefore business process automation is rapidly developing, meaning we have to develop applications to support every activity in business process. Since business processes are unique and are changing over time, service oriented architecture is used as a solution to this problem. Service oriented architecture divides functions in independent units called services. Services can be acc...

A theory-informed, process-oriented Resident Scholarship Program

Science.gov (United States)

Thammasitboon, Satid; Darby, John B.; Hair, Amy B.; Rose, Karen M.; Ward, Mark A.; Turner, Teri L.; Balmer, Dorene F.

2016-01-01

Background The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires residency programs to provide curricula for residents to engage in scholarly activities but does not specify particular guidelines for instruction. We propose a Resident Scholarship Program that is framed by the self-determination theory (SDT) and emphasize the process of scholarly activity versus a scholarly product. Methods The authors report on their longitudinal Resident Scholarship Program, which aimed to support psychological needs central to SDT: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. By addressing those needs in program aims and program components, the program may foster residents’ intrinsic motivation to learn and to engage in scholarly activity. To this end, residents’ engagement in scholarly processes, and changes in perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness were assessed. Results Residents engaged in a range of scholarly projects and expressed positive regard for the program. Compared to before residency, residents felt more confident in the process of scholarly activity, as determined by changes in increased perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Scholarly products were accomplished in return for a focus on scholarly process. Conclusions Based on our experience, and in line with the SDT, supporting residents’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness through a process-oriented scholarship program may foster the curiosity, inquisitiveness, and internal motivation to learn that drives scholarly activity and ultimately the production of scholarly products. PMID:27306995

An object-oriented model for complex bills of materials in process industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vegetti M.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, many process industries have been forced to drastically increase their product variety and adopt mass customization production strategies. Many of them have found that traditional bill of material (BOM processing systems do not sufficiently support the maintenance of the very large amounts of data (concerned with product structure demanded by these new production policies. Due to the use of BOM technology within the framework of integrated information systems, there is a demand for both (i a new representation of BOMs, able to deal efficiently with product variants and to handle decomposition-based production strategies, and (ii its corresponding BOM information processing system. This paper describes a conceptual representation that integrates elements of semantic relationships with object-oriented concepts to develop a data model for a hybrid bill of materials. The proposed semantic relationships include composed-of, decomposed-into, variant-of, restriction-of, and their corresponding reverse relationships. The conceptual model has been implemented using object-oriented data-based management system (OODBMS technology that allows creation of persistent Java objects. Preliminary tests show a remarkable reduction in the number of relationships when compared with former approaches.

Value-Oriented Design of Service Coordination Processes: Correctness and Trust

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wieringa, Roelf J.; Gordijn, Jaap

The rapid growth of service coordination languages creates a need for methodological support for coordination design. Coordination design differs from workflow design because a coordination process connects different businesses that can each make design decisions independently from the others, and

Development of microstructure and texture in strip casting grain oriented silicon steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yang; Xu, Yun-Bo, E-mail: yunbo_xu@126.com; Zhang, Yuan-Xiang; Fang, Feng; Lu, Xiang; Liu, Hai-Tao; Wang, Guo-Dong

2015-04-01

Grain oriented silicon steel was produced by strip casting and two-stage cold rolling processes. The development of microstructure and texture was investigated by using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron backscattered diffraction. It is shown that the microstructure and texture evolutions of strip casting grain oriented silicon steel are significantly distinct from those in the conventional processing route. The as-cast strip is composed of coarse solidification grains and characterized by pronounced 〈001〉//ND texture together with very weak Goss texture. The initial coarse microstructure enhances {111} shear bands formation during the first cold rolling and then leads to the homogeneously distributed Goss grains through the thickness of intermediate annealed sheet. After the secondary cold rolling and primary annealing, strong γ fiber texture with a peak at {111}〈112〉 dominates the primary recrystallization texture, which is beneficial to the abnormal growth of Goss grain during the subsequent high temperature annealing. Therefore, the secondary recrystallization of Goss orientation evolves completely after the high temperature annealing and the grain oriented silicon steel with a good magnetic properties (B{sub 8}=1.94 T, P{sub 1.7/50}=1.3 W/kg) can be prepared. - Highlights: • Grain oriented silicon steel was developed by a novel ultra-short process. • Many evenly distributed Goss “seeds” were originated from cold rolled shear bands. • More MnS inhibitors were obtained due to the rapid cooling of strip casing. • The magnetic induction of grain oriented silicon steel was significantly improved.

Rapid Inhibition Profiling in Bacillus subtilis to Identify the Mechanism of Action of New Antimicrobials.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamsa, Anne; Lopez-Garrido, Javier; Quach, Diana; Riley, Eammon P; Pogliano, Joe; Pogliano, Kit

2016-08-19

Increasing antimicrobial resistance has become a major public health crisis. New antimicrobials with novel mechanisms of action (MOA) are desperately needed. We previously developed a method, bacterial cytological profiling (BCP), which utilizes fluorescence microscopy to rapidly identify the MOA of antimicrobial compounds. BCP is based upon our discovery that cells treated with antibiotics affecting different metabolic pathways generate different cytological signatures, providing quantitative information that can be used to determine a compound's MOA. Here, we describe a system, rapid inhibition profiling (RIP), for creating cytological profiles of new antibiotic targets for which there are currently no chemical inhibitors. RIP consists of the fast, inducible degradation of a target protein followed by BCP. We demonstrate that degrading essential proteins in the major metabolic pathways for DNA replication, transcription, fatty acid biosynthesis, and peptidoglycan biogenesis in Bacillus subtilis rapidly produces cytological profiles closely matching that of antimicrobials targeting the same pathways. Additionally, RIP and antibiotics targeting different steps in fatty acid biosynthesis can be differentiated from each other. We utilize RIP and BCP to show that the antibacterial MOA of four nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory antibiotics differs from that proposed based on in vitro data. RIP is a versatile method that will extend our knowledge of phenotypes associated with inactivating essential bacterial enzymes and thereby allow for screening for molecules that inhibit novel essential targets.

Outer-shell excitation and capture processes: Alignment and orientation effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersen, N.; Dowek, D.; Dubois, A.; Hansen, J.P.; Nielsen, S.E.

1990-01-01

This contribution outlines some ongoing activities within a joint programme of experimental and theoretical studies of outer-shell excitation and charge transfer processes in atomic collisions. The main emphasis is presently on alignment and orientation phenomena. The aim is to reveal the shape and dynamics of the electronic charge cloud as it develops in time along the trajectory, and to understand these phenomena in terms of the underlying, basic mechanisms responsible for collisional excitation and transfer. (orig.)

Experiencing Action Evaluation's Cyclic Process: Partnering Conflict, Reflection, and Action

Science.gov (United States)

Burrows, Andrea C.; Harkness, Shelly Sheats

2016-01-01

In this article, the authors describe experiences in and offer suggestions from a course entitled "Educational Innovation for Excellence Through Action Research, Conflict Resolution, and Organizational Learning"--an action evaluation (AE). The class was taught using the principles of action research and AE. The authors explore the impact…

Incorporating gender, equity, and human rights into the action planning process: moving from rhetoric to action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjeev Sridharan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Mainstreaming of gender, equity, and human rights (GER is an important focus of the World Health Organization (WHO and other UN organizations. This paper explores the role of action plans in mainstreaming GER. This paper is informed by a theory-driven evaluation lens. Design: A theory of change framework explored the following seven dimensions of how action plans can implement mainstreaming of GER: awareness of the foundations of GER; understanding of context; planning to impact GER; implementation for GER; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; planning for sustainability; agenda setting and buy-in. The seven dimensions were used to analyze the action plans. Reviewers also explored innovations within each of the action plans for the seven dimensions. Results: GER mainstreaming is more prominent in the foundation, background, and planning components of the plan but becomes less so along the theory of change including implementation; monitoring and evaluation; sustainability; and agenda setting and buy-in. Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrates that much more can be done to incorporate GER considerations into the action planning process. Nine specific recommendations are identified for WHO and other organizations. A theory-driven approach as described in the paper is potentially helpful for developing clarity by which action plans can help with mainstreaming GER considerations.

Examining the impact of business process orientation on organizational performance: the case of Croatia

OpenAIRE

Ljubica Milanović Glavan; Vesna Bosilj Vukšić

2017-01-01

The competitive global market of the new millennium has raised awareness of business processes as the most important management paradigm. Extensive literature on business process management suggests that organizations can enhance their overall performance by adopting a process view of business. However, empirical research in this field is lacking. The aim of this paper is to examine the how business process orientation (BPO) impacts financially and non-financially organizational performance (...

Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Concerns about Public Health. An Introduction to a Fast and Inexpensive Approach Applied on Health Concerns about Intensive Animal Production Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraaij-Dirkzwager, Marleen; van der Ree, Joost; Lebret, Erik

2017-12-11

To effectively manage environmental health risks, stakeholders often need to act collectively. Stakeholders vary in their desire to act due to many factors, such as knowledge, risk perception, interests, and worldviews. Understanding their perceptions of the issues at stake is crucial to support the risk governance process. Even though concern assessment is a pivotal element of risk governance, few tools for rapid assessment are reported in the literature. We tested a rapid and relatively cheap approach, taking the Dutch debate on Intensive Animal Production Systems (IAPS) and health as an example. Dutch policy-oriented publications on IAPS and health and ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders were analyzed to identify stakeholders and concerns involved in the Dutch debate about IAPS and health. Concerns were mapped and a stakeholder network was derived. Three classes of concerns were recognized in the discussions about IAPS and health: concerns related to health risks, concerns regarding the activity causing the risks (IAPS), and concerns about the process to control the risks. The notions of 'trust' and 'scientific uncertainty' appeared as important themes in the discussions. Argumentation based on concerns directly related to health risks, the activity causing the risk (IAPS), and its risk management can easily become muddled up in a societal debate, limiting the development of effective action perspectives. Acknowledging these multiple stakeholder concerns can clarify the positions taken by stakeholders and allow for more and other action perspectives to develop.

Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Concerns about Public Health. An Introduction to a Fast and Inexpensive Approach Applied on Health Concerns about Intensive Animal Production Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marleen Kraaij-Dirkzwager

2017-12-01

Full Text Available To effectively manage environmental health risks, stakeholders often need to act collectively. Stakeholders vary in their desire to act due to many factors, such as knowledge, risk perception, interests, and worldviews. Understanding their perceptions of the issues at stake is crucial to support the risk governance process. Even though concern assessment is a pivotal element of risk governance, few tools for rapid assessment are reported in the literature. We tested a rapid and relatively cheap approach, taking the Dutch debate on Intensive Animal Production Systems (IAPS and health as an example. Dutch policy-oriented publications on IAPS and health and ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders were analyzed to identify stakeholders and concerns involved in the Dutch debate about IAPS and health. Concerns were mapped and a stakeholder network was derived. Three classes of concerns were recognized in the discussions about IAPS and health: concerns related to health risks, concerns regarding the activity causing the risks (IAPS, and concerns about the process to control the risks. The notions of ‘trust’ and ‘scientific uncertainty’ appeared as important themes in the discussions. Argumentation based on concerns directly related to health risks, the activity causing the risk (IAPS, and its risk management can easily become muddled up in a societal debate, limiting the development of effective action perspectives. Acknowledging these multiple stakeholder concerns can clarify the positions taken by stakeholders and allow for more and other action perspectives to develop.

DESIGN FOCUSED ORIENTATION PROCESSES FOR MANAGING INVESTMENT COMPANIES IN THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Анатолий Аркадьевич АНАТОЛЬЕВ

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This report examines the investment companies operating in the market Forex. Business process analysis showed the design direction of their activities. Dedicated two groups of projects of investment companies can position them as project-oriented organization.

Actively Teaching Research Methods with a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Mullins, Mary H.

2017-01-01

Active learning approaches have shown to improve student learning outcomes and improve the experience of students in the classroom. This article compares a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning style approach to a more traditional teaching method in an undergraduate research methods course. Moving from a more traditional learning environment to…

Foundation ActionScript 3.0 for Flash and Flex

CERN Document Server

Richardson, Darren

2009-01-01

In this book, you'll: *Learn the fundamentals of ActionScript 3.0 using both the Flash IDE and Flex *Use ActionScript 3.0's object-oriented features *Manipulate sound and video to produce exciting modern web applications *Work with XML as your data source ActionScript 3.0, the latest version of the Flash Platform's scripting language, offers many new and powerful features. ActionScript is now a full-fledged programming language, with complete object-oriented capabilities, improved event handling, sound and video support, drawing capabilities, support for regular expressions, and much more. Whe

Mimicking and anticipating others’ actions is linked to Social Information Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Klomfar, Sophie; d’Haene, Ine; Brass, Marcel

2018-01-01

It is widely known that individuals frequently imitate each other in social situations and that such mimicry fulfills an important social role in the sense that it functions as a social glue. With reference to the anticipated action effect, it has recently been demonstrated that individuals do not only imitate others, but also engage in anticipated action before the observed person starts engaging in that action. Interestingly, both phenomena (i.e., mimicry and anticipated action) rely on tracking others’ social behavior. Therefore, in the present research we investigated whether mimicry and anticipated action are related to social abilities as indicated by measures of social intelligence. The results demonstrate for the first time that mimicry as well as anticipated action is correlated with an important aspect of social intelligence—namely the ability to process social information. Theoretical implications and limitations are discussed. PMID:29590127

Personality Traits and Training Initiation Process: Intention, Planning, and Action Initiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Laguna, Mariola; Purc, Ewelina

2016-01-01

The article aims at investigating the role of personality traits in relation to training initiation. Training initiation is conceptualized as a goal realization process, and explained using goal theories. There are three stages of the process analyzed: intention to undertake training, plan formulation, and actual training undertaking. Two studies tested the relationships between five personality traits, defined according to the five factor model, and the stages of the goal realization process. In Study 1, which explains training intention and training plans' formulation, 155 employees participated. In Study 2, which was time-lagged with two measurement points, and which explains intention, plans, and training actions undertaken, the data from 176 employees was collected at 3 month intervals. The results of these studies show that personality traits, mainly openness to experience, predict the training initiation process to some degree: intention, plans, and actual action initiation. The findings allow us to provide recommendations for practitioners responsible for human resource development. The assessment of openness to experience in employees helps predict their motivation to participate in training activities. To increase training motivation it is vital to strengthen intentions to undertake training, and to encourage training action planning.

Effects of marital conflict on children: recent advances and emerging themes in process-oriented research.

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, E Mark; Davies, Patrick T

2002-01-01

The effects of marital conflict on children's adjustment are well documented. For the past decade research has increasingly focused on advancing a process-level understanding of these effects, that is, accounting for the particular responses and patterns embedded within specific contexts, histories, and developmental periods that account for children's outcomes over time. As a vehicle for presenting an update, this review follows the framework for process-oriented research initially proposed by Cummings and Cummings (1988), concentrating on recent research developments, and also considering new and emerging themes in this area of research. In this regard, areas of advancement include (a) greater articulation of the effects of specific context/stimulus characteristics of marital conflict, (b) progress in identifying the psychological response processes in children (e.g., cognitive, emotional, social, physiological) that are affected and their possible role in accounting for relations between marital conflict and child outcomes, (c) greater understanding of the role of child characteristics, family history, and other contextual factors, including effects on children due to interrelations between marital conflict and parenting, and (d) advances in the conceptualization of children's outcomes, including that effects may be more productively viewed as dynamic processes of functioning rather than simply clinical diagnoses. Understanding of the impact of marital conflict on children as a function of time-related processes remains a gap in a process-oriented conceptualization of effects. Based on this review, a revised model for a process-oriented approach on the effects of marital discord on children is proposed and suggestions are made for future research directions.

From BPMN process models to BPEL web services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ouyang, C.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Dumas, M.; Hofstede, ter A.H.M.; Feig, E.; Kumar, A.

2006-01-01

The Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) is a graph-oriented language in which control and action nodes can be connected almost arbitrarily. It is supported by various modelling tools but so far no systems can directly execute BPMN models. The Business Process Execution Language for Web

Model-driven methodology for rapid deployment of smart spaces based on resource-oriented architectures.

Science.gov (United States)

Corredor, Iván; Bernardos, Ana M; Iglesias, Josué; Casar, José R

2012-01-01

Advances in electronics nowadays facilitate the design of smart spaces based on physical mash-ups of sensor and actuator devices. At the same time, software paradigms such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Web of Things (WoT) are motivating the creation of technology to support the development and deployment of web-enabled embedded sensor and actuator devices with two major objectives: (i) to integrate sensing and actuating functionalities into everyday objects, and (ii) to easily allow a diversity of devices to plug into the Internet. Currently, developers who are applying this Internet-oriented approach need to have solid understanding about specific platforms and web technologies. In order to alleviate this development process, this research proposes a Resource-Oriented and Ontology-Driven Development (ROOD) methodology based on the Model Driven Architecture (MDA). This methodology aims at enabling the development of smart spaces through a set of modeling tools and semantic technologies that support the definition of the smart space and the automatic generation of code at hardware level. ROOD feasibility is demonstrated by building an adaptive health monitoring service for a Smart Gym.

Model-Driven Methodology for Rapid Deployment of Smart Spaces Based on Resource-Oriented Architectures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José R. Casar

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Advances in electronics nowadays facilitate the design of smart spaces based on physical mash-ups of sensor and actuator devices. At the same time, software paradigms such as Internet of Things (IoT and Web of Things (WoT are motivating the creation of technology to support the development and deployment of web-enabled embedded sensor and actuator devices with two major objectives: (i to integrate sensing and actuating functionalities into everyday objects, and (ii to easily allow a diversity of devices to plug into the Internet. Currently, developers who are applying this Internet-oriented approach need to have solid understanding about specific platforms and web technologies. In order to alleviate this development process, this research proposes a Resource-Oriented and Ontology-Driven Development (ROOD methodology based on the Model Driven Architecture (MDA. This methodology aims at enabling the development of smart spaces through a set of modeling tools and semantic technologies that support the definition of the smart space and the automatic generation of code at hardware level. ROOD feasibility is demonstrated by building an adaptive health monitoring service for a Smart Gym.

The development of attention skills in action video game players.

Science.gov (United States)

Dye, M W G; Green, C S; Bavelier, D

2009-07-01

Previous research suggests that action video game play improves attentional resources, allowing gamers to better allocate their attention across both space and time. In order to further characterize the plastic changes resulting from playing these video games, we administered the Attentional Network Test (ANT) to action game players and non-playing controls aged between 7 and 22 years. By employing a mixture of cues and flankers, the ANT provides measures of how well attention is allocated to targets as a function of alerting and orienting cues, and to what extent observers are able to filter out the influence of task irrelevant information flanking those targets. The data suggest that action video game players of all ages have enhanced attentional skills that allow them to make faster correct responses to targets, and leaves additional processing resources that spill over to process distractors flanking the targets.

TEACHING OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING AT THE INTRODUCTORY LEVEL

OpenAIRE

OKUR , Prof.Dr. Mehmet C.

2006-01-01

Teaching object oriented programming has become a rapidly expanding preference at various educational environments. However, teachers usually experience problems when introducing object oriented concepts and programming to beginners. How to teach the fundamentals of object oriented programming at an introductory level course is still a common subject for debate. In this paper, an evaluation of these problems is presented and some possible approaches for improving the quality and success of su...

Unleashing the Effectiveness of Process-oriented Information Systems: Problem Analysis, Critical Success Factors, Implications

OpenAIRE

Mutschler, B.B.; Reichert, M.U.; Bumiller, J.

2008-01-01

Process-oriented information systems (IS) aim at the computerized support of business processes. So far, contemporary IS have often fail to meet this goal. To better understand this drawback, to systematically identify its rationales, and to derive critical success factors for business process support, we conducted three empirical studies: an exploratory case study in the automotive domain, an online survey among 79 IT professionals, and another online survey among 70 business process managem...

Learning Processes of Students in Pre-Vocational Secondary Education: Relations between Goal Orientations, Information Processing Strategies and Development of Conceptual Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Koopman, Maaike; Den Brok, Perry; Beijaard, Douwe; Teune, Peter

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate relations between goal orientations, information processing strategies and development of conceptual knowledge of pre-vocational secondary education students (n = 719; 14 schools). Students' preferences for certain types of goals and information processing strategies were examined using questionnaires.…

Supporting the Knowledge-to-Action Process: A Systems-Thinking Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Cherney, Adrian; Head, Brian

2011-01-01

The processes for moving research-based knowledge to the domains of action in social policy and professional practice are complex. Several disciplinary research traditions have illuminated several key aspects of these processes. A more holistic approach, drawing on systems thinking, has also been outlined and advocated by recent contributors to…

Rapid top-down control over template-guided attention shifts to multiple objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubert, Anna; Fahrenfort, Johannes; Olivers, Christian N L; Eimer, Martin

2017-02-01

Previous research has shown that when observers search for targets defined by a particular colour, attention can be directed rapidly and independently to two target objects that appear in close temporal proximity. We investigated how such rapid attention shifts are modulated by task instructions to selectively attend versus ignore one of these objects. Two search displays that both contained a colour-defined target and a distractor in a different colour were presented in rapid succession, with a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of 100ms. In different blocks, participants were instructed to attend and respond to target-colour objects in the first display and to ignore these objects in the second display, or vice versa. N2pc components were measured to track the allocation of spatial attention to target-colour objects in these two displays. When participants responded to the second display, irrelevant target-colour objects in the first display still triggered N2pc components, demonstrating task-set contingent attentional capture while a feature-specific target template is active. Critically, when participants responded to the first display instead, no N2pc was elicited by target-colour items in the second display, indicating that they no longer rapidly captured attention. However, these items still elicited a longer-latency contralateral negativity (SPCN component), suggesting that attention was oriented towards template-matching objects in working memory. This dissociation between N2pc and SPCN components shows that rapid attentional capture and subsequent attentional selection processes within working memory can be independent. We suggest that early attentional orienting mechanisms can be inhibited when task-set matching objects are no longer task-relevant, and that this type of inhibitory control is a rapid but transient process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Data processing made simple

CERN Document Server

Wooldridge, Susan

2013-01-01

Data Processing: Made Simple, Second Edition presents discussions of a number of trends and developments in the world of commercial data processing. The book covers the rapid growth of micro- and mini-computers for both home and office use; word processing and the 'automated office'; the advent of distributed data processing; and the continued growth of database-oriented systems. The text also discusses modern digital computers; fundamental computer concepts; information and data processing requirements of commercial organizations; and the historical perspective of the computer industry. The

Improving the family orientation process in Cuban Special Schools trough Nearest Prototype classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caballero-Mota, Y.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Cuban Schools for children with Affective – Behavioral Maladies (SABM have as goal to accomplish a major change in children behavior, to insert them effectively into society. One of the key elements in this objective is to give an adequate orientation to the children’s families; due to the family is one of the most important educational contexts in which the children will develop their personality. The family orientation process in SABM involves clustering and classification of mixed type data with non-symmetric similarity functions. To improve this process, this paper includes some novel characteristics in clustering and prototype selection. The proposed approach uses a hierarchical clustering based on compact sets, making it suitable for dealing with non-symmetric similarity functions, as well as with mixed and incomplete data. The proposal obtains very good results on the SABM data, and over repository databases.

Conceptualizing psychological processes in response to globalization: Components, antecedents, and consequences of global orientations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua; Lam, Ben C P; Hui, Bryant P H; Ng, Jacky C K; Mak, Winnie W S; Guan, Yanjun; Buchtel, Emma E; Tang, Willie C S; Lau, Victor C Y

2016-02-01

The influences of globalization have permeated various aspects of life in contemporary society, from technical innovations, economic development, and lifestyles, to communication patterns. The present research proposed a construct termed global orientation to denote individual differences in the psychological processes of acculturating to the globalizing world. It encompasses multicultural acquisition as a proactive response and ethnic protection as a defensive response to globalization. Ten studies examined the applicability of global orientations among majority and minority groups, including immigrants and sojourners, in multicultural and relatively monocultural contexts, and across Eastern and Western cultures. Multicultural acquisition is positively correlated with both independent and interdependent self-construals, bilingual proficiency and usage, and dual cultural identifications. Multicultural acquisition is promotion-focused, while ethnic protection is prevention-focused and related to acculturative stress. Global orientations affect individuating and modest behavior over and above multicultural ideology, predict overlap with outgroups over and above political orientation, and predict psychological adaptation, sociocultural competence, tolerance, and attitudes toward ethnocultural groups over and above acculturation expectations/strategies. Global orientations also predict English and Chinese oral presentation performance in multilevel analyses and the frequency and pleasantness of intercultural contact in cross-lagged panel models. We discuss how the psychological study of global orientations contributes to theory and research on acculturation, cultural identity, and intergroup relations. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Orientation Modulates the Neural Correlates of Global and Local Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Liddell, Belinda J; Das, Pritha; Battaglini, Eva; Malhi, Gin S; Felmingham, Kim L; Whitford, Thomas J; Bryant, Richard A

2015-01-01

Differences in self-orientation (or "self-construal") may affect how the visual environment is attended, but the neural and cultural mechanisms that drive this remain unclear. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that people from Western backgrounds with predominant individualistic values are perceptually biased towards local-level information; whereas people from non-Western backgrounds that support collectivist values are preferentially focused on contextual and global-level information. In this study, we compared two groups differing in predominant individualistic (N = 15) vs collectivistic (N = 15) self-orientation. Participants completed a global/local perceptual conflict task whilst undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanning. When participants high in individualistic values attended to the global level (ignoring the local level), greater activity was observed in the frontoparietal and cingulo-opercular networks that underpin attentional control, compared to the match (congruent) baseline. Participants high in collectivistic values activated similar attentional control networks o only when directly compared with global processing. This suggests that global interference was stronger than local interference in the conflict task in the collectivistic group. Both groups showed increased activity in dorsolateral prefrontal regions involved in resolving perceptual conflict during heightened distractor interference. The findings suggest that self-orientation may play an important role in driving attention networks to facilitate interaction with the visual environment.

OPERATIONAL SAR DATA PROCESSING IN GIS ENVIRONMENTS FOR RAPID DISASTER MAPPING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Meroni

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Having access to SAR data can be highly important and critical especially for disaster mapping. Updating a GIS with contemporary information from SAR data allows to deliver a reliable set of geospatial information to advance civilian operations, e.g. search and rescue missions. Therefore, we present in this paper the operational processing of SAR data within a GIS environment for rapid disaster mapping. This is exemplified by the November 2010 flash flood in the Veneto region, Italy. A series of COSMO-SkyMed acquisitions was processed in ArcGIS® using a single-sensor, multi-mode, multi-temporal approach. The relevant processing steps were combined using the ArcGIS ModelBuilder to create a new model for rapid disaster mapping in ArcGIS, which can be accessed both via a desktop and a server environment.

Ductile failure in upsetting of a rapid-solidification-processed aluminium alloy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Habraken, F.A.C.M.; Dautzenberg, J.H.

1993-01-01

Cold upset-tests have been performed on a Rapid Solidification Processed (RSP) aluminium-alloy, produced by the ‘melt-spun ribbons’-process out of 70% car-scrap and 30% primary scrap. The ribbons are hot extruded, resulting in 29 mm diameter bar. Its properties regarding plastic flow and fracture

Diagnostic orientation in control of disturbance situations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hukki, K.; Norros, L.

1993-01-01

The object of the study is diagnostic judgement in the control of dynamic processes. The starting point was the known difficulty process operators have in utilizing knowledge of process dynamics in disturbance situations that require both diagnostic and prognostic actions. A model of the diagnostic judgement process as a construction of coherent interpretation of the situation is outlined, and comprehensive data from simulated disturbance handling by 6 crews of a PWR type nuclear power plant was analysed. The phase of analysis included evaluation of the adequacy of task performance, utilization of available process information, and evaluation of the interpretation of disturbance situations. The results suggest that a functional orientation towards task performance allows a more coherent and comprehensive interpretation of the situation and more adequate task performance. Coherence of interpretation seems to be reflected in a higher subjective certainty compared with crews with an incoherent interpretation. (author). 15 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs

Reduced attentional capture in action video game players

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chisholm, J; Hickey, C.; Theeuwes, J.; Kingstone, A.

2010-01-01

Recent studies indicate that playing action video games improves performance on a number of attention-based tasks. However, it remains unclear whether action video game experience primarily affects endogenous or exogenous forms of spatial orienting. To examine this issue, action video game players

Rapid prototyping of magnetic tunnel junctions with focused ion beam processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, Anders; Thornell, Greger; Nguyen, Hugo

2010-01-01

Submicron-sized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are most often fabricated by time-consuming and expensive e-beam lithography. From a research and development perspective, a short lead time is one of the major concerns. Here, a rapid process scheme for fabrication of micrometre size MTJs with focused ion beam processes is presented. The magnetic properties of the fabricated junctions are investigated in terms of magnetic domain structure, tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) and coercivity, with extra attention given to the effect of Ga implantation from the ion beam. In particular, the effect of the implantation on the minimum junction size and the magnetization of the sensing layer are studied. In the latter case, magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, with the object-oriented micromagnetic framework (OOMMF), are used to study the magnetization reversal. The fabricated junctions show considerable coercivity both along their hard and easy axes. Interestingly, the sensing layer exhibits two remanent states: one with a single and one with a double domain. The hard axis TMR loop has kinks at about ±20 mT which is attributed to a non-uniform lateral coercivity, where the rim of the junctions, which is subjected to Ga implantation from the flank of the ion beam, is more coercive than the unirradiated centre. The width of the coercive rim is estimated to be 160 nm from the hard axis TMR loop. The easy axis TMR loop shows more coercivity than an unirradiated junction and, this too, is found to stem from the coercive rim, as seen from the simulations. It is concluded that the process scheme has three major advantages. Firstly, it has a high lateral and depth resolution—the depth resolution is enhanced by end point detection—and is capable of making junctions of sizes down towards the limit set by the width of the irradiated rim. Secondly, the most delicate process steps are performed in the unbroken vacuum enabling the use of materials prone to

Rapid e-Learning Tools Selection Process for Cognitive and Psychomotor Learning Objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Ku, David Tawei; Huang, Yung-Hsin

2012-01-01

This study developed a decision making process for the selection of rapid e-learning tools that could match different learning domains. With the development of the Internet, the speed of information updates has become faster than ever. E-learning has rapidly become the mainstream for corporate training and academic instruction. In order to reduce…

Vitality Forms Processing in the Insula during Action Observation: A Multivoxel Pattern Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Cesare, Giuseppe; Valente, Giancarlo; Di Dio, Cinzia; Ruffaldi, Emanuele; Bergamasco, Massimo; Goebel, Rainer; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

2016-01-01

Observing the style of an action done by others allows the observer to understand the cognitive state of the agent. This information has been defined by Stern "vitality forms". Previous experiments showed that the dorso-central insula is selectively active both during vitality form observation and execution. In the present study, we presented participants with videos showing hand actions performed with different velocities and asked them to judge either their vitality form (gentle, neutral, rude) or their velocity (slow, medium, fast). The aim of the present study was to assess, using multi-voxel pattern analysis, whether vitality forms and velocities of observed goal-directed actions are differentially processed in the insula, and more specifically whether action velocity is encoded per se or it is an element that triggers neural populations of the insula encoding the vitality form. The results showed that, consistently across subjects, in the dorso-central sector of the insula there were voxels selectively tuned to vitality forms, while voxel tuned to velocity were rare. These results indicate that the dorso-central insula, which previous data showed to be involved in the vitality form processing, contains voxels specific for the action style processing.

Vitality Forms Processing in the Insula during Action Observation: A Multivoxel Pattern Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Di Cesare, Giuseppe; Valente, Giancarlo; Di Dio, Cinzia; Ruffaldi, Emanuele; Bergamasco, Massimo; Goebel, Rainer; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

2016-01-01

Observing the style of an action done by others allows the observer to understand the cognitive state of the agent. This information has been defined by Stern “vitality forms”. Previous experiments showed that the dorso-central insula is selectively active both during vitality form observation and execution. In the present study, we presented participants with videos showing hand actions performed with different velocities and asked them to judge either their vitality form (gentle, neutral, rude) or their velocity (slow, medium, fast). The aim of the present study was to assess, using multi-voxel pattern analysis, whether vitality forms and velocities of observed goal-directed actions are differentially processed in the insula, and more specifically whether action velocity is encoded per se or it is an element that triggers neural populations of the insula encoding the vitality form. The results showed that, consistently across subjects, in the dorso-central sector of the insula there were voxels selectively tuned to vitality forms, while voxel tuned to velocity were rare. These results indicate that the dorso-central insula, which previous data showed to be involved in the vitality form processing, contains voxels specific for the action style processing. PMID:27375461

Processing bimodal stimuli: Integrality/separability of colour and orientation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David eBimler

2013-10-01

Full Text Available We examined how two distinct stimulus features, orientation and colour, interact as contributions to global stimulus dissimilarity. Five subjects rated dissimilarity between pairs of bars (N = 30 varying in colour (four cardinal hues, plus white and orientation (six angles at 30° intervals. An exploratory analysis with individual-differences multidimensional scaling resulted in a 5D solution, with two dimensions required to accommodate the circular sequence of the angular attribute, and red-green, blue-yellow and achromatic axes for the colour attribute. Weights of the orientation subspace relative to the colour subspace varied among the subjects, from a 0.32:0.61 ratio to 0.53:0.44, emphasis shifting between colour and orientation. In addition to Euclidean metric, we modelled the interaction of colour and orientation using Minkowski power metrics across a range of Minkowski exponents p, including the city-block (p = 1, Euclidean (p = 2 and Dominance metric (p à ¥ as special cases. For averaged data, p ~ 1.3 provided the best fit, i.e. intermediate between separable and integral features. For individual subjects, however, the metric exponent varied significantly from p = 0.7 to p = 3.1, indicating a subject-specific rule for combining colour and orientation, as in Tversky and Gati’s variable-weights model. No relationship was apparent between dimensional weights and individual p exponents. Factors affecting dimensional integrality are discussed, including possible underlying neural mechanisms where the interaction of the low-level vision attributes orientation and colour might shift between uncorrelated (p =1 or correlated (p ³ 2 forms.

Pilot study comparing market orientation culture of businesses and schools of business.

Science.gov (United States)

Harmon, Harry A; Webster, Robert L; Hammond, Kevin L

2003-08-01

A market orientation culture has been described as one that blends an organization's commitment to customer value with a process of continuously creating superior value for customers. Developing such a culture is further described as (1) obtaining information about customers, competitors, and markets, (2) examining the gathered information from a total organizational perspective, (3) deciding how to deliver superior customer value, and (4) implementing actions to provide value to customers. A market orientation culture focuses on the customer, identifies issues in the competitive environment, and coordinates all functional areas to achieve organizational objectives. Research has found businesses with higher market orientation are more successful in achieving organizational objectives. The measurement of market orientation within businesses has been empirically tested and validated. However, empirical research on market orientation in nonprofit organizations such as universities has not been examined. This study investigated market orientation within the university setting, specifically Schools of Business Administration, and compared these data with previously published data within the business sector. Data for comparative purposes were collected via a national survey. Hypothesis testing was conducted. Results indicated significantly lower market orientation culture within the schools of business as reported by AACSB Business School Deans vis-à-vis managers of business enterprises.

Process-oriented guided-inquiry learning: a natural fit for occupational therapy education.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffe, Lynn; Gibson, Robert; D'Amico, Mariana

2015-04-01

After a brief review of the major group cooperative learning strategies, this article presents the format and use of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning (POGIL) as a recommended teaching strategy for occupational therapy classes. This recommendation is based upon evidence of effectiveness of this strategy for enhancing critical thinking, content retention, and teamwork. Strategies for learning the process and suggestions for its use are based upon literature evidence and the authors' experiences with this strategy over 4 years in a class on evidence-based practice.

Object-oriented process dose modeling for glovebox operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boerigter, S.T.; Fasel, J.H.; Kornreich, D.E.

1999-01-01

The Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory supports several defense and nondefense-related missions for the country by performing fabrication, surveillance, and research and development for materials and components that contain plutonium. Most operations occur in rooms with one or more arrays of gloveboxes connected to each other via trolley gloveboxes. Minimizing the effective dose equivalent (EDE) is a growing concern as a result of steadily declining allowable dose limits being imposed and a growing general awareness of safety in the workplace. In general, the authors discriminate three components of a worker's total EDE: the primary EDE, the secondary EDE, and background EDE. A particular background source of interest is the nuclear materials vault. The distinction between sources inside and outside of a particular room is arbitrary with the underlying assumption that building walls and floors provide significant shielding to justify including sources in other rooms in the background category. Los Alamos has developed the Process Modeling System (ProMoS) primarily for performing process analyses of nuclear operations. ProMoS is an object-oriented, discrete-event simulation package that has been used to analyze operations at Los Alamos and proposed facilities such as the new fabrication facilities for the Complex-21 effort. In the past, crude estimates of the process dose (the EDE received when a particular process occurred), room dose (the EDE received when a particular process occurred in a given room), and facility dose (the EDE received when a particular process occurred in the facility) were used to obtain an integrated EDE for a given process. Modifications to the ProMoS package were made to utilize secondary dose information to use dose modeling to enhance the process modeling efforts

Exploring Students' Reflective Thinking Practice, Deep Processing Strategies, Effort, and Achievement Goal Orientations

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, Huy Phuong

2009-01-01

Recent research indicates that study processing strategies, effort, reflective thinking practice, and achievement goals are important factors contributing to the prediction of students' academic success. Very few studies have combined these theoretical orientations within one conceptual model. This study tested a conceptual model that included, in…

Exploring MSW students’ and social workers’ orientation toward the evidence-based practice process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Der Zwet, R.J.M.; Weling, J.; Beneken Genaamd Kolmer, D.M.; Schalk, R.

2017-01-01

The aim of this exploratory study was to assess whether practicing social workers currently enrolled in Master Social Work (MSW) programs (hereafter referred to as MSW students) were more oriented to the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and more engaged in it than practicing social workers who

Understanding the Electrical Behavior of the Action Potential in Terms of Elementary Electrical Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Falces, Javier

2015-01-01

A concept of major importance in human electrophysiology studies is the process by which activation of an excitable cell results in a rapid rise and fall of the electrical membrane potential, the so-called action potential. Hodgkin and Huxley proposed a model to explain the ionic mechanisms underlying the formation of action potentials. However,…

A simple and rapid method for determining orientations and misorientations of crystalline specimens in TEM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Q.

1995-01-01

direction, the orientation of any crystallite can be obtained by determining the relative position of the Kikuchi pattern on the screen. Then, for one interesting area containing many crystallites which have closely related orientations (difference less than 15 degrees), the orientations of the different...

Learning processes of students pre-vocational secondary education: relations between goal orientations, information processing strategies and development of conceptual knowledge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopman, M.; Brok, den P.J.; Beijaard, D.; Teune, P.J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate relations between goal orientations, information processing strategies and development of conceptual knowledge of pre-vocational secondary education students (n = 719; 14 schools). Students' preferences for certain types of goals and information

Emotional Processing, Interaction Process, and Outcome in Clarification-Oriented Psychotherapy for Personality Disorders: A Process-Outcome Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Ueli; Pascual-Leone, Antonio; Rohde, Kristina B; Sachse, Rainer

2016-06-01

It is important to understand the change processes involved in psychotherapies for patients with personality disorders (PDs). One patient process that promises to be useful in relation to the outcome of psychotherapy is emotional processing. In the present process-outcome analysis, we examine this question by using a sequential model of emotional processing and by additionally taking into account a therapist's appropriate responsiveness to a patient's presentation in clarification-oriented psychotherapy (COP), a humanistic-experiential form of therapy. The present study involved 39 patients with a range of PDs undergoing COP. Session 25 was assessed as part of the working phase of each therapy by external raters in terms of emotional processing using the Classification of Affective-Meaning States (CAMS) and in terms of the overall quality of therapist-patient interaction using the Process-Content-Relationship Scale (BIBS). Treatment outcome was assessed pre- and post-therapy using the Global Severity Index (GSI) of the SCL-90-R and the BDI. Results indicate that the good outcome cases showed more self-compassion, more rejecting anger, and a higher quality of therapist-patient interaction compared to poorer outcome cases. For good outcome cases, emotional processing predicted 18% of symptom change at the end of treatment, which was not found for poor outcome cases. These results are discussed within the framework of an integrative understanding of emotional processing as an underlying mechanism of change in COP, and perhaps in other effective therapy approaches for PDs.

Ingenuity in Action: Connecting Tinkering to Engineering Design Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jennifer; Werner-Avidon, Maia; Newton, Lisa; Randol, Scott; Smith, Brooke; Walker, Gretchen

2013-01-01

The Lawrence Hall of Science, a science center, seeks to replicate real-world engineering at the "Ingenuity in Action" exhibit, which consists of three open-ended challenges. These problems encourage children to engage in engineering design processes and problem-solving techniques through tinkering. We observed and interviewed 112…

Direct action of aldosterone on transmembrane 22Na efflux from arterial smooth muscle. Rapid and delayed effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moura, A.M.; Worcel, M.

1984-01-01

Acute subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of aldosterone increases ex vivo 22 Na efflux from rat tail artery smooth muscle, which appears to be due to a specific action on mineralocorticoid receptors. Indeed, this effect is blocked by the antimineralocorticoid compounds RU 28318 [17 beta-hydroxy-3-oxo,7 alpha-propyl(17 alpha)-pregn 4-ene, 21 potassium carboxylate] and spironolactone. The specific glucocorticoid receptor agonist RU 26988 does not modify 22 Na efflux. The authors show here that aldosterone has, at physiological concentrations, a mineralocorticoid specific stimulating effect on passive and sodium pump dependent transmembrane movements of sodium from the rat tail artery smooth muscle. Aldosterone exerts two types of action on sodium transport: 1) a delayed stimulation of ouabain-dependent 22 Na efflux and ouabain-independent 22 Na efflux, which are completely blocked by actinomycin D; and 2) a very rapid increase of passive 22 Na efflux, which is insensitive to actinomycin D and therefore does not seem to depend on transcription of genomic information

An X window based graphics user interface for radiation information processing system developed with object-oriented programming technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Wenhuan; Fu Changqing; Kang Kejun

1993-01-01

X Window is a network-oriented and network transparent windowing system, and now dominant in the Unix domain. The object-oriented programming technology can be used to change the extensibility of a software system remarkably. An introduction to graphics user interface is given. And how to develop a graphics user interface for radiation information processing system with object-oriented programming technology, which is based on X Window and independent of application is described briefly

Students' goal orientations, information processing strategies and knowledge development in competence-based pre-vocational secondary education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopman, M.

2010-01-01

In this study, learning processes of students in competence-based Pre-Vocational Secondary Education (PVSE; in Dutch vmbo) were investigated. The study aimed at describing the relation between goal orientations, information processing strategies and the development of knowledge of these students.

Entrepreneurial orientation in a franchised home entertainment system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Maritz

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper fills the gap in the research undertaken into the entrepreneurial orientation of franchisees. The study identifies entrepreneurial orientation within a defined franchise system, using the entrepreneurial character theme matrix developed by Thompson (2002. Research methodology comprises the survey approach, using electronic media and Surveypro analysis (Dillman, 2000. Hypothesis tests highlight the absence of statistically significant entrepreneurial orientation in the franchise system, despite a significant orientation in a multiple-outlet proposition analysis. Conclusions and recommendations include mobilising and communicating the action factors associated with entrepreneurial orientation, involving all franchisees within the system. Managerial implications include the motivation of developing multiple-outlet franchise systems. Future research involves broadening the data set across industries and borders.

Learning processes of students in competence-based pre-vocational secondary education: relations between goal orientations, information processing strategies and development of conceptual knowledge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dr. M. Koopman; prof dr Douwe Beijaard; Dr P.J. Teune; P. den Brok

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate relations between goal orientations, information processing strategies and development of conceptual knowledge of pre-vocational secondary education students (n=719; 14 schools). Students' preferences for certain types of goals and information processing

Action video games and improved attentional control: Disentangling selection- and response-based processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Chisholm, Joseph D; Kingstone, Alan

2015-10-01

Research has demonstrated that experience with action video games is associated with improvements in a host of cognitive tasks. Evidence from paradigms that assess aspects of attention has suggested that action video game players (AVGPs) possess greater control over the allocation of attentional resources than do non-video-game players (NVGPs). Using a compound search task that teased apart selection- and response-based processes (Duncan, 1985), we required participants to perform an oculomotor capture task in which they made saccades to a uniquely colored target (selection-based process) and then produced a manual directional response based on information within the target (response-based process). We replicated the finding that AVGPs are less susceptible to attentional distraction and, critically, revealed that AVGPs outperform NVGPs on both selection-based and response-based processes. These results not only are consistent with the improved-attentional-control account of AVGP benefits, but they suggest that the benefit of action video game playing extends across the full breadth of attention-mediated stimulus-response processes that impact human performance.

Missile signal processing common computer architecture for rapid technology upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Rabinkin, Daniel V.; Rutledge, Edward; Monticciolo, Paul

2004-10-01

Interceptor missiles process IR images to locate an intended target and guide the interceptor towards it. Signal processing requirements have increased as the sensor bandwidth increases and interceptors operate against more sophisticated targets. A typical interceptor signal processing chain is comprised of two parts. Front-end video processing operates on all pixels of the image and performs such operations as non-uniformity correction (NUC), image stabilization, frame integration and detection. Back-end target processing, which tracks and classifies targets detected in the image, performs such algorithms as Kalman tracking, spectral feature extraction and target discrimination. In the past, video processing was implemented using ASIC components or FPGAs because computation requirements exceeded the throughput of general-purpose processors. Target processing was performed using hybrid architectures that included ASICs, DSPs and general-purpose processors. The resulting systems tended to be function-specific, and required custom software development. They were developed using non-integrated toolsets and test equipment was developed along with the processor platform. The lifespan of a system utilizing the signal processing platform often spans decades, while the specialized nature of processor hardware and software makes it difficult and costly to upgrade. As a result, the signal processing systems often run on outdated technology, algorithms are difficult to update, and system effectiveness is impaired by the inability to rapidly respond to new threats. A new design approach is made possible three developments; Moore's Law - driven improvement in computational throughput; a newly introduced vector computing capability in general purpose processors; and a modern set of open interface software standards. Today's multiprocessor commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) platforms have sufficient throughput to support interceptor signal processing requirements. This application

Comparison of performance on process- and product-oriented assessments of fundamental motor skills across childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Samuel W; Barnett, Lisa M; Goodway, Jacqueline D; Stodden, David F

2017-04-01

Process-oriented motor competence (MC) assessments evaluate how a movement is performed. Product-oriented assessments evaluate the outcome of a movement. Determining the concurrent validity of process and product assessments is important to address the predictive utility of motor competence for health. The current study aimed to: (1) compare process and product assessments of the standing long jump, hop and throw across age groups and (2) determine the capacity of process assessments to classify levels of MC. Participants included 170 children classified into three age groups: 4-5, 7-8 and 10-11 years old. Participants' skills were examined concurrently using three process assessments ((Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition [TGMD-2]), Get Skilled; Get Active, and developmental sequences) and one product measure (throw speed, jump and hop distance). Results indicate moderate to strong correlations between (1) process assessments across skills and age groups (r range = .37-70) and (2) process and product assessments across skills and age groups (r range = .26-.88). In general, sensitivity to detect advanced skill level is lowest for TGMD-2 and highest for developmental sequences for all three skills. The use of process and product assessments is suggested to comprehensively capture levels of MC in human movement.

Lecture-free biochemistry: A Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Minderhout, Vicky; Loertscher, Jennifer

2007-05-01

Biochemistry courses at Seattle University have been taught exclusively using process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) without any traditional lecture component since 1997. In these courses, students participate in a structured learning environment, which includes a preparatory assignment, an in-class activity, and a follow-up skill exercise. Instructor-designed learning activities provide the content of the course while the cooperative learning structure provides the content-free procedures that promote development of critical process skills needed for learning. This format enables students to initially explore a topic independently, work together in groups to construct and refine knowledge, and eventually develop deep understanding of the essential concepts. These stages of exploration and concept development form the foundation for application to high level biochemical problems. At the end of this course, most students report feeling confident in their knowledge of biochemistry and report substantial gains in independence, critical thinking, and respect for others. Copyright © 2007 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Controlling Attention through Action: Observing Actions Primes Action-Related Stimulus Dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Fagioli, Sabrina; Ferlazzo, Fabio; Hommel, Bernhard

2007-01-01

Previous findings suggest that planning an action "backward-primes" perceptual dimension related to this action: planning a grasp facilitates the processing of visual size information, while planning a reach facilitates the processing of location information. Here we show that dimensional priming of perception through action occurs even in the…

Performative Actions in E-Adoption Processes: Strategic Efforts in a Local Government

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjelholt, Morten

2015-01-01

In this paper the concept of performative action is introduced to address how individuals can engage in IT adoption processes. The study investigates how local government employees adopt and localize ideas from a Danish National IT initiative called eDay3. Particularly the actions of a project...... and variance of the specific local government. Second, a feedback loop re-attaching the localized project to the national reform program in order to maintain and protect the newly formed local practices. The study concludes that individuals actively struggle for social positions in IT adoption processes...

Signature movements lead to efficient search for threatening actions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeroen J A van Boxtel

Full Text Available The ability to find and evade fighting persons in a crowd is potentially life-saving. To investigate how the visual system processes threatening actions, we employed a visual search paradigm with threatening boxer targets among emotionally-neutral walker distractors, and vice versa. We found that a boxer popped out for both intact and scrambled actions, whereas walkers did not. A reverse correlation analysis revealed that observers' responses clustered around the time of the "punch", a signature movement of boxing actions, but not around specific movements of the walker. These findings support the existence of a detector for signature movements in action perception. This detector helps in rapidly detecting aggressive behavior in a crowd, potentially through an expedited (subcortical threat-detection mechanism.

When you have to climb downhill to reach the top: The effect of action versus state orientation on solving a goal-subgoal conflict in the Tower of Hanoi task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jostmann, N.B.; Gieselmann, A.

2014-01-01

Complex problems often include a response conflict between a subgoal and a final goal. The present experiment investigated the roles of situational demands and individual differences in self-regulation on solving goal-subgoal conflicts in a computerized Tower of Hanoi task. Action-oriented versus

CRISPRstrand: predicting repeat orientations to determine the crRNA-encoding strand at CRISPR loci

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alkhnbashi, Omer S.; Costa, Fabrizio; Shah, Shiraz Ali

2014-01-01

Motivation: The discovery of CRISPR-Cas systems almost 20 years ago rapidly changed our perception of the bacterial and archaeal immune systems. CRISPR loci consist of several repetitive DNA sequences called repeats, inter-spaced by stretches of variable length sequences called spacers. This CRISPR...... array is transcribed and processed into multiple mature RNA species (crRNAs). A single crRNA is integrated into an interference complex, together with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins, to bind and degrade invading nucleic acids. Although existing bioinformatics tools can recognize CRISPR loci...... by their characteristic repeat-spacer architecture, they generally output CRISPR arrays of ambiguous orientation and thus do not determine the strand from which crRNAs are processed. Knowledge of the correct orientation is crucial for many tasks, including the classification of CRISPR conservation, the detection...

Action video game play facilitates the development of better perceptual templates

Science.gov (United States)

Bejjanki, Vikranth R.; Zhang, Ruyuan; Li, Renjie; Pouget, Alexandre; Green, C. Shawn; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Bavelier, Daphne

2014-01-01

The field of perceptual learning has identified changes in perceptual templates as a powerful mechanism mediating the learning of statistical regularities in our environment. By measuring threshold-vs.-contrast curves using an orientation identification task under varying levels of external noise, the perceptual template model (PTM) allows one to disentangle various sources of signal-to-noise changes that can alter performance. We use the PTM approach to elucidate the mechanism that underlies the wide range of improvements noted after action video game play. We show that action video game players make use of improved perceptual templates compared with nonvideo game players, and we confirm a causal role for action video game play in inducing such improvements through a 50-h training study. Then, by adapting a recent neural model to this task, we demonstrate how such improved perceptual templates can arise from reweighting the connectivity between visual areas. Finally, we establish that action gamers do not enter the perceptual task with improved perceptual templates. Instead, although performance in action gamers is initially indistinguishable from that of nongamers, action gamers more rapidly learn the proper template as they experience the task. Taken together, our results establish for the first time to our knowledge the development of enhanced perceptual templates following action game play. Because such an improvement can facilitate the inference of the proper generative model for the task at hand, unlike perceptual learning that is quite specific, it thus elucidates a general learning mechanism that can account for the various behavioral benefits noted after action game play. PMID:25385590

Action video game play facilitates the development of better perceptual templates.

Science.gov (United States)

Bejjanki, Vikranth R; Zhang, Ruyuan; Li, Renjie; Pouget, Alexandre; Green, C Shawn; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Bavelier, Daphne

2014-11-25

The field of perceptual learning has identified changes in perceptual templates as a powerful mechanism mediating the learning of statistical regularities in our environment. By measuring threshold-vs.-contrast curves using an orientation identification task under varying levels of external noise, the perceptual template model (PTM) allows one to disentangle various sources of signal-to-noise changes that can alter performance. We use the PTM approach to elucidate the mechanism that underlies the wide range of improvements noted after action video game play. We show that action video game players make use of improved perceptual templates compared with nonvideo game players, and we confirm a causal role for action video game play in inducing such improvements through a 50-h training study. Then, by adapting a recent neural model to this task, we demonstrate how such improved perceptual templates can arise from reweighting the connectivity between visual areas. Finally, we establish that action gamers do not enter the perceptual task with improved perceptual templates. Instead, although performance in action gamers is initially indistinguishable from that of nongamers, action gamers more rapidly learn the proper template as they experience the task. Taken together, our results establish for the first time to our knowledge the development of enhanced perceptual templates following action game play. Because such an improvement can facilitate the inference of the proper generative model for the task at hand, unlike perceptual learning that is quite specific, it thus elucidates a general learning mechanism that can account for the various behavioral benefits noted after action game play.

Development Strategy for the Export- Oriented Horticulture in Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joosten, F.J.

2007-01-01

The export-oriented horticulture sector in Ethiopia has been growing rapidly and forms an important element in the country’s efforts to expand and diversify the economy, raise export earnings and create employment. This rapid growth is remarkable particularly when placed in a historic context.

Enhancing Student Learning of Enterprise Integration and Business Process Orientation through an ERP Business Simulation Game

Science.gov (United States)

Seethamraju, Ravi

2011-01-01

The sophistication of the integrated world of work and increased recognition of business processes as critical corporate assets require graduates to develop "process orientation" and an "integrated view" of business. Responding to these dynamic changes in business organizations, business schools are also continuing to modify…

Motivation and performance within a collaborative computer-based modeling task: Relations between students' achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing and achievement

OpenAIRE

Sins, P.H.M.; van Joolingen, W.R.; Savelsbergh, E.R.; van Hout-Wolters, B.H.A.M.

2008-01-01

Purpose of the present study was to test a conceptual model of relations among achievement goal orientation, self-efficacy, cognitive processing, and achievement of students working within a particular collaborative task context. The task involved a collaborative computer-based modeling task. In order to test the model, group measures of mastery-approach goal orientation, performance-avoidance goal orientation, self-efficacy, and achievement were employed. Students’ cognitive processing was a...

ActionScript 3.0 Bible

CERN Document Server

Braunstein, Roger

2010-01-01

The updated edition on all the latest features and capabilities of ActionScript 3.0 and Flash Player 10. ActionScript is a popular programming language used primarily for the development of Web sites and software. This update to the successful previous version introduces you to all the exciting new capabilities of ActionScript 3.0. You'll see how ActionScript 3.0 goes beyond its primary use of scripting Flash animations and is now an object-oriented evolution that runs ten times faster than previous versions and can be used in Adobe's new platforms, including Flex and AIR. Hands-on instruction

Innovation adoption as facilitated by a change-oriented workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Becan, Jennifer E; Knight, Danica K; Flynn, Patrick M

2012-03-01

One of the unique contributions of this study is a glimpse into the process by which counselors decide to try new innovations in their clinical work. Data were collected from 421 counseling staff from 71 outpatient treatment programs in 4 U.S. regions. Using hierarchical linear modeling, results reveal that the propensity to adopt workshop-based interventions is facilitated by two important mechanisms: (a) an innovative organization with creative leadership and (b) change-oriented staff attributes (i.e., seeking professional growth, efficacy, adaptability, and influence on others). Innovative leaders and a climate receptive to change also bolster the development of these change-oriented attributes. One implication of these findings is the cascading effect of leaders' support of innovative thinking and action resulting in employees strengthening their own adaptive skills and carrying this innovative thinking into individual adoption. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Illustration of the Corrective Action Process, The Corrective Action Management Unit at Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, M.; Kwiecinski, D.

2002-01-01

Corrective Action Management Units (CAMUs) were established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to streamline the remediation of hazardous waste sites. Streamlining involved providing cost saving measures for the treatment, storage, and safe containment of the wastes. To expedite cleanup and remove disincentives, EPA designed 40 CFR 264 Subpart S to be flexible. At the heart of this flexibility are the provisions for CAMUs and Temporary Units (TUs). CAMUs and TUs were created to remove cleanup disincentives resulting from other Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste provisions--specifically, RCRA land disposal restrictions (LDRs) and minimum technology requirements (MTRs). Although LDR and MTR provisions were not intended for remediation activities, LDRs and MTRs apply to corrective actions because hazardous wastes are generated. However, management of RCRA hazardous remediation wastes in a CAMU or TU is not subject to these stringent requirements. The CAMU at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico (SNL/NM) was proposed through an interactive process involving the regulators (EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department), DOE, SNL/NM, and stakeholders. The CAMU at SNL/NM has been accepting waste from the nearby Chemical Waste Landfill remediation since January of 1999. During this time, a number of unique techniques have been implemented to save costs, improve health and safety, and provide the best value and management practices. This presentation will take the audience through the corrective action process implemented at the CAMU facility, from the selection of the CAMU site to permitting and construction, waste management, waste treatment, and final waste placement. The presentation will highlight the key advantages that CAMUs and TUs offer in the corrective action process. These advantages include yielding a practical approach to regulatory compliance, expediting efficient remediation and site closure, and realizing

Environmental assessment of remedial action at the Naturita uranium processing site near Naturita, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-02-01

The proposed remedial action for the Naturita processing site is relocation of the contaminated materials and debris to the Dry Flats disposal site, 6 road miles (mi) [10 kilometers (km)] to the southeast. At the disposal site, the contaminated materials would be stabilized and covered with layers of earth and rock. The proposed disposal site is on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and used primarily for livestock grazing. The final disposal site would cover approximately 57 ac (23 ha), which would be permanently transferred from the BLM to the DOE and restricted from future uses. The remedial action activities would be conducted by the DOE's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The proposed remedial action would result in the loss of approximately 162 ac (66 ha) of soils at the processing and disposal sites; however, 133 ac (55 ha) of these soils at and adjacent to the processing site are contaminated and cannot be used for other purposes. If supplemental standards are approved by the NRC and state of Colorado, approximately 112 ac (45 ha) of contaminated soils adjacent to the processing site would not be cleaned up. This area is steeply sloped. The cleanup of this contamination would have adverse environmental consequences and would be potentially hazardous to remedial action workers. Another 220 ac (89 ha) of soils would be temporarily disturbed during the remedial action. The final disposal site would result in approximately 57 ac (23 ha) being removed from livestock grazing and wildlife use

Environmental assessment of remedial action at the Naturita Uranium processing site near Naturita, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The proposed remedial action for the Naturita processing site is relocation of the contaminated materials and debris to the Dry Flats disposal sits, 6 road miles (mi) [10 kilometers (km)) to the southeast. At the disposal site, the contaminated materials would be stabilized and covered with layers of earth and rock. The proposed disposal site is on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and used primarily for livestock grazing. The final disposal sits would cover approximately 57 ac (23 ha), which would be permanently transferred from the BLM to the DOE and restricted from future uses. The remedial action activities would be conducted by the DOE's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The proposed remedial action would result in the loss of approximately 162 ac (66 ha) of soils at the processing and disposal sites; however, 133 ac (55 ha) of these soils at and adjacent to the processing site are contaminated and cannot be used for other purposes. If supplemental standards are approved by the NRC and state of Colorado, approximately 112 ac (45 ha) of contaminated soils adjacent to the processing site would not be cleaned up. This area is steeply sloped. The cleanup of this contamination would have adverse environmental consequences and would be potentially hazardous to remedial action workers. Another 220 ac (89 ha) of soils would be temporarily disturbed during the remedial action. The final disposal site would result in approximately 57 ac (23 ha) being removed from livestock grazing and wildlife use

Grasping hand verbs: oscillatory beta and alpha correlates of action-word processing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina Niccolai

Full Text Available The grounded cognition framework proposes that sensorimotor brain areas, which are typically involved in perception and action, also play a role in linguistic processing. We assessed oscillatory modulation during visual presentation of single verbs and localized cortical motor regions by means of isometric contraction of hand and foot muscles. Analogously to oscillatory activation patterns accompanying voluntary movements, we expected a somatotopically distributed suppression of beta and alpha frequencies in the motor cortex during processing of body-related action verbs. Magnetoencephalographic data were collected during presentation of verbs that express actions performed using the hands (H or feet (F. Verbs denoting no bodily movement (N were used as a control. Between 150 and 500 msec after visual word onset, beta rhythms were suppressed in H and F in comparison with N in the left hemisphere. Similarly, alpha oscillations showed left-lateralized power suppression in the H-N contrast, although at a later stage. The cortical oscillatory activity that typically occurs during voluntary movements is therefore found to somatotopically accompany the processing of body-related verbs. The combination of a localizer task with the oscillatory investigation applied to verb reading as in the present study provides further methodological possibilities of tracking language processing in the brain.

Activiti in action executable business processes in BPMN 2.0

CERN Document Server

Rademakers, Tijs

2012-01-01

Activiti in Action is a comprehensive tutorial designed to introduce developers to the world of business process modeling using Activiti. Before diving into the nuts and bolts of Activiti, this book presents a solid introduction to BPMN 2.0 from a developer's perspective.

Aging Potentiates Lateral but Not Local Inhibition of Orientation Processing in Primary Visual Cortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengchun Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Aging-related declines in vision can decrease well-being of the elderly. Concerning early sensory changes as in the primary visual cortex, physiological and behavioral reports seem contradictory. Neurophysiological studies on orientation tuning properties suggested that neuronal changes might come from decreased cortical local inhibition. However, behavioral results either showed no clear deficits in orientation processing in older adults, or proposed stronger surround suppression. Through psychophysical experiments and computational modeling, we resolved these discrepancies by suggesting that lateral inhibition increased in older adults while neuronal orientation tuning widths, related to local inhibition, stayed globally intact across age. We confirmed this later result by re-analyzing published neurophysiological data, which showed no systematic tuning width changes, but instead displayed a higher neuronal noise with aging. These results suggest a stronger lateral inhibition and mixed effects on local inhibition during aging, revealing a more complex picture of age-related effects in the central visual system than people previously thought.

AspectJ in action practical aspect-oriented programming

CERN Document Server

Laddad, Ramnivas

2003-01-01

A guide to aspect-oriented programming and the AspectJ language, this book provides code examples that enable quick implementation of functionality in a system. Thorough introductions to AOP and AspectJ will help developers learn or advance their knowledge of AspectJ. Examples of everyday situations in which AspectJ solutions can be applied, such as logging, policy enforcement, resource pooling, business logic, thread-safety, authentication and authorization, and transaction management are provided. In addition, design patterns and idioms are covered, as is business rule implementation. The latest technologies, such as JEES, JAAS, and log4j, are explained and connected with AspectJ.

A general melt-injection-decomposition route to oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Dongqiang; Zhang, Xinwei; Hua, Zhenghe; Yang, Shaoguang

2016-12-01

In this manuscript, a general melt-injection-decomposition (MID) route has been proposed and realized for the fabrication of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Nitrate was used as the starting materials, which was injected into the nanopores of the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane through the capillarity action in its liquid state. At higher temperature, the nitrate decomposed into corresponding metal oxide within the nanopores of the AAO membrane. Oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays were formed within the AAO membrane as a result of the confinement of the nanopores. Four kinds of metal oxide (CuO, Mn2O3, Co3O4 and Cr2O3) nanowire arrays are presented here as examples fabricated by this newly developed process. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies showed clear evidence of the formations of the oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Formation mechanism of the metal oxide nanowire arrays is discussed based on the Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis measurement results.

Integration of process-oriented control with systematic inspection in FRAMATOME-FBFC fuel manufacturing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopff, G.

2000-01-01

The classical approach to quality control is essentially based on final inspection of the product conducted through a qualified process. The main drawback of this approach lies in the separation and , therefore, in the low feedback between manufacturing and quality control, leading to a very static quality system. As a remedy, the modern approach to quality management focuses on the need for continuous improvement through process-oriented quality control. In the classical approach, high reliability of nuclear fuel and high quality level of the main characteristics are assumed to be attained, at the manufacturing step, through 100% inspection of the product, generally with automated inspection equipment. Such a 100% final inspection is not appropriate to obtain a homogeneous product with minimum variability, and cannot be a substitute for the SPC tools (Statistical Process Control) which are rightly designed with this aim. On the other hand, SPC methods, which detect process changes and are used to keep the process u nder control , leading to the optimal distribution of the quality characteristics, do not protect against non systematic or local disturbances, at low frequency. Only systematic control is capable of detecting local quality troubles. In fact, both approaches, SPC and systematic inspection, are complementary , because they are remedies for distinct causes of process and product changes. The term 'statistical' in the expression 'SPC' refers less to the sampling techniques than to the control of global distribution parameters of product or process variables (generally location and dispersion parameters). The successive integration levels of process control methods with systematic inspection are described and illustrated by examples from FRAMATOME-FBFC fuel manufacturing, from the simple control chart for checking the performance stability of automated inspection equipment to the global process control system including systematic inspection. This kind of

Action research in a regional development setting: students as boundary workers in a learning multi-actor network.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sol, J.; Beers, P.J.; Oosting, S.J.; Geerling-Eiff, F.A.

2011-01-01

The educational experimental project ‘Bridge to the Future’, which took place between 2002 and 2007, aimed primarily at supporting the regional development process by action- oriented student research. The second aim was to develop students’ roles as boundary workers in the co-creation of knowledge

Preparation of silicon carbide nanowires via a rapid heating process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xintong; Chen Xiaohong; Song Huaihe

2011-01-01

Silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires were fabricated in a large quantity by a rapid heating carbothermal reduction of a novel resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF)/SiO 2 hybrid aerogel in this study. SiC nanowires were grown at 1500 deg. C for 2 h in an argon atmosphere without any catalyst via vapor-solid (V-S) process. The β-SiC nanowires were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) facility, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The analysis results show that the aspect ratio of the SiC nanowires via the rapid heating process is much larger than that of the sample produced via gradual heating process. The SiC nanowires are single crystalline β-SiC phase with diameters of about 20-80 nm and lengths of about several tens of micrometers, growing along the [1 1 1] direction with a fringe spacing of 0.25 nm. The role of the interpenetrating network of RF/SiO 2 hybrid aerogel in the carbothermal reduction was discussed and the possible growth mechanism of the nanowires is analyzed.

High-density Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor prepared by rapid thermal melt processing

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, B. M.; Lalevic, B.; Kear, B. H.; McCandlish, L. E.; Safari, A.; Meskoob, M.

1989-10-01

A high quality, dense Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor has been successfully synthesized by rapid thermal melt processing. Conventionally sintered pellets were melted at 1200 °C, cooled rapidly, and then annealed. As-melted samples exhibited semiconductor behavior, which upon annealing became superconducting at 115 K [Tc(zero)=105 K]. A detailed study of various processing techniques has been carried out.

Self-Organizing Neural Integration of Pose-Motion Features for Human Action Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

German Ignacio Parisi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The visual recognition of complex, articulated human movements is fundamental for a wide range of artificial systems oriented towards human-robot communication, action classification, and action-driven perception. These challenging tasks may generally involve the processing of a huge amount of visual information and learning-based mechanisms for generalizing a set of training actions and classifying new samples. To operate in natural environments, a crucial property is the efficient and robust recognition of actions, also under noisy conditions caused by, for instance, systematic sensor errors and temporarily occluded persons. Studies of the mammalian visual system and its outperforming ability to process biological motion information suggest separate neural pathways for the distinct processing of pose and motion features at multiple levels and the subsequent integration of these visual cues for action perception. We present a neurobiologically-motivated approach to achieve noise-tolerant action recognition in real time. Our model consists of self-organizing Growing When Required (GWR networks that obtain progressively generalized representations of sensory inputs and learn inherent spatiotemporal dependencies. During the training, the GWR networks dynamically change their topological structure to better match the input space. We first extract pose and motion features from video sequences and then cluster actions in terms of prototypical pose-motion trajectories. Multi-cue trajectories from matching action frames are subsequently combined to provide action dynamics in the joint feature space. Reported experiments show that our approach outperforms previous results on a dataset of full-body actions captured with a depth sensor, and ranks among the best 21 results for a public benchmark of domestic daily actions.

Information System Engineering Supporting Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Compliant Action

Science.gov (United States)

Georgakopoulos, Dimitrios

The majority of today's software systems and organizational/business structures have been built on the foundation of solving problems via long-term data collection, analysis, and solution design. This traditional approach of solving problems and building corresponding software systems and business processes, falls short in providing the necessary solutions needed to deal with many problems that require agility as the main ingredient of their solution. For example, such agility is needed in responding to an emergency, in military command control, physical security, price-based competition in business, investing in the stock market, video gaming, network monitoring and self-healing, diagnosis in emergency health care, and many other areas that are too numerous to list here. The concept of Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loops is a guiding principal that captures the fundamental issues and approach for engineering information systems that deal with many of these problem areas. However, there are currently few software systems that are capable of supporting OODA. In this talk, we provide a tour of the research issues and state of the art solutions for supporting OODA. In addition, we provide specific examples of OODA solutions we have developed for the video surveillance and emergency response domains.

Irreversibility and Action of the Heat Conduction Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Chao Hua

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Irreversibility (that is, the “one-sidedness” of time of a physical process can be characterized by using Lyapunov functions in the modern theory of stability. In this theoretical framework, entropy and its production rate have been generally regarded as Lyapunov functions in order to measure the irreversibility of various physical processes. In fact, the Lyapunov function is not always unique. In the represent work, a rigorous proof is given that the entransy and its dissipation rate can also serve as Lyapunov functions associated with the irreversibility of the heat conduction process without the conversion between heat and work. In addition, the variation of the entransy dissipation rate can lead to Fourier’s heat conduction law, while the entropy production rate cannot. This shows that the entransy dissipation rate, rather than the entropy production rate, is the unique action for the heat conduction process, and can be used to establish the finite element method for the approximate solution of heat conduction problems and the optimization of heat transfer processes.

Mobility and orientation aid for blind persons using artificial vision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Gustavo; Gusberti, Adrian; Graffigna, Juan Pablo; Guzzo, MartIn; Nasisi, Oscar

2007-01-01

Blind or vision-impaired persons are limited in their normal life activities. Mobility and orientation of blind persons is an ever-present research subject because no total solution has yet been reached for these activities that pose certain risks for the affected persons. The current work presents the design and development of a device conceived on capturing environment information through stereoscopic vision. The images captured by a couple of video cameras are transferred and processed by configurable and sequential FPGA and DSP devices that issue action signals to a tactile feedback system. Optimal processing algorithms are implemented to perform this feedback in real time. The components selected permit portability; that is, to readily get used to wearing the device

Mobility and orientation aid for blind persons using artificial vision

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Gustavo; Gusberti, Adrian; Graffigna, Juan Pablo; Guzzo, MartIn; Nasisi, Oscar [Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, San Juan (Argentina)

2007-11-15

Blind or vision-impaired persons are limited in their normal life activities. Mobility and orientation of blind persons is an ever-present research subject because no total solution has yet been reached for these activities that pose certain risks for the affected persons. The current work presents the design and development of a device conceived on capturing environment information through stereoscopic vision. The images captured by a couple of video cameras are transferred and processed by configurable and sequential FPGA and DSP devices that issue action signals to a tactile feedback system. Optimal processing algorithms are implemented to perform this feedback in real time. The components selected permit portability; that is, to readily get used to wearing the device.

Mobility and orientation aid for blind persons using artificial vision

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Gustavo; Gusberti, Adrián; Graffigna, Juan Pablo; Guzzo, Martín; Nasisi, Oscar

2007-11-01

Blind or vision-impaired persons are limited in their normal life activities. Mobility and orientation of blind persons is an ever-present research subject because no total solution has yet been reached for these activities that pose certain risks for the affected persons. The current work presents the design and development of a device conceived on capturing environment information through stereoscopic vision. The images captured by a couple of video cameras are transferred and processed by configurable and sequential FPGA and DSP devices that issue action signals to a tactile feedback system. Optimal processing algorithms are implemented to perform this feedback in real time. The components selected permit portability; that is, to readily get used to wearing the device.

Postdictive modulation of visual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawabe, Takahiro

2012-01-01

The present study investigated how visual orientation is modulated by subsequent orientation inputs. Observers were presented a near-vertical Gabor patch as a target, followed by a left- or right-tilted second Gabor patch as a distracter in the spatial vicinity of the target. The task of the observers was to judge whether the target was right- or left-tilted (Experiment 1) or whether the target was vertical or not (Supplementary experiment). The judgment was biased toward the orientation of the distracter (the postdictive modulation of visual orientation). The judgment bias peaked when the target and distracter were temporally separated by 100 ms, indicating a specific temporal mechanism for this phenomenon. However, when the visibility of the distracter was reduced via backward masking, the judgment bias disappeared. On the other hand, the low-visibility distracter could still cause a simultaneous orientation contrast, indicating that the distracter orientation is still processed in the visual system (Experiment 2). Our results suggest that the postdictive modulation of visual orientation stems from spatiotemporal integration of visual orientation on the basis of a slow feature matching process.

Facilitating Work Based Learning Projects: A Business Process Oriented Knowledge Management Approach

OpenAIRE

Miao, Yongwu; Sloep, Peter; Koper, Rob

2009-01-01

Miao, Y., Sloep, P. B., & Koper, R. (2010). Facilitating Work Based Learning Projects: A Business Process Oriented Knowledge Management Approach. In D. Griffiths & R. Koper (Eds.), Rethinking Learning and Employment at a Time of Economic Uncertainty. Proceedings of the 6th TENCompetence Open workshop (pp. 22-33). November, 19-20, 2009, Manchester, UK. Bolton, UK: Institute for Educational Cybernetics, The University of Bolton. For the complete book please see http://hdl.handle.net/1820/3191

Action Video Gaming and Cognitive Control: Playing First Person Shooter Games Is Associated with Improved Action Cascading but Not Inhibition

Science.gov (United States)

Steenbergen, Laura; Sellaro, Roberta; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian; Colzato, Lorenza S.

2015-01-01

There is a constantly growing interest in developing efficient methods to enhance cognitive functioning and/or to ameliorate cognitive deficits. One particular line of research focuses on the possibly cognitive enhancing effects that action video game (AVG) playing may have on game players. Interestingly, AVGs, especially first person shooter games, require gamers to develop different action control strategies to rapidly react to fast moving visual and auditory stimuli, and to flexibly adapt their behaviour to the ever-changing context. This study investigated whether and to what extent experience with such videogames is associated with enhanced performance on cognitive control tasks that require similar abilities. Experienced action videogame-players (AVGPs) and individuals with little to no videogame experience (NVGPs) performed a stop-change paradigm that provides a relatively well-established diagnostic measure of action cascading and response inhibition. Replicating previous findings, AVGPs showed higher efficiency in response execution, but not improved response inhibition (i.e. inhibitory control), as compared to NVGPs. More importantly, compared to NVGPs, AVGPs showed enhanced action cascading processes when an interruption (stop) and a change towards an alternative response were required simultaneously, as well as when such a change had to occur after the completion of the stop process. Our findings suggest that playing AVGs is associated with enhanced action cascading and multi-component behaviour without affecting inhibitory control. PMID:26655929

Action Video Gaming and Cognitive Control: Playing First Person Shooter Games Is Associated with Improved Action Cascading but Not Inhibition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Steenbergen

Full Text Available There is a constantly growing interest in developing efficient methods to enhance cognitive functioning and/or to ameliorate cognitive deficits. One particular line of research focuses on the possibly cognitive enhancing effects that action video game (AVG playing may have on game players. Interestingly, AVGs, especially first person shooter games, require gamers to develop different action control strategies to rapidly react to fast moving visual and auditory stimuli, and to flexibly adapt their behaviour to the ever-changing context. This study investigated whether and to what extent experience with such videogames is associated with enhanced performance on cognitive control tasks that require similar abilities. Experienced action videogame-players (AVGPs and individuals with little to no videogame experience (NVGPs performed a stop-change paradigm that provides a relatively well-established diagnostic measure of action cascading and response inhibition. Replicating previous findings, AVGPs showed higher efficiency in response execution, but not improved response inhibition (i.e. inhibitory control, as compared to NVGPs. More importantly, compared to NVGPs, AVGPs showed enhanced action cascading processes when an interruption (stop and a change towards an alternative response were required simultaneously, as well as when such a change had to occur after the completion of the stop process. Our findings suggest that playing AVGs is associated with enhanced action cascading and multi-component behaviour without affecting inhibitory control.

Action Video Gaming and Cognitive Control: Playing First Person Shooter Games Is Associated with Improved Action Cascading but Not Inhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Steenbergen, Laura; Sellaro, Roberta; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian; Colzato, Lorenza S

2015-01-01

There is a constantly growing interest in developing efficient methods to enhance cognitive functioning and/or to ameliorate cognitive deficits. One particular line of research focuses on the possibly cognitive enhancing effects that action video game (AVG) playing may have on game players. Interestingly, AVGs, especially first person shooter games, require gamers to develop different action control strategies to rapidly react to fast moving visual and auditory stimuli, and to flexibly adapt their behaviour to the ever-changing context. This study investigated whether and to what extent experience with such videogames is associated with enhanced performance on cognitive control tasks that require similar abilities. Experienced action videogame-players (AVGPs) and individuals with little to no videogame experience (NVGPs) performed a stop-change paradigm that provides a relatively well-established diagnostic measure of action cascading and response inhibition. Replicating previous findings, AVGPs showed higher efficiency in response execution, but not improved response inhibition (i.e. inhibitory control), as compared to NVGPs. More importantly, compared to NVGPs, AVGPs showed enhanced action cascading processes when an interruption (stop) and a change towards an alternative response were required simultaneously, as well as when such a change had to occur after the completion of the stop process. Our findings suggest that playing AVGs is associated with enhanced action cascading and multi-component behaviour without affecting inhibitory control.

A single theoretical framework for circular features processing in humans: orientation and direction of motion compared

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzvetomir eTzvetanov

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Common computational principles underly processing of various visual features in the cortex. They are considered to create similar patterns of contextual modulations in behavioral studies for different features as orientation and direction of motion. Here, I studied the possibility that a single theoretical framework, implemented in different visual areas, of circular feature coding and processing could explain these similarities in observations. Stimuli were created that allowed direct comparison of the contextual effects on orientation and motion direction with two different psychophysical probes: changes in weak and strong signal perception. One unique simplified theoretical model of circular feature coding including only inhibitory interactions, and decoding through standard vector average, successfully predicted the similarities in the two domains, while different feature population characteristics explained well the differences in modulation on both experimental probes. These results demonstrate how a single computational principle underlies processing of various features across the cortices.

Video processing for human perceptual visual quality-oriented video coding.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Hyungsuk; Kim, Wonha

2013-04-01

We have developed a video processing method that achieves human perceptual visual quality-oriented video coding. The patterns of moving objects are modeled by considering the limited human capacity for spatial-temporal resolution and the visual sensory memory together, and an online moving pattern classifier is devised by using the Hedge algorithm. The moving pattern classifier is embedded in the existing visual saliency with the purpose of providing a human perceptual video quality saliency model. In order to apply the developed saliency model to video coding, the conventional foveation filtering method is extended. The proposed foveation filter can smooth and enhance the video signals locally, in conformance with the developed saliency model, without causing any artifacts. The performance evaluation results confirm that the proposed video processing method shows reliable improvements in the perceptual quality for various sequences and at various bandwidths, compared to existing saliency-based video coding methods.

Advanced information science and object-oriented technology for information management applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hummel, J.R.; Swietlik, C.E.

1996-10-01

The role of the military has been undergoing rapid change since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The kinds of missions the US military has been asked to participate in have often fallen into the category of {open_quotes}Military Operations Other Than War{close_quotes} and those involving military responses have been more of a surgical nature directed against different kinds of threats, like rogue states or in response to terrorist actions. As a result, the requirements on the military planner and analyst have also had to change dramatically. For example, preparing response options now requires rapid turnaround and a highly flexible simulation capability. This in turn requires that the planner or analyst have access to sophisticated information science and simulation technologies. In this paper, we shall discuss how advanced information science and object-oriented technologies can be used in advanced information management applications. We shall also discuss how these technologies and tools can be applied to DoD applications by presenting examples with a system developed at Argonne, the Dynamic Information Architecture System (DIAS). DIAS has been developed to exploit advanced information science and simulation technologies to provide tools for future planners and analysts.

A RAPID Method for Blood Processing to Increase the Yield of Plasma Peptide Levels in Human Blood.

Science.gov (United States)

Teuffel, Pauline; Goebel-Stengel, Miriam; Hofmann, Tobias; Prinz, Philip; Scharner, Sophie; Körner, Jan L; Grötzinger, Carsten; Rose, Matthias; Klapp, Burghard F; Stengel, Andreas

2016-04-28

Research in the field of food intake regulation is gaining importance. This often includes the measurement of peptides regulating food intake. For the correct determination of a peptide's concentration, it should be stable during blood processing. However, this is not the case for several peptides which are quickly degraded by endogenous peptidases. Recently, we developed a blood processing method employing Reduced temperatures, Acidification, Protease inhibition, Isotopic exogenous controls and Dilution (RAPID) for the use in rats. Here, we have established this technique for the use in humans and investigated recovery, molecular form and circulating concentration of food intake regulatory hormones. The RAPID method significantly improved the recovery for (125)I-labeled somatostatin-28 (+39%), glucagon-like peptide-1 (+35%), acyl ghrelin and glucagon (+32%), insulin and kisspeptin (+29%), nesfatin-1 (+28%), leptin (+21%) and peptide YY3-36 (+19%) compared to standard processing (EDTA blood on ice, p processing, while after standard processing 62% of acyl ghrelin were degraded resulting in an earlier peak likely representing desacyl ghrelin. After RAPID processing the acyl/desacyl ghrelin ratio in blood of normal weight subjects was 1:3 compared to 1:23 following standard processing (p = 0.03). Also endogenous kisspeptin levels were higher after RAPID compared to standard processing (+99%, p = 0.02). The RAPID blood processing method can be used in humans, yields higher peptide levels and allows for assessment of the correct molecular form.

Orientation and structure development in poly(lactide) under uniaxial deformation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, Y.S. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N4.1-02-06 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Stachurski, Z.H. [Department of Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); Venkatraman, S.S. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N4.1-02-06 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)], E-mail: assubbu@ntu.edu.sg

2008-10-15

Semicrystalline poly(L-lactide), or PLLA, is used in many biomedical applications, including self-expanding stents. A network model is applied to describe the deformation behaviour of semicrystalline poly(L-lactide) obtained at different drawing temperatures. Based on the present results, it is suggested that the deformation behaviour of PLLA appears to follow pseudo-affine model at the macroscopic level, but it does not follow it at the molecular level. The development of molecular orientation during drawing in both crystalline and amorphous phases was characterized by means of optical birefringence and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). In general, high orientation is achieved at the higher drawing temperature and it is found that the crystalline and amorphous phases respond differently to network deformation. At moderate deformation temperature, the development of crystalline orientation increases slowly at a low stretch ratio followed by a rapid rise in the degree of orientation as a result of crystal rotation and crystal slip, while the amorphous chains deform in pseudo-affine manner. Drawing at a high temperature shows rapid crystalline orientation development, even at a low stretch ratio of 1.5, while molecular alignment develops steadily in the amorphous phase.

Linking perception and action by structure or process? Toward an integrative perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Herwig, Arvid

2015-05-01

Over the past decades cognitive neuroscience's renewed interest in action has intensified the search of principles explaining how the cognitive system links perception to action and vice versa. To date, at least two seemingly alternative approaches can be distinguished. Perception and action might be linked either by common representational structures, as assumed by the ideomotor approach, or by common attentional processes, as assumed by the attention approach. This article first reviews the evidence from different paradigms supporting each approach. It becomes clear that most studies selectively focus either on actions directed at goals outside the actors' perceptual range (supporting the ideomotor approach) or on actions directed at targets within the actors' perceptual range (supporting the attention approach). In a second step, I will try to reconcile both approaches by reviewing recent eye movement studies that abolish the classical combination of approach and goals under study. Demonstrating that both approaches cover target- as well as goal-directed actions, it is proposed that operations addressed in both conceptual frameworks interact with each other. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-E-J-15: Automatically Detect Patient Treatment Position and Orientation in KV Portal Images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, J; Yang, D

2015-01-01

Purpose: In the course of radiation therapy, the complex information processing workflow will Result in potential errors, such as incorrect or inaccurate patient setups. With automatic image check and patient identification, such errors could be effectively reduced. For this purpose, we developed a simple and rapid image processing method, to automatically detect the patient position and orientation in 2D portal images, so to allow automatic check of positions and orientations for patient daily RT treatments. Methods: Based on the principle of portal image formation, a set of whole body DRR images were reconstructed from multiple whole body CT volume datasets, and fused together to be used as the matching template. To identify the patient setup position and orientation shown in a 2D portal image, the 2D portal image was preprocessed (contrast enhancement, down-sampling and couch table detection), then matched to the template image so to identify the laterality (left or right), position, orientation and treatment site. Results: Five day’s clinical qualified portal images were gathered randomly, then were processed by the automatic detection and matching method without any additional information. The detection results were visually checked by physicists. 182 images were correct detection in a total of 200kV portal images. The correct rate was 91%. Conclusion: The proposed method can detect patient setup and orientation quickly and automatically. It only requires the image intensity information in KV portal images. This method can be useful in the framework of Electronic Chart Check (ECCK) to reduce the potential errors in workflow of radiation therapy and so to improve patient safety. In addition, the auto-detection results, as the patient treatment site position and patient orientation, could be useful to guide the sequential image processing procedures, e.g. verification of patient daily setup accuracy. This work was partially supported by research grant from

SU-E-J-15: Automatically Detect Patient Treatment Position and Orientation in KV Portal Images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu, J [Washington University in St Louis, Taian, Shandong (China); Yang, D [Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: In the course of radiation therapy, the complex information processing workflow will Result in potential errors, such as incorrect or inaccurate patient setups. With automatic image check and patient identification, such errors could be effectively reduced. For this purpose, we developed a simple and rapid image processing method, to automatically detect the patient position and orientation in 2D portal images, so to allow automatic check of positions and orientations for patient daily RT treatments. Methods: Based on the principle of portal image formation, a set of whole body DRR images were reconstructed from multiple whole body CT volume datasets, and fused together to be used as the matching template. To identify the patient setup position and orientation shown in a 2D portal image, the 2D portal image was preprocessed (contrast enhancement, down-sampling and couch table detection), then matched to the template image so to identify the laterality (left or right), position, orientation and treatment site. Results: Five day’s clinical qualified portal images were gathered randomly, then were processed by the automatic detection and matching method without any additional information. The detection results were visually checked by physicists. 182 images were correct detection in a total of 200kV portal images. The correct rate was 91%. Conclusion: The proposed method can detect patient setup and orientation quickly and automatically. It only requires the image intensity information in KV portal images. This method can be useful in the framework of Electronic Chart Check (ECCK) to reduce the potential errors in workflow of radiation therapy and so to improve patient safety. In addition, the auto-detection results, as the patient treatment site position and patient orientation, could be useful to guide the sequential image processing procedures, e.g. verification of patient daily setup accuracy. This work was partially supported by research grant from

Theoretical background to orient the universitary projects management to local development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naybi Salas Vargas

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays the resources administration is a problem to be solved, and is remarkable the universities role to orient knowledge to the expected local development. With the communion of the university and the main decisors at local and territorial contexts, it is evident the development of alternatives that diminish existing breaches in the known projects management Anytime the projects development context is diverse and multicultural, all the knowledge elements that provide new forms are useful experiences without point out unique recipees. The development dynamic evolution in the territories continues being an urgency for human survival.The projects management, notable in international cooperation actions as the international dimension of the extensionist activity and in the science contributions, are reduced in their foccus to the promotion of local development, what points out the need to orient the universitary processes to the territorial development of the province, in particular the projects management. The objective of this work is to offer a guidance of foundations that allow to orient the management of universtary projects to local development.

20 CFR 670.545 - How does Job Corps ensure that students receive due process in disciplinary actions?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... receive due process in disciplinary actions? 670.545 Section 670.545 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND... process in disciplinary actions? The center operator must ensure that all students receive due process in disciplinary proceedings according to procedures developed by the Secretary. These procedures must include, at...

Action Learning in China

Science.gov (United States)

Marquardt, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Action learning was introduced into China less than 20 years ago, but has rapidly become a valuable tool for organizations seeking to solve problems, develop their leaders, and become learning organizations. This article provides an historical overview of action learning in China, its cultural underpinnings, and five case studies. It concludes…

Analyzing empowerment oriented email consultation for parents : Development of the Guiding the Empowerment Process model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

dr. Christa C.C. Nieuwboer

2014-01-01

Background. Online consultation is increasingly offered by parenting practitioners, but it is not clear if it is feasible to provide empowerment oriented support in single session email consultation. Method. Based on empowerment theory we developed the Guiding the Empowerment Process model (GEP

On issues of constructing an exception handling mechanism for CSP-based process-oriented concurrent software

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jovanovic, D.S.; Orlic, B.; Broenink, Johannes F.; Broenink, J.F.; Roebers, H.W.; Sunter, J.P.E.; Welch, P.H.; Wood, D.C.

2005-01-01

This paper discusses issues, possibilities and existing approaches for fitting an exception handling mechanism (EHM) in CSP-based process-oriented software architectures. After giving a survey on properties desired for a concurrent EHM, specific problems and a few principal ideas for including

Effect of Particle Orientation during Thermal Processing of Canned Peach Halves: A CFD Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adreas Dimou

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to apply Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD to study the effect of particle orientation on fluid flow, temperature evolution, as well as microbial destruction, during thermal processing of still cans filled with peach halves in sugar syrup. A still metal can with four peach halves in 20% sugar syrup was heated at 100 °C for 20 min and thereafter cooled at 20 °C. Infinite heat transfer coefficient between heating medium and external can wall was considered. Peach halves were orderly placed inside the can with the empty space originally occupied by the kernel facing, in all peaches, either towards the top or the bottom of the can. In a third situation, the can was placed horizontally. Simulations revealed differences on particle temperature profiles, as well as process F values and critical point location, based on their orientation. At their critical points, peach halves with the kernel space facing towards the top of the can heated considerably slower and cooled faster than the peaches having their kernel space facing towards the bottom of the can. The horizontal can case exhibited intermediate cooling but the fastest heating rates and the highest F process values among the three cases examined. The results of this study could be used in designing of thermal processes with optimal product quality.

A Configurable, Object-Oriented, Transportation System Software Framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

KELLY,SUZANNE M.; MYRE,JOHN W.; PRICE,MARK H.; RUSSELL,ERIC D.; SCOTT,DAN W.

2000-08-01

The Transportation Surety Center, 6300, has been conducting continuing research into and development of information systems for the Configurable Transportation Security and Information Management System (CTSS) project, an Object-Oriented Framework approach that uses Component-Based Software Development to facilitate rapid deployment of new systems while improving software cost containment, development reliability, compatibility, and extensibility. The direction has been to develop a Fleet Management System (FMS) framework using object-oriented technology. The goal for the current development is to provide a software and hardware environment that will demonstrate and support object-oriented development commonly in the FMS Central Command Center and Vehicle domains.

fMRI orientation decoding in V1 does not require global maps or globally coherent orientation stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Alink, Arjen; Krugliak, Alexandra; Walther, Alexander; Kriegeskorte, Nikolaus

2013-01-01

The orientation of a large grating can be decoded from V1 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, even at low resolution (3-mm isotropic voxels). This finding has suggested that columnar-level neuronal information might be accessible to fMRI at 3T. However, orientation decodability might alternatively arise from global orientation-preference maps. Such global maps across V1 could result from bottom-up processing, if the preferences of V1 neurons were biased toward particular orientations (e.g., radial from fixation, or cardinal, i.e., vertical or horizontal). Global maps could also arise from local recurrent or top-down processing, reflecting pre-attentive perceptual grouping, attention spreading, or predictive coding of global form. Here we investigate whether fMRI orientation decoding with 2-mm voxels requires (a) globally coherent orientation stimuli and/or (b) global-scale patterns of V1 activity. We used opposite-orientation gratings (balanced about the cardinal orientations) and spirals (balanced about the radial orientation), along with novel patch-swapped variants of these stimuli. The two stimuli of a patch-swapped pair have opposite orientations everywhere (like their globally coherent parent stimuli). However, the two stimuli appear globally similar, a patchwork of opposite orientations. We find that all stimulus pairs are robustly decodable, demonstrating that fMRI orientation decoding does not require globally coherent orientation stimuli. Furthermore, decoding remained robust after spatial high-pass filtering for all stimuli, showing that fine-grained components of the fMRI patterns reflect visual orientations. Consistent with previous studies, we found evidence for global radial and vertical preference maps in V1. However, these were weak or absent for patch-swapped stimuli, suggesting that global preference maps depend on globally coherent orientations and might arise through recurrent or top-down processes related to the perception of

Monetary rewards influence retrieval orientations.

Science.gov (United States)

Halsband, Teresa M; Ferdinand, Nicola K; Bridger, Emma K; Mecklinger, Axel

2012-09-01

Reward anticipation during learning is known to support memory formation, but its role in retrieval processes is so far unclear. Retrieval orientations, as a reflection of controlled retrieval processing, are one aspect of retrieval that might be modulated by reward. These processes can be measured using the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by retrieval cues from tasks with different retrieval requirements, such as via changes in the class of targeted memory information. To determine whether retrieval orientations of this kind are modulated by reward during learning, we investigated the effects of high and low reward expectancy on the ERP correlates of retrieval orientation in two separate experiments. The reward manipulation at study in Experiment 1 was associated with later memory performance, whereas in Experiment 2, reward was directly linked to accuracy in the study task. In both studies, the participants encoded mixed lists of pictures and words preceded by high- or low-reward cues. After 24 h, they performed a recognition memory exclusion task, with words as the test items. In addition to a previously reported material-specific effect of retrieval orientation, a frontally distributed, reward-associated retrieval orientation effect was found in both experiments. These findings suggest that reward motivation during learning leads to the adoption of a reward-associated retrieval orientation to support the retrieval of highly motivational information. Thus, ERP retrieval orientation effects not only reflect retrieval processes related to the sought-for materials, but also relate to the reward conditions with which items were combined during encoding.

Action video games do not improve the speed of information processing in simple perceptual tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

van Ravenzwaaij, Don; Boekel, Wouter; Forstmann, Birte U; Ratcliff, Roger; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2014-10-01

Previous research suggests that playing action video games improves performance on sensory, perceptual, and attentional tasks. For instance, Green, Pouget, and Bavelier (2010) used the diffusion model to decompose data from a motion detection task and estimate the contribution of several underlying psychological processes. Their analysis indicated that playing action video games leads to faster information processing, reduced response caution, and no difference in motor responding. Because perceptual learning is generally thought to be highly context-specific, this transfer from gaming is surprising and warrants corroborative evidence from a large-scale training study. We conducted 2 experiments in which participants practiced either an action video game or a cognitive game in 5 separate, supervised sessions. Prior to each session and following the last session, participants performed a perceptual discrimination task. In the second experiment, we included a third condition in which no video games were played at all. Behavioral data and diffusion model parameters showed similar practice effects for the action gamers, the cognitive gamers, and the nongamers and suggest that, in contrast to earlier reports, playing action video games does not improve the speed of information processing in simple perceptual tasks.

Rapid corticosteroid actions on synaptic plasticity in the mouse basolateral amygdala: relevance of recent stress history and β-adrenergic signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarabdjitsingh, R A; Joëls, M

2014-07-01

The rodent stress hormone corticosterone rapidly enhances long-term potentiation in the CA1 hippocampal area, but leads to a suppression when acting in a more delayed fashion. Both actions are thought to contribute to stress effects on emotional memory. Emotional memory formation also involves the basolateral amygdala, an important target area for corticosteroid actions. We here (1) investigated the rapid effects of corticosterone on amygdalar synaptic potentiation, (2) determined to what extent these effects depend on the mouse's recent stress history or (3) on prior β-adrenoceptor activation; earlier studies at the single cell level showed that especially a recent history of stress changes the responsiveness of basolateral amygdala neurons to corticosterone. We report that, unlike the hippocampus, stress enhances amygdalar synaptic potentiation in a slow manner. In vitro exposure to 100 nM corticosterone quickly decreases synaptic potentiation, and causes only transient potentiation in tissue from stressed mice. This transient type of potentiation is also seen when β-adrenoceptors are blocked during stress and this is further exacerbated by subsequent in vitro administered corticosterone. We conclude that stress and corticosterone change synaptic potentiation in the basolateral amygdala in a manner opposite to that seen in the hippocampus and that renewed exposure to corticosterone only allows induction of non-persistent forms of synaptic potentiation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Postdictive modulation of visual orientation.

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Takahiro Kawabe

Full Text Available The present study investigated how visual orientation is modulated by subsequent orientation inputs. Observers were presented a near-vertical Gabor patch as a target, followed by a left- or right-tilted second Gabor patch as a distracter in the spatial vicinity of the target. The task of the observers was to judge whether the target was right- or left-tilted (Experiment 1 or whether the target was vertical or not (Supplementary experiment. The judgment was biased toward the orientation of the distracter (the postdictive modulation of visual orientation. The judgment bias peaked when the target and distracter were temporally separated by 100 ms, indicating a specific temporal mechanism for this phenomenon. However, when the visibility of the distracter was reduced via backward masking, the judgment bias disappeared. On the other hand, the low-visibility distracter could still cause a simultaneous orientation contrast, indicating that the distracter orientation is still processed in the visual system (Experiment 2. Our results suggest that the postdictive modulation of visual orientation stems from spatiotemporal integration of visual orientation on the basis of a slow feature matching process.

Computer-controlled system for rapid soil analysis of 226Ra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doane, R.W.; Berven, B.A.; Blair, M.S.

1984-01-01

A computer-controlled multichannel analysis system has been developed by the Radiological Survey Activities Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the Department of Energy (DOE) in support of the DOE's remedial action programs. The purpose of this system is to provide a rapid estimate of the 226 Ra concentration in soil samples using a 6 x 9-in. NaI(Tl) crystal containing a 3.25-in. deep by 3.5-in. diameter well. This gamma detection system is controlled by a mini-computer with a dual floppy disk storage medium. A two-chip interface was also designed at ORNL which handles all control signals generated from the computer keyboard. These computer-generated control signals are processed in machine language for rapid data transfer and BASIC language is used for data processing

Negotiating Race and Sexual Orientation in the College Choice Process of Black Gay Males

Science.gov (United States)

Squire, Dian D.; Mobley, Steve D., Jr.

2015-01-01

This study explores the college choice process for Black gay males and what factors played significant roles in why they chose to attend either HBCUs or PWIs. Findings revealed that these students considered race and sexual orientation in different ways when deciding to attend either an HBCU or PWI. Implications for high school counselors and…

Mental Representations in Musical Processing and their Role in Action-Perception Loops

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Rebecca S. Schaefer

2015-05-01

Full Text Available I address the diverging usage of the term "imagery" by delineating different types of imagery, each of which is supported by multimodal mental representations that are informed and modulated by the body and its in- and outputs, and that in turn modulate and inform perception and action through predictive processing. These multimodal representations, viewed here as mental models, underlie our individual perceptual experience of music, which is constructed in the listener as it is perceived and interpreted. While tracking incoming auditory information, mental representations of music unfold on multiple levels as we listen, from regularities detected across notes to the structure of entire pieces of music, generating predictions for different musical aspects. These predictions lead to specific percepts and behavioral outputs, illustrating a tight coupling of cognition, perception and action. This coupling and the prominence of predictive mechanisms in music processing are described in the context of the broader role of predictive processing in cognitive function, which is well suited to account for the role of mental models in musical perception and action. As a proxy for mental representations, investigating the cerebral correlates of constructive imagination may offer an experimentally tractable approach to clarifying how mental models of music are implemented in the brain.

An Inquiry into the Rapid Growth of the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

MOTTALEB, Khondoker Abdul; SONOBE, Tetsushi

2011-01-01

The export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh has grown rapidly for the last three decades and now ranks among the largest garment exporters in the world. While its early success is attributed to the initial technology transfer from South Korea, such a one-time infusion of knowledge alone is insufficient to explain the sustained growth for three decades. This paper uses primary data collected from knitwear manufacturers and garment traders to explore the process of the continuous learnin...

Unsupervised Learning of Action Primitives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baby, Sanmohan; Krüger, Volker; Kragic, Danica

2010-01-01

and scale, the use of the object can provide a strong invariant for the detection of motion primitives. In this paper we propose an unsupervised learning approach for action primitives that makes use of the human movements as well as the object state changes. We group actions according to the changes......Action representation is a key issue in imitation learning for humanoids. With the recent finding of mirror neurons there has been a growing interest in expressing actions as a combination meaningful subparts called primitives. Primitives could be thought of as an alphabet for the human actions....... In this paper we observe that human actions and objects can be seen as being intertwined: we can interpret actions from the way the body parts are moving, but as well from how their effect on the involved object. While human movements can look vastly different even under minor changes in location, orientation...

MreB filaments align along greatest principal membrane curvature to orient cell wall synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Szwedziak, Piotr; Wong, Felix; Schaefer, Kaitlin; Izoré, Thierry; Renner, Lars D; Holmes, Matthew J; Sun, Yingjie; Bisson-Filho, Alexandre W; Walker, Suzanne; Amir, Ariel; Löwe, Jan

2018-01-01

MreB is essential for rod shape in many bacteria. Membrane-associated MreB filaments move around the rod circumference, helping to insert cell wall in the radial direction to reinforce rod shape. To understand how oriented MreB motion arises, we altered the shape of Bacillus subtilis. MreB motion is isotropic in round cells, and orientation is restored when rod shape is externally imposed. Stationary filaments orient within protoplasts, and purified MreB tubulates liposomes in vitro, orienting within tubes. Together, this demonstrates MreB orients along the greatest principal membrane curvature, a conclusion supported with biophysical modeling. We observed that spherical cells regenerate into rods in a local, self-reinforcing manner: rapidly propagating rods emerge from small bulges, exhibiting oriented MreB motion. We propose that the coupling of MreB filament alignment to shape-reinforcing peptidoglycan synthesis creates a locally-acting, self-organizing mechanism allowing the rapid establishment and stable maintenance of emergent rod shape. PMID:29469806

Characterization of the crystal orientation in mono-oriented films of HDPE/LLDPE blends by IR dichroism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canevarolo, Sebastião V., E-mail: caneva@ufscar.br; Ravazzi, Camila; Silva, Jorge, E-mail: jorge.silva@ufscar.br [Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos Rod. Washington Luiz Km 235, 13565-905, SãoCarlos, SP - Brazil (Brazil); Elias, Marcelo [Motechfilm Produtos Plásticos, Estrada Municipal do Bonfim, 100, Pinhal, Cabreúva, SP - Brazil (Brazil)

2016-03-09

Polyethylene films are a common packaging material. The level and type of chain orientation in these films are a very important property which is of great care and concern of the converter personnel during the conformation process. Usually bi-orientation is the conventional procedure but when easy tear in one direction is needed mono-orientation is sought. This paper deal with the characterization of the crystalline orientation in films of polyethylene blends (HDPE/LLDPE) which have being oriented in two steps: initially the polymer was bi-oriented via extrusion-blown, cooled, and then in a second process hot stretched along the machine direction in order to produce mono-oriented films. In order to evaluate the orientation of the film, the polarization of the FT-IR beam was rotated 360° in steps of 5° by rotating the polarizer. In each step the absorbance spectrum was recorded and the corresponding dichroic ratio (DR) calculated after subtracting the baseline. With differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was possible to infer about the changes in the morphology caused by the stretching.

From the Definitions of Mental Phenomena towards the Analysis of Developmental Perspectives of Actions

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Malanov S.V.

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The paper addresses the issue of diversity of definitions of mental phenomena and methodological approaches to their exploration. It is argued that monistic construction of psychological knowledge is essential and requires drawing consistent conclusions about mental functioning in living organisms from the laws of evolution or, as in the case with humans, from the laws of anthropogenesis and historical development of humankind. The paper describes two main patterns of scientific analysis which consider mental phenomena as processes and functions that are: a localized in and generated by the brain on the basis of ‘information processing mechanisms’; b localized between the living organisms and objects, ensuring their orientation in the outer world. The paper also discusses the problem of evolutionary development of functions responsible for orientation and interaction with the environment in animals. It highlights the ontogenetic stages of integration of language means into the organization of practices and mental actions in humans and analyses the main patterns in the development of actions, as well as the grounds for selecting operations of which they consist and which correspond with traditionally described mental functions.

The Effectiveness of Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning to Reduce Alternative Conceptions in Secondary Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Barthlow, Michelle J.; Watson, Scott B.

2014-01-01

A nonequivalent, control group design was used to investigate student achievement in secondary chemistry. This study investigated the effect of process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) in high school chemistry to reduce alternate conceptions related to the particulate nature of matter versus traditional lecture pedagogy. Data were…

[Recovery of consciousness: process-oriented approach].

Science.gov (United States)

Gusarova, S B

2014-01-01

Traditionally psychological neurorehabilitation of neurosurgical patients is provided subject to availability of clear consciousness and minimal potential to communicate verbally. Cognitive and emotional disorders, problems in social adaptation, neurotic syndromes are normally targets in such cases. We work with patients having survived severe brain damage being in different states of consciousness: vegetative state, minimal state of consciousness, mutism, confusion, posttraumatic Korsaroff syndrom. Psychologist considers recovery of consciousness as the target besides traditional tasks. Construction of communication with patient is central part of such job, where the patient remains unable to contact verbally, yet it is impossible to consider potential aphasia. This is a non-verbal "dialogue" with patient created by psychologist with gradual development and involving other people and objects of environment. Inline with modern neuroscientific achievements demonstrating ability to recognize by patients with severe brain injury (A. Owen, S. Laureys, M. Monti, M. Coleman, A. Soddu, M. Boly and others) we base upon psychological science, on psychotherapeutic approaches containing instruments inevitable to work with patients in altered states of consciousness and creation of non-verbal communication with patient (Jung, Reich, Alexander, Lowen, Keleman, Arnold and Amy Mindell, S. Tomandl, D. Boadella, A. Längle, P. Levin etc). This article will include 15 years of experience to apply Process-oriented approach by A. Mindell to recovery of consciousness of neurosurgical patients based on work with "minimal signals" (micro moves, breath, mimic reactions etc.), principle of feedback, psychosomatic resonance, empathy.

Dissociable intrinsic functional networks support noun-object and verb-action processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Huichao; Lin, Qixiang; Han, Zaizhu; Li, Hongyu; Song, Luping; Chen, Lingjuan; He, Yong; Bi, Yanchao

2017-12-01

The processing mechanism of verbs-actions and nouns-objects is a central topic of language research, with robust evidence for behavioral dissociation. The neural basis for these two major word and/or conceptual classes, however, remains controversial. Two experiments were conducted to study this question from the network perspective. Experiment 1 found that nodes of the same class, obtained through task-evoked brain imaging meta-analyses, were more strongly connected with each other than nodes of different classes during resting-state, forming segregated network modules. Experiment 2 examined the behavioral relevance of these intrinsic networks using data from 88 brain-damaged patients, finding that across patients the relative strength of functional connectivity of the two networks significantly correlated with the noun-object vs. verb-action relative behavioral performances. In summary, we found that verbs-actions and nouns-objects are supported by separable intrinsic functional networks and that the integrity of such networks accounts for the relative noun-object- and verb-action-selective deficits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Top-down contingent feature-specific orienting with and without awareness of the visual input.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansorge, Ulrich; Horstmann, Gernot; Scharlau, Ingrid

2011-01-01

In the present article, the role of endogenous feature-specific orienting for conscious and unconscious vision is reviewed. We start with an overview of orienting. We proceed with a review of masking research, and the definition of the criteria of experimental protocols that demonstrate endogenous and exogenous orienting, respectively. Against this background of criteria, we assess studies of unconscious orienting and come to the conclusion that so far studies of unconscious orienting demonstrated endogenous feature-specific orienting. The review closes with a discussion of the role of unconscious orienting in action control.

Neurocognitive mechanisms of action sequence processing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Monroy, C.D.

2017-01-01

Imagine an ordinary action sequence, such as making a peanut butter sandwich. You first reach for two bread slices, grasp your peanut butter jar, open the jar, reach for a knife, insert it into your jar… and so forth. Even the simplest actions contain a complex stream of information from movements,

Towards transdisciplinarity in Arctic sustainability knowledge co-production: Socially-Oriented Observations as a participatory integrated activity

Science.gov (United States)

Vlasova, Tatiana; Volkov, Sergey

2016-09-01

The paper is an attempt to tie together main biogeophysical and social science projects under the auspice of interdisciplinary sustainability science development. Special attention is put to the necessity of the transdisciplinary knowledge co-production based on activities and problem-solutions approaches. It puts attention to the role of monitoring activities in sustainability interdisciplinary science and transdisciplinary knowledge evolution in the Arctic. Socially focused monitoring named Socially-Oriented Observations creating a transdisciplinary space is viewed as one of sources of learning and transformations towards sustainability making possible to shape rapid changes happening in the Arctic based on sustainability knowledge co-production. Continuous Socially-Oriented Observations integrating scientific, education and monitoring methods enables to define adaptation and transformation pathways in the Arctic - the most rapidly changing region of our planet. Socially-Oriented Observations are based on the existing and developing interdisciplinary scientific approaches emerged within natural science and social science projects, sustainable development and resilience concepts putting principle attention to building sustainable and resilient socio-ecological systems. It is argued that the Arctic sustainability science is a valuable component of the whole and broader system of the Arctic Sustainability knowledge co-produced with the help of transdisciplinary approaches integrating science, local/traditional knowledge, entrepreneurship, education, decision-making. Socially-Oriented Observations are designed to be a transdisciplinary interactive continuous participatory process empowering deliberate choices of people that can shape the changes and enable transformation towards sustainability. Approaches of Socially-Oriented Observations and methods of implementation that have been developed since the IPY 2007/2008 and being practiced in different regions of the

Is the motor system necessary for processing action and abstract emotion words? Evidence from focal brain lesions

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Felix R. Dreyer

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Neuroimaging and neuropsychological experiments suggest that modality-preferential cortices, including motor- and somatosensory areas contribute to the semantic processing of action related concrete words. In contrast, a possible role of modality-preferential – including sensorimotor – areas in processing abstract meaning remains under debate. However, recent fMRI studies indicate an involvement of the left sensorimotor cortex in the processing of abstract-emotional words (e.g. love. But are these areas indeed necessary for processing action-related and abstract words? The current study now investigates word processing in two patients suffering from focal brain lesion in the left frontocentral motor system. A speeded lexical decision task (LDT on meticulously matched word groups showed that the recognition of nouns from different semantic categories – related to food, animals, tools and abstract-emotional concepts – was differentially affected. Whereas patient HS with a lesion in dorsolateral central sensorimotor cortex next to the hand area showed a category-specific deficit in recognizing tool words, patient CA suffering from lesion centered in the left SMA was primarily impaired in abstract-emotional word processing. These results point to a causal role of the motor cortex in the semantic processing of both action-related object concepts and abstract-emotional concepts and therefore suggest that the motor areas previously found active in action-related and abstract word processing can serve a meaning-specific necessary role in word recognition. The category-specific nature of the observed dissociations is difficult to reconcile with the idea that sensorimotor systems are somehow peripheral or ‘epiphenomenal’ to meaning and concept processing. Rather, our results are consistent with the claim that cognition is grounded in action and perception and based on distributed action perception circuits reaching into sensorimotor areas.

The Non-Genomic Actions of Vitamin D

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Charles S Hii

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Since its discovery in 1920, a great deal of effort has gone into investigating the physiological actions of vitamin D and the impact its deficiency has on human health. Despite this intense interest, there is still disagreement on what constitutes the lower boundary of adequacy and on the Recommended Dietary Allowance. There has also been a major push to elucidate the biochemistry of vitamin D, its metabolic pathways and the mechanisms that mediate its action. Originally thought to act by altering the expression of target genes, it was realized in the mid-1980s that some of the actions of vitamin D were too rapid to be accounted for by changes at the genomic level. These rapid non-genomic actions have attracted as much interest as the genomic actions and they have spawned additional questions in an already busy field. This mini-review attempts to summarise the in vitro and in vivo work that has been conducted to characterise the rapid non-genomic actions, the mechanisms that give rise to these properties and the roles that these play in the overall action of vitamin D at the cellular level. Understanding the effects of vitamin D at the cellular level should enable the design of elegant human studies to extract the full potential of vitamin D to benefit human health.

Reactor Emergency Action Level Monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Touchton, R.A.

1987-01-01

The Reactor Emergency Action Level Monitor (REALM) Expert System is designed to provide assistance in the identification of a nuclear power plant emergency situation and the determination of its severity. REALM has been developed to operate in a real-time processing environment. REALM embodies a hybrid architecture utilizing both rule-based reasoning and object-oriented programming techniques borrowed from the Artificial Intelligence discipline of Computer Sciences. The rulebase consists of event-based rules and symptom-based rules. The symptom-based rules go beyond the current EAL structure to address the more problematic scenarios and entail a more symbolic representation of the plant information. The results to date have been encouraging that expert system technology can provide improved emergency decision-making capability in nuclear power plants

Gaming to see: action video gaming is associated with enhanced processing of masked stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, Carsten; Kunde, Wilfried; Ganz, Thomas; Conzelmann, Annette; Pauli, Paul; Kiesel, Andrea

2014-01-01

Recent research revealed that action video game players outperform non-players in a wide range of attentional, perceptual and cognitive tasks. Here we tested if expertise in action video games is related to differences regarding the potential of shortly presented stimuli to bias behavior. In a response priming paradigm, participants classified four animal pictures functioning as targets as being smaller or larger than a reference frame. Before each target, one of the same four animal pictures was presented as a masked prime to influence participants' responses in a congruent or incongruent way. Masked primes induced congruence effects, that is, faster responses for congruent compared to incongruent conditions, indicating processing of hardly visible primes. Results also suggested that action video game players showed a larger congruence effect than non-players for 20 ms primes, whereas there was no group difference for 60 ms primes. In addition, there was a tendency for action video game players to detect masked primes for some prime durations better than non-players. Thus, action video game expertise may be accompanied by faster and more efficient processing of shortly presented visual stimuli.

Gaming to see: Action Video Gaming is associated with enhanced processing of masked stimuli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carsten ePohl

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Recent research revealed that action video game players outperform non-players in a wide range of attentional, perceptual and cognitive tasks. Here we tested if expertise in action video games is related to differences regarding the potential of shortly presented stimuli to bias behaviour. In a response priming paradigm, participants classified four animal pictures functioning as targets as being smaller or larger than a reference frame. Before each target, one of the same four animal pictures was presented as a masked prime to influence participants’ responses in a congruent or incongruent way. Masked primes induced congruence effects, that is, faster responses for congruent compared to incongruent conditions, indicating processing of hardly visible primes. Results also suggested that action video game players showed a larger congruence effect than non-players for 20 ms primes, whereas there was no group difference for 60 ms primes. In addition, there was a tendency for action video game players to detect masked primes for some prime durations better than non-players. Thus, action video game expertise may be accompanied by faster and more efficient processing of shortly presented visual stimuli.

Orientation decoding: Sense in spirals?

Science.gov (United States)

Clifford, Colin W G; Mannion, Damien J

2015-04-15

The orientation of a visual stimulus can be successfully decoded from the multivariate pattern of fMRI activity in human visual cortex. Whether this capacity requires coarse-scale orientation biases is controversial. We and others have advocated the use of spiral stimuli to eliminate a potential coarse-scale bias-the radial bias toward local orientations that are collinear with the centre of gaze-and hence narrow down the potential coarse-scale biases that could contribute to orientation decoding. The usefulness of this strategy is challenged by the computational simulations of Carlson (2014), who reported the ability to successfully decode spirals of opposite sense (opening clockwise or counter-clockwise) from the pooled output of purportedly unbiased orientation filters. Here, we elaborate the mathematical relationship between spirals of opposite sense to confirm that they cannot be discriminated on the basis of the pooled output of unbiased or radially biased orientation filters. We then demonstrate that Carlson's (2014) reported decoding ability is consistent with the presence of inadvertent biases in the set of orientation filters; biases introduced by their digital implementation and unrelated to the brain's processing of orientation. These analyses demonstrate that spirals must be processed with an orientation bias other than the radial bias for successful decoding of spiral sense. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid decompression and desorption induced energetic failure in coal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shugang Wang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, laboratory experiments are conducted to investigate the rapid decompression and desorption induced energetic failure in coal using a shock tube apparatus. Coal specimens are recovered from Colorado at a depth of 610 m. The coal specimens are saturated with the strong sorbing gas CO2 for a certain period and then the rupture disc is suddenly broken on top of the shock tube to generate a shock wave propagating upwards and a rarefaction wave propagating downwards through the specimen. This rapid decompression and desorption has the potential to cause energetic fragmentation in coal. Three types of behaviors in coal after rapid decompression are found, i.e. degassing without fragmentation, horizontal fragmentation, and vertical fragmentation. We speculate that the characteristics of fracture network (e.g. aperture, spacing, orientation and stiffness and gas desorption play a role in this dynamic event as coal can be considered as a dual porosity, dual permeability, dual stiffness sorbing medium. This study has important implications in understanding energetic failure process in underground coal mines such as coal gas outbursts.

Non-invasive quality evaluation of confluent cells by image-based orientation heterogeneity analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Kei; Sasaki, Hiroto; Takahashi, Atsuki; Kang, Siu; Yuasa, Tetsuya; Kato, Ryuji

2016-02-01

In recent years, cell and tissue therapy in regenerative medicine have advanced rapidly towards commercialization. However, conventional invasive cell quality assessment is incompatible with direct evaluation of the cells produced for such therapies, especially in the case of regenerative medicine products. Our group has demonstrated the potential of quantitative assessment of cell quality, using information obtained from cell images, for non-invasive real-time evaluation of regenerative medicine products. However, image of cells in the confluent state are often difficult to evaluate, because accurate recognition of cells is technically difficult and the morphological features of confluent cells are non-characteristic. To overcome these challenges, we developed a new image-processing algorithm, heterogeneity of orientation (H-Orient) processing, to describe the heterogeneous density of cells in the confluent state. In this algorithm, we introduced a Hessian calculation that converts pixel intensity data to orientation data and a statistical profiling calculation that evaluates the heterogeneity of orientations within an image, generating novel parameters that yield a quantitative profile of an image. Using such parameters, we tested the algorithm's performance in discriminating different qualities of cellular images with three types of clinically important cell quality check (QC) models: remaining lifespan check (QC1), manipulation error check (QC2), and differentiation potential check (QC3). Our results show that our orientation analysis algorithm could predict with high accuracy the outcomes of all types of cellular quality checks (>84% average accuracy with cross-validation). Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recrystallized arrays of bismuth nanowires with trigonal orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Limmer, Steven J; Yelton, W Graham; Erickson, Kristopher J; Medlin, Douglas L; Siegal, Michael P

2014-01-01

We demonstrate methods to improve the crystalline-quality of free-standing Bi nanowires arrays on a Si substrate and enhance the preferred trigonal orientation for thermoelectric performance by annealing the arrays above the 271.4 °C Bi melting point. The nanowires maintain their geometry during melting due to the formation of a thin Bi-oxide protective shell that contains the molten Bi. Recrystallizing nanowires from the melt improves crystallinity; those cooled rapidly demonstrate a strong trigonal orientation preference.

Conformal group actions and Segal's cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Werth, J.-E.

1984-01-01

A mathematical description of Segal's cosmological model in the framework of conformal group actions is presented. The relation between conformal and causal group actions on time-orientable Lorentzian manifolds is analysed and several examples are discussed. A criterion for the conformality of a map between Lorentzian manifolds is given. The results are applied to Segal's 'conformal compactification' of Minkowski space. Furthermore, the 'unitary formulation' of Segal's cosmology is regarded. (Author) [pt

Query Processing and Interlinking of Fuzzy Object-Oriented Database

OpenAIRE

Shweta Dwivedi; Santosh Kumar

2017-01-01

Due to the many limitation and poor data handling in the existing relational database, the software professional and researchers moves towards the object-oriented database which has much better capability to handling the real and complex real world data i.e. clear and crisp data and also have the capability to perform some huge and complex queries in an effective manner. On the other hand, a new approach in database is introduced named as Fuzzy Object-Oriented Database (FOOD); it has all the ...

An Inquiry into the Neural Plasticity Underlying Everyday Actions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garrett Tisdale

2017-11-01

Full Text Available How does the brain change with respect to how we live our daily lives? Modern studies on how specific actions affect the anatomy of the brain have shown that different actions shape the way the brain is oriented. While individual studies might point towards these effects occurring in daily actions, the concept that morphological changes occur throughout the numerous fields of neuroplasticity based on daily actions has yet to become a well established and discussed phenomena. It is the goal of this article to view a few fields of neuroplasticity to answer this overarching question and review brain imaging studies indicating such morphological changes associated with the fields of neuroplasticity and everyday actions. To achieve this goal, a systematic approach revolving around scholarly search engines was used to briefly explore each studied field of interest. In this article, the activities of music production, video game play, and sleep are analyzed indicating such morphological change. These activities show changes to the respective areas of the brain in which the tasks are processed with a trend arising from the amount of time spent performing each action. It is shown from these fields of study that this classification of relating everyday actions to morphological change through neural plasticity does hold validity with respect to experimental studies.

Fuzzy rule-based model for optimum orientation of solar panels using satellite image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaher, A; Thiery, F; Grieu, S; Traoré, A; N’goran, Y

2017-01-01

In solar energy converting systems, a particular attention is paid to the orientation of solar collectors in order to optimize the overall system efficiency. In this context, the collectors can be fixed or oriented by a continuous solar tracking system. The proposed approach is based on METEOSAT images processing in order to detect the cloud coverage and its duration. These two parameters are treated by a fuzzy inference system deciding the optimal position of the solar panel. In fact, three weather cases can be considered: clear, partly covered or overcast sky. In the first case, the direct sunlight is more important than the diffuse radiation, thus the panel is always pointed towards the sun. In the overcast case, the solar beam is close to zero and the panel is placed horizontally to receive the diffuse radiation. Under partly covered conditions, the fuzzy inference system decides which of the previous positions is more efficient. The proposed approach is implemented using experimental prototype located in Perpignan (France). On a period of 17 months, the results are very satisfactory, with power gains of up to 23 % compared to the collectors oriented by a continuous solar tracking. (paper)

Implementing Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in Undergraduate Biomechanics: Lessons Learned by a Novice

Science.gov (United States)

Simonson, Shawn R.; Shadle, Susan E.

2013-01-01

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) uses specially designed activities and cooperative learning to teach content and to actively engage students in inquiry, analytical thinking and teamwork. It has been used extensively in Chemistry education, but the use of POGIL is not well documented in other physical and biological sciences. This…

Emotional noun processing: an ERP study with rapid serial visual presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Shengnan; He, Weiqi; Zhan, Lei; Qi, Zhengyang; Zhu, Chuanlin; Luo, Wenbo; Li, Hong

2015-01-01

Reading is an important part of our daily life, and rapid responses to emotional words have received a great deal of research interest. Our study employed rapid serial visual presentation to detect the time course of emotional noun processing using event-related potentials. We performed a dual-task experiment, where subjects were required to judge whether a given number was odd or even, and the category into which each emotional noun fit. In terms of P1, we found that there was no negativity bias for emotional nouns. However, emotional nouns elicited larger amplitudes in the N170 component in the left hemisphere than did neutral nouns. This finding indicated that in later processing stages, emotional words can be discriminated from neutral words. Furthermore, positive, negative, and neutral words were different from each other in the late positive complex, indicating that in the third stage, even different emotions can be discerned. Thus, our results indicate that in a three-stage model the latter two stages are more stable and universal.

Emotional noun processing: an ERP study with rapid serial visual presentation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shengnan Yi

Full Text Available Reading is an important part of our daily life, and rapid responses to emotional words have received a great deal of research interest. Our study employed rapid serial visual presentation to detect the time course of emotional noun processing using event-related potentials. We performed a dual-task experiment, where subjects were required to judge whether a given number was odd or even, and the category into which each emotional noun fit. In terms of P1, we found that there was no negativity bias for emotional nouns. However, emotional nouns elicited larger amplitudes in the N170 component in the left hemisphere than did neutral nouns. This finding indicated that in later processing stages, emotional words can be discriminated from neutral words. Furthermore, positive, negative, and neutral words were different from each other in the late positive complex, indicating that in the third stage, even different emotions can be discerned. Thus, our results indicate that in a three-stage model the latter two stages are more stable and universal.

Verification and Validation in a Rapid Software Development Process

Science.gov (United States)

Callahan, John R.; Easterbrook, Steve M.

1997-01-01

The high cost of software production is driving development organizations to adopt more automated design and analysis methods such as rapid prototyping, computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools, and high-level code generators. Even developers of safety-critical software system have adopted many of these new methods while striving to achieve high levels Of quality and reliability. While these new methods may enhance productivity and quality in many cases, we examine some of the risks involved in the use of new methods in safety-critical contexts. We examine a case study involving the use of a CASE tool that automatically generates code from high-level system designs. We show that while high-level testing on the system structure is highly desirable, significant risks exist in the automatically generated code and in re-validating releases of the generated code after subsequent design changes. We identify these risks and suggest process improvements that retain the advantages of rapid, automated development methods within the quality and reliability contexts of safety-critical projects.

Environmental assessment of remedial action at the inactive uraniferous lignite processing sites at Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beranich, S.; Berger, N.; Bierley, D.; Bond, T.M.; Burt, C.; Caldwell, J.A.; Dery, V.A.; Dutcher, A.; Glover, W.A.; Heydenburg, R.J.; Larson, N.B.; Lindsey, G.; Longley, J.M.; Millard, J.B.; Miller, M.; Peel, R.C.; Persson-Reeves, C.H.; Titus, F.B.; Wagner, L.

1989-09-01

The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), to clean up the Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota, uraniferous lignite processing sites to reduce the potential health impacts associated with the residual radioactive materials remaining at these sites. Remedial action at these sites must be performed in accordance with the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) standards promulgated for the remedial action and with the concurrence of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the state of North Dakota. The inactive Belfield uraniferous lignite processing site is one mile southeast of Belfield, North Dakota. The inactive Bowman uraniferous lignite processing site at the former town of Griffin, is seven miles northwest of Bowman, North Dakota and 65 road miles south of Belfield. Lignite ash from the processing operations has contaminated the soils over the entire 10.7-acre designated Belfield site and the entire 12.1-acre designated Bowman site. Dispersion of the ash has contaminated an additional 20.6 acres surrounding the Belfield processing site and an additional 59.2 acres surrounding the Bowman processing site. The proposed remedial action is to relocate the contaminated materials at the Belfield processing site to the Bowman processing/disposal site for codisposal with the Bowman contaminated soils. The environmental impacts assessed in this EA were evaluated for the proposed remedial action and the no action alternative and demonstrate that the proposed action would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and would be performed in compliance with applicable environmental laws. The no action alternative would not be consistent with the intent of Public Law 95-604 and would not comply with the EPA standards. 48 refs., 10 figs., 7 tabs

Influence of preferred orientation of minerals in the mineralogical identification process by X-ray diffraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Amanda Luzia da; Oliveira, Arno H. de [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (DEN/UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Nuclear; Fernandes, Maria Lourdes Souza, E-mail: lourdesfernandes@ufmg.b [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Inst. de GeoCiencias. Centro de Pesquisa Professor Manoel Teixeira da Costa

2011-07-01

The X-ray diffraction corresponds to one of the main techniques for characterization of microstructures in crystalline materials, widely used in the identification of minerals in samples of geological materials. Some minerals have a property called preferred orientation which corresponds to the orientation tendency of the crystals of ground minerals to orient themselves in certain directions according to a preferred crystallographic plane. This property affects the analysis by X-ray diffraction and this fact can generates erroneous results in the characterization. The purpose of this study is to identify the negative influence of the preferred orientation of a mineral in the generation of diffraction patterns obtained in the X-ray diffraction analysis. For this, a sample of muscovite, a mineral of mica group, was prepared by two different methods: the frontal method and the back loading method. In the analysis using the frontal method there was displacement of the XRD pattern in the abscissa axis, where it was observed changes in interplanar distance and angle 2{theta} values, which are essential information for characterization and identification of a mineral. In the analysis using the back loading method, the generated XRD pattern showed no displacement in the axis of abscissas and showed interplanar distance and angle 2{theta} values closer to the real values for the muscovite. The results showed that one can only make improvements to the process of sample preparation minimizing the effect of preferred orientation in the analysis. There is no need to change conditions of diffractometer measurements. (author)

Influence of preferred orientation of minerals in the mineralogical identification process by X-ray diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Amanda Luzia da; Oliveira, Arno H. de; Fernandes, Maria Lourdes Souza

2011-01-01

The X-ray diffraction corresponds to one of the main techniques for characterization of microstructures in crystalline materials, widely used in the identification of minerals in samples of geological materials. Some minerals have a property called preferred orientation which corresponds to the orientation tendency of the crystals of ground minerals to orient themselves in certain directions according to a preferred crystallographic plane. This property affects the analysis by X-ray diffraction and this fact can generates erroneous results in the characterization. The purpose of this study is to identify the negative influence of the preferred orientation of a mineral in the generation of diffraction patterns obtained in the X-ray diffraction analysis. For this, a sample of muscovite, a mineral of mica group, was prepared by two different methods: the frontal method and the back loading method. In the analysis using the frontal method there was displacement of the XRD pattern in the abscissa axis, where it was observed changes in interplanar distance and angle 2θ values, which are essential information for characterization and identification of a mineral. In the analysis using the back loading method, the generated XRD pattern showed no displacement in the axis of abscissas and showed interplanar distance and angle 2θ values closer to the real values for the muscovite. The results showed that one can only make improvements to the process of sample preparation minimizing the effect of preferred orientation in the analysis. There is no need to change conditions of diffractometer measurements. (author)

Integrating traditional nursing service orientation content with electronic medical record orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Harton, Brenda B; Borrelli, Larry; Knupp, Ann; Rogers, Necolen; West, Vickie R

2009-01-01

Traditional nursing service orientation classes at an acute care hospital were integrated with orientation to the electronic medical record to blend the two components in a user-friendly format so that the learner is introduced to the culture, processes, and documentation methods of the organization, with an opportunity to document online in a practice domain while lecture and discussion information is fresh.

Revealing chemical processes and kinetics of drug action within single living cells via plasmonic Raman probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shan-Shan; Guan, Qi-Yuan; Meng, Gang; Chang, Xiao-Feng; Wei, Ji-Wu; Wang, Peng; Kang, Bin; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

2017-05-23

Better understanding the drug action within cells may extend our knowledge on drug action mechanisms and promote new drugs discovery. Herein, we studied the processes of drug induced chemical changes on proteins and nucleic acids in human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells via time-resolved plasmonic-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PERS) in combination with principal component analysis (PCA). Using three popular chemotherapy drugs (fluorouracil, cisplatin and camptothecin) as models, chemical changes during drug action process were clearly discriminated. Reaction kinetics related to protein denaturation, conformational modification, DNA damage and their associated biomolecular events were calculated. Through rate constants and reaction delay times, the different action modes of these drugs could be distinguished. These results may provide vital insights into understanding the chemical reactions associated with drug-cell interactions.

The Influence of Cross-Sectional Shape and Orientation of Micropillar Surface on Microdroplet Formation by a Dewetting Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bambang Arip Dwiyantoro

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In this study the dewetting process on micropillars of three different cross-sectional shapes, i.e. circular, square and triangular, was numerically investigated. The influence of the orientation of the triangular and square micropillars on the dewetting behavior was also studied. The numerical simulations showed that the cross-sectional shapes of the micropillars and their orientation play an important role in determining the flow pattern of the dewetting process, especially the evolution and movement of the meniscus across the micropillar before a microdroplet is formed. The diameter of the microdroplets is mainly determined by the capillary effect, viscous drag and fluid inertia contributed by the peeling rate and the thickness of the water layer above the micropillar. The numerical results also indicate that the hydraulic diameter of the micropillars (Dp is one of the parameters governing the size of the microdroplets formed on the top surface of the micropillars after the dewetting process, while the microdroplet diameter is almost insensitive to the cross-sectional shape and orientation of the micropillars. The dimensionless diameter of the microdroplets (d can then be expressed as a function of a dimensionless group, i.e. the Ohnesorge number (Oh, the capillary number (Ca, the dimensionless liquid thickness (H, and the contact angle (q.

UMTRA Surface Project management action process document. Final report: Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-04-01

A critical mission of the US Department of Energy (DOE) is the planning, implementation, and completion of environmental restoration (ER) programs at facilities that were operated by or in support of the former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) from the late 1940s into the 1970s. Among these facilities are the 24 former uranium mill sites designed in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978 (42 USC section 7901 et seq.) Title 1 of the UMTRCA authorized the DOE to undertake remedial actions at these designated sites and associated vicinity properties (VP), which contain uranium mill tailings and other residual radioactive materials (RRM) derived from the processing sites. Title 2 of the UMTRCA addresses uranium mill sites that were licensed at the time the UMTRCA was enacted. Cleanup of these Title 2 sites is the responsibility of the licensees. The cleanup of the Title 1 sites has been split into two separate projects: the Surface Project, which deals with the mill buildings, tailings, and contaminated soils at the sites and VPs; and the Ground Water Project, which is limited to the contaminated ground water at the sites. This management action process (MAP) document discusses the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Surface Project only; a separate MAP document has been prepared for the UMTRA Ground Water Project

Neuronal interactions between mentalising and action systems during indirect request processing.

Science.gov (United States)

van Ackeren, Markus J; Smaragdi, Areti; Rueschemeyer, Shirley-Ann

2016-09-01

Human communication relies on the ability to process linguistic structure and to map words and utterances onto our environment. Furthermore, as what we communicate is often not directly encoded in our language (e.g. in the case of irony, jokes or indirect requests), we need to extract additional cues to infer the beliefs and desires of our conversational partners. Although the functional interplay between language and the ability to mentalise has been discussed in theoretical accounts in the past, the neurobiological underpinnings of these dynamics are currently not well understood. Here, we address this issue using functional imaging (fMRI). Participants listened to question-reply dialogues. In these dialogues, a reply is interpreted as a direct reply, an indirect reply or a request for action, depending on the question. We show that inferring meaning from indirect replies engages parts of the mentalising network (mPFC) while requests for action also activate the cortical motor system (IPL). Subsequent connectivity analysis using Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) revealed that this pattern of activation is best explained by an increase in effective connectivity from the mentalising network (mPFC) to the action system (IPL). These results are an important step towards a more integrative understanding of the neurobiological basis of indirect speech processing. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Introducing ALAS: A Novel Agent-Oriented Programming Language

Science.gov (United States)

Mitrović, Dejan; Ivanović, Mirjana; Vidaković, Milan

2011-09-01

Agent-oriented programming languages represent a family of programming languages that provide developers with high-level abstractions and constructs necessary for implementing and using agent-related concepts. In this paper a novel agent-oriented programming language for rapid and efficient development of reactive agents, named ALAS, is presented. The simple, but powerful set of language constructs is designed to support the execution of agents in heterogenous environments, and to enable easy employment of advanced agent features, such as mobility and web service integration.

A maintenance optimization model for mission-oriented systems based on Wiener degradation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Chiming; Wang, Wenbin; Guo, Bo; Si, Xiaosheng

2013-01-01

Over the past few decades, condition-based maintenance (CBM) has attracted many researchers because of its effectiveness and practical significance. This paper deals with mission-oriented systems subject to gradual degradation modeled by a Wiener stochastic process within the context of CBM. For a mission-oriented system, the mission usually has constraints on availability/reliability, the opportunity for maintenance actions, and the monitoring type (continuous or discrete). Furthermore, in practice, a mission-oriented system may undertake some preventive maintenance (PM) and after such PM, the system may return to an intermediate state between an as-good-as new state and an as-bad-as old state, i.e., the PM is not perfect and only partially restores the system. However, very few CBM models integrated these mission constraints together with an imperfect nature of the PM into the course of optimizing the PM policy. This paper develops a model to optimize the PM policy in terms of the maintenance related cost jointly considering the mission constraints and the imperfect PM nature. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the proposed model. The comparison with the simulated results and the sensitivity analysis show the usefulness of the optimization model for mission-oriented system maintenance presented in this paper.

Processing, microstructure and properties of grain-oriented ferroelectric ceramics